Vinyl Voyage Radio

What better way to celebrate the beginning of a New Year than to take a trip to years past with the magic of K-Tel. We kick off a marathon of K-Tel starting with the 2013 premiere of Dynamic Sound at 11 am (central). Then, back to back episodes of Adventures in Vinyl follows: Right On , 1976 Rock 80 , 1980 Fantastic , 1973 Music Machine , 1977 Pure Rock , 1981 Adventures in Vinyl---the only radio show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel record compilation.

It wasn't a heavily promoted record compilation.  After all, K-Tel did not advertise the album on TV like other albums that they released in 1974.  However, Dynamic Sound is a solid album and one of the better preserved ones in my collection. Like other K-Tel albums from the early 70s, Dynamic Sound boasts "22 Original Hits, Original Stars." The album clocks in at 57 minutes and, like all K-Tel albums of the day, is heavily edited.  Some of the songs are under the 2 minute mark; shorter than their radio edits. But that's okay.  It's K-Tel after all. This album features some of the biggest names of the time:  Bachman Turner Overdrive, Love Unlimited Orchestra, Helen Ready, Donny Osmond (and his sister, Marie) Tony Orlando and Dawn and many, many more. The premiere of Dynamic Sound can be heard at the start of a New Year's Day marathon at 11 am (central) Tuesday, January 1, 2013. Adventures in Vinyl, the only radio show dedicated to the lost art of...

Some of the albums you will hear on the Vinyl Voyage Christmas. It's been hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year.  And with all of this talk about the so-called "war on Christmas"----I don't see it.  If there is a war, Christmas has won. Radio stations began playing Christmas music just after Halloween.  In fact, Christmas beat the shit out of Thanksgiving this year with stores opening on Thanksgiving so that people can start even earlier their Christmas shopping. Perhaps Linus was right, Christmas is too commercial. It's not like when we were children, is it?  Perhaps it is because we are not children anymore.  But we can relive some of that through the power of music. One thing I have discovered since starting Vinyl Voyage Radio a couple of years ago:  music is a time machine.  Nothing like hearing a song from the past to bring back a flood of feelings from a time long gone. This year on Vinyl Voyage Radio, we are going to...

The winner of the other important election of November is the 1979 K-Tel classic, Starflight . This will be the featured album on Adventures in Vinyl in December. So take a trip back to the last year of the 1970s---a time when Blondie was tearing up the airwaves with "Heart of Glass," Sigourney Weaver was battling a creature in space and a Chicago DJ was blowing up disco records in a ballpark.  Yep.  The 70s were just about over. Even K-Tel noticed that things were changing. Before 1979, the label they slapped on their discs looked like this: In 1979, it changed to this: I am not sure where I got Starflight . I think I may have picked it up in a Goodwill store. It's not in great shape.  I spent a lot of time cleaning it and it sounds pretty good.  A couple of scratches, though. That's okay---it makes it more authentic.  The album is over 30 years old, after all. Eclectic to it's core, Starflight offers up a variety of 70s hits.  It feat...

As we glide into the last week of November, we will be taking a trip back to 1976 with K-Tel's Power House  on Adventures in Vinyl.  Silver Convention and Styx.  Hall and Oates and Seals and Crofts.  Roxy Music and Heart.  This is pure K-Tel eclecticism. Adventures in Vinyl can be heard: Saturday, 12 pm (central) Sunday, 4 pm Tuesday, 1 pm Wednesday 2 am Thursday, 10 am     Don't forget: Next month's K-Tel album will be determined by you.  Make sure you vote.  Voting closes on November 25.  Vote NOW!

About two weeks ago, the local radio station here in Chicago flipped to all Christmas music all the time.  Now, for me, that is way too early. I don't necessarily like Christmas music before Thanksgiving.  I happen to really like Thanksgiving and don't like the fact that Christmas is overshadowing this equally important holiday.  Plus, my wife's birthday falls around this time, so the Christmas encroachment is pretty nefarious. I do like Christmas music, however.  But good Christmas music, not the kind played on the radio-station-that-shall-not-be named (For those of you who live in the Chicago area, you know what I am talking about.  This station literally sucks the life out of Christmas.)  How many times a day can a person hear Wham's " Last Christmas " before wanting to harm himself or others? Some of my best memories of Christmas as a kid involves music.  Good music. My parents had a rather large collection of Christmas albums.  They too...

