Today, we’re taking a trip back to 1993. A world where Clarence and Alabama met, fell in love, got married and became unwitting cocaine dealers all in a matter of days. Does it sound unrealistic? Maybe so, but never-the-less- it’s a great story! I loved True Romance from the very first time I saw it about fifteen years ago, and it’s been on my “movies I need to watch once a year” list ever since. What’s not to love? For starters, it was written by Quentin Tarantino, although he did not direct it as he was too busy with Pulp Fiction. Second, it’s got a star-studded cast featuring Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, and Christopher Walken. Still need more convincing? Enter Hans Zimmer.

     I’ve always been of the opinion that a soundtrack, or in this case- a score, can make or break a film. Never has this been more than in the case of True Romance. Hans Zimmer has scored many a great movie, but True Romance might just be his finest hour. Don’t believe me? Read on. I’ll change your mind. The main theme, titled ‘You’re so cool’ clinks and clonks along with a quirky and meandering xylophone-driven beat that walks in perfect lock-step of the movie itself. The music undulates along, dropping in and out just in time for pie in the sky moments through out the movie, and it has a way of easing the thick, violent tension that permeates throughout this (feel good?) story. How can we be sad that Clarence will be a half blind, eye patch wearing (former?) drug dealer when Hans Zimmer and his nine-man symphony is urging to crack and smile, and not worry? All the while we see Clarence’s new bride, Alabama looking on adoringly while repeating, “You’re so cool.” It’s a prime example of the masterful interplay that director Tony Scott and composer Hans Zimmer share throughout the film. 

     The score that Hans Zimmer has gifted us has an urgency to it, but shining through that urgency is a hyper-active whimsy;  if you’ve seen the movie, then you understand that like many Tarantino written films, these characters firmly straddle the line between good and evil, light and dark, and violence and camp. Tarantino’s mind is full of various universes too embellished and vivid to ever exist realistically. But Tarantino doesn’t deal in reality.  No, these are hyper-flawed characters, existing in a fluid universe, buoyed by nothing more than suspension of disbelief. The music that Hans Zimmer has set in motion perfectly coincides with the events we watch unfold in True Romance. They say nothing is perfect, but this time around Hans Zimmer came pretty damn close.

     All poetry and praise aside, for a long time, too long really, this triumphant score was unavailable in the physical form; more importantly, it wasn’t available on vinyl. However, vinyl collectors need not wait any longer, as Enjoy The Ride Records has come to our rescue just in time! While it’s actually been available trough Enjoy The Ride since 2018 (the film’s 25th anniversary), that doesn’t mean we can’t take the time to sing Enjoy The Rides praises now, right? Right. So, initially we had the ‘Blood Splatter Variant’ which coincided with the film’s aforementioned 25th anniversary. Sadly, I missed the boat on that. After that, we saw three more awesome variants with ‘Leopard Print’ (my favorite), ‘Cocaine Explosion,’ and lastly and also the one I happen to own, ‘Gun Metal Grey,’ which happens to be the retail variant. With that all out of the way, let’s talk pressing quality. As usual, Enjoy The Ride held up their end of the bargain, and delivered a dead quiet pressing, which spins flat as a pancake on my Technics SL-1200. I have a very sensitive setup, with a high-end cartridge. If there was an issue with this pressing, my rig would gobble this thing up, chew it up and spit it out like it was nothing, but that’s not the case. My Audio Technica cart glided along the grooves of Enjoy The Ride’s True Romance Score like a hot knife through butter. Not a pop, click or hiss to heard, and it looks beautiful to boot.

     Speaking of looks, if there’s one thing that Enjoy The Ride has a handle on, it’s packaging. There are some really beautifully-done illustrations of the film’s most iconic scenes littered about the front and back cover, but the gatefold is the real showstopper here. Crack open the gatefold, and you will be greeted with a bloodied and battered Alabama about to bludgeon a mafioso to death with the butt of a shotgun. Her platinum blond hair drenched in blood and sweat, glued to her makeup covered face, as she shrieks in the pain and horror of what she’s about to do. Those that have seen the movie will remember this scene well. I found myself looking at the intricate details of the front and back covers, listening along to music, and getting lost in the scenes of this movie I have come to know and love over the last decade and half of my life. The packaging, like the soundtrack, encompasses this film so well, and through it, I was transported into Quentin Tarantino’s effervescent world of violence and mayhem all from the safety of my couch!

