Vinyl Voyage Radio

Listen to all of the Songs of the Week (well, most of them anyway) and watch them being played on original vinyl. Every week, I record a video of the song being played on original vinyl, and capture the audio through some nice equipment so it sounds as it should. Here are the songs from May 2017 to May 2018.  Enjoy. Watch on YouTube .

This month on AiV, we are going back to 1976 for K-Tel's Disco Mania . As a kid, I loved this album.  And the main reason I loved this album were for two songs: "Rock and Roll All Nite" by Kiss and "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas There are some bonafide disco hits on this album.  But there are many other decidely non-disco songs, too.  Along with Kiss, Styx also appears on this album.  As does Bachman Turner Overdrive. Listen to this entire album on Adventures in Vinyl , the only radio show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel record compilation. Saturday, 12:30 pm Sunday, 4 pm Tuesday, 1 pm Wednesday, 2 am Thursday, 10 am

Happy 4th of July!  We are in the midst of another great Funky, Feel-Good Friday---all 70s music, all day long! For those of you who grew up in the 70s, relive you childhood today with music, news clips and commercials from the 70s.  We are even extending the day, continuing the music theme until 9pm Central. Get out your grill, your sparklers and tune in for some great 70s tunes from Barry Manilow to the Bee Gees, Gloria Gaynor to Shaun Cassidy, Fleetwood Mac to Paul Simon....we've got a great mix perfect for a 4th of July Celebration. Happy 4th of July!

When I was a kid, I used to check out record albums from the public library.  I was perusing the LP bins one day and came across  Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy .  At the time I was perhaps 10 years old and knew nothing about Elton John, other than the crazy outfits and sunglasses he wore.  I think my first introduction to Elton was via the sitcom,  One Day at a Time   (I had a slight crush on Valerie Bertinelli).    In one particular episode, the two Romano sisters, played by Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips, do a routine in a variety show dressed as Elton John and Kiki Dee singing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."  That song I knew, as it was played ad nauseum on the radio at the time. Anyway, I checked out  Captain Fantastic  not because it was Elton John, but because the cover was so awesome.   Although I hadn't yet been exposed to  Hieronymus Bosch , the cover must have been influenced by the paintings ...

"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.

You have voted and it's official:  K-Tel's Pure Rock is next on this month's Adventures in Vinyl . Pure Rock was released with little fanfare in 1981.  This is an interesting album and very different from K-Tel's earlier compilations.  Unlike other K-Tel albums, there are no tv or radio commercials associated with this record.  One of the hallmarks of K-Tel in the 70s was was their ubiquitous presence on tv.  In addition, the album is not overly edited.  There are only 14 songs on the album as opposed to the usual 20 or so on most K-Tel albums in the 1970s.  This was a change that K-Tel began implementing in the 1980s--less songs, but higher quality. And finally, this album has very little to do with 1981.  The more popular K-Tel albums capitalized on hit songs ("20 Original Hits! 20 Original songs!") and contained songs from the year in which the album was released.  On Pure Rock , only one song dates from 1981---Pat Benatar, "Hit Me W...

I was 8 years old when I got Block Buster .  It was 1976.  The year before Star Wars .  Yeah, that was a defining moment in my life.  Up until then, all I had was K-Tel albums like this.  And this is a good one:  Block Buster .  It must have been released early 1976 as most of the songs are from the previous year.  "Fly, Robin, Fly" by the Silver Convention.  "Sky High," by Jigsaw.  "Swearin' to God" by Frankie Valli.  "That's the Way (I Like It" by K.C. and the Sunshine Band. And my favorite in this collection:  "Why Can't We Be Friends?" by War. Block Buster is the featured K-Tel album on Adventures in Vinyl this month. You can hear the album in its entirety on Saturday mornings at 11 am (CT) and Sunday afternoons at 4 pm (CT). In addition, Adventures in Vinyl can be heard whenever you want.  That's right. If you want to hear Adventures in Vinyl on Wednesday at 1 pm, you can.  Just send us an email or...