I know:  we just finished up an election cycle and, if you're like me, very glad it is over.  No more awful commercials, robo-calls or arguments with friends and colleagues. However, we have one more important vote to make. December is coming quick and I am indecisive as ever.  Help me choose the next K-Tel album for Adventures in Vinyl.  The winning album will be featured on the show in December. Here are your choices: Super Bad is Back!  This album is from 1973 and features the Manhattans, Millie Jackson, Earth, Wind and Fire, James Brown and Curtis Mayfield. Out of Sight  This 1975 release features carl Douglas, Elton John, Stealers Wheel, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Kool & the Gang. Starflight  From 1979, this features a collection of disco and soft rock, including Robert John, Abba, David Naughton, Dr. Hook and Peter Frampton. High Voltage  This is from 1981 and features Gino Vannelli, Kool & the Gang,...

What better K-Tel album this Thanksgiving week than the 1974 K-Tel classic, Super-Bad ? We will stream Super Bad this week at the following times (all times CTS): Saturday, November 17 12 pm Sunday, November 18 4 pm Tuesday, November 20 1 pm Wednesday, November 21 2 am Thursday, November 22 10 am Next weekend, we will pull from our vaults for another classic episode.  Stay tuned for information of the December choice--you will get to vote on the album!

We here at the Vinyl Voyage love music.  Even music that is not on vinyl (but should be).  I recently wrote a review for Tom Flannery 's new album, Love and Streets .  I've been a fan of Flannery's music for years.  And with each album he gets better. Here is the review I posted on Amazon .  The album is also available in iTunes and Google Play . -------------------------------- It’s always a good day when Tom Flannery releases a new album. Earlier in 2012, he rocked it out with Teen Angst and the Green Flannel , his first venture into old school rock and roll. Now he returns to his roots with Love and Streets , a solo acoustic mediation about love, streets and much more. Ultimately, Flannery is a storyteller—the best of story tellers---and Love and Streets skillfully weaves narratives and emotions, producing an album that feels more like a novel than a collection of songs. And that is what Flannery has always done extremely well: by the time the fi...

Thanks for your patience.  The Vinyl Voyage is back, streaming live from my basement studio. Why did we take a little hiatus?  Well, the station runs from a computer that also serves as my video editing station.  I recently was working on a music video for the Civil Wars and needed the complete RAM arsenal of the computer to render this high definition video. The video was created for a competition sponsored by genero.tv .  The winning video becomes the official video for the band.  The song is "20 Years," which is off Barton Hallow , the debut album from the Civil Wars.  I wanted to do something different, so I created a video that is part music video and part documentary.  The real star of the video is Jayne Bartlett Kerr, a woman who was born in the 19th century, but lives on through the faded images of a photo album she put together at the turn of the century. Check out the video below:

Good morning, Vinyl Voyagers! Currently, we are running the station in "Basic" mode.  That means that the playlist is playing from the Live365 servers and not from the Vinyl Voyage studio (which is really a computer in my basement).  That means that you will hear commercials and less variety. Don't worry, this is only temporary. The station computer is being used for some heavy-duty video editing at the moment and can't also stream vinyl-ripped mp3s.  The station will come back in full-force in two weeks when the project that I am working on is done.   At that time, the station will go into full "Live" mode once again and with some new programming in store.  Be on the lookout for the return of the "Vinyl Brunch" and a new program entitled, "Soundtrack Spin." We'll be adjusting our playlist on Live365 as well to provide more vinyl variety. Thanks for your patience.