     True Romance is a great movie. It’s also a movie that also happens to have a wonderful and iconic score. Over the course of twenty-five plus years, the film has gained a ravenous cult following, and so when Enjoy The Ride took on this project, they must have known it was critical that they deliver…and deliver they have! There are a lot of companies out there peddling nostalgia via soundtrack, but all too often we end up with a halfcocked, slipshod product filled with a myriad of defects, poor pressing quality, no quality control, and underwhelming packing writhe with a lack of vision or care for the consumer. This is not the case with Enjoy The Ride. Yes,  it’s true that Enjoy The Ride does deal in nostalgia, which comes with heavy expectations as we tend to hold our fondest memories of the past near and dear to our hearts. It in this arena that Enjoy The Ride truly rises to the occasion. What they manage to do, time and time again, is elicit memories of days gone by, and cast them in the kindest, most technicolor light so that as we look upon this artwork, set to this music, we cannot help but smile, and fondly remember. Yes, Enjoy The Ride knows that if you’re going to deal in nostalgia you absolutely have to deliver, and with the True Romance Score, Enjoy The Ride has shrewdly delivered the album that the cult of True Romance as well as hordes of vinyl lovers have been waiting for. In the world of soundtracks, when Enjoy The Ride shows up - we know it. When they hit - they hit hard. And when they do what they do - no one does it better.

Andrew Daly is 32 years old, and is from Long Island, NY, where he lives with his wife Angela, and their four cats, Oliver, Patrick, Charlie and Kevin. Andrew the Editor of the Vinyl Junkies newsletter as well as a freelance writer and guerrilla journalist. In addition to his Tales From the Stacks series, he also conducts interviews with various artists, labels and people of interest throughout the industry. Having collected vinyl since he was a child in the 1990’s, Andrew’s collection of over 4,500 vinyl albums tells the story of his passion for all that is music.

It’s really special when an album you love dearly turns 15. As a former Jonas Brothers’ superfan in her mid-20s, most of the records that have left a mark on my life are barely pre-teens, so I’m only just now experiencing the harrowing reality that time never stops. Or maybe time is just an illusion. It sure feels that way right now during a global pandemic with no promise for future gigs or future anything. But, maybe Ludo’s Broken Bride will help you escape your seemingly apocalyptic world for another one as it does for me. My favorite album from Ludo is celebrating her quinceañera this summer and I think it’s time for me to rave about it. 

Broken Bride is one of those records that effortlessly creeps back into my life from time to time. I call it ‘Rediscovering Ludo’ because every single time I listen to Broken Bride (or any of their releases), I feel like it’s the very first time all over again. Introducing Broken Bride to someone new usually means I will listen to it a handful of times in a row and try to reimagine the record as a newcomer. For the past 15 years, I’ve grown and relearned how to love this album from different perspectives of my life, which is why it’s made such an impact on it and the way I absorb and love music. 

The EP consists of just five movements: Pt. 1: Broken Bride, Save Our City, Pt. 2: Tonight’s The Night, Pt. 3: The Lamb and The Dragon, and finally Pt. 4: Morning In May. As a rock opera, Broken Bride possesses a variety of sounds ranging from the traditional rock vibe to a western rock sound (complete with bandit whistling) and comes to a dramatic, tearful end with a piano ballad. Some early melodies reprise over other songs and when paired with creative, storytelling lyrics you’d find on Panic! At The Disco’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, Broken Bride becomes a musical masterpiece. It’s thunderous and it’s tranquil, it’s contemplative and it’s impulsive. There’s zombies and dinos and dragons, oh my! It tackles grief and has a shimmer of hope. It’s got everything because it’s a tale from start to finish but, for continuity’s sake, I want to talk about the songs in a different, more chronological order.

