Vinyl Me Please Classics

duke86fan said:
tbf a non analogue productions duke ellington album would be a great pick for classics (such sweet thunder anyone?)
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Absolutely. He had so many great albums in the 50’s and 60’s. Such Sweet Thunder would be ideal. Far East Suite and ...And His Mother Called Him Bill would be fantastic as well. I don’t think any of those have gotten the AP treatment either.
 
zombie.modernist said:
Do folks here really not think there are any good 80s r&b albums that qualify as classics??
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It all depends on who you're talking to, but classics to me is more than an arbitrary amount of years that have passed. It's like what people consider the "golden years of hip hop". To me, it's clearly the early to mid 90s. To some others, it's the 80s. You'd be hard pressed to find someone say it's around the year 2000, despite that being 20 years ago. No doubt there are great albums from then too. 20-30 years from now, an arbitrary amount of time would have passed from the hip hop music of today. I very much doubt that anyone would say Migos, Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, Cardi B, and City Girls were the golden years of hip hop. Despite the popularity, I just don't think it will be.

R&B and soul music is my bread and butter. I'm not an old man (born in the 80s). There are great albums from the 80s. Who can deny Luther Vandross, Phyllis Hyman, Whitney Houston, Billy Ocean, Anita Baker etc? That said, how do the great R&B and soul albums from the 80s stack up to the 60s and 70s? In my opinion, they don't. This is all subjective of course, and it all boils down to a matter of personal taste. For my tastes, the 60s and 70s output is better, and ironically sounds less dated. There's lots of funky things going on in 80s music in terms of sound production and style. Lots of drum machines, synths, and other things that just sound dated, as opposed to earlier R&B and soul music that used backing bands.

Lemme tell you, a horn and rhythm section backing you will never go out of style or sound dated. It's why a 55 year old Otis Redding record still sounds fresh today, while a Bobby Brown record from a little over 30 years ago sounds like a hokey, dated shtick in comparison. Listen to anything by Otis Redding, then put on "Don't Be Cruel" by Bobby Brown. Forget the range of the singers, just listen to the sound and the instrumentation. That to me is the key difference between the eras, and why I personally wouldn't consider the output of the 80s as classic, despite there being tons of great music from that time period.
 
btf1980 said:
It all depends on who you're talking to, but classics to me is more than an arbitrary amount of years that have passed. It's like what people consider the "golden years of hip hop". To me, it's clearly the early to mid 90s. To some others, it's the 80s. You'd be hard pressed to find someone say it's around the year 2000, despite that being 20 years ago. No doubt there are great albums from then too. 20-30 years from now, an arbitrary amount of time would have passed from the hip hop music of today. I very much doubt that anyone would say Migos, Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, Cardi B, and City Girls were the golden years of hip hop. Despite the popularity, I just don't think it will be.

R&B and soul music is my bread and butter. I'm not an old man (born in the 80s). There are great albums from the 80s. Who can deny Luther Vandross, Phyllis Hyman, Whitney Houston, Billy Ocean, Anita Baker etc? That said, how do the great R&B and soul albums from the 80s stack up to the 60s and 70s? In my opinion, they don't. This is all subjective of course, and it all boils down to a matter of personal taste. For my tastes, the 60s and 70s output is better, and ironically sounds less dated. There's lots of funky things going on in 80s music in terms of sound production and style. Lots of drum machines, synths, and other things that just sound dated, as opposed to earlier R&B and soul music that used backing bands.

Lemme tell you, a horn and rhythm section backing you will never go out of style or sound dated. It's why a 55 year old Otis Redding record still sounds fresh today, while a Bobby Brown record from a little over 30 years ago sounds like a hokey, dated shtick in comparison. Listen to anything by Otis Redding, then put on "Don't Be Cruel" by Bobby Brown. Forget the range of the singers, just listen to the sound and the instrumentation. That to me is the key difference between the eras, and why I personally wouldn't consider the output of the 80s as classic, despite there being tons of great music from that time period.
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Counterpoint: would people be complaining if an 80s Prince record was a Classics pick?
 
btf1980 said:
It all depends on who you're talking to, but classics to me is more than an arbitrary amount of years that have passed. It's like what people consider the "golden years of hip hop". To me, it's clearly the early to mid 90s. To some others, it's the 80s. You'd be hard pressed to find someone say it's around the year 2000, despite that being 20 years ago. No doubt there are great albums from then too. 20-30 years from now, an arbitrary amount of time would have passed from the hip hop music of today. I very much doubt that anyone would say Migos, Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, Cardi B, and City Girls were the golden years of hip hop. Despite the popularity, I just don't think it will be.

