Vinyl Voyage Radio

Adventures in Vinyl , the only show dedicated to the lost art of the K-tel record compilation, can be heard on the Vinyl Voyage Saturday mornings at 11 am (CT) and Sunday afternoons at 4 pm (CT).  However, for many people, those times just might not work out so well. So, if you would like to hear it at a different time, let us know.  Want to hear it at 1 pm Wednesday?  No problem.  3 am?  Again, no problem.  Today, we introduce the "Personal Playlist" here at the Vinyl Voyage.  Let us know when you would like to hear Adventures in Vinyl and we will play it at that time---just for you.  Want to hear an earlier episode?  Let us know.  That is the beauty of internet radio.  It can readily be personalized. Send us a message at vinylvoyage@bellbookcamera.com to request a personal time for Adventures in Vinyl.  We will email you back with a confirmation.  Or, simply use the "Shout Out" form at the bottom of our Live365....

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....

In 1973, Vicki Lawrence had a hit with "The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia." Of course, who knew that a decade later she would be starring in Mama's Family .  Most people know her from her stint on the Carol Burnett Show . It was also a big year for Elton John:  "Rocket Man" and "Crocodile Rock" were quite popular.  Gary Glitter had "Rock and Roll Part Two."  Tony Orlando was tying yellow ribbons on oak trees.  Donny Osmond was singing something about the "Twelfth of Never,"  whatever that means. K-Tel's 1973 compilation Fantastic had these hits and many more.  As the commercial states:  "22 Original Hits! 22 Original Stars!"   This is a very interesting album.  It has some great hits and many misses---typical K-Tel actually.  I was 5 years old when this album came out.  I remember listening to some of the songs--Elton John and Tony Orlando in particular.   As I listened to it again recently, I realized th...

Did you miss any episode of Adventures in Vinyl?  Here is your chance to catch up.  On Memorial Day, starting at 10 am CT, we will be broadcasting the last four episodes in a row---about 5 hours or so of nothing but pure K-Tel. Here are the albums: Music Power (1975) Music Express (1975) Disco Mania (1975) Dynamite (1974) Adventures in Vinyl is the only show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel record compilation.  Join us for a nostalgic trip to the past.

Well, we made it---much to the dismay of Harold Camping and his minions who believed the world was to end on May 21.  I actually somewhat feel sorry for them. Not that I wanted the world to end, but I can't imagine what it must be like---sitting and waiting for something that you are so sure is going to happen.  And watch it pass by.  I can honestly say, I do not know what that is like.  Is it like learning there is no Santa Claus?  I don't actually remember that moment---it probably wasn't a moment, but a gradual realization.  Not the same thing at all.  So, no.  I have never believed in something so heartedly that I was willing to quit my job and give up everything:  money, friends, all possessions---all for a belief that was not to happen.  Bummer. This whole thing reminded me of a song (of course, this is The Vinyl Voyage , after all).  The Eurogliders released "Heaven (It Must Be There)" in 1984.  Formed in Australia in ...

Dynamite is one of the better K-Tel record compilations.  It was the album that introduced me to Eric Clapton, Elton John and Al Capone. When a man named Al Capone Tried to make that town his own He called his gang to war With the forces of the law . You remember that song:  "The Night Chicago Died," a one-hit wonder by British band, Paper Lace.  I loved that song.  It was the song that I played most from Dynamite and it opens side one of this 20-track album.  Much of the song is historically inaccurate ("East Side of Chicago?").  I can say that with confidence because my real job is that of a history teacher.   In fact, when I discuss prohibition and the 1920s, I always play it for my students. And I may sing a little as well. And perhaps dance a bit. They look at me usually with horrified expressions. But at least it exposes them to Paper Lace.  What's more important than that?    I just hope that somewhere down the ...

Okay, this isn't quite the Sesame Street set.  But it's close.  At any moment you expect Elmo to come walking by or Oscar the Grouch to jump out of a garbage can.  Plus, Mick Jagger does resemble a muppet, doesn't he?  "Waiting on a Friend" is the final track on The Rolling Stones' 1981 album, Tattoo You .  Truth be told, it's my favorite song on the album.   It's got a cool rhythm; a groove that gets me moving a bit.  It also has an uncharacteristic sax solo.  The song was actually written some 10 years earlier but lacked lyrics.  And when those lyrics were finally written by Jagger, they represent a softer side of rock and roll's principle "bad boys."  The song is about settling down; about friendships. This is the first video the Stones made and was played constantly on MTV.  You may recognize the building:  it is the building featured on the cover of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti album from 1975.  That's reggae...