Tag: The Latin Rascals

August 6, 2026

Cyndi Lauper – The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough (Japan 12″) (1985)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

After beginning week four with the Pointer Sisters and Beverly Hills Cop, Ladies Of The 80s: Soundtrack Edition continues with another movie song that became inseparable from its film.

Today’s selection is Cyndi Lauper’s “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” from the 1985 adventure classic The Goonies.

This is also a completely new 2026 meticulous audio transfer and restoration.

I previously posted this record in 2020. For this edition, I returned to the vinyl and recorded it again from the beginning using my current equipment and restoration process.

This is not a remaster of the files shared in 2020.

It is a new transfer from the Japanese 12-inch pressing.

The Goonies was directed by Richard Donner from a story by Steven Spielberg. The film follows a group of children who discover an old treasure map and set out to find the lost fortune of the pirate One-Eyed Willie. Along the way, they encounter underground tunnels, elaborate traps, a pirate ship, and the criminal Fratelli family.

It is one of those movies that could only have come from the 1980s.

The children are allowed to disappear for hours without mobile phones, tracking devices, or adults hovering over them.

They simply find a treasure map and go looking for a pirate ship.

Cyndi Lauper was asked by Steven Spielberg to serve as musical director for the soundtrack. She helped assemble a varied collection that included the Bangles, REO Speedwagon, Philip Bailey, Teena Marie, Luther Vandross, and the Goon Squad. The Bangles were still early in their career when Cyndi brought them into the project.

“The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” was written by Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Broughton Lunt, and Arthur Stead. It was produced by Cyndi and Lennie Petze. The song was reportedly written under the simpler title “Good Enough” before the movie’s name was added for promotional purposes.

The finished record sounds unmistakably like Cyndi at the height of her early success.

The synthesizers are bright, the drums are enormous, and the melody rises with the same colorful energy that made She’s So Unusual such a sensation. Cyndi’s voice moves from playful and vulnerable to powerful and determined, often within the same line.

The lyrics are not really about pirates, treasure maps, or underground caves. Instead, the song deals with expectations, self-doubt, and the feeling that something must be real before it can be good enough.

That gives it a life outside the film.

At the same time, the chorus fits the Goonies perfectly. These are young outsiders constantly being underestimated, yet they refuse to give up on one another.

Goonies are good enough.

The single became another major hit for Cyndi, reaching number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It was her fifth solo Top 10 single in the United States and also reached the Top 10 in Australia and Canada. Surprisingly, it did not enter the UK Singles Chart.

The music video may be even more excessive than the movie.

Directed by Richard Donner, it was presented as a two-part mini-adventure lasting roughly thirteen minutes. Cyndi attempts to save her family’s business while crossing paths with pirates, professional wrestlers, and members of the Goonies cast.

The wrestling lineup includes Captain Lou Albano, Roddy Piper, Wendi Richter, the Fabulous Moolah, the Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Freddie Blassie, and André the Giant. Steven Spielberg appears, while the Bangles turn up as a group of female pirates.

Cyndi’s mother even joins the adventure.

It is part music video, part wrestling event, part movie trailer, and completely over the top.

In other words, it is perfect.

Cyndi’s relationship with the song was complicated. She kept it out of her concerts and off her major compilations for many years. Fan demand eventually persuaded her to bring it back, and it finally appeared on The Essential Cyndi Lauper in 2003.

Sometimes an artist’s audience hears something in a song that the artist cannot immediately hear.

For many fans, “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” was never simply a soundtrack assignment. It became tied to childhood, friendship, adventure, and the belief that being different could be a strength.

For this post, I am featuring the Japanese 12-inch pressing, complete with its colorful cover artwork and obi.

Side one contains the “Dance Re-Mix,” running approximately 5:26.

Side two contains the “Dub Version,” running approximately 5:36.

Both versions were remixed by Arthur Baker, one of the most important producers and remixers of the decade.

The Dance Re-Mix expands the rhythm while keeping the song’s pop structure intact. The percussion hits harder, the instrumental passages are extended, and Cyndi’s vocal is given more space to build toward the chorus.

Arthur Baker does not remove the song’s personality.

He makes everything larger.

The Dub Version travels further into the production. Vocals appear in fragments while the synthesizers, drums, effects, and backing voices take control. Without the full lead vocal guiding the arrangement, it becomes easier to hear how much detail is packed beneath the surface.

The two mixes make a perfect pair.

The Dance Re-Mix gives us the adventure.

The Dub Version lets us explore the hidden tunnels underneath it.

For this new 2026 transfer, I wanted to preserve the excitement of the Japanese vinyl while bringing out the weight of the drums, the layers of synthesizers, and the full character of Cyndi’s vocal.

This record is loud, colorful, slightly strange, and overflowing with personality.

Just like Cyndi.

Just like The Goonies.

I may have first posted it in 2020, but some treasures are worth digging up again.

After all, Goonies never say die.

