Vinyl Voyage Radio

This month on Adventures in Vinyl we are going back to 1972 for the K-Tel classic, 22 Explosive Hits, Vol. 2 . Yes, this is "Volume 2"; volume one came out a year earlier. This album features Derek and the Dominoes, Sammy Davis, Jr., Lobo, the Chi-Lites, James Brown and Olivia Newton-John.  All "Original Hits" and "Original Stars."  The album runs a total of 57 minutes and is, like usual, heavily edited.  "Layla," for example, is a mere 2:33; the original runs 7:11. But that's the glory of K-Tel. This album also features The Fortunes, an English group known for their harmonies.  The song on this collection is "Rainy Day Feeling."  However, they were also the voice of Coca-Cola at the time, singing their commercials featuring the slogan "The Real Thing."  Here's the Fortunes again: Join us this month on Adventures in Vinyl for a musical time trip back to 1972.  We will play 22 Explosive Hits, Vol. 2 ...

The Breakfast Club was released on February 15, 1985 to mostly positive reviews.  This film quickly solidified director John Hughes as the voice of the 1980s teenager. And no song is probably more connected to a film than "Don't You (Forget About Me)." Written for the film, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" was finally recorded by Simple Minds, after The Fixx, Billy Idol and Bryan Ferry turned it down.  It quickly rose to the top of the charts and remains one of the iconic tracks from the 1980s. The trailer for the film doesn't do it justice and Universal didn't have a whole lot of confidence in the movie.  Regardless, the movie went on to gross over $45 million in 1985. This month on Cine/Spin , we are featuring the soundtrack to The Breakfast Club .  The tracks include: 1A "Don't You (Forget About Me)" – Simple Minds 2A "Waiting" – E.G. Daily 3A "Fire in the Twilight" – Wang Chung 4A "I'm t...

Today, as I was playing some songs on the radio, I came across the Little River Band's 1981 hit, " Night Owls ."  The video for this song was a common sight on late night video programs and in heavy rotation in the early days of MTV.  But I was reminded of something else: Nite-Owl on Channel 32 in Chicago. Does anyone else remember this?  Nite-Owl was a program that dominated the early hours on WFLD-TV in Chicago and consisted of news, weather and sports all provided by funky computerized block graphics played with a soft-rock soundtrack of popular hits and muzak from the time.  I was in junior high  and found myself staying up late, mesmerized by the high-tech (for the time) computer graphics.  One night in 1981, I was at my friend's house across the street and we turned on Nite-Owl after Saturday Night Live and fell asleep to the blue glow and soft music emanating from the tv. I distinctly remember hearing that Little...

This month we are celebrating the 20th episode of Adventures in Vinyl .  That's right, we have highlighted 20 K-Tel compilations over the last 2 years.  And we have many more to go.  After all, K-Tel produced over 160 compilation albums between 1971 and 1985. In the month of February, we are featuring a compilation from 1981:   Dimensions . This album features Juice Newton, Pat Benatar, Air Supply and one of my personal favorites from 1981:  Billy Squier. In 1981, I received Billy Squier's album Don't Say No for Christmas. "The Stroke" was all over the airwaves in 1981.  And I played that album until it was worn out.  Pat Benatar, too.  Big fan.   Air Supply, not so much. But then again, that is the magic of K-Tel.  Going over these old records I am still amazed at the eclectic nature of the song selections. And Dimensions is no different: Dimensions is the featured album this month on Adventures in Vinyl :  the ...

9 1/2 Weeks came out in 1986 to mixed reviews. Well, more negative than mixed.  In a preview of the film to a theater of 1000 people, most walked out before the movie even finished. Of the 40 that stayed, on a questionnaire, 36 of them said that they "hated it." Roger Ebert gave the film 3 1/2 stars, however, and claimed it to be the biggest erotic big-budget film since the Last Tango in Paris .  And those of you who have seen this film are right now thinking about food and ice and...hats. (Nudge, Nudge, wink, wink, say no more!) The film stars Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke, two strangers who meet in a super market and carry on a rather kinky relationship.  John, played by a handsome pre-plastic-surgery-disaster Rourke, becomes increasingly controlling of the relationship until Elizabeth, played by Basinger, has the guts to call it quits. The film was directed by Adrian Lyne, who helmed the mega-hit Flashdance three years earlier. Like his previous film, h...

Adventures in Vinyl is now available as a podcast. Over the last two years, I have gotten several requests in regard to making Adventures in Vinyl available in podcast form. It was always difficult, especially in regard to rights management and so forth. But all of that has been worked out and, starting this year, each episode of Adventures in Vinyl will be available for download in the month following its broadcast. So here it is, the first episode of Adventures in Vinyl of 2013 (which is actually episode 19) featuring Dynamic Sound . You can listen below, or download the entire episode. Enjoy. The official Adventures in Vinyl podcast page can be found here .  

Join us for the premiere episode of Cine/Spin right here on Vinyl Voyage Radio.  Every month, we will highlight a movie soundtrack album on vinyl.  The show will feature the album played in its entirety, plus information about the music and the movie. This month the featured album is the soundtrack for She's Having a Baby , a John Hughes romantic comedy from 1988. John Hughes almost single-highhandedly created the "various artists" soundtrack album in the early 80s, especially with his teen-oriented films such as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club .  In fact, Hughes founded a company, in conjunction with IRS records, called "Hughes Music" in order to distribute the soundtrack albums for his films. She's Having a Baby tells the story of Jake and Kristy Briggs, played by Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern. The film follows the couple from their wedding to the birth of their first child.  Narrated by Jake, the film focuses on the trials and tri...