📜 Feature The May Vinyl Challenge

This is a month of vinyl "challenges" being posted on Instagram. A few of these make no sense (like, what is Day 27: Sleeveface?), but otherwise I can relate to a lot of these. Here is the official list, courtesy of @jennn_erator on IG.



I will be participating on and off on our @lost.and.found.sounds IG account.

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If anyone would like to "play along," feel free to post your picks below. Remember, the days in the challenge correspond to the days in the month, so it's OK to "catch up" but preferably, don't jump ahead.

If you post on IG, use the hashtags #MayVinylChallenge and #MayVinylChallenge2024 .

 

[Mr Bill]

That's oner I've seen as well as Billy Joel's Piano Man album. (Billy Joel is 75 today, BTW)... Some of Herb's can be used, but you have to place the sleeve close to the camera than yourself for most of them (Sounds Like, Warm, Fandango or Blow Your Own Horn)... I've seen some creative things done with "non-face" albums as well, like the banana on Velvet Underground, etc.

--Mr Bill

 

[Mr Bill]

I'm jumping on board late here! I'll do two or three a day till I catch up! (So as not to clog up the page, I will refrain from images except in those where it seems vitally important)

1 - Record that started me collecting: Whipped Cream & Other Delights

2 - Album from a show I attended: Herb Alpert/Hugh Masekela Main Event Live

3 - Best Album after a Hiatus: It could only be Herb Alpert & the TJB You Smile -- the Song Begins
Honorable Mention # 1 & #2: Julius Wechter and the Baja Marimba Band's Naturally (on Applause Records more than a decade after their sole foray with Bell Records) and again for Julius with New Deal on Bay Cities Records a decade after that.
Honorable Mention #3: Skafish Tidings of Comfort & Joy recorded and released 23 years after the break top of his eponymous band (but this time instead of punk/new wave it's straight ahead Christmas jazz by him and his trio)
I suppose I could've put The Cramps' Live from the Peppermint Lounge ep (due to a nearly two year hiatus forced on them by their lawsuit against Miles Copeland and I.R.S. Records) or Buzzcocks' All Set which came out after they reunited a decade after their break up...

--Mr. Bill

 

[Rudy]

2 - Album from a show I attended: Herb Alpert/Hugh Masekela Main Event Live

In your case...literally!

I only have one concert in my collection that I attended. When Peter Gabriel went on his small-venue tour for his Up album, all of the concerts were recorded, then released both individually and as a set, shipping a month or two after the gig. It's straight off the mixing board so, warts and all with no corrections or overdubs, they were produced. I remember the stage had a partial power outage at one point, and Peter did a solo piano version of "Here Comes the Flood" while it was tended to.

Couldn't use it for the challenge, though, since it's not on vinyl...

Must be the venue though. When Steely Dan played in 2000, touring Two Against Nature, there were one or two outages as well. That was the tour that engineer Roger "The Immortal" Nichols toured with the band, and by the look on his face when the power went out, you'd have thought it was a three-alarm fire.

 

[Bobberman]

Day 9 . I Play this album when I _______. I had a story in mind to tell but I can’t find the LP anywhere to show it, so I am moving on to another story.

Some of my albums are great to listen to. Some of them transport me to a nostalgic chapter of my life. "The Stranger" is both. Nowadays, "The Stranger" is one of my spins when I’m cooking because I can hug a memory for 42 minutes and completely forget about the mess I’m making lol. Two favs are "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Vienna" but all of tracks get to me.

My late brother owned this Album and like many of his albums I came to love this one too although I was only 10 when The stranger album was released the radio was constantly playing tracks from this and that year I was really getting heavy into all things music today when I hear it its like going home again ( even though that particular home no longer exists) but with music you can come as close as possible

 

[Harry]

10. On repeat - 10/10 perfect record. Rupert Holmes - WIDESCREEN. As I was working at my first radio station, I wandered over to the throwaway pile of albums on the credenza in the hallway. As I rifled through them, I picked up any from an artist I might have heard of once in my life, hoping for something decent at least. In most cases they were later albums from one-hit wonders that went nowhere. But occasionally there was a gem.