SAVE OUR CITY

In my opinion, the storyline of Broken Bride begins with “Save Our City.” Taking place in 2005, when the album was released, “Save Our City” acts as an interlude and tells the story of an apocalyptic world taken over by zombies. It begins with a conversation between the mayor of an unnamed city and a civilian, who is trying to rally the city’s people to rise against the dead. The mayor feels hopeless in this battle and inadequate to lead his people, so amid the discussion, he shoots himself in the head. Without missing a beat, the boy steps over the mayor’s lifeless body and takes charge to save his city.

The boy steps through the window
And cries out from the ledge to the people below
“There's a time to pray and there's a time to fight
Anything can be a weapon if you're holding it right
Defend what is yours, they will not take our souls
It’s time now to rise and fight”

This song simply sets the scene for our protagonist (let’s call him Michael for biblical reasons) as he is putting his finishing touches on his time machine. You read that correctly—a time machine. The wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey goodness of a time-traveling story.

Michael, who has been working on his machine for the past fifteen years, finally decides it’s time to go. The world is going to shit and the only thing that would help ease his troubles would be to hold his wife again. He decides that night to try and open the time portal that will transport him back to the day his wife died.

1. 2: TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT

“Save Our City” bleeds right into “Tonight’s The Night,” which is technically the album’s second movement. It serves as an internal monologue for Michael, who explains to us that his wife died in a car accident back in May 1989.

Oh baby, baby, how I lost my mind
Time is quite the killer when you're left behind
The airbag held you 'til the engine slept
At home your pillow cooled while the willows wept

This song is the shortest on the album but is crucial to the story because it’s the night he finally revs up his time machine and makes his initial trip back in time. However, there’s a misfire, and he ends up in the prehistoric age and finds himself fighting off pterodactyls as he tries to fix his machine. 

1. 1: BROKEN BRIDE

As the album’s actual first song, “Broken Bride” really gets into Michael’s mindset and the way he’s handling his grief over losing his wife so tragically, which is not well. He spent fifteen whole years designing this machine to go back and save her life, and now he’s crash-landed in a world of dinosaurs. Throughout this record, Michael battles all kinds of monsters from zombies to dinosaurs, and later on, a dragon. I feel like I can understand his frustration, especially when he has to repair his time machine after its maiden voyage in an age where science hasn’t exactly been discovered yet. I think the most jarring thing about this scene for him, though, is the fact that his crash site reminds him of the car accident that took his wife. 

Like motor oil down my throat, I couldn't speak, I dropped the phone
The burning flares, the steam, your hair, bits of glass, they sparkled everywhere
Like winter nights, the stars, the ice all intertwined to hold and keep
Like petals pressed in sheets, making love to moonlight in our sleep
And now above the pits of tar, in a cave I hide
That massive, screaming thing with wings of reaper's cloth
It's standing just outside
I must get to my machine, I will bring you back to life
Fix your ruined lungs, I'll undo what time has done

Michael loses hope in getting back to his present day, let alone back to 1989. In his defeat, he seeks shelter in a cave where he carves his wife’s name into the wall, but he knows it’ll eventually be washed away with the ice age. No one will have heard of his journey or of his wife, and that idea motivates him to fix his machine and try again. 

I carve your sweet name into the cave
I'm sure to die
All my strife has been in vain
The glaciers come and wash my words away

1. 3: THE LAMB AND THE DRAGON

The machine fires up, the portal opens, and Michael narrowly escapes the Jurassic world he crashed into. This time, however, he’s traveled into the future to the very end of the world. This dystopian world is gruesome and always reminds me of Alex Pardee’s artwork. Through rapid lyrics, Ludo describes what Earth looks like now and it isn’t pretty. The oceans have dried up, leaving corpses of marine life in its wake. The sun is black, which makes the world void of light. The town is riddled with ongoing earthquakes. Fear has overthrown civilization and the apocalypse has officially settled in with the Four Horsemen and all. This song is caked in religious undertones, which is why I named our protagonist Michael. 

