“I was 23 and living in the Beachwood Canyon area of Los Angeles when I was first truly introduced to the sonic beauty of vinyl records.”

“Beachwood Canyon is an area not only famous for the Hollywood sign but also for its Sunday brunch-time garage sales. I was walking down those windy roads one Sunday when I happened on a driveway with a basket that said vinyl records $3 each—I immediately started thumbing through when I came across the record Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass Band.

I have to be honest—at first, I only purchased the record because the album cover art was so striking, sexy and beautiful—but when I dropped the needle on that bad boy I was transported to a place musically that I’ve never been. The grooves, the brass, and the overall feel of it inspired so many new songs for me and my career. Still to this day, 17 years later, we play the album for cocktail hour or pool parties. There’s vibe for days that record—thank you, Herb Alpert. On a side note—what’s also cool is that I found out a month later that my next-door neighbor in Beachwood was Herb Alpert’s son!

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Ostinato Records, the New York City-based label dedicated to uncovering “Afrophone sounds from across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean” is back with their first studio-recorded release, sourced from Djibouti, an African nation where music is under complete control of the state. The Dancing Devils of Djibouti, by Groupe RTD is the first international release from the country, with its Bollywood-ish sax-infused funkiness captured in the compact recording timeframe of three days as allowed by government officials. However, the album never sounds rushed but is instead full-bodied and intense. It’s out digitally now and on 2LP with gatefold and in a hardback CD bookcase on June 19.

Groupe RTD, the creators of this set’s ten songs, aren’t just any band. They are described in the promo lit for this album as their country’s ceremonial outfit by day, performing as part of national events and welcoming foreign dignitaries, and as a vibrant groove machine by night. They consist of saxophonist Mohamed Abdi Alto, vocalists Asma Omar, Guessod Abdo Hamargod and Hassan Omar Houssein, drummer Omar Farah Houssein, keyboardist Moussa Aden Ainan, guitarist Abdirazak Hagi Sufi (aka “Kaajaa”), bassist Abdo Houssein Handeh, and Dumbek drummer Salem Mohamed Ahmed.

In 2016, Ostinato Records, founded and headed by Vik Sohonie, met with those in charge of the national broadcast organization Radiodiffusion-Télévision Djibouti (RTD) about raising the curtain of secrecy on the music of the young country (which only realized independence from French colonial rule in 1977). It took three years for the label to gain access to the vaults, which are described as holding thousands of reels of Somali and Afar music.

But that’s not what’s heard on The Dancing Devils of Djibouti, as Groupe RTD is an active outfit combining young talent and older masters. Since those archival reels have been assessed by Ostinato as some of the best preserved in Africa, their focus sensibly shifted to documenting the contemporary music of Groupe RTD before the opportunity passed, and in the process have brought wider exposure to a band that, up to now, has been completely unknown beyond Djibouti borders.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Recordings announces two vinyl reissues to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Charles M. Schulz’s beloved PEANUTS comic strip, which debuted in seven newspapers across the country on October 2, 1950.

The first is a limited-edition picture disc of Peanuts Greatest Hits, featuring the faces of Snoopy and Woodstock, and available July 24th. The second release, coming August 21st, is the very first vinyl pressing of Peanuts Portraits. Both titles, which are available for pre-order starting today (6/9), feature the enduring music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Peanuts Portraits, meanwhile, includes several recordings from Guaraldi and pianist George Winston which have never been available on vinyl.

Limited to 2,500 individually numbered units, the collectible Peanuts Greatest Hits picture disc offers music for all seasons from the animated TV specials, including the instantly recognizable “Linus And Lucy,” the classic “Great Pumpkin Waltz,” and yuletide favorite, “Christmas Time Is Here.” Side A features a cheerful-looking Snoopy, while his avian sidekick, Woodstock—who made his first official appearance in the PEANUTS comic strip 50 years ago this June—graces Side B.