Something about that cover intrigued me. I'd never heard of Rupert Holmes, but perhaps this album called WIDESCREEN was about Hollywood, movie fakery, cardboard cutouts (?). There was one other thing about the cover. As was Columbia/Epic's pattern, this promo album had a sticker attached at the bottom with a checklist of songs on the record. It was there for the promoter or the P.D. to check off songs that might be good for that station's format. I flipped it over:


You probably can't read that, but the first song "Widescreen" warned the listener to "prepare for bar 25." A test for my system?

Looking farther down the list on side two was "Our National Pastime" supposedly a new version and lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner". Ok, I was intrigued enough to put that one in my take-home pile.

Upon finally playing it at home, I was delighted with each and every song. I followed along with Rupert's notes about each one, and each one had this little twist of humor that appealed to me.

Yes, I consider this one perfect. It's got enough variations in the tracks to not get boring for me. Even the last track, "Psycho Drama" is done like a radio play. This one will always be on any desert island list of mine.

 

[Nemily]

Day 10. On Repeat - 10/10 Perfect Record. There are ‘10 out of 10’ albums that make my list: Born to Run, Revolver, Abbey Road, Pet Sounds, Breakfast in America, Led Zeppelin IV, Rumours, Tapestry and a few more usual suspects, however it’s been ages since I listened to any of them. I can't really put my finger on why. I still like them.

One that is on my perfect 10 radar that I do listen to is “Damn the Torpedoes”, the landmark third album from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Petty is considered Classic Rock even though his subgenre is Heartland Rock. The album is not a lesser known project, it is a Certified Triple Platinum record. My current copy is a 1980 Club Edition which I picked up as a replacement. It is a Reissue. No surface noise, very quiet. Plays nice. These days, I prefer Petty’s softer heartland ballads. But it’s his storytelling and genuineness that keep me invested, and this LP is no exception.

Side 1

Refugee
Here Comes My Girl
Even the Losers
Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)
Century City

Side 2

Don’t Do Me Like That
You Tell Me
What Are You Doin’ In My Life?
Louisiana Rain

Manufactured By – MCA Records Inc
Engineer – Shelly Yakus
Producer – Jimmy Iovine, Tom Petty
Written-By – Tom Petty

 

[Rudy]

I would have to make a totally random pick today, as I have 100 or more albums I consider a perfect 10 all the way through. In favorite artists, I often have two or three I would consider a perfect play all the way through. This is gonna be tough to pick a few...or take all day to post 'em all.

 

[Nemily]

I would have to make a totally random pick today, as I have 100 or more albums I consider a perfect 10 all the way through. In favorite artists, I often have two or three I would consider a perfect play all the way through. This is gonna be tough to pick a few...or take all day to post 'em all.

Day 10 could branch off to its' own thread

 

[Rudy]

Random grab of 40 "perfect" records...with dozens more I could have posted if I had time.

 

[Harry]

11. Best sounding | Best reissue. I'm going to leave the vinyl realm for this one and go with Carpenters THE COMPLETE SINGLES that was issued by TJL Productions for the benefit of public television in the US. Containing every side of every vinyl 45 issued in the US, this 3-CD set was a collector's dream reissue.

 

[Rudy]

Yeah, CDs don't cut it.

(Maybe a June "digital" challenge?)

 

[Harry]

Sue me...

 

[Nemily]

Yeah, CDs don't cut it.

(Maybe a June "digital" challenge?)

I second this motion!

 

[Nemily]

Day 11: Best Sounding / Best Reissue. The Pretenders Learning to Crawl - Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab - MFSL 1-339 Limited Edition, Numbered, Reissue, Remastered. Released 2012 US Original Master Recording, GAIN 2 Ultra Analog LP 180g Series. Fully analog cut.