SIDE A:
The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough (Dance Re-Mix) 5:26
Edited By –The Latin Rascals

SIDE B:
The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough (Dub Version) 5:36
Edited By –The Latin Rascals

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
OBI: Near Mint

Chart (1985)	Peak Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	8
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	9
West Germany (Media Control)	49
New Zealand Singles Chart	22
US Billboard Hot 100	10
US Cash Box Top 100	14

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Portrait ‎– 12·3P-647
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: Aug 1, 1985
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Producer – Cyndi Lauper, Lennie Petze
Remix – Arthur Baker
Written-By – A. Stead*, C. Lauper*, S.B. Lunt*

NOTES:
Taken from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack LP: “The Goonies”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2
Phono Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
Audio Interface: MOTU M4
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Cleaning Solution: Turgikleen Record Cleaning Solution
Scanner: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

PLEASE READ

There are two 24-Bit links; if one does not work, try the other

**24-bit FLAC Only Available For SIX Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal.

I appreciate your help.

July 1, 2026

Peter Murphy – Final Solution (Remix) (UK 12″) (1985)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

“Final Solution” is one of those records that does not politely enter the room. It arrives like a warning signal, all nerves, shadows, and sharp edges.

Originally recorded by Cleveland art-punk band Pere Ubu in 1976, “Final Solution” was already a strange and unsettling piece of post-punk before Peter Murphy got anywhere near it. Pere Ubu’s version had that raw, almost damaged sound that made it feel as if it was broadcasting from some broken radio tower in the middle of a city no one wanted to admit existed.

Peter Murphy took that chaos and turned it into something theatrical, colder, and strangely danceable.

Released as a single in 1985, before appearing on his 1986 debut solo album Should The World Fail To Fall Apart, “Final Solution” found Murphy stepping out from the long shadow of Bauhaus while still keeping one polished black boot firmly planted in the dark. This was not the more romantic, mystical Peter Murphy that would later emerge on songs like “Cuts You Up” or “A Strange Kind Of Love.” This was Murphy in a more dangerous space, taking a song already loaded with unease and pushing it further into the club.

The 12-inch Club Mix stretches the track into a tense, mechanical workout. The guitars snarl, the rhythm pounds, and Murphy’s vocal performance is pure command. He does not simply sing the song; he stalks through it. Every phrase feels like it is being thrown against a wall just to see what breaks first.

What makes this version so compelling is the way it sits between worlds. It is post-punk, goth, industrial, and club music all at once, but never fully settles into any one of them. It has the grit of the original, but the 12-inch format gives it space to breathe, sweat, and menace the dancefloor.

The B-side, “The Answer Is Clear,” offers a fitting companion piece. Less immediate but just as moody, it captures Murphy during that early solo period when he was still experimenting with what his voice could become outside the Bauhaus frame.

“Final Solution” may not be one of Peter Murphy’s biggest hits, but it remains one of his most arresting early solo singles. It is tense, dramatic, and a little unhinged in all the right ways.

This is the sound of an artist stepping into the spotlight alone, not with comfort, but with intent.

SIDE A:
Final Solution (Third & Final Mix) 5:51
Lacquer Cut By – Timtom
Remix – Ivo, John Fryer
Written-By – Bell*, Pere Ubu

SIDE B:
Final Solution (Club Mix) 5:30
Lacquer Cut By – TY
Mixed By – Stephane Gerbier
Remix – The Latin Rascals
Written-By – Bell, Pere Ubu

The Answer Is Clear (Version) 3:14
Lacquer Cut By – TY
Written-By – Hughes, Murphy*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Chart Performance — Peter Murphy: *Final Solution* (1985)
Chart	Peak Position	Date
UK Singles Chart	#92	1985

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Beggars Banquet – BEG 143TP
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Industrial, Goth Rock

CREDITS:

Photography By – Antoine Giaccomoni*
Producer – Ivo*, Howard Hughes*

NOTES:
Recorded at Blackwing Studios in the summer of ’85.
B1. 12″ mix [Club mix] at Unique Studios, New York City
B2. Mixed at Blackwing Studios

Made in England

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

PLEASE READ

There are two 24-Bit links; if one does not work, try the other

**24-bit FLAC Only Available For SIX Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal.

I appreciate your help.

January 22, 2026

Cindy Mizelle – This Could Be The Night (US 12″ Promo) (1984)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

Before freestyle took over the clubs, Cindy Mizelle delivered this emotional floor-filler on the Beat Street soundtrack.

Released in 1984, “This Could Be The Night” stands as an early freestyle dance landmark and a key contribution to the influential Beat Street soundtrack. While the film is often cited for helping bring hip-hop and breakdance culture into the mainstream, its soundtrack also documented the parallel rise of freestyle—romantic, melodic, and rooted in the clubs of New York and New Jersey. Cindy Mizelle’s single captured that sound at a formative moment, pairing emotional urgency with dancefloor precision.

Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Cindy Mizelle began singing at a very young age. Raised in the church, she attended First Baptist Church in Englewood with her grandmother and eventually joined the choir, an experience that helped shape her powerful sense of phrasing and control. She attended Dwight Morrow High School and cites the Mizell Brothers—her cousins—and Cissy Houston as key musical influences, grounding her style in gospel discipline and classic soul tradition.

