|
|
|
|
viewing 1 To 25 of 51 items
Next >>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 2300LP
|
"There's always a risk you run, when championing a record like Talking to the People, of overstating your case. There's generally an easy-to-grapple-with reason why something that the vast majority of the listening public hasn't listened to hasn't been heard. Poor distribution, something slightly missing in the singles, critical misunderstanding, bad timing; all those things have coalesced to make many deserving records lose out on their just desserts. But pressing play on Talking to the People really does feel like something revelatory, something transcendent. It's like if the Bar-Kays of the early '70s had a woman on the mic, or if Funkadelic leaned more into rock, or if Sly Stone had half the budget. It's an album that feels contemporary -- it almost predicts Black genre experimentalists like SAULT -- but also fits so neatly in with everything happening in Detroit and Memphis funk in 1973. It failed to find an audience because the audience it predicts -- the musical omnivore who could see the strands between everything -- hardly existed in earnest by then. But listening today, it's almost too easy to find something to love. (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on 180 gram black vinyl. Listening notes booklet by Andrew Winistorfer. "
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 1168LP
|
"The Diary, the legendary lost album and instrumentals from J Dilla, released posthumously in 2016, was the VMP Hip-Hop Record of the Month for November 2022. It's here on exclusive double LP purple and orange marble vinyl. (AAA) lacquers cut from the analog tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. 180 gram audiophile vinyl pressed at QRP, Salina, KS. Includes extensive listening notes booklet by Andrew Winistorfer."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 2270LP
|
"'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' runs the stylistic gambit without feeling Franklin is doing things just for show. The album isn't trying to function as a resumé of her skills. Genre shifts feel organic and natural. 'Don't Let Me Lose This Dream' is built on a bossa nova groove, while 'Do Right Woman Do Right Man' has a little country ballad flavor. 'Dr Feelgood (Love Is A Serious Business)' -- one of four songs penned by Franklin herself -- is a bluesy belter. She might have been Queen of the genre, but pigeonholing Franklin in soul is like calling Sugar Ray Leonard just a welterweight. She could shuffle through styles as smooth as velvet. Everything is stamped with her own distinct character. (AAA) lacquers cut from tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on exclusive 180 gram purple and white vinyl. Heavyweight casewrapped jacket with lyric booklet insert."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 2299LP
|
"Over the span of just two years from 1946 and 1947, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys recorded over 400 songs for Tiffany Music, Inc., and the recordings became known as the Tiffany Transcriptions. They were meant to be aired on radio for a show featuring the band, but the label folded by the end of the decade, leaving the Tiffany Transcriptions to be forgotten to time. But, music has the ability to persist through time and reemerge in ways previously unknown. After all, the Tiffany Transcriptions were unlike anything Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys had done prior. They were recorded in the quieter times during tours, typically with arrangements improvised in the moment, giving the band the freedom to create music that spoke directly from their hearts at any given moment. As the '80s approached, Kaleidoscope Records uncovered the Transcriptions, once again shining a spotlight on the band's music. This VMP exclusive variant features 14 previously unreleased tracks from the Tiffany Transcriptions on 1LP Clearwater Blue vinyl for the first time ever. 14 rare recordings, none ever before on LP. Newly remastered, featuring the incomparable Tommy Duncan. Blue vinyl pressing limited to 1500 hand-numbered copies."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 1145LP
|
"Parton made her debut on the Porter Wagoner show in September of 1967, with their first album, Just Between You and Me, released mere months before Just Because I'm a Woman -- with the LP's names so similar in title, it's hard not to see them in conversation, as Parton's career had to be until she split ways with Wagoner in the '70s. But her profile and songwriting status was rising both with and without Wagoner, with Parton busy building the foundation of a career that would reach unparalleled heights in the years and decades to come: not because she was a woman, but not in spite of it, either. (AAA) lacquers cut from the master tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on exclusive 180 gram canary yellow galaxy vinyl. "
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 1156LP
|
"The debut album from the Stax songwriter and R&B legend was the VMP Classics Record of the Month for February 2021. (AAA) lacquers cut from the original analog tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. 180 gram black audiophile vinyl pressed at QRP, Salina, KS. Includes exclusive listening notes booklet by Jared 'Jay B.' Boyd."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 2319LP
|