The collection also includes some of Guaraldi’s earliest PEANUTS compositions, like “Baseball Theme,” which originally appeared on his 1964 LP Jazz Impressions Of A Boy Named Charlie Brown—the soundtrack for an unreleased TV special about the comic strip’s anti-hero. Another highlight is “Little Birdie,” written for the 1973 special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and featuring rare vocals from Guaraldi.

On vinyl for the very first time is Peanuts Portraits, which collects the vivid musical cues that Guaraldi wrote for the cast of PEANUTS characters. With his evocative compositions, the artist added new dimensions to beloved regulars like Peppermint Patty, Schroeder, Sally and, of course, Charlie Brown.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Paul McCartney proudly announces the thirteenth installment in his GRAMMY Award-winning Archive Collection: On July 31, Paul’s critically acclaimed and universally beloved tenth solo album Flaming Pie will be the latest to receive the Archive Collection treatment, being released on formats including a 5CD/2DVD/4LP Collector’s Edition, a 5CD/2DVD Deluxe Edition, plus 3LP, 2LP and 2CD editions.

​All digital pre-orders for the Archive Collection release of Flaming Pie will include YOUNG BOY. Also available as a stand-alone for digital download & streaming, the EP recreates the 1997 “Young Boy” maxi single and features the remastered Flaming Pie single “Young Boy,” a home-recorded version of the song, the original B-side “Looking For You,” and excerpts of “Oobu Joobu Part 1,” also from the original single. The two music videos for the track have been restored and will also be published on the same day. Two additional EPs will be available with “The World Tonight” arriving on June 26 and “Beautiful Night” on July 17.

Originally released May 5, 1997, Flaming Pie ended a four-year gap between McCartney studio albums. Recorded largely in the wake of Paul’s involvement in the curation and release of The Beatles Anthology series, Flaming Pie was shaped and inspired by that experience, with Paul remarking at the time “(The Beatles Anthology) reminded me of The Beatles’ standards and the standards that we reached with the songs. So in a way it was a refresher course that set the framework for this album.” Produced by Paul, Jeff Lynne and George Martin and featuring a supporting cast of family and friends including Ringo Starr, Steve Miller, Linda McCartney, and son James, Flaming Pie is equal parts a masterclass in songcraft and a sustained burst of joyful spontaneity.

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“Vinyl records are the first tactile objects that I can remember connecting with on a spiritual, cerebral, and physical level simultaneously.”

“Music reproduced from vinyl records being played at floor rumbling volumes are the most distinct memories I have of childhood. My entire family collected records and played records. My Dad was a HiFi enthusiast, and I spent many hours with him as a small boy in late ’70s in audiophile stereo demo rooms absorbing analog frequencies coming from vinyl records.

Once a week, we took a family trip to the record store and we could pick any 45 RPM we wanted, I remember my first 45, it was “I Believe In Music” by Mac Davis. I didn’t know the song, but the title was an affirmation of my deeply held belief that music was the most important thing on Earth!

My siblings were collecting Rock and Pop records, my parents were spinning Jazz, Blues, and Pop from bygone eras that held magic and mystery, and still do. By the time I was in my early teens I had an extensive record collection of ’60s and and ’70s Rock that included all the usual suspects, Doors, Stones, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin and a few edgier records my brother turned me on to, like Velvet Underground, Neil Young, Iggy Pop and Bowie.

These records prepped me for my next phase, when in the ’80s new records became the center of my teenage universe. Punk, Post-Punk, Synth-Pop, new music, new records, and a music revolution that elevated the vinyl record back to the level of fine art. The trips to Hollywood and Westwood to the iconic records stores in Los Angeles in the ’80s and ’90s were thrilling!

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Leave it to lo-fi Philly rockers Honey Radar to dig up and redo one of The Monkees’ most obscure songs. The appropriately robotic “Wind-Up Man,” a self-lacerating attack at the cookie cutter pop music machine that created the Prefab Four, was first performed in the strange and equally obscure TV special 33 1/2 Revolutions Per Monkee that was also the last creative endeavor of the original quartet before they broke up.

