Tag: US

February 10, 2020

Stacey Q – Two Of Hearts (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Two of Hearts” is a hit song released in 1986 by American singer Stacey Q. Pop singer Sue Gatlin co-wrote the tune along with John Mitchell and Tim Greene. Although Gatlin did record her own version, Stacey Q released her version first, and it would become the latter’s biggest hit.

Musically, “Two of Hearts” is a Hi-NRG song. It utilizes vocal sampling with the repetitive usage of the line “I Need You” in its hook. The lyrics of the song revolve around love and romance. “Two of Hearts” received positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. It entered the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in mid-July 1986, breaking into the Top 40 in mid-August, and peaking at number three during the autumn of that same year to become one of the highest-selling singles of 1986. “Two of Hearts” was ranked number twenty-seven in VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the ’80s.

The accompanying music video was directed by Peter Lippman. It depicts Stacey Q dancing in front of a white background in various outfits and performing at a night club.

After the release of the album Playback (1983) with the band SSQ, Stacey Q began working with Jon St. James on her solo material. St. James brought her the song “Two of Hearts,” suggesting that she record it. “Two of Hearts” was a tune St. James initially produced for Sue Gatlin, who co-wrote the song with John Mitchell and Tim Greene, recording her own version. At first, Stacey Q refused to record a song written by someone else, but later she changed her mind and decided to record it.

Stacey Q’s first recording of the tune was released by On The Spot Records in 1985 and featured on her self-titled debut EP from the same year. Meanwhile, Gatlin had recorded her own version of the tune, although it would not be released until the following year. Stacey Q’s version was later taken by Atlantic Records and re-recorded to be released as the lead single from Q’s debut studio album Better Than Heaven (1986).

SIDE A:
Two Of Hearts (European Mix) 7:29

SIDE B:
Two Of Hearts (Dance Mix) 6:00
Two Of Hearts (Radio Edit) 3:45
Stacey’s Dream (A Capella) 2:35

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Two Of Hearts	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#3
1986	Two Of Hearts	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#4
1986	Two Of Hearts	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	#56

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: On The Spot ‎– NRS 116, NRS ‎– NRS 116
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG

CREDITS:
Music By – SSQ
Producer – Jeff C. Fishman, Jon St. James
Producer [Associate Producer] – William J. Walker
Written-By – John Mitchell, Sue Gatlin, Tim Greene

NOTES:
135 BPM

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (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

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

February 5, 2020

Boys Don’t Cry – Cities On Fire (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

NEW 2020 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!

Originally posted January 12, 2012

“Cities On Fire” was the second single and follow up to their smash hit “I Wanna Be A Cowboy” by British pop/rock band Boys Don’t Cry from their self-titled debut album. “Cities On Fire”, an energetic rush of synth-rock which was released in 7″ and 12″ remix form, received early attention from MTV but failed to connect with fans of the novelty hit “I Wanna Be A Cowboy” and didn’t receive enough airplay to create a new fanbase. The single failed to chart sealing the band’s fate and turning them into a one-hit wonder.

SIDE A:
Cities On Fire (U.S. Mix) 6:02

SIDE B:
Cities On Fire (Instrumental) 5:29

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Profile Records ‎– PRO-7114
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Brian Chatton, Nick Richards
Remix – Shep Pettibone
Written-By – Chatton*, Richards*

NOTES:
Original version appears on the LP “BOYS DON’T CRY”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

February 4, 2020

Hilary – Kinetic (US 12″ Mini LP)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Kinetic” is the debut and only release by Hilary Blake, known professionally as Hilary, a singer-songwriter/performer from Los Angeles. She was born in 1950 and died in July 2007.

Blake sang with madrigal groups at Shakespeare festivals in England and studied acting with Agnes Moorehead at age 11.

In 1978 she matched free verse poetry with synthesizers and drum machines to produce her signature sound.