In the Book of Revelation, the archangel Michael becomes the hero during the War in Heaven, slaying a dragon and defeating Satan, all that jazz. This is exactly what happens in our story, but with a twist, of course. As Michael watches innocent people die in the line of the Dragon’s fire, he realizes that this battle isn’t his to fight and decides he needs to flee, he needs to make his way to 1989 and save his wife’s life.

I watch these people fall
The Dragon shrieks and burns it all
I flip the circuits on, I've got dragons of my own
The portal glows and my machine's destroyed

While a little vague, I always interpret this bridge as the portal blowing up, killing the Dragon, and destroying Michael’s machine once and for all. The end of the song can be taken in many ways, but I think the war ends, Michael meets God, and God grants him his final wish: to see his wife again. He travels for a final time and finds himself outside of his home with his wife still in bed. It’s finally May 1989.

And now I'm coming home, my dear
The light is warm, outside at dawn
The garden has no weeds, no grave beneath the tree
Through the silent house, my love, after all
Curled up in a ball, there you are...

PT 4: MORNING IN MAY

Michael crawls into bed with his wife and cuddles her for the first time in fifteen years. It’s the morning that she will die. Through this song, he speaks blatantly about the grief he endured, about how his friends and family tried to help him cope, but that he knew only his wife could console him. He tries to savor these minutes with her before she frantically gets out of bed and waves goodbye to him as she leaves for work. He stops her, gets in on the passenger side, and chooses to die by her side in that fateful car accident. 

As you're starting the car and I'm tearing inside
I knock on your window, you stop just in time
Around to the other side
I say, "Baby, I thought I'd come along for the ride."

I've been waiting for so long
(Time slows and I take your hand)
To touch you and sleep in your eyes
(I hold you as we lose control)
Together, our hearts beating so hard
Hold on, baby, we're almost home

Broken Bride was the first rock album I’ve ever heard that told a continuous story from start to finish, and before that, I only experienced this form of storytelling through musicals. Ludo has without a doubt helped shape my taste in music, which is a solid mixture of Broadway and emo bands from the early 2000s, and my love for live performances. Two of my most memorable gig moments came from seeing Ludo in concert. 

In 2010, Ludo released their third studio album Prepare the Preparations and toured it around the US. As they performed their single “Whipped Cream,” they had the crowd do the dance from the music video, which is something I have never experienced before in my life, and I’ve honestly never experienced it since. It created this foolish atmosphere and had fans laughing at themselves and one another, forming a bond between us that I carry with me still a decade later.

My favorite moment, however, was from a concert in 2011. Ludo had the audience sit on the floor, disconnected their instruments from the pickups, and walked through the crowd singing “Love Me Dead” acoustically. I’ve been to so many shows now and that hasn’t happened since but has absolutely changed the live music game for me forever.

One thing that this quarantine has brought us all has been music. From a surprise Taylor Swift record to livestream concerts, music still strives to be a steady part of our lives. And finally, after ten years, Ludo is back in the studio once again, preparing to bring a little more light to this hellish year.

Rhiannon Leigh is a medical assistant and cat mom from the Greater Philadelphia area. When she’s not taking care of her oncology patients, she occupies her time by writing music reviews for Cut It Out Magazine and Galaxy Magazine, and by spending her paycheck on growing her vinyl collection.

Well, it’s that time of year again. The end of Summer. The temperature begins to drop. Leaves start falling. Less sun. More clouds. Things start to smell differently. If you’re a beach goer, then you’re probably pretty bummed, but if you’re like me, and your average body temperature is somewhere between the surface of the sun and a raging volcano, then you’re probably welcoming Fall and the cooler weather with open arms. With that being said, the Summer isn’t over just yet, and there’s still at least a few weeks to bask in the chill vibes of the sunny season. So, before we welcome hoodie weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and the sound of leaves crunching under our feet, first let’s wind down with some of my favorite Summer tracks.

