Category: Vinyl / Tunes Blog

PINK MOON REISSUE BOX SET

Here’s my vote for 2012’s top reissued piece of vinyl.

The newly released box set LP of Nick Drake’s phenomenal 1972 album, Pink Moon, was done right. Mastered with care from the original master tapes, EQd all analog, 180g record pressed at the highly regarded German Optimal plant with excellent quality control (my copy is flat and quiet), and presented in custom packaging that only adds to the experience. Continue reading “”

PLEASE PLEASE ME

Fifty years ago the single “Please Please Me” was released in the U.K. The Beatles B-side was originally “Ask Me Why” but later switched to “From Me To You” on the U.S. release. Composed by John Lennon, with help from producer George Martin, PPM went on to become the group’s first #1 hit. Their first 7″ record, “Love Me Do / P.S. I Love You” (with Andy White on drums), failed to top the charts due to lack of promotion as The Beatles were still playing in Hamburg, Germany. Continue reading “”

NEIL YOUNG – PSYCHEDELIC PILL

The recently released album Psychedelic Pill by Neil Young is now available on vinyl. This 3-LP package is sumptuously packaged and all analogue.

The result is one the best sounding Neil Young records ever. When the songs are this good, and LPs are done this right, it’s cause for celebration… even with this pricey edition. Continue reading “”

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 “”