"Tough Guys is a daring, widescreen, progressive funk album from one of the genre's finest craftsmen. Because Hayes was Black, and rooted in R&B radio, he didn't get lumped in with the prog-rock groups then making waves on the rock charts, but he should have been. He was making music as expansive and expressive as Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Yes; he was just doing it in a different context. The soundtrack for Hayes' ¬first major film role, Tough Guys would echo throughout history as much for the way it matched the grimy, over-the-top story of the ¬film it accompanies, but also in the way its songs were chopped up and re-imagined, appearing in everything from Geto Boys songs to Quentin Tarantino movies. (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. 180 gram black audiophile vinyl pressed at QRP, Salina, KS. Includes exclusive listening notes booklet by Andrew Winistorfer. "
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 1183LP
|
"Kris Kristofferson was the true country outsider, a man who single-handedly pushed the genre leftward, changing forever the perception of its songwriters, its performers and its message. He was long-haired, anti-war and sang songs with drug use, sex and violence always lurking as dangers in the margins, at a time when Waylon and Willie were wearing sweaters and playing golf on their album covers. He was the outlaw, in a genre that would soon have people recording his songs, and co-opting his vision for a new version of country, to much greater financial success." (AAA) lacquers cut from tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on exclusive 180 gram "black and blue" galaxy vinyl. Listening notes by Andrew Winistorfer.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 2322LP
|
"With 1975's Trident, McCoy Tyner finally achieved his true vision for the piano trio. In an era that finally -- and firmly -- established Tyner in the upper echelon of jazz masters, adored by critics, set at the top of festival bills and heartily supported by the record-buying public, Trident stands at the pinnacle of his brilliant album run from that decade. Trident might not seem as ambitious as Tyner's other '70s outings, but don't let its near-monochromatic gray and silver cover of McCoy by the ocean fool you; just beneath its surface is the heaviest, most vivid and deep music of his career. Trident finds him coming full circle, realizing his -- and just about any fantasy jazz fan's -- dream piano trio. Call it Money Jungle for the new decade, only one featuring cogent and telepathic alignment rather than clashing intergenerational conflict. Three titans, three defining masters of their instrument, with thousands of recording dates between them. (AAA) lacquers cut from the master tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on 180 gram black vinyl. Exclusive listening notes booklet by Andy Beta. "
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 2273LP
|
"Nuff Said is Nina Simone's mostly live album recorded a few days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Powerful, beautiful, and one of her best albums. Limited to 2000 copies, the VMP exclusive version of Nina Simone's 'Nuff Said is pressed on (AAA) 180g Brown Marble vinyl at GZ Vinyl. The 1LP arrives in a single, tip-on, foil-stamped and numbered jacket. The (AAA) lacquers were cut from tapes by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound. Limited to 2000 foil-stamped and numbered copies."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 1241LP
|
"Monk was dealing with a bevy of health problems at the time, so it's perhaps understandable that the show in Paris was like a capstone or Greatest Hits. But thanks to Monk's indelible ability to make everything emotional and poignant, his ace band and a bonus appearance from Philly Joe Jones, the set has an enchanting electricity. It captured Monk swinging through his greatest works and adding flourishes that sent the crowd into multiple tizzies. Listen as he takes on his standards and remakes them for their moment. Monk's legendary stand at the Salle Pleyel. Reissued for VMP's 10th anniversary. Lacquers cut by Barry Grint, Alchemy Mastering at AIR. Pressed on exclusive light blue galaxy vinyl ."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 2238LP
|
"Townes Van Zandt's work, as far-reaching and as universal as it has become, begs for possessorship. It's a love language understood by all who find it, yet one that remains acutely difficult to translate to those who haven't. No one understood this better than his earliest fans. It's perhaps why his first studio album, For the Sake of the Song, remains a point of controversy among anyone who discovered Townes Van Zandt outside of these LP's grooves. Townes Van Zandt the songwriter was the antithesis of bells and whistles, and so an album with such accoutrements, as this album has in spades, rings false -- however unfairly -- among purists. Taken in context, though, For the Sake of the Song is a gorgeous study in polarity. Each anchor is an artist from wildly different backgrounds, united under the profound effect of songcraft. Heavyweight translucent blue vinyl. Remaster by Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering. Exclusive liner notes booklet."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 2312LP
|
"If there is a single album nexus point between what Waylon's early career was like, and what his Imperial King of Country era was like, it's The Taker/Tulsa: The one album from his pre-outlaw period that stands above the rest, a record that would help break an outsider songwriter to the Nashville mainstream, prove Waylon had instincts that couldn't be taught and was maybe onto something that would flower into all his commercial success later on. (AAA) lacquers cut from tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on exclusive 180 gram olive green vinyl. Listening notes booklet by Andrew Winistorfer."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 2292LP
|