5) The Only Place by Best Coast

When I think of chill, beachy Summer vibes, I think of California, which is kind of crazy considering I’ve never actually be there. With ‘The Only Place,’ Best Coast rattles off just about everything that makes the Golden State the best place to be in the Summer. Summer is often thought about as a celebration, and with this song, Best Coast gave us an anthem to start off every beach day. Listening to this track, one cannot help but imagine riding down the coast line on a warm, breezy day, top down and not a care in the world. So, slip on your favorite pair of sandals, and your best pair of imitation gas station Ray Bans and crank this tune loud while you celebrate all things Summer!

4) Doin’ Time/Summertime by Sublime

The end of Summer has this weird way of forcing us to look back. Not just on the closing season, but seemingly on the entire year to date. At least, that’s the effect that it tends to have on me. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just something that happens. Maybe it does for you, too? Anyway, ‘Doin’ Time’ is a classic late 90’s jam from the seminal third wave Ska band, Sublime. For those of you that are a little younger, it was also covered by Lana Del Rey in 2019. Regardless of which version you prefer, the song is a Summer staple. It’s chill, meditative vibe is best served with a cold Corona and lime while slouched in your comfiest beach chair. The song itself sees the narrator looking back on the situations he’s recently found himself in, all the while immersed in the easy living vibes of a hot, steamy Summer. An in-depth look at the lyrics prove somewhat bitter, but the music and vibe go down smooth as strawberry margaritas on a warm, cool August evening.

3) (Sittin’ On The) Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding

 I’m from Long Island, New York. I’ve lived on the South Shore basically my whole entire life. While I’ve never lived on literal beach front property, I’ve also never truly been more than a 5 minute drive from the water, either. Generally speaking, the closest body of water to me has always been the Great South Bay, and now the Shinnecock Bay, and so this song has always really resonated with me. It’s an especially chill Summer song. It beckons memories of lazy days spent doing nothing but kicking back and relaxing. The song itself caresses your ears with the gentle sounds of lapping waves, and care free whistling, with the narrator encouraging us to clear our minds, and enjoy the tranquil sounds of Summer on the water. If there was ever a song which embodies the spirit of “Time you enjoy wasting is never wasted,” ‘(Sittin’ On The) Dock of the Bay’ would be it.

2) Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is on fire lately. One of the things that makes her great is her innate ability to connect with her fans, and ‘Cruel Summer’ is no exception. The song details the narrator’s highly painful experience while falling for a Summer crush. Ah yes, the Summer romance. Many of us have been there as kids. School is out. You have what feels like a lifetime ahead of you. The world is suddenly bright, sunny and full of flowers, and you’ve found yourself “in love” for the first time. Suddenly, as quickly as it began, the Summer ends, and your supposed love life comes crashing down along with it. It’s a classic tale of teenage woe. So, with this song Taylor Swift elicits those memories of “love” lost, while coupling them with smooth, synth vibes cascading to a beautiful crescendo as the song comes to a close. If you’re the poetic type you might even liken Swift’s tale of love lost to Summer giving way to the brisk, cold air of Fall.

1) The Boys of Summer by Don Henley

Sometimes I like to try and dig deep, and surprise the reader with my picks. Other times it’s all too obvious. Why try and reinvent the wheel, right? In 1984, Don Henley wrote the quintessential Summer song, and in my opinion, no one has bettered him since. Really, what’s not to love? It’s chill. It’s anthemic. It’s seemingly upbeat, with a deep, dark melancholic underbelly. If Summer could be described in terms of old school, black and white noir, ‘The Boys of Summer’ would be the plot. Recently, Taylor Swift brought us back to a time when young love slipped through our adolescent fingers, but here Don Henley has taken things to the next level. The song is steeped in nostalgia, and yearning for seemingly better times and lost ideals of previous generations. A quote by writer Tim Lowery basically sums it up best: “Anyone who claims not to feel chill when Henley recounts seeing a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac probably needs a pulse check. This is beachside existentialism 101.”