Just realized that the radio station is no longer broadcasting in "Live" * mode.  Therefore, you will not be hearing "Funky Feel Good Fridays" today until the issue gets resolved---most likely later in the afternoon. Sorry for the inconvenience. * Live mode is when the station is playing off my computer in the studio (read: my basement).  The computer has stored about 1000 songs or so, all recorded from vinyl.  As a backup, Live365 has a shortened playlist and when the studio computer goes down, the Live365 playlist goes into effect.  That is what is playing now.  Why this happened, I am not sure.  I just discovered the problem at lunch.  So, when I get home, it will be fixed.  Hopefully.

In 1982, K-Tel did it again with Radio Active .  This album demonstrates one of the more endearing things about K-Tel albums:  variety.  On this album we have powerhouses like the Who and the Police with the Commodores and Rick James.  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  the whole concept of "shuffle" advocated by Apple with the introduction of the iPod in 2001was a concept pioneered by K-Tel decades earlier. When Apple announced the iPod, one of the selling points was to have access to a variety of different music at your fingertips.  On October 23, 2001, Steve Jobs demonstrated the new iPod, featuring his own playlist and his ability to move between very different types of music.  The songs on Steve Jobs' playlist?  "Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan, "Porcelain" by Moby,  "Sweet Sixteen" by Chuck Berry, "One Week" by Bare Naked Ladies and "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan. Although you can...

This month on Adventures in Vinyl we are taking a trip back to 1976 for K-Tel's Right On , a great compilation that features a very 70s blonde, decked out in denim, giving the "thumbs up" on the cover.  That's always one of the great things about K-tel:  unadulterated 70s kitsch.  This album was advertised on TV and the woman on the album cover also appears in the commercial, uncomfortably dancing under an array of disco lights.  This could be the best K-Tel commercial ever: This album features another eclectic collection of hits (and misses).  From Thin Lizzy to the Bay City Rollers, from Paul Anka to Heart, this album is a nice snapshot of popular music in the mid-1970s.   So, take a nostalgic trip back to 1976 on Adventures in Vinyl.  The show can be heard at the following times (all times Central): Sunday 4 pm Tuesday 1 pm  Wednesday 2 am Thursday 10 am Saturday 12 pm (note that this is a change in time.)

K-Tel was famous in the 70s and 80s for producing compilation albums with such memorable titles as Super Bad ,  Right On and Music Machine .  However, K-Tel was not the first to do this.  Before K-Tel, there was Master Seal. Master Seal was one of several companies in the 1950s to produce budget compilation albums, sold mostly through dime stores, such as Woolworths.  8 Top Hits was the title often sold by Master Seal and often featured young people either dancing or singing on the album cover.  Unlike K-Tel, however, Master Seal did not sell compilation albums with original artists.  They re-recorded the music with a sound-alike band.  Although there was an effort to make the tracks sound like the originals, often the results were laughable. I have an 8 Top Hits from 1957.  Where I got it, I am not sure.  It features several popular songs from the time, including the hit "Little Darlin'."   You know "Little Darlin'."  I...

The album cover has a gritty, urban look.  It resembles a graffitied wall with "Super Bad" apparently spray-painted across the cover. Yes, this is K-Tel's foray into the realm of blaxploitation. The songs are soul and funk classics---mainstream music, really.  Nothing unusual there.  However, the album is not necessarily only about the music....it is about an image.  Released in 1973 at the hight of the popularity of blaxploitation cinema, K-Tel is clearly trying to capture a certain "image" about the music.  Gone is the shouting white announcer in the commercial and in his place is a deep-voiced African-American DJ who extolls the songs as "soul-sational." This is a surprisingly good album.  And, unlike many K-Tel compilations that tend to focus more on the current hits of the day, this album has songs that span four years.  So what you have is a great sampling of music from the soul and funk genre of the early 70s.  There'...