For Honey Radar, it’s one of a slew of recordings collected for a compilation of things they did for the Atlanta-based label Chunklet Industries. Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years is due in stores June 20, but The Vinyl District is proud today to debut that weird Monkees cover that works better and certainly rocks harder in the hands of Honey Radar than it did by its originators, who never did commit it to a recording.

“The Monkees were the first group I was obsessed with when I was a little kid,” says Honey Radar bandleader Jason Henn. Though he says the 1969, purposely trippy 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee TV special was “almost unwatchable, worse than Magical Mystery Tour,” it had “some songs in it that I like, and ‘Wind-up Man’ always sounded to me like it would make a good straight-forward rock song.”

The band played it live a few times and put it on a 2016 split single with label owner Henry Owings where it stood out, mostly because his side was more conceptual comedy—Owings’ extended impression of the band Slint: three minutes of awkward silence, poking fun of that band’s lengthy breaks between songs at gigs.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Gloria Gaynor’s perennial and iconic worldwide smash “I Will Survive” has received the special modern remix treatment by dance music producer Eric Kupper. On June 12, 2020, “I Will Survive (The Eric Kupper Remixes),” featuring three new remixes, will be released as a digital EP by UMe.

Written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris and originally released in October 1978, the chart-topping single was destined to be a B-Side for the song “Substitute.” But the astute Gaynor saw the powerful potential in the track and the song found its audience. “‘I Will Survive’ has become an anthem around the globe for people facing challenges and tragedies in their life,” says Gaynor. “And now more than ever, we need to help each other and provide encouragement and inspiration through music whenever possible.”

Selling more than 14 million physical copies worldwide, the song’s massive success has continued in the streaming world with, on average, six million streams per month. Its iconic video continues growing, with more than 130 million views on YouTube. And now with three new remixes – “Eric Kupper Mix Extended,” “Eric Kupper Dub Mix,” and “Eric Kupper Mix Edit,” each created using the song’s original multi-track master tapes from the UMG vault along with Kupper’s celebrated production—the song will enjoy a rebirth for dance music enthusiasts for decades to come.

Brad LeBeau, of PRO MOTION. The Brad LeBeau Company. Inc., which commissioned the remixes and is also involved in marketing the Pop/Disco classic, and was the Executive Remix Producers for the recently released Diana Ross remix album, Supertonic, stated, “With four consecutive #1* Billboard dance charting singles to his credit, Kupper was the obvious choice to remix Gloria Gaynor’s signature single.” “I’m extremely happy that UMe has enlisted the world-renowned producer and deejay Eric Kupper to remix ‘I Will Survive’ for a 2020 Summer release,” Gaynor adds.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Loleatta Holloway (born in Chicago,1946) was an American R&B-Disco singer known for her massive hit songs such as “Hit and Run,” “Love Sensation,” and “Relight My Fire,” all of which have been sampled extensively worldwide. Billboard magazine ranked her as one of most successful dance artists of all-time.

​Holloway first began her career singing gospel music, then in the early ’70s, she met her future producer, manager (and husband) Floyd Smith which kick-started her impressive recording career. Shortly after Holloway signed with the Atlanta-based soul music label Aware where she recorded two albums: Loleatta (1973) and Cry to Me (1975). Later, in the mid ’70s she signed with top Philadelphia arranger and producer Norman Harris’ Gold Mind/Salsoul Records, where she recorded many more top charting hit singles and launched her career as a disco act.

From then on (and until this day) Holloway’s songs (which became DJ favorites) were heavily remixed and sampled on a multitude of tracks from renowned acts such as Whitney Houston, Bobby Byrd, Raekwon, Flo Rida, Pitbull, Ice Cube…and MANY others. Loleatta Holloway passed away at the age of 64 on March 21, 2011 leading to a wave of tributes and condolences from across the globe (Holloway also had a huge following in Europe and Japan).