R&B and soul music is my bread and butter. I'm not an old man (born in the 80s). There are great albums from the 80s. Who can deny Luther Vandross, Phyllis Hyman, Whitney Houston, Billy Ocean, Anita Baker etc? That said, how do the great R&B and soul albums from the 80s stack up to the 60s and 70s? In my opinion, they don't. This is all subjective of course, and it all boils down to a matter of personal taste. For my tastes, the 60s and 70s output is better, and ironically sounds less dated. There's lots of funky things going on in 80s music in terms of sound production and style. Lots of drum machines, synths, and other things that just sound dated, as opposed to earlier R&B and soul music that used backing bands.

Lemme tell you, a horn and rhythm section backing you will never go out of style or sound dated. It's why a 55 year old Otis Redding record still sounds fresh today, while a Bobby Brown record from a little over 30 years ago sounds like a hokey, dated shtick in comparison. Listen to anything by Otis Redding, then put on "Don't Be Cruel" by Bobby Brown. Forget the range of the singers, just listen to the sound and the instrumentation. That to me is the key difference between the eras, and why I personally wouldn't consider the output of the 80s as classic, despite there being tons of great music from that time period.
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Good points, don’t fully agree, but I can’t deny I also prefer the 60s and 70s sound for almost every genre other than post punk. I think you’re dead on with the fact that some dated quickly. I think it’s almost like those early CGI laden movies, where the new technology was necessary for progress but was so unpolished it sticks out as a transitionary point.
 
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btw did anyone notice the plastic sleeve Aretha Now came in was a bit more high-quality than the usual ROTM fare? Like, it still had the foldover adhesive but the plastic felt like it had a heavier quality, more in line with the typical poly bags that you buy.

Roots and El-P both used the usual flimsy plastic that split with the slightest bit of pressure, but I'm hoping that maybe they'll fully switch over to the one they used for Aretha in the coming months.
 
mitchwagz said:
Absolutely. He had so many great albums in the 50’s and 60’s. Such Sweet Thunder would be ideal. Far East Suite and ...And His Mother Called Him Bill would be fantastic as well. I don’t think any of those have gotten the AP treatment either.
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but that makes too much sense for VMP classics so they probably will never do that... despite it actually being really cool (im not even a duke ellington fan)
 
bettim84 said:
Counterpoint: would people be complaining if an 80s Prince record was a Classics pick?
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btf1980 said:
It depends. Controversy/1999 Prince or Lovesexy/Batman soundtrack Prince? Prince in the 80s has a wide range.

I personally think Prince fits better in the Essentials category.
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wmeugene said:
No offense to Patrice Rushen (I like what I've heard of this pick), but her and Prince are not remotely on the same level. Prince is one of the 5/10 best musicians/performers/acts of all time across 20th century music.
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keylime_5 said:
I mean Prince would go in Essentials obviously so it’s moot, but that type of music doesn’t fit in the Classics track imo no matter your taste alongside stuff like Al Green, Muddy Waters, Dave Brubeck, Stax, etc.
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Valid points all but none of you answered the question. FWIW I’m not the biggest Prince fan but I know a lot of people here are. My point (and I doubt I’m the only one who feels that way) is that a Prince Classics pick (say, Controversy) would be well received.

I understand some of the criticism of the Patrice Rushen pick (readily available, not everyone’s cup of tea, etc.) but I guess I don’t agree with the “if it’s 80s it’s not Classics material” argument. Btw Patrice Rushen was a jazz pianist before her R&B/pop phase. She’s objectively a talented musician.
 
bettim84 said:
Counterpoint: would people be complaining if an 80s Prince record was a Classics pick?
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Yes. I'd like the album but it doesn't fit with the narrative they have formed from past selections. I would want it in essentials.

I'm not saying it's not a "classic" album. I'm saying when I signed up the track was exclusively 70's and earlier to the best of my recollection. The unwritten message that sent me was I can expect more of the same. I have enjoyed all the classics in that range so far. Even added and swapped to get the older stuff. For me if they are moving the date up to the 80's I just won't be interested. That doesn't mean there are not "classic" albums in that era, but it doesn't fit what the track has been or what I've come to expect. It's a change (for better or worse) I don't like the change personally.
 
bettim84 said:
Valid points all but none of you answered the question. FWIW I’m not the biggest Prince fan but I know a lot of people here are. My point (and I doubt I’m the only one who feels that way) is that a Prince Classics pick (say, Controversy) would be well received
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I'll actually counter that by saying that a Classics (or any track) release of Controversy would be the most pointless release in that series from VMP and would receive a lot of backlass.

The reason being that the 2011 press was cut all analog by Bernie Grundman and pressed at RTI, and is easily found for $20ish new.

www.discogs.com

Prince - Controversy

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2011 Vinyl release of "Controversy" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com

Now, if it were say, "Love Symbol" - I'd be all over that
 
Did pick it up thanks. Toying around with scooping up my last swap and calling it a day after this month.

Is there usually enough quantity out where I could stalk their pick and then pick it up somewhere else most of the time or will I miss a few too many picks?
 
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