In 1982 she met up with producer Steve Hague and pressed 1000 copies of 12″ vinyl “Kinetic b/w “I Live” for Sirus Records. Kinetic was voted “Screamer of Week” by listeners of Long Island radio station WLIR on January 2, 1983. and received modest airplay on her hometown station KROQ-FM. Kinectic was also played in New York dance clubs. I Live was played on college radio stations.

Later in the year, Blake released a 4-song EP entitled Kinetic for Backstreet Records which was also produced by Hague. The song Kinetic was about her hopes that awareness of changing cellular structure would help the human species to survive. Drop Your Pants was Blake’s attempt to show how “ridiculous” the fear of sex in the United States was. On August 4 it became her second song to be named “Screamer of the Week” by WLIR listeners. This song was also mentioned in an edition of The Guide to Getting it On by Paul Joannides.

I Live was a song about “the ordinary – living in the house of your own making” which Blake found to be profound. Goose Step reflected Blake’s fear that the Nazi Party would reemerge. She was buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

SIDE A:
Kinetic (Extended Remix Version) 5:14
Drop Your Pants 3:31

SIDE B:
I Live 4:27
Goose Step Two Step 3:41

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Backstreet Records ‎– BSR-36004
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Mini-Album, Pinckneyville Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Cover [Detail From “Woodpecker Blues” By] – Michael McCall (2)
Design – Tommy Steele (2)
Engineer – Stephen Hague
Lyrics By – Hilary (3), Stephen Hague (tracks: A1)
Photography By [Photo] – Eugene Pinkowski
Producer – Hilary (3), Stephen Hague
Written-By – Hilary (3), Stephen Hague (tracks: A1 to B1)

NOTES:
Mini LP 4 Songs Special price

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

January 30, 2020

Kylie Minogue – It’s No Secret (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

“It’s No Secret” is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue taken from her debut studio album Kylie (1988). The song was written and produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, who were also the producers of Minogue’s first four studio albums. The song was intended to be released as the fifth single from Kylie, but due to the success and longevity of Kylie’s massive selling duet with Jason Donovan, “Especially for You”, over Christmas 1988 and the following new year, it was only released in a handful of countries. In the United States, “It’s No Secret” was released as Kylie’s third single where it reached the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Originally scheduled to be released worldwide, “It’s No Secret” was canceled in most territories in favor of “Hand on Your Heart”, a brand new track, which was released in April 1989 and was the first to be released from her second album Enjoy Yourself. Eventually, the song was only released in the USA, New Zealand, Canada, and Japan.

Due to its limited release and therefore, no promotion, the song was not a huge commercial success, but it did well enough to promote its parent album Kylie from which it was released. “It’s No Secret” debuted at number 47 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, where it only peaked for a sole week. In February 1989, the song climbed to number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100, managing to peak inside the Top 40. In total, the song spent a total of thirteen weeks in the Hot 100, making the song one of Kylie’s longest-running singles on the chart itself.

SIDE A:
It’s No Secret (12″ Version) 5:41
Mixed By – Dave Ford

SIDE B:
Made In Heaven (Maid In England Mix) 6:18
Mixed By – Mixmaster Pete Hammond*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1988	It’s No Secret	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#37

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: PWL Records ‎– 0-21126, Geffen Records ‎– 0-21126
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single, Specialty Press
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Backing Vocals – Dee Lewis, Mae McKenna, Mike Stock, Suzanne Rhatigan
Drums – A Linn*
Engineer – Karen Hewitt, Mark McGuire, Yoyo
Guitar – Matt Aitken
Keyboards – Matt Aitken, Mike Stock
Keyboards [Additional] – George De Angelis, Neil Palmer
Management – Terry Blamey
Photography By [Back Photo] – Lawrence Lawry
Photography By [Front Photo] – Grant Matthews (2)
Written-By, Producer, Arranged By – Stock Aitken Waterman*

NOTES:
A Stock Aitken Waterman Production
Recorded at PWL Studios, London

Track A original version available on the Geffen album “KYLIE”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.