 

[Rudy]

I have a lot of good sounding records here (like yesterday, hard to pick just one) and it's silly for most of us to choose a "best," but I'll pick a recent vinyl-only release that was recorded on an all-tube system, all the way from microphones (Neumann) to cutting head (powered by a pair of McIntosh industrial MC3500 monoblocks, IIRC), by Kevin Gray at his Cohearent Studios. The recording venue is Kevin's living room converted to a studio, which he found had ideal dimensions for the project. Similar to how Rudy Van Gelder started out recording in his parents' living room in Hackensack, NJ. This album's nickname comes from the nickname for Kevin's studio, for obvious reasons.

The musicians are familiar to those who have followed Diana Krall's career. And this record has a very inviting sound to it.

Sue me...

But you gave me an idea to do a CD/digital challenge for next month. That post would would be killer for a box set!

 

[Nemily]

Day 12. Keep it in the Family-Pass Down/To Pass Down. The folks had a record collection of less than 50 I would guess. Of what they had, I played them constantly at a young age. I am very grateful to have been exposed to a variety of music in my formative years. I have been fascinated with records for as long as I can remember. They had a wood box stereo console that we played them on and that is one of my cherished early memories.

The one I kept is The Andy Williams Christmas Album Columbia CS 8887. It is still shiny and new. We were always sure to take very good care of the records and to this day I take great care of my own collection. As a child this was my quintessential holiday record. I believe it still charts, as Christmas Albums go. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year should stand the test of time so hopefully it remains in the family.

 

[Harry]

Day 12. Keep it in the Family-Pass Down/To Pass Down. Not much here. When I go, I don't care where my records and stuff ends up. I suspect it will go as a large 'whole' somewhere - sold off - trashed, whatever. It won't matter to me. I've had my lifetime of fun with it. I can only think of a bunch of records from Dad. He used records to make soundtracks to his 16mm films. Things like Percy Faith, Otto Cesana, 101 Strings. Mostly they were on 7" EPs. So I've still got them and they'll all go with the rest of the collection I would imagine.

I can name one record that has passed up and down. Yes, it's another WHIPPED CREAM AND OTHER DELIGHTS. My parents initially bought it for me and I named it as the start of my collecting. It being a mono copy, I just HAD to upgrade it to a stereo copy later on, so when I left home, I gave it to my Dad, who liked to play his drum set along with Tijuana Brass records. Then of course, Dad passed, and that old mono copy once again inhabits my collection.

 

[Rudy]

 

[Rudy]

 

[Harry]

13. Favorite Solo Artist | Side Project. I suppose I could say Herb Alpert who put out more "solo" projects than he ever did with the "TjB". Or is this category for a solo artist like an Elton John or Billy Joel? Or is this for a true 'side project' by a bandmember, such as George Harrison's WONDERWALL. I'm just not sure of the direction/topic here.

So I'll dip back into my love for Rupert Holmes. After I discovered his WIDESCREEN quite by happenstance, I continued to find his albums in the throwaway piles. His next was eponymous, just called RUPERT HOLMES, and he followed it up with one called SINGLES. No that third on was not a compilation - it dealt with the subject of single people.

After his three Epic albums he moved over to Private Stock, then Infinity Records for his biggest hit ever, "Escape" on the PARTNERS IN CRIME album, and finally MCA for ADVENTURE. The last album I ever found and followed was FULL CIRCLE for Elektra.

A couple of years ago, I undertook the task of converting all of that vinyl to digital, all while picking up whatever digital stuff I could find. Through the entire project, I was amazed at how good the vinyl sounded, making excellent needledrops.

 

[Rudy]

I'm just not sure of the direction/topic here.

No worries--the ideas for the challenge can be very "open" to interpret how we wish.

 

[Harry]

No worries--the ideas for the challenge can be very "open" to interpret how we wish.

Now that I think of it, Lani Hall might have been a good choice for me.

 

[Rudy]

You can always do more than one. I often do!

