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 there were many songs that I simply do not remember. Blue Mink? New York City? Gunhill Road? Whatever happened to these bands?
But that's okay. They still manage to give us almost 45 minutes of music on a single album. And the thing that Fantastic demonstrates about K-Tel is the eclectic variety that often appeared among the tracks. Nothing like going from Maureen McGovern with "The Morning After" to Rod Stewart's "Twisting the Night Away." K-Tel was the early version of the iPod "shuffle."
Join us in the month of June for a nostalgic trip to 1973, complete with music and movie trivia and much more. Fantastic will be featured on Adventures in Vinyl: the only show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel record compilation. We'll play the entire album---and we'll even flip it over for you.
Adventures in Vinyl can be heard Saturday mornings at 11 am (central) and on Sunday afternoons at 4:00 pm (central). And, as always, this program is completely commercial free.
Thank you for bringing back some fond memories of this record from when I was 8 years old. I have 2 vinyl copies of Fantastic-sentimentally, it is the most important record I have.
ReplyDeleteSeeing this long after you wrote it but had to reply. I was also 8 years old when I bought it - my very first album and forever a treasure to me.
DeleteIt was my very first piece of music media (8 track tape). Since, I've bought it in both vinyl and CD. I LOVE THIS ALBUM!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how well this album has held up over the years. I had it on eight-track tape as a kid, and had to reconstruct it (with full song versions) on my iPad. Listening to it just takes you right back to 1973.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how well this album has held up over the years. I had it on eight-track tape as a kid, and had to reconstruct it (with full song versions) on my iPad. Listening to it just takes you right back to 1973.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how well this album has held up over the years. I had it on eight-track tape as a kid, and had to reconstruct it (with full song versions) on my iPad. Listening to it just takes you right back to 1973.
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing on my iTunes - re-created this and about 60 other K-tel albums with the full-length hits, using the original album artwork. I listen to them quite often, they are the best blasts from the past.
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