 That wraps up my Songs for the End of Summer list. I hope you’re allowing the chill vibes to wash over you like cool ocean water. While Summer may be almost over, there’s still time to soak up the sun and hit the beach. Now all that’s left for you to do go hunting for all of these records, but don’t stop there! There are dozens upon dozens of fun and interesting Summer themed records waiting to be discovered. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Summer! While you’re at it, pair the sunshine with a record, and head over to the ETR Store and choose a category to snag a fun mystery grab bag vinyl album for only $9.99!

Until next time, keep on spinning.

Andrew Daly is from Long Island, NY, where he lives with his wife Angela, and their four cats, Oliver, Patrick, Charlie and Kevin. Andrew is an Operations Manager by day, and a true vinyl junkie by night. Having collected vinyl since he was a child in the 1990’s, Andrew’s collection of over 4,400 vinyl albums tells the story of his passion for all that is music

It’s Christmas in July! No, I am not being ironic. Christmas in July is actually a thing. Even though the weather may be hot and sunny, or depending on where you are, rainy and humid, that doesn’t mean we can’t fill our hearts and ears with Christmas glee. Given how long this year has already been, it’s never too early to start your Christmas shopping, or at the very least, get into the festive and giving mode we tend to find ourselves in come Christmas. Just don’t start packing on that holiday weight too soon! It is still beach season, after all! Like many of you probably do, my wife and I have a growing collection of Christmas music on vinyl. With that in mind, I figured what better time than now to look back on some of my favorite holiday records? If you don’t have these, now is the perfect time to do some shopping so that come December your holiday collection will be jam packed with Christmas glee. If you do have some of these, then sit back and bask in the nostalgia while I run through my Top-5 Christmas albums for vinyl lovers!

5) Lou Monte – Merry Christmas from Pepino the Italian Mouse. 1978

I’m from Long Island, New York. Born and raised, and still living here to this day. If any of you grew up on Long Island as well, then you may recall a local radio station called B-103. I can still hear their jingle in my head, “Beeeeeeeeee 1-0-3 LONG ISLAND.” Now, if you remember that, then you probably also recall that just after Thanksgiving, the station would change over from its regular schedule of oldies, to nothing but Christmas music all the way through New Year’s Day. I still remember sitting in the back of my Dad’s Chevy Impala, listening to “Dominick The Donkey.” Lou Monte’s Merry Christmas from Pepino the Italian Mouse is essential Christmas listening, as it contains “Dominick the Donkey” and other fun Christmas tunes, all sung in a sort of tongue-in-cheek manner. It’s the kind of record you loved as a kid, then forgot about as an adult. Then one day comes along, and you remember it, and you sit back and wonder how you’ve lived without it for so long. Don’t torture yourself any longer. Get out and find Merry Christmas from Pepino the Italian Mouse today!

4) Soul Christmas. 1968

Do you like R&B and Soul music? If so, then Soul Christmas is most definitely for you. Over the last few years, my wife and I have started a beautiful tradition. We open a bottle of wine, drag out all of our Christmas decorations from the depths of our closet, and then we spend the next several hours unpacking, and slowly decorating our home for the Christmas season. Do any of you do this as well? If not, then give it a try! It’s a wonderful way to ring in the happiest of seasons with the one you love. Part of our tradition is that we play one Christmas record after the other while we decorate. Over time, we have found that Soul Christmas soundtracks this process better than maybe any other Christmas record we have. The best Christmas albums stay true to tradition, while also at the same time taking things in a new direction. This album finds the perfect middle ground of old and new. Plus, any album that features the likes of Otis Redding, Carla Thomas and Clarence Carter simply can’t be bad. If you haven’t heard this yet, check it out. You will not be disappointed. 