Tom Flannery and the Shillelagh's debut album, Teen Angst and the Green Flannel is not available on vinyl. But it should be. It has a pure rock and roll sound that is a throwback to another era; something you rarely hear on the radio today.  And it is a refreshing accompaniment to a hot summer. I've known Tom now for a few years.  He was one of the composers for my two films, Facing Sudan and Crayons and Paper .  In fact, he provided the very moving song " Crayons and Paper " that accompanied images of war and death drawn by children in Sudan and Sri Lanka and is the centerpiece of both films.  Tom has always been the acoustic guy with a guitar. Not any more.  Wanting to deliver a hard rocking sound now for years, Tom assembled a band and put together a stellar album of pure rock, full of angst, pain, and love (or something like it).  It is a guitar driven reflection on life from the point of view of what has always driven rock and roll:  ...

1984 was the year I got my driver's license.  It was also the year of the Macintosh computer. Night Court premiered on NBC and a gallon of gas cost $1.10. Michael Jackson was severely burned while filming a Pepsi commercial and his album  Thriller was the best selling album for the second year in a row. It was a stellar year for movies as well:  Ghostbusters, Amadeus, Gremlins, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ---just to name a few.  Entertainment Weekly recently argued that 1984 was the greatest year for films ever, even better than 1939. It was also the year K-Tel released Sound System , which features songs from Huey Lewis and the News, Pat Benatar, the Police, the Kinks and Styx. Take a trip with us to 1984 on Adventures in Vinyl.  Sound System is the featured album for July Plus, movie clips, trivia and music from 1984 as well.    Adventures in Vinyl is the only radio show dedicated to the magic of the K-Tel record comp...

When I was a kid, I had a 45 rpm record of the song "Cane and Able"  by some band named Meadow.  I knew nothing of the band or the song.  It was given to me by the lunchroom lady of my elementary school who also happened to hold a summer Bible camp in her garage every year.  I listened to the song several times and never forgot it. Not that the song was particularly good.  But it did have an interesting hook:  "Throw away your cane and you are able." Over the years I lost track of the record, but never forgot the song.  It stuck with me for almost forty years.  I could hum the song and sing much of the lyrics.  I went searching for it and found the full album on Ebay, of course.  So I bought it and became reintroduced to a band that was such a part of my childhood without me even realizing it at the time. The album is called The Friend Ship and its cover is adorned with four hippies, locked hand in hand, floating above the groun...

This month on Adventures in Vinyl we are taking a trip back to the year 1979 with the K-Tel compilation Spotlight . Actually, it is more accurate to say 1978, as all of the songs on this album were released in 1978 (except for the two that were released a year earlier).  This album is slightly different from other K-Tel albums released at the time and marks a change in the way K-Tel created their albums.  Of course, K-Tel is known for crunching as many songs as possible on an album---usually 20 songs per compilation ("20 Original Hits, Original Stars!").  This album has only 16, which means there is not as much crunching of music. In fact, in the 80s, K-Tel will release several more albums following this format. Spotlight is a solid album that, unlike other K-Tel albums released that year, was not advertised on TV. The album contains songs from Andy Gibb, Crystal Gayle, A Taste of Honey, the Commodores, Kenny Rogers....and many more! Join us on Adventures in Viny...

My favorite K-Tel album by far is Rock 80 . This is Retro Repeat month on Adventures in Vinyl and this week we will be rebroadcasting the Rock 80 episode. The episode airs Saturday, May 19 at 11 am (ct), Sunday May 20 at 4 pm (ct) and then at 1 pm May 22, 2 am May 23 and 10 am May 24. Here is the original post describing the album: Prior to 1980, my musical tastes generally sucked.  Oh, I listened to the standard hits on the radio, but had no coherent musical wants or likes---outside, that is, of what was always played in my house:  John Denver, Neil Diamond, Olivia Newton-John and Barry Manilow.  Yes, I admit it, I could sing along to several Manilow tunes.  Remember, I didn't have any older brothers or sisters to show me the way (Think: Almost Famous ). But then, in 1980, everything changed.  I discovered good music. And I can thank K-Tel for that. For Christmas in 1980, I received a cassette from my parents.  It was K-Tel's Rock 80 .  An...

