Gene Pitney – 20 Greatest Hits
Back in the days when I was working in a printing plant, one of the worst things about the job was the radio. In a job that was mostly manual work, there was always...
Vinyl Distractions
Michelle Phillips – Victim of Romance
Okay, yes, Michelle Phillips is a very famous, very talented singer in one of the most iconic groups of the ’60s, The Mamas and The Papas. She was also, for more than a few...
Various Artists – The Best of Philadelphia International Records
When i was a teen in the ’70s, there was no label sound more recognizable, more successful, than Philadelphia International, “The Sound of Philadelphia.” Where Motown had been probably the premiere hitmaking label in...
The Partridge Family – The Partridge Family Sound Magazine
When my college roommate Danny and I were absolutely record-crazy, we were hot for just about anything we could remember fondly from our youth. Memories of songs like “Indiana Wants Me,” “Let Me,” “Dirty...
Billy Paul – 360 Degrees of Billy Paul
Well, I didn’t own this record until the exact moment I was getting ready to write up the next record, The Best of Philadelphia International Records. While listening to that, and listening specifically to...
Parliament – Chocolate City
I’ve already written how late to the game I was on Funkadelic – it was too much for my teenage brain when it was current, and it took me many years to think of...
Roy Orbison – The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison
Well, alphabetically, we moved from one very personally connected album to another with at least a little bit of a personal connection. I don’t think it’s this way anymore, not in an age when...
1.4.5. – Pink Invasion
This one took a while to write, because in my entire record collection, there isn’t a record with a more personal connection – because this is the only record I ever designed a cover...
Ohio Players – Angel
I’ve already written about how I couldn’t have brought any Ohio Players records home when I was in my teens (see “Fire”)– the graphic and frankly exploitive covers of sexualized women would not have...
Things We Said Today