|
The Vinyl Project - Moving into 2007 At one point, there were more than 1250 vinyl records in the collection, dating back to the fifties. I got tired of carting some of them around, and have dumped many over the years. Most were from radio stations that made the transition from Middle of the Road (MOR) to "Top 40" in the 1960s and 1970s; most were in poor shape. If "cue burn" means something to you, you're an old radio person. Those that did make the last trip - were mostly in pristine condition. This page will chronicle the great "Vinyl to Digital" migration project. Some will make it to a CD, and to the iPod - digitally enhanced, scrubbed clean of pops, clicks and as many imperfections as possible through the magic of Adobe Audition (highly recommended). Some will simply be archived, and put into one of those plastic cases blank CDs purchased in bulk come in. This is the story of these discs. No multiple microphones, no stars. Simple pass-fail is the grading system here.
Barbara Eden - Miss Barbara Eden (Dot-DLP 25795) 05/19/07
Julie Budd - Julie Budd (RCA
LSP-4622) This disc caused me to file my first correction with All Music Guide - they've got it mixed up with a more recent CD from Ms. Budd that carries the same self-titled name. This was the 1971 release - Ms. Budd was coming off of her child-prodigy sixties work, and trying to transition to something else. I remember one of the DJs at the station where I worked at the time saying, "That's Barbra Streisand's little sister." Um...no. This is filled with Trent-Hatch written tunes, perhaps the ones that Petula Clark and her people rejected. Mostly, they should have stayed there. I drag the whole thing out every now and then - "Don't Take Your Love Away" was the first tune I played as a DJ at WAAM in Ann Arbor. This disc actually came from the dumpster, after the station changed format. But there were some tunes worth salvaging - Ms. Budd's version of "I Don't Know How To Love Him" is nicely done, as is her rendition of "Call Me." Worthy for me - if only for the nostalgia reasons. As for anyone else...well, Ms. Budd's more recent work is much better. 01/07/07
Lani Hall - Sun Down Lady
(A&M 4359) You've been listening to Lani Hall for years - decades, as a matter of fact. Unless you know she was the lead singer of the best-known incarnation of Sergio Mendes' various "Brazil 'XX" groups, you probably didn't know you were listening to her. The short story is that she left the group in 1974 or so. "Brazil '74" was the result for Mr. Mendes. A marriage to Herb Alpert (the "A" in A&M) and a series of solo efforts resulted for Ms. Hall. This was the first of those efforts. Not quite as lush as the Mendes discs, Ms. Hall is clearly front and center on this one. A couple of the tracks are a little dated, with the originals they cover having been terribly overplayed. "Tiny Dancer" is one of these. Yet this version of "Love Song" is delicate and haunting. This makes the grade. Selected cuts are now in heavy iPod rotation. Welcome back to my musical life, Ms. Hall. Go find this one on eBay. "We Could Be Flying" alone is worth a couple of bucks. Pass. 04/23/06
King Cousins - Introducing
The Four King Cousins (Capitol)
There's apparently some
considerable traffic on either the used or bootleg market on this one in
Japan, where they don't get enough of sweet, bouncy pop. 04/08/06
04/08/06
Keep an ear out for Randy Marr - the guitar guy, who does a nice turn on "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" while Ms. Carr apparently makes a costume change. I'd be interested in finding out more about Mr. Marr...Googling him doesn't turn up much. He's very good Can you help?
Very highly recommended. Do you have favorites? Enquiring minds want to know! |