Happy May.  It is Retro Repeat Month on Vinyl Voyage Radio.  Each week will feature a different K-Tel Album on Adventures in Vinyl . May   1 - May 10    Believe in Music , 1972 May 12 - May 17    Block Buster , 1976 May 19 - May 24    Rock 80 , 1980 May 26 - May 31    Music Machine , 1977 Adventures in Vinyl Can be heard on Vinyl Voyage Radio (all times Central): Saturday, 11 am Sunday, 4 pm Tuesday, 1 pm Wednesday, 2 am Thursday, 10 am  Join us on Memorial Day for the 2012 K-Tel Marathon.  We will feature every K-Tel album that has appeared on Adventures in Vinyl in chronological order starting at 6 am (Central).

Greg Kihn is following me on Twitter. Yes, that Greg Kihn.   And at this moment, certain melodies are crackling through your head.  Mine, too.  "Our love's in jeopardy.  Baby. "  And how about this one:   "They don't write 'em like that anymore ." It must be because I post a lot on Twitter about music.  And, of course, here on Vinyl Voyage we have a day dedicated to the 80s and the Greg Kihn Band appears several times.  But still, seeing that name there in the notification got me a little nostalgic.  Remember the "Jeopardy" video?  I distinctly remember seeing it for the first time.  I turned fifteen in 1983 and it freaked me out a little.  The wedding.  The bride turns into a skeleton.  The guests turn into zombies.  And then a creature from hell breaks through the floor and Greg Kihn kills it with some guitar-shaped piece of wood. Now that's a video. I checked out a little about Greg Kihn....

A few weeks ago, my friend Tom Flannery posted an article about Peter Frampton on his blog .  He unabashedly proclaimed that "Frampton kicks ass" and that the "young punks can learn a thing or two from the bald guy." "I used to stand in front of my mirror," Tom writes, "tennis racket as a guitar, and sing along to 'Lines On My Face'. I was 17." That post got me a little nostalgic for Frampton. A few years ago, I checked out Frampton Comes Alive! from the library and burned it onto my computer.  I'm not even sure I listened to the album then; I just thought it was something I should have.  However, I now wanted to listen to Frampton as it was intended to be: on vinyl and loud.  So, I found a copy at a local record store.  I listened to the whole thing, something I don't think I have done for decades.  Yes, decades. And, I must say, listening to the album again as a 43 year old, I am impressed that Tom Flannery stood in fro...

This month's Adventures in Vinyl features K-Tel's classic 1972 compilation, Believe in Music .  This album has some iconic 70s tunes, including my favorite Cher song, "Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves."  That song was the first single from her 1971 album, originally entitled Cher .  However, the song was so popular, the album was renamed and re-released as Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves .  I remember this vividly.  My parents had a reel-to-reel player and recorded their albums to tape.  Music was always playing in our house.  And Cher (along with Sonny, too) was in constant rotation. This song was written by Bob Stone and was originally titled, "Gypsys, Tramps and White Trash."  Someone with a better ear for music suggested he change the title.  And he did.  In 1971, Cher performed the song on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour .  You can hear this song and many others this month on Adventures in Vinyl .  The episode can be heard a...

On this month's Adventure's in Vinyl , we are going to the early years of K-Tel.  In fact, this is the oldest K-tel album I have.  It is Believe in Music and it came out 40 years ago, which is obvious from the garish cover void of any sense of the songs contained on the vinyl.  But that's okay, in 1972 K-Tel was still developing it's iconic look. This album has my favorite Cher song:  "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves." It also has the 70s favorite, "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)."  This, of course, is one of the greatest one-hit wonders of all time.  Although Looking Glass released two albums, nothing would not come close to the success of that song.  I recently came across a picture of the band.  Not what I expected:   The album also has a song by Rick Springfield.  Yes, that Rick Springfield.  The one who sang about "Jessie's Girl" in the 80s.  The song on this album is "Speak to the Sky," off of his debut album, B...

In this video podcast, I discuss my recent record purchases, which includes Minnie Riperton's 1974 classic album, Perfect Angel .  I tried uploading this to Youtube, but the Warner Music Group content police tagged it as a copyright violation and made it unavailable for viewing in the United States.  Ooops. Facebook isn't so particular, apparently.