It was the last day of school.  I was planning on heading down to the Chicago Blues Fest with some co-workers, but I had to clean my desk and haul some books down to the "rebind" room.  That took longer than I had anticipated.  Plus, the weather didn't look so great.  So, I decided to skip that trip and just head home. On the way, I stopped off at my local record store, Rainbow Records in Barrington, to treat myself to a little vinyl.  There are always albums that I want, but inevitably, when I get to the record store, I never seem to be able to remember any of them.  Been looking for some Cure, but vinyl Cure is a little difficult to find.  Saw Sting's debut album, but I have that on cd and decided against it Browsing through the Rs, I came across Tattoo You , the 1981 release from the Rolling Stones.  Back when the album was released, I checked it out at the library and made a copy on cassette.  That cassette has long since vanished....

I recently came across this site while exploring YouTube, avoiding the task of doing some actual work. On this site, a guy who calls himself "The Dude" shows his appreciation for vinyl by creating some pretty creative videos of vinyl being played in the most unlikely of places:  on a beach, in a field, cooking on a stove--just to name a few. Here's an example: How about this for Bowie's "Suffragette City?" Pink Floyd's "Us and Them:" There's more there as well--a nice mixture of the old and new:  Wilco, The Beatles, Kansas, The Rolling Stones, Phish...and many more. Check out the Daily Vinyl's YouTube page here . Also, check out the website .  Some cool stuff there as well.

Starting today, the Vinyl Voyage will be live and commercial free, streaming the best music on vinyl throughout the day.  Perfect for listening at work.  Growing up during the 70s and 80s, I have a large record collection, so most of the music will be from those eras---with a few new modern hits thrown in as well.  We offer an eclectic mix of the best tunes from the last several decades plus deep tracks, rarities and oldies as well.  And we are constantly adding to our collection.  You never know what might end up on the Vinyl Voyage turntable. Give us a listen. Let us know what you think.

I turned 8 years old in 1976. And that was the year I got K-Tel’s classic compilation, Disco Mania . I have fond memories of this album---not because I was a huge fan of disco.  Quite the opposite, actually.  This was the album that introduced me to Kiss. Yes, you read correctly. An album called Disco Mania introduced me to the make-up wearing, hard-rocking, blood-spitting band, Kiss. That is what makes this album pure K-Tel nuttiness. Sure, there are some early bona fide disco hits here: “The Hustle,” “Walkin’ in Rhythm,” “Never Can Say Goodbye” and “Disco Queen.” But then, there are some songs that are gloriously out of place: “Rock and Roll All Nite” by Kiss, “Lady” by Styx and “Hey You” by Bachman Turner Overdrive. There are 19 songs on this album and it begins with the classic disco song, “The Hustle.” This song was all over the place in 1976.  I remember dancing to it in my living room. Included are other Disco hits: “Kung Fu Fighting,” “Shame ...

If you grew up in the 80s, no doubt you took your vinyl collection and made mix tapes.  The Sony Walkman went on sale in the United States in 1980 and nearly everyone I knew eventually had one.  I brought it to school, listened to it on the bus---not too different from kids today with their iPods and mp3 players. The only difference is that more thought went into a mix tape--after all, you only had 60-90 minutes for all of the songs you wanted to include.  A mix tape was all about mood.  It was about current feelings.  It was about friends.  Mix tapes were more inter-relational.  We would make mix tapes for road trips into the city; mix tapes for special events.  We would give mix tapes as gifts.  iPods are about the individual; mix tapes were more about friends. Mix tapes were meant to be shared. I had a special mix tape entitled, "Depression Songs."  Too bad I no longer have that one.  It was a tape with songs that would ...

Today, the Vinyl Voyage went live for a period of time, playing tracks from 1979-1982.  Those were the years of junior high for me.  Probably the worst years of my life; who ever liked junior high, anyway?  Even so, this period of time provided the foundation to my musical tastes and as my allowance increased, so did my record-buying. For about an hour and a half today, I spun tracks from that period of time in my life.  Currently, many of these songs can now be heard on the Vinyl Voyage: Cars---Gary Numan Loverboy---Turn Me Loose Billy Squier---My Kinda Lover Stevie Nicks---Edge of Seventeen Rush---Limelight Journey---Escape Pat Benatar---Fire and Ice Quarterflash---Harden My Heart Shooting Star---Flesh and Blood Styx---Babe Pete Townshend---Let My Love Open the Door John Cougar---Ain't Even Done With the Night John Lennon---Watching the Wheels Pretenders---Brass in Pocket Sniff 'n' the Tears---Driver's Seat Journey---Still They Ride I had a lit...