"While fighting through label limbo and placing his budding film career on freeze, Antwan 'Big Boi' Patton spent a couple years readying the artillery for his solo close-up. Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty is both a testament to the maturation of Big Boi and a tribute to his late father; underneath, it's a speakeasy at breakneck speed, sittin' on 32s. Where many other formidable MCs would be eaten alive, Big Boi shapeshifts across every mood and landscape with his trademark tenacity. He's an effortless showboat who can portray sleaze with ease, but he's a true class act who's got nothing left to prove, yet will never let it show. Flanked by his known co-conspirators and many more, Big Boi blesses the senses the way only an East Point playboy can; it's an intergenerational time warp, and another funky ride in HD. The final product is a natural progression of his Organized Noize lineage, sent across dimensions to return with an assemblage of time-tested potent Black grooves, then pressure-cooked in the kitchen of the finest booty club in Georgia. First vinyl reissue of Big Boi's proper solo debut. Pressed on 2LP purple and silver galaxy vinyl." "A monster of an album... it takes an extra special sort of swagger to pull this off." --Sean Fennessey, SPIN (9/10)
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 1117LP
|
"By All Means Necessary is often discussed like it's some departure from Criminal Minded. The moment KRS turned into 'The Teacha' and became a politically minded, socially conscious wordsmith. In reality, this is who he already was. Misunderstanding and tragedy is what compelled him to not only refocus on the role he wanted to play in hip-hop, but create an album that gave way to a very important movement in hip-hop, too. By All Means Necessary is an essential and definitive BDP and KRS album. It marks the moment where KRS wasn't just concerned with being a great emcee but a teacher, too, continuing his exploration of sociopolitical subjects on BDP's following three albums, as well as throughout his solo career. Boogie Down Productions' revolutionary sophomore album. Lacquers cut by Cicely Balston, AIR Mastering. Pressed on 180 gram orange vinyl. Listening notes booklet by Elijah Watson."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 1124LP
|
"The War Report, the 1997 brilliantly militant debut from Capone-N-Noreaga, was the VMP Hip-Hop Record of the Month in December 2022. 25th anniversary editions of CNN's brilliantly militant debut. Lacquers cut by Cicely Balston, Alchemy Mastering at AIR. Pressed on exclusive 2LP yellow vinyl. Listening notes booklet by Will Dukes."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 2323LP
|
"Uncontrolled Substance, the acclaimed 1999 solo debut from Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck, was the VMP Hip-Hop Record of the Month for January 2023. First-ever vinyl reissue of Deck's acclaimed debut album. Lacquers cut by Cicely Balston, Alchemy Mastering at AIR. Pressed on exclusive 2LP 'cop car' blue vinyl. Listening notes booklet by Steven Potter."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 2326LP
|
"'In spite of systemic challenges, there is some glory in Nappy Roots' humble lot -- at least, as they depict it. Anthems like 'Country Boyz,' the down and dirty 'Slums,' and 'Kentucky Mud' show a kind of refreshing solidarity with people who might not have ever heard themselves in hip-hop before. That was the Nappy movement, as its creators saw it: finding the joy and beauty, where one could, in an unfair system instead of trying to cover it up. Taking qualities and status perceived as undesirable -- 'nappiness,' rural living, being part of the working poor -- and finding within them a sense of community and appeal without masking all the things that make them so awful. As a new recession hit and the U.S. slid into yet another war, 'Po' Folks' reached #21 on the Hot 100; their message of humble resilience rang out everywhere. A new dimension of hip-hop had cut into the mainstream, one that was neither preachy nor apocalyptic but simply made in solidarity. As Deville put it, by way of explaining the album's title, it's 'the refreshment, the soul food -- the shit that's going to stick to you. Pressed on exclusive 2LP mud vinyl. Listening notes booklet by Natalie Weiner." "Stock-full of sweet pop hooks and loaded down with an easy good-time feeling." --AllMusic
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 1213LP
|
"When the Beat Konducta and his trusty alter ego link up for the sequel, another southern California blunt cruise ensues. The Adventures Of Lord Quas consists of a slow ride through the deepest corners of the crate, leaving no genre unearthed until it claims space in the haze of one's imagination. It's business as unusual: Madlib funnels his most twisted impulses and comedic sensibilities into a sonic slacker flick complete with good dope, bottom-shelf liquor, and a penchant for gazing mouth agape into the great unknown. But he knows Lord Quas like a good needle on wax, and they casually strut through the loops, much ado about frontin'. (Not like fake shit ain't a big deal, but it ain't a big enough deal.) This record captures Madlib and his id at their most frantic, indulgent, and often confusing; they trade neatness for chaos, continuity for collage in a barrage of the finest sounds this side of the B-side. It's hip-hop that takes every visible risk, often striking gold and proving how in control the Loop Digga truly is. Don't hit it too hard, your other selves might pay you a visit. First vinyl release of the full 66-minute album. Pressed on exclusive 2LP day/night vinyl. Exclusive alternate art + gatefold jacket."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 2298LP
|