By the age of 17, Mizelle was already working professionally as a touring singer. Her early recording credits include vocals on Lemelle’s 1982 single “You Got Something Special,” followed by the 1983 album Pump the Nation with her band Attitude. In 1984, she stepped into the spotlight with “This Could Be The Night,” a freestyle track that aligned her with a genre just beginning to define itself.

Produced by Arthur Baker, the single reflects a producer at the height of his creative reach. Known for shaping the sound of electro and early hip-hop, Baker here adapts his approach to freestyle’s melodic framework. Driving drum machine patterns, pulsing synth basslines, and dramatic keyboard flourishes provide the foundation for Mizelle’s vocal, which delivers yearning and anticipation with clarity and emotional weight. The result is a song built for late-night dance floors, where romance and rhythm collide.

Though “This Could Be The Night” did not dominate the charts, its inclusion on the Beat Street soundtrack gave it lasting visibility and historical significance. In hindsight, the track feels like a bridge—connecting gospel-trained vocalists, club culture, and emerging freestyle into a sound that would soon explode in popularity with artists such as Shannon, Exposé, and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam.

Beyond her solo work, Cindy Mizelle went on to become one of the most in-demand backing vocalists in popular music. Her résumé reads like a modern music history textbook, with performances alongside Billy Ocean, Chaka Khan, Evelyn King, Mariah Carey, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Dave Matthews Band, and Alicia Keys. She also wrote music for Aretha Franklin and toured with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band—an extraordinary range that speaks to her versatility and professionalism.

Today, “This Could Be The Night” remains a compelling snapshot of 1984 freestyle culture: emotional, dance-driven, and full of promise. It also marks an important early chapter in the career of a singer whose voice would go on to shape countless recordings behind the scenes, even as this single continues to glow as a standout moment in her own spotlight.

SIDE A:
This Could Be The Night (Vocal/Extended Version) 6:56

SIDE B:
This Could Be The Night (Instrumental/Dub Mix) 5:18

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – DMD 769
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single, Promo, SP (Specialty Records Corporation Pressing)
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Freestyle

CREDITS:

Arranged By [Co-Arranged] – Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers
Edited By [Edits By] – Albert Cabrera, The Latin Rascals, Tony Moran
Engineer [Mix] – Andy Wallace, Chris Lord-Alge
Producer, Arranged By, Mixed By – Arthur Baker
Written-By – Arthur Baker, Carl Sturken, Chris Lord-Alge, Evan Rogers, Tina B

NOTES:
PROMOTIONAL COPY
NOT FOR SALE

Version of Atlantic LP 80154 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “BEAT STREET”.

Artist name is not printed on B side label.

Housed inside company “12 Inch Maxi Single III” die-cut sleeve.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

January 21, 2026

Arthur Baker – Breaker’s Revenge (Italy 12″) (1984)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

NEW 2026 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Original post date: September 30, 2014

Arthur Baker’s “Breaker’s Revenge”: Electro on the Big Screen

Released in 1984, “Breaker’s Revenge” stands as one of Arthur Baker’s most culturally anchored recordings—an electro track inseparable from the moment when hip-hop broke into the mainstream. The single was lifted from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Beat Street, the landmark film that brought breakdancing, DJ culture, and graffiti art to audiences far beyond the streets where they were born.

True to its title, “Breaker’s Revenge” plays like a challenge record. Driven by crisp drum machine programming and stark, percussive synth lines, the track favors rhythm and attitude over melody, making it ideal battle music for the dance floor. Adding a human edge to the electronics are vocals by Gavin Christopher, whose soulful delivery contrasts sharply—and effectively—with the track’s cold, mechanized pulse. Christopher’s involvement also links the record to a broader dance lineage; he was the brother of house music diva Shawn Christopher, further underscoring how interconnected the emerging dance scenes were in the mid-’80s.

Commercially, “Breaker’s Revenge” made a solid impact on club culture. The single debuted on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart on August 18, 1984, remaining on the survey for nine weeks and reaching a peak position of #19. While not a crossover pop hit, its chart performance reflected strong DJ support and heavy rotation in clubs aligned with electro, freestyle, and early hip-hop.

Today, “Breaker’s Revenge” endures less as a standalone single and more as a cultural document—one that captures Arthur Baker at the intersection of music, film, and street culture. It remains a sharp snapshot of electro’s golden era, when records weren’t just played in clubs, but used as weapons in dance battles and symbols of a rapidly evolving movement.

SIDE A:
Breaker’s Revenge (Extended Vocal Version) 7:27
Vocals [Featuring] – Galvin Christopher*

SIDE B:
Breaker’s Revenge (Dub Mix / Vocal) 6:53
Jazzy Breakdown (Instrumental) 5:04

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Chart Performance – Arthur Baker: *Breaker’s Revenge* (1984)
Chart	Peak Position	Date
US Billboard Dance Club Songs	#19	1984

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – 78 6931-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Italy
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro

CREDITS:

Edited By – The Latin Rascals
Engineer – Andy Wallace
Mixed By, Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Arthur Baker
Mixed At – Shakedown Sound Studios,

NOTES:
Featured in the movie “Beat Street”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.