Vinyl turns 60
Although analysts and nay-sayers have predicted its demise for the last half-century, the good old vinyl album simply refuses to roll over and die as hi-fi purists, DJ�s, young hipsters and simply those with a keen sense of history continue to argue its corner as the most emotionally charged and sonically-rich means of hearing your favourite tracks.
As methods of music carriage grow ever tinier and conceptual � the romance of the album becomes more compelling with the passage of time. The rituals and reminiscences attached� the artwork� the inner sleeve� the sheer size of the package � all take on potency as time passes. The limitations of the format meant that every masterwork had to come in around the 40 minute mark. Because there was no self-programming � the only running order you knew was the one that was painstakingly concocted in the studio. That�s why it�s impossible to hear �Visions� from Steve Wonder�s Innervision without waiting to hear �Living In The City� about to start. Or getting ready for �Blue Condition� to end on Disraeli Gears by Cream so you could hear �Brave Ulysses�. If you wanted to skip a track � you had to get up off your backside to move the needle on. And that of course was all part of the love affair. And now, according to Billboard � there is a growing generation who are eschewing CD altogether and plumping instead for a vinyl version and a download instead. s
To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the long-playing record, Universal Music Group is proud to announce the release of 80 titles (in four batches) on much loved 30cm black vinyl across 2008; starting with the first batch of 20 titles in July 2008. All will be exact replicas of the original packages. Classics of the past sixty-years will be available again!
No mere history exercise for dewy-eyed oldies � each album contains a voucher enabling the purchaser to download MP3 versions of the songs within!
The releases begin July 19th 2008 � it�s time to embrace the past � as we march into the future!
Titles in the first batch include classics from Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Kiss, Marvin Gaye, Cream and ABBA � alongside more contemporary offerings from artists such as Eminem and Amy Winehouse.
Future releases are rumoured to include Guns n� Roses, Nirvana, Stevie Wonder, Bon Jovi, John Coltrane, The Who, Sonic Youth and many many more.
Get Back to Black.
