New Year's Day K-Tel Marathon

What better way to celebrate the beginning of a New Year than to take a trip to years past with the magic of K-Tel.

We kick off a marathon of K-Tel starting with the 2013 premiere of Dynamic Sound at 11 am (central).

Then, back to back episodes of Adventures in Vinyl follows:

Right On, 1976
Rock 80, 1980
Fantastic, 1973
Music Machine, 1977
Pure Rock, 1981

Adventures in Vinyl---the only radio show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel record compilation.

Ring in the New Year with K-Tel's "Dynamic Sound"

It wasn't a heavily promoted record compilation.  After all, K-Tel did not advertise the album on TV like other albums that they released in 1974.  However, Dynamic Sound is a solid album and one of the better preserved ones in my collection.

Like other K-Tel albums from the early 70s, Dynamic Sound boasts "22 Original Hits, Original Stars." The album clocks in at 57 minutes and, like all K-Tel albums of the day, is heavily edited.  Some of the songs are under the 2 minute mark; shorter than their radio edits.

But that's okay.  It's K-Tel after all.

This album features some of the biggest names of the time:  Bachman Turner Overdrive, Love Unlimited Orchestra, Helen Ready, Donny Osmond (and his sister, Marie) Tony Orlando and Dawn and many, many more.

The premiere of Dynamic Sound can be heard at the start of a New Year's Day marathon at 11 am (central) Tuesday, January 1, 2013.

Adventures in Vinyl, the only radio show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel record compilation, can be heard at the following times:

Saturday, 12 pm (Central)
Sunday, 4 pm (Central)
Tuesday, 1 pm (Central)
Wednesday, 2 am (Central)
Thursday, 10 am (Central)

It's like a time machine---a K-Tel Time Machine.

Merry Christmas, from Vinyl Voyage Radio

Some of the albums you will hear on the
Vinyl Voyage Christmas.

It's been hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year.  And with all of this talk about the so-called "war on Christmas"----I don't see it.  If there is a war, Christmas has won. Radio stations began playing Christmas music just after Halloween.  In fact, Christmas beat the shit out of Thanksgiving this year with stores opening on Thanksgiving so that people can start even earlier their Christmas shopping.

Perhaps Linus was right, Christmas is too commercial.

It's not like when we were children, is it?  Perhaps it is because we are not children anymore.  But we can relive some of that through the power of music.

One thing I have discovered since starting Vinyl Voyage Radio a couple of years ago:  music is a time machine.  Nothing like hearing a song from the past to bring back a flood of feelings from a time long gone.

This year on Vinyl Voyage Radio, we are going to reignite the Christmas past.  Remember all of those holiday songs you grew up on?  Bing Crosby.  Elvis.  Julie Andrews.  Burl Ives.  We've got them all.

For the last few weeks, I have been recording all of my Christmas vinyl into the radio station's computer.  We have dozens of albums with all of the classic songs from your youth.

No, you won't hear Miriah Carey here.  Nor Wham either.  If there is one song I have grown to loathe is Wham's "Last Christmas."  They play it on the local 24/7 Christmas Lite at least once an hour.

But you will hear the Boston Pops led by Arthur Fiedler.  And the Harry Simeone Choir.  Tony Bennett.  Sinatra.  Percy Faith. And Ferrante and Teicher.

All played from glorious vinyl.

Christmas music will play continuously on Vinyl Voyage now through December 26.  So take a listen. Maybe you will hear something that will bring you back to a simpler time in your past.

Merry Christmas.