This month on Adventures in Vinyl we are heading back to the 70s with a great compilation called Pure Power . This is K-Tel at its finest with a very eclectic mix of tunes.  Although it was released in 1977, most of the songs are from 1976, so I suspect it was released early in the year.   On this album you can find " Dream Weaver " and Diana Ross' "Theme from Mahogany ."   There's also ELO, The Doobie Brothers, Kiss and....Paul Anka... Alice Cooper and Hall & Oates, to name a few.  This is a great example of what I like most about K-Tel:  the hodge-podge of songs that are next to each other on a single compilation.  I have said it before and I will say it again:  K-Tel pioneered the concept of "shuffle" decades before the invention of the iPod. Here's the commercial that appeared on American tv in 1977 advertising Pure Power. <p><p>&am...

"What Do All the People Know" may be one of the best songs to come out of the early 80s synth-pop scene. Recorded by the Monroes on their self-titled debut in 1982, it seemed that the band was destined for greatness. Problems with the record label would change all of this and their one album remains their total discography. I recently purchased a copy of this album on Ebay. All songs are now loaded up and streaming on Vinyl Voyage Radio. Take a look (and listen) to the video below of "What Do All the People Know," played for you on glorious vinyl, just as music should be. Here is a video of The Monroes performing the song live on the Merv Griffin Show in 1982.

It's Manic Monday on the Vinyl Voyage again.  Nothing but 80s music all day long.  Plus, newsclips, movie trailers and tv promos from that decade.  Take a trip back in time on Vinyl Voyage radio.

  Start off the week with 80s music on "Manic Mondays."  End it now with 70s.  Starting tomorrow, every Friday will be devoted to the music of the 70s on a new feature:  "Funky, Feel Good Fridays."  The music will span the entire decade, plus take a trip back in time through news breaks, tv commercials and movie clips--all from the 1970s. Funky, Feel Good Fridays---every Friday---only on Vinyl Voyage Radio.  Where all music is played on glorious vinyl.  Just as it was. And just as it should be. Catch you on the flip side.

Adele was amazing at the Grammys the other night. What is so great about Adele is that beautiful, powerful voice.  Did you notice that she was really the only performer without a set?  The Foo Fighters had a garage.  Taylor Swift had a porch.  There was fire and trapeze antics with other performers.  But not Adele.  She didn't need any stage dressing. For modern music, the performance is sometimes more important than the substance.  Therefore, the modern airwaves are clogged with music that is performed by not so talented singers who cover up their flaws with Autotune, bizarre outfits and swarms of dancers and energetic choreography.  On stage, many hide behind lights, fire and scantily clad dancers.  Madonna had her cheerleaders, for example.  And what better way to hide a flaw than with a "wardrobe malfunction?" A few weeks ago, we lost a legend.  Etta James was one of the rare singers who really knew how to sing, how to carry...

We are ready.  The leg warmers are on.  The hair is big and we're ready for some great 80s music.  Not only we will feature 80s music from 6 am to 6 pm (ct), we will also have news breaks, tv promos, movie trailers and movie clips---all from the 80s.  So take a a nostalgic trip back to the 80s on Vinyl Voyage Radio--where all music is played on glorious vinyl, just as it was and just as it should be. Hopefully, we won't have any technical difficulties today (unlike last week)...so tune in.

Daily Listening Hours February, so far, has been a good month for Vinyl Voyage Radio.  And it's thanks to those of you who have tuned in.  Over the last 30 days, we have now clocked over 200 hours of listening time.  That's the first time we have gone to 200 hours in any given 30 day period over the last year.  And on February 8th, there was over 24 hours of listening clocked! And February is shaping up to be a good month.  The total listening hours for just February is over 112 hours.  In January, it was 162 hours, so we are set to go beyond that this month. Plus, only half of our listeners are coming from the United States.  We have many listeners in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Sweden as well. Thank you for listening. If you like Vinyl Voyage radio, please use the rating form our Live365 page .  Like us on Facebook as well. And...continue to live your life at 33 rpm. Don't forget..Manic Mondays tomorrow....