Vinyl Me Please Classics

NathanRicaud said:
@brando_soul - No Chance it will be Cameo or Zapp because it’s just too modern. Like, never would you associate a funky, hypnotic, electronic robo-jam like “More Bounce to the Ounce” to be on a Classics ROTM!

Fingers crossed for Chaka Khan, Teena Marie or Diana Ross! 🤞🤞🤞
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Also, I highly doubt it's Stevie because of his popularity and Hotter Than July has been reissued countless times (it got MOFI treatment a few years back.) VMP would probably pick it or another underrated album from his classic 1971-1980 canon for ROTM, maybe. Where I'm Coming From would be an amazing contender for ROTM.

Some have pointed out Prince's Dirty Mind, but that is a strong no for me.

Patrice is an interesting contender as her 1980 album, Posh is a rather underrated gem that fits both the R&B, post-disco and crossover jazz mold. But, I can see her getting shine in VMP's ROTM realm in the future (a VMP Classics reissue of her 1982 breakthrough, Straight From the Heart would be amazing.)

As you said, Diana Ross' Diana is getting a lot of buzz and I would be in heaven if it's the one. I wouldn't mind Teena or Chaka either. I have a near mint 1980 US original pressing of Chaka's Naughty that knocks my socks off. Crankable and dynamic pressing. Just a blistering masterpiece of NYC funk, soul, and post-disco with Chaka's legendary voice and some big players contributing all over the album—a young and unknown Whitney Houston, her mom, Cissy Houston, pre-fame Luther Vandross (who would soon mark a successful solo career the following year with his 1981 standard-bearing debut, Never Too Much), Hamish Stuart and Steve Ferrone from Average White Band fame, Brecker Brothers, Willie Weeks, Phil Upchurch, Arif Mardin handling production duties, etc. I also own a 1982 (1983, or 1984?) Motown reissue of Teena's Irons in the Fire that sounds INCREDIBLE (way superior to the original 1980 Gordy pressing), but it would be nice to see how VMP/Quality Records takes it on.
 
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Now that VMP will be pressing albums from the early 80’s for their Classics ROTM track, I have a good feeling that one day we will get...

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This Roy Ayers produced album is an absolute gem! 💎🍄🥦

The production is funky and playful, yet honey-velvety and warm! It’s dusky soul! You have slow-burning melodies, sparse, fat juicy bass-y kind of beats, old-school cutesy-cartoonish sounds. Like this album is everything! 🔥🔥🔥

I cannot wait for VMP to make this album a Classics ROTM in the future! 🙏
 
NathanRicaud said:
Now that VMP will be pressing albums from the early 80’s for their Classics ROTM track, I have a good feeling that one day we will get...

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This Roy Ayers produced album is an absolute gem! 💎🍄🥦

The production is funky and playful, yet honey-velvety and warm! It’s dusky soul! You have slow-burning melodies, sparse, fat juicy bass-y kind of beats, old-school cutesy-cartoonish sounds. Like this album is everything! 🔥🔥🔥

I cannot wait for VMP to make this album a Classics ROTM in the future! 🙏
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I strongly concur. This would be a perfect choice for a Classics ROTM. Even though the UK label, Expansion reissued this cult classic last year, I would like to see the album get its just due domestically.
 
I forgot to mention Maze featuring Frankie Beverly as contenders, who gained deserved mainstream attention this year when Beyoncé covered one of the band's signature songs, "Before I Let Go." Even without Beyoncé's rendition, Maze's impact on R&B has endured and in 1980, the band released one of their most memorable efforts with their fourth album, Joy and Pain.
Joyandpain.jpg
 
Jeff Lerner said:
Could we be getting a Classic hip hop album like Sugarhill Gang or Kurtis Blow (both 1980)?
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Storf said that Classics is only jazz, blues, or soul/r&b. Salsa was stretching it a bit when they did Celia & Johnny, but you can file that under jazz/soul as a subgenre. He said they won't even do reggae in classics, which is surprising because some reggae blurs the lines with soul/rb
 
keylime_5 said:
Not thrilled about 80s classics. That was a terrible era for soul/rb/blues/jazz. Think I might swap this month for something like Willie Bobo, or grab Essentials instead (depending on what it is)
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oldschoolkirby said:
Same, tbh... I'll keep an open mind, but one of these 80s albums may become my first Classics swaps ever.
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Add me to this as well. Not particularly thrilled about the 80s.
 