3) Mariah Carey – Merry Christmas. 1994

If you were a kid in the 90’s like myself, then you remembered being dragged around JC Penney and Macy’s by your parents, while hearing “All I Want for Christmas Is You” blaring on repeat from the overhead speakers. Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas is a modern-day staple of the holiday season, and a prime example of a seminal pop artist at the height of her powers. The album is laced with gospel and soul-inflected vocals, and features a combination of classic Christmas covers, as well as several original compositions. Love it or hate it, this record is an undeniable holiday juggernaut, as it has sold 5.7 million copies in the United States alone, and has been certified platinum 6 times over by the Recording Industry Association of America. Worldwide, it has sold 15 million copies, which for those keeping score, makes it the best-selling Christmas album of all time! All that aside, for us 90’s kids it’s a trip down memory lane, and a way to nostalgically remember a time before Amazon, when we actually had to go out and buy our Christmas gifts in person, while gently being serenaded by Long Island’s very own pop diva, Mariah Carey. There is a super fun version of this album on red vinyl. I highly recommend it during the Christmas season!

2) Christmas with The Chipmunks. 1962

Christmas is a fun time of year. So, what better way to ring in the most wonderful time of year than with an album that’s as fun as it gets in Christmas with The Chipmunks? I didn’t grow up with Alvin and the Chipmunks in its original form, but I did grow up watching the re-runs. I suspect many of you did, too. This album showcases all that’s fun about Christmas. Everything about this record screams Christmas fun. With its vividly colored front cover, which shows Alvin, Simon and Theodor opening presents too early, while a grouchy Dave watches on, to its cute and carefree versions of Christmas staples sung by our favorite cartoon critters. This is album that you simply cannot go wrong with. Especially if you have kids, or if you’re just a big kid like myself. If you can’t get your hands on an original copy, recent represses of the album have awesome foil covers which shimmer and shine in the light of your Christmas tree. It’s truly a sight to see.

1) Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas. 1965

No list of the best Christmas albums on vinyl would be complete without the absolutely classic A Charlie Brown Christmas. This timeless and jazzy soundtrack to the film of the same name has been at the forefront of nearly every boy and girl’s Christmas morning for the last 55 years. It simply doesn’t matter how old you are, no Christmas is complete without the lovable Peanuts gang singing “Christmas Time Is Here.” It’s incredible to think that just before the release of the original Christmas special, and its accompanying soundtrack, that executives at both CBS and Fantasy records expected to project to be an unmitigated disaster. Boy how wrong they were! The soundtrack was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2012 it was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry list of “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important” American sound recordings. Want to make Christmas Eve especially memorable this year? Try pairing this record with a delicious cup of warm eggnog, or hot chocolate, and some Christmas sugar cookies. Settle in with your loved ones, and the enjoy the timeless and warm sounds of Vince Guaraldi’s indelible Christmas classic. What more is there to say? You need this record. Here’s to you, Charlie Brown!

So, that’s it. My Top-5 Christmas Albums for Vinyl Lovers. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Now all that’s left for you to do go hunting for all of these records, but don’t stop there! There are dozens upon dozens of fun and interesting Christmas records waiting to be discovered. I hope you all enjoy Christmas in July. While you’re at it, treat yourself to a Christmas in July present and head over to https://enjoytheriderecords.com/collections/on-sale/products/etr-mystery-grab-bag and choose a category to snag your fun mystery grab bag vinyl album for only $9.99! Until next time, keep on spinning.

Andrew Daly is from Long Island, NY, where he lives with his wife Angela, and their four cats, Oliver, Patrick, Charlie and Kevin. Andrew is an Operations Manager by day, and a true vinyl junkie by night. Having collected vinyl since he was a child in the 1990’s, Andrew’s collection of over 4,200 vinyl albums tells the story of his passion for all that is music.

A handful of customers have reached out asking if they could write for our site, especially since the start of the pandemic. Collector Contributions is going to be the new part of the ETR blog for music-related information, submitted by our customers. 

If you'd like to write an article for the blog, send an email to enjoythetoonsrecords at gmail.com with the subject Collector Contributions and let us know what topic you'd like two write on (or if you're an artist, art you're creating). 

We look forward to seeing what y'all come up with!

Michele, ETR & ETT Operations Manager