Category: Vinyl / Tunes Blog

DR. NO TURNS 50

Released in the Fall of 1962, an action thriller called Dr. No was unleashed on an unsuspecting public. The film starred a suave British secret agent with codename 007 and a license to kill: “Bond, James Bond.” Moviegoers were also introduced to the Ian Fleming book characters “M”, “Q” and “Miss Moneypenny”.

The debut Bond movie featured the iconic Sean Connery, as well as one of the agent’s top villains, the overachieving “Dr. No”, a brilliant power hungry madman. Of course, both were upstaged by bikini clad Ursula Andress as “Honey Ryder”. Continue reading “”

NEW BEATLES VINYL FROM EMI

I came across a copy of this LP just released today at my local record store: The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – in stereo.

I know what you’re thinking… “Wasn’t this famous record with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr at the top released in 1967? And, Randy, don’t you have the original UK, US, German, and Japanese pressings from that year, plus a bunch more?” Well, yes actually it was, and yes actually I do. Continue reading “”

I’M NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE

Just back from Salina, Kansas where I photographed Blue Heaven Studios’ 15th Annual Blues Masters at the Crossroads concerts. The live music was inspirational and aided by the superb acoustics in the converted church studio. It was a fun-filled weekend hanging out with Michael Fremer, Chad Kassem, Kevin Gray and many others. Continue reading “”

THE CARS – LET’S GO!

It was the summer of 1978. The Cars were moving in stereo. They let the good times roll and were just what I needed.

As it turns out, The Cars were just what another million music fans needed too. Recorded at London’s AIR studios, their debut record was so fresh and appealing that it instantly became an AM radio favorite and went Platinum in six months. Continue reading “”

SADE’S AURAL APHRODISIAC

When Diamond Life burst onto the scene in 1984/1985 it provided a calm oasis. This was not post-punk or techno-pop. This was an album of lush and lovely music with smooth jazz moods and world beat underpinnings. Superficially cool, the Latin tempos trapped in the grooves simmered with a passion just waiting to explode. Continue reading “”

ONE DAY AMONG MANY

We are now ten years beyond the unthinkable, the World Trade Center attack, thirty years past another example of a world gone wrong – the murder of John Lennon, nearly fifty years on from the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and seventy years after the one that first jolted the U.S. out of its reality, the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The world is certainly a different place today because of those events. Hopefully it will be much, much longer before we encounter another act of senseless violence.

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HERB ALPERT’S COVER GIRL

Forty-seven years ago Herb Alpert released a record on his A&M label that went on to sell over six million copies. The playfully erotic LP cover, which was risqué at the time, featured a whipped cream-covered fashion model named Dolores Erickson. The image, now a pop culture icon, certainly didn’t hurt sales. Continue reading “”

VACATION

Vacation. From the Latin word vacatio, meaning freedom or exemption. A restful respite. A period of exemption from the world. A soulfully fulfilling experience of freedom.

An island in Washington state’s South Puget Sound holds a recluse that my wife and I can escape to for a couple of days every month. Once or twice a year we spend two or more weeks at a time there. Continue reading “”

THE DOORS ON 45 RPM VINYL

Check out the link below for a review by Michael Fremer on the new Analogue Productions release of the seminal The Doors first album.

Mastered by Doug Sax on 45 RPM 12″ LP and SACD from analog tape, and overseen by original recording engineer Bruce Botnik, this reissue is a killer diller. The only thing that might be better would be Sax cutting it from the master tape, but that’s apparently unusable. Yes, the original Elektra gold label LP with no RE in the dead wax pressed at Monarch is a little more “alive” since it was cut from the original master, but this one will still light your fire. Continue reading “”

WHEN LENNON MET MCCARTNEY

55 years ago, on the afternoon of July 6th 1957, a skiffle group called The Quarrymen played in the garden of St Peter’s Church in Liverpool. While setting up their equipment to play, the bass player, Ivan Vaughan, introduced the band to one of his classmates from Liverpool Institute, the 15-year-old Paul McCartney. John Lennon, lead singer and guitarist for the group, was one year older than McCartney. The pair chatted for a few minutes, and McCartney even showed Lennon how to tune a guitar. Continue reading “”

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Congratulations to Bob Tilton on the 2nd anniversary of his WerkCrew blog site. It’s been a pleasure to be involved in his projects and to watch him grow as a photographer. The guy’s got a seriously good eye.

Werk Crew

Also, be sure and check out the “VPI Traveler Turntable and Dynavector Cartridge Giveaway” from Music Direct on Michael Fremer’s Analog Planet site. You could win a brand-new record spinner!

Analog Planet

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1960’S LAUREL CANYON, LOS ANGELES REVISITED

In 1969, the Aquarian themes of Woodstock (peace, love and music) were being played out on a smaller scale in the secluded Los Angeles neighborhood of Laurel Canyon, which is defined by a road that links Hollywood Blvd. to Mulholland Drive. Two years earlier Joni Mitchell had purchased a wooden cottage that had been built by a jazz musician into the side of a hill on Lookout Mountain Avenue. Several of the songs Mitchell wrote at the time, including the title track of her third album, were a direct result of her embracing that slice of bohemian counter-culture. Continue reading “”