My guess was Diana Ross' Diana, which makes sense because they just did the women of motown anthology and I think Storf said they were definitely doing a ROTM from Motown eventually. It's a fine album, for 1980 it's probably the best they could do. But I dont' foresee myself playing that album much like I play the other Classics we've been getting. Not that big into disco or R&B post ~1976
 
keylime_5 said:
Not thrilled about 80s classics. That was a terrible era for soul/rb/blues/jazz. Think I might swap this month for something like Willie Bobo, or grab Essentials instead (depending on what it is)
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This is the truth. Disco is so so so so so far from soul/R&B/blues/jazz to me. To me it is trash. Many of the artists listed are very pop to me and that's the opposite of classic for me. It's strange, this month they release two classics, Aretha and BB, and then follow up with something from the 80s. I don't get it.
 
Ajax said:
This is my opinion. Disco is so so so so so far from soul/R&B/blues/jazz to me. To me it is trash. Many of the artists listed are very pop to me and that's the opposite of classic for me. It's strange, this month they release two classics, Aretha and BB, and then follow up with something from the 80s. I don't get it.
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FIFY

I find the prospect of an 1980 Classics release quite exciting, actually. I just hope it's not a fancy version of a widely-pressed album that with some patience can be found for $5 (like the Isley Brothers release from a few months ago).
 
bettim84 said:
FIFY

I find the prospect of an 1980 Classics release quite exciting, actually. I just hope it's not a fancy version of a widely-pressed album that with some patience can be found for $5 (like the Isley Brothers release from a few months ago).
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You can't find a version of Go For Your Guns that sounds that good or with packaging that nice anywhere though. That was a great release, the sound of the pressing is killer.
 
bettim84 said:
FIFY

I find the prospect of an 1980 Classics release quite exciting, actually. I just hope it's not a fancy version of a widely-pressed album that with some patience can be found for $5 (like the Isley Brothers release from a few months ago).
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whatever. I said 'to me' multiple times. obviously an opinion but thanks for jumping in and correcting, that's exactly what the world needs.
 
bettim84 said:
I find the prospect of an 1980 Classics release quite exciting, actually. I just hope it's not a fancy version of a widely-pressed album that with some patience can be found for $5 (like the Isley Brothers release from a few months ago).
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I'm not sure anything proposed so far would cost over $10 for an original. This is pretty big names, so they pressed a bunch of albums, but none of the albums are especially sought after in those artists discographies, so they are cheap.
 
What about J.B. Lenoir, Down in Mississippi? It wasn't released until 1980 and only in Europe, although it was recorded in 1966.

I would be surprised if they did two blues months in a row with all the responses Storf gave telling people to wait for December who were asking for blues albums. I feel like he would have said wait for Dec/Jan. It's also a smaller label so would probably be Now Again or someone who facilitated it.

It would be a pretty cool get based on the back of the original release.
 
dhodo said:
What about J.B. Lenoir, Down in Mississippi? It wasn't released until 1980 and only in Europe, although it was recorded in 1966.

I would be surprised if they did two blues months in a row with all the responses Storf gave telling people to wait for December who were asking for blues albums. I feel like he would have said wait for Dec/Jan. It's also a smaller label so would probably be Now Again or someone who facilitated it.

It would be a pretty cool get based on the back of the original release.
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That would be something to be excited about. Good find.
 
This makes me hopeful for other archival stuff.

Just from Blue Note, we have:
Lee Morgan - Tom Cat
Andrew Hill - Dance With Death
Bobby Hutcherson - Patterns
Bobby Hutcherson - Medina
Larry Young - Mother Ship
Tina Brooks - Minor Move (unlikely)
Wayne Shorter - Etcetera (unlikely)

I think there's more but I'm stopping there.
 
dhodo said:
Maybe, but I feel like I like that album more than the average Waits fan and my first thought would be, "why that one?"

Seems like a weak year for singer/songwriters too.
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dhodo said:
What about J.B. Lenoir, Down in Mississippi? It wasn't released until 1980 and only in Europe, although it was recorded in 1966.

I would be surprised if they did two blues months in a row with all the responses Storf gave telling people to wait for December who were asking for blues albums. I feel like he would have said wait for Dec/Jan. It's also a smaller label so would probably be Now Again or someone who facilitated it.

It would be a pretty cool get based on the back of the original release.
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This muddys the water a bit as there are a ton of jazz albums which were shelved then released in the 80's. Blue Note being a key player that did this. The majority of the Enja catalogue is the same.

Edit: @jamieanderson1968 beat me to it 🤣

Just to add to jamie's point, I recently picked up the 1978 Blue Note 'twofer' of Lee Morgan - The Procrastinator which is made up of 2 previously unreleased sessions from, 1967 and 1969 (I listened to it again last night and im going off memory with those dates so I might be out by a couple years). Im a massive fan of Morgan and have spent more time that I care to admit reading up on him, watching docs and listening to his music. The Procrastinator is up there as one of his better sessions, and I think its crazy it was shelved for so long. Would be amazing to have a similar album looked into for a classics pressing.
 
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