​Her second album (Cry to Me from 1975), which we are presenting you today, is a total classic…both the album (and the title track) peaked in the R&B and Billboard Hot Soul Singles charts. Cry To Me was produced by Floyd Smith and it features tracks penned by some of the most talented songwriters of the time…Sam Dees (Gladys Knight, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin) wrote five of the tracks on the album and his arrangements provide the perfect backdrop for Loleatta’s emotive, dramatic and powerful vocals. Curtis Mayfield also contributes the magnificent “Just Be True” track and Jo Armstead (Ray Charles, Syl Johnson, Tina Turner) wrote the beautiful “Casanova” song.

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How one year in bed got me listening to 70 years of music.

“A few years ago I had an accident that changed my life and propelled me into music. I spent a year in bed recovering from a broken back and in that time I learned to play the guitar, read a lot of great books, watched a lot of good films and did physio every day to teach me how to walk again.

Eight months in, I’d built up enough strength to go into our local town for my physio. A new record shop had opened around the same time and I’d also just come across my mum’s old collection of vinyl. I had the player all set up at home and began listening to full-length albums, rediscovering my love for Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Nick Drake, The Band, The Allman Brothers, Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed, Allen Toussaint, and Curtis Mayfield. I listened to everything from the smooth jazz piano of Oscar Peterson to the high-energy punk rock of the Ramones—and I loved it all.

Vince (the owner of the shop in town) and I became very friendly as I’d be going in at least once a week and walking out with something new, often several records. I spent hours leafing through the old cover art of the Blue Note jazz stuff like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, and John Coltrane, or the old blues guys like BB King, Big Bill Broonzy, Professor Longhair, and Muddy Waters.

The cover art alone produced powerful emotions and then listening to the music made me feel like I was back there hearing it all for the first time. When I’d stop browsing, Vince would look up at me and know it was time to show me something new. He’d play me Lightin’ Hopkins or Elmore James all the way through to The Clash.

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Following the disastrous Smile sessions and amidst the continuing psychic disintegration of band auteur Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys took a daring step; they dispensed with Brian’s meticulously brilliant studio wizardry—not that they had any choice, given his poor mental condition—and their choir boy image at the same time, and put out an album, 1967’s Wild Honey, that shocked the world by demonstrating that the Beach Boys, those sexless avatars of surf rock in matching striped shirts—had actual huevos.

Instead of paeans to hanging ten, little deuce coupes, or teenage symphonies to God, the band settled into Brian Wilson’s living room and recorded a swear-to-God soul and R&B LP, one that downplayed the band’s group vocals and actually rocked. It’s to their credit that the Beach Boys, faced with the drug-induced abdication of Brian Wilson as the band’s sole creative force, didn’t retreat back to their roots as a harmony-oriented surf band. Instead they recorded an album that was, for them, every bit as groundbreaking as Pet Sounds. It’s been described as “California soul,” and the title fits; they even cover a Stevie Wonder song, and make it work. The pity is Brian Wilson had already basically given up; he told one interviewer, “I think rock n’ roll–the pop scene–is happening. It’s great. But I think basically, the Beach Boys are squares. We’re not happening.”

There was no denying that the Beach Boys were stuck with an un-hip image, but Wild Honey proves they were still “happening.” It sounds downright lo-fi in comparison to the Beach Boys’ previous LPs, and that’s one of its chief charms. Another is the vocals of Carl Wilson, which are loud and soulful and pure rock’n’roll. He’s especially great on the title cut, on which he practically screams. Throw in some great backing vocals, a rollicking melody, and one strange organ solo, and what you’ve got is a killer tune. Carl even shouts, “Sock it to me!” likes he’s a cast member of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. “Aren’t You Glad” is pure pop, and a happy-go-lucky tune featuring horns, hand claps, and the vocals of Mike Love and Carl and Brian Wilson. It sounds as fresh today as the day it was recorded, as does the band’s take on Stevie Wonder’s “I Was Made to Love Her,” on which Carl Wilson shows off his chops as a soul shouter to the accompaniment of some great backing vocals.

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