"This album, a pair of gorgeous, androgynous longhairs with incredible cheekbones on its cover, showed up first. Its songs talked of girls with jewels on their lips riding zebras and a chance encounter with a wizard. The sound was a strange brew concocted from different strains of earlier rock 'n' roll: some folk, some rock, and an undeniable debt to Eddie Cochran. Marc Bolan's music, persona, and look were strange, beautiful, and whimsical enough that if you tried to explain his massive popularity to somebody born after the century Bolan lived in, for just shy of 30 years, it would probably sound like a story from eons ago. Glam came after T. Rex, but it's also just a skip to the Sex Pistols, Ramones, and more punk from there; it's also not far from the 'post' sounds that came out of New York and London around 1977 or the darkness and decadence of Siouxsie Sioux and Bauhaus either. The tarted-up heavy metal of Hanoi Rocks and Poison in the 1980s followed, and into this newer century, you can hear Bolan's direction heeded and reimagined by Alison Goldfrapp or Devendra Banhart. All of that is because of this album, the sound of Marc Bolan turning the key to unlock his true potential. His magically strange vision took shape here, and nothing has been the same since. (AAA) lacquers cut from the master tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on exclusive 180 gram 'jewel of frost' vinyl. Listening notes booklet by Jason Diamond."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 1174LP
|
"No one knows what happened to Jim Sullivan, but there have been various rumors floated involving the mob, police foul play, and, due to his closeness to Roswell, alien abduction. Because of the mystery of his disappearance, the lyrics on U.F.O. took on an otherworldly quality; the songs about aliens, and being in the sky, and disappearing seem like they were written to explain his disappearance, just written six years early. 180 gram coke bottle clear vinyl. Heavyweight gatefold tip-on jacket. Exclusive 16-page expanded liner notes."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 2262LP
|
"There was no other rapper like Lupe Fiasco making this much of a splash in the mainstream in 2006. Here was this bookish kid from the 'hood who could rap circles around Jay-Z and had the gall to pose with trinkets -- a Wee Ninja doll, a Nintendo DS, a copy of the Quran, a copy of his first Fahrenheit 1/15 mixtape, a toy robot -- on the cover for his debut. He may have been an anachronism in his time, but looking back, it's easy to see how he laid the groundwork for other high-minded emcees with crossover potential. There's moments of brilliance packed into every Lupe Fiasco album, but the equilibrium of Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor has been difficult for him to recreate. To this day, it remains the most potent and well-balanced of Lupe's work, a case of the corner boy and the scholar living in an otherworldly talented rapper's brain working in perfect harmony. Lupe's acclaimed debut album, featuring 'Kick, Push' and 'Daydreamin''. Lacquers cut by Barry Grint, AIR Mastering. Pressed on exclusive 2LP purple prism vinyl. Listening notes booklet by Dylan Green."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 1200LP
|
"The late '60s were a mixed bag for Muddy Waters. In 1969, Waters needed to pivot, and away from the longhairs. He made Fathers and Sons. Lacquers cut by Ryan Smith, Cohearent Audio. Pressed on 2LP 180 gram black vinyl. Exclusive listening notes booklet by Erin Osmon."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
VMP 1236LP
|
"The Coup's second album, 1994's Genocide & Juice, was an emboldened level-up from their first full length. While early Coup material had moments that blossomed on later efforts, Genocide & Juice was where those ideas deepened, becoming more pronounced as their catalog grew. Production wise, it's replete with colorful samples, thorough skits and big bass, a perfect intersection of '90s sample-based ingenuity and West Coast funk. Genocide & Juice is mainly two things: neighborhood tales and unapologetic worldviews bound with fisted activism -- made by the group's core members at the time -- Riley, Pam the Funkstress and E-Roc. But there are voices and sound effects woven throughout that give it more texture. Killer production that was able to sound both clearly professional while retaining its edge. At a concise 14 tracks, this album is one of the best sophomore efforts by any group, in any genre. First ever 2LP release of the Coup's bitingly satirical sophomore album. Lacquers cut by Cicely Balston, Alchemy Mastering at AIR. Pressed on exclusive 2LP orange galaxy vinyl. Listening notes booklet by David Ma."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VMP 1237LP
|
"Back to Back captures the instrumental aspect of the '67 Stax-Volt European tour ('Volt' is the name of Stax's subsidiary label). Immediately apparent is that the live versions of these songs are played much faster than the recorded ones. Exuberant? Definitely! These folks were racing across unfamiliar cultures and landscapes, reimagining their place in this world, looking down at the clouds for the first time. The pace was faster because their lives were -- quickly -- getting so much larger. In these recordings, you can hear all of that emotional exhilaration, all of that savoring of personal respect, that thrill of the new. Many of these songs were several years old, but they shine on Back to Back like they're being performed for the first time. Over and over, you hear the musicians throwing in something extra, curlicues and tangents that express their excitement. (AAA) lacquers cut from the mono master tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on exclusive 180 gram vinyl. Listening notes booklet by Robert Gordon."
|
viewing 1 To 25 of 51 items
Next >>
|
|