 

[Harry]

13. Favorite Solo Artist | Side Project (Part 2). Lani Hall. As most here know, Lani was the co-vocalist on the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 albums, sometimes soloing or being doubled, sometimes singing with Janis Hansen, or Karen Philipp, or even Gracinha Leporace. But Lani latched onto the big boss and feel in love with Herb Alpert, ultimately marrying him. In the 70s, she broke away from Mendes and started a solo career, and while she never managed to top any charts (or even make the charts most times), her journey has been an interesting one that I've followed.

She first broke away on the side project of the Michel Colombier WINGS album, singing "We Could Be Flying" on that one. That same song, with reduced orchestral backing, then appeared on her SUN DOWN LADY album, her first solo album effort for A&M. I remember that song playing on the radio, and that station also featured a few other tracks from the album, so I became fairly familiar with it. I think by now, I own at least three different copies of SUN DOWN LADY on vinyl, including a rare promotional mono copy.

Lani, with Herb's help, went on to release a few more albums through the 70s and early 80s, HELLO IT'S ME, BLUSH, SWEET BIRD, DOUBLE OR NOTHING and BLUSH. She also managed to get the job of singing the lead track from the James Bond movie NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. I recall hearing her duet with Herb, "Come What May" on radio, and IMHO that should have been a big hit.

In the early 80s, she did an album for the Brazilian market that was never released here. Called A BRAZILEIRA, the album has been a treasured rare find for me, having to import a used copy from Brazil. It was also released in the Philippines where Lani has a following. Sung mostly in Brazilian Portuguese, I suppose there was little thought to releasing it here in the States. It might be among her best works ever.

With the ability to sing in other languages phonetically, Lani launched a series of three albums for the Spanish audiences in Latin America and here in the US. These all were placed on the AyM Discos imprint of A&M Records. The three albums, all really good, were LANI, LANI HALL, and ES FACIL AMAR, the latter of which won her a Grammy.

When this website, A&M Corner was getting off the ground in the late 90s, fellow member @Paula managed to hook me up with some of these rare vinyl treasures that were near impossible to find in those early Internet days, and I'm forever grateful for that kindness.

Lani took a long break to recover from an illness, but returned in the CD age with BRASIL NATIVO and continues to perform with Herb in his concerts and on some of the album tracks on his latter-day albums.

 

[Nemily]

Day 13. Favorite Solo Artist / Side Project. This was a tough pick. I mulled over a couple dozen or so and tossed it up in the air. I went with an album I like from 1984, Don Henley – "Building the Perfect Beast". During the 70’s I was meh on the Eagles until 1976 with "Hotel California". I am a fan of early Fleetwood Mac. HC was cut with new band member Bob Walsh, who was a former member of Fleetwood Mac in the early 70s, I knew of Walsh and that is what got me interested in Hotel California, and forward from this time, Henley.

The Eagles took a break in 1980. The first solo track I heard and liked in late ’82 from Henley was "Dirty Laundry" and honestly there were so many front men in the Eagles band, at first I just thought they were back together. But then in later 1984, I heard Henley again on "Boys of Summer" from "Building the Perfect Beast". That did it for me. I was a fan. Henley explained that the song was about aging and questioning the past.

There’s a back story I like on "Boys of Summer". The lead guitarist that replaced Lindsay Buckingham in 2019, Mike Campbell, made the demo for the "Boys of Summer". He was a member of Tom Petty’s band at that time. He made his demo using the new LinnDrum Machine, modeled after the LM-1 Drum machine that was used by Michael Jackson and Prince in the early 80’s. He also used the ‘sort of new’ OB-X Oberheim synthesizer, used in ’81 and ’82 by Prince and Rush. Petty who was working on "Southern Accents", did not have time to listen to demo but Henley, was desperate for his sophomore album, did listen to it and liked it. He wrote the lyrics, then cut it.

My Don Henley album is on Geffen Records, an Indie label, GHS 24026 Carrollton Pressing Columbia House 1984