STARS - Various Artists

YEAR: 1977

LABEL: K-Tel

TRACK LISTING: The Things We Do For Love - 10cc, Rich Girl - Hall & Oates, Year of the Cat - Al Stewart, Torn Between Two Lovers - Mary MacGregor, A Little Bit More - Dr. Hook, Love Me - Yvonne Elliman, So Into You - Atlantic Rhythm Section, Devil Woman - Cliff Richard, Slow Dancin' Don't Turn Me On - Addrisi Brothers, I'm Your Boogie Man - K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel (Pt. 1) - Tavares, Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston, Cool Town - Stanky Brown Group, The World Is A Ghetto - War, Theme from "Roots" - Quincy Jones, Hard Luck Woman - Kiss, Tryin' To Love Two - William Bell, Couldn't Get It Right - Climax Blues Band

IMPRESSIONS: In our last episode, we discovered the magic that was K-Tel and were left with the burning question: What did I eat for lunch that's affecting me like this? Be that as it may, STARS was the next K-Tel record I bought after HIT MACHINE; this was after moving from Maple Surple to our new house in Clay Town. I was all of 11 years old. I remember spinning this record many times on my portable black record player that folded up like a suitcase; especially because my favourite song at the time was on it: Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way". Of course, these were the editted radio versions of the singles; however I still have a soft spot in my heart for some of these songs which aren't exactly too great but give me an incredible rush of nostalgia. It's also hysterical to me that K-Tel seems to have shoved some really OLD songs (at the time) onto their records both here and on HIT MACHINE. On STARS, War's "The World Is A Ghetto" is from the early 70s and Paul Anka's cheesefest "(You're) Having My Baby" was from 1974 and appears on the 1976 HIT MACHINE album. Ha!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Things We Do For Love - 10cc, Rich Girl - Hall & Oates, Year of the Cat - Al Stewart, So In To You - Atlantic Rhythm Section, Devil Woman - Cliff Richard, I'm Your Boogie Man - K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel (Pt. 1) - Tavares, Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston, The World Is A Ghetto - War, Hard Luck Woman - Kiss, Couldn't Get It Right - Climax Blues Band

FACT SHEET: Once again, nothing really to say here. This is a K-Tel Records LP released in 1977.

HIT MACHINE - Various Artists

YEAR: 1976

LABEL: K-Tel

TRACK LISTING: (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty - K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Right Back Where We Started From - Maxine Nightingale, Moonlight Feels Right - Starbuck, Summer - War, When Will I Be Loved - Linda Ronstadt, Happy Days - Pratt & McClain, Our Day Will Come - Frankie Valli, (You're) Having My Baby - Paul Anka, Love Really Hurts Without You - Billy Ocean, Disco Duck (Pt. 1) - Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots, Island Girl - Elton John, A Fifth of Beethoven - Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band, Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers, Welcome Back - John Sebastian, Evil Woman - Electric Light Orchestra, Take A Hand - Rick Springfield, Rock and Roll All Nite - Kiss, I'm Not Lisa - Jessi Colter, Who Loves You? - Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons, Disco Lady - Johnnie Taylor

IMPRESSIONS: Ahhhhhhh, K-Tel Records. Remember the days when you could pick up a K-Tel record and hear all the latest hit singles with sound quality worse than the actual albums? Apparently, the poorer sound quality was due to K-Tel cramming more grooves onto the record in order to fit more songs on it with a necessary loss in fidelity. But who cared back then? I was playing this on my portable black record player that folded up like a suitcase and was carried around by its handle! I do remember that this was the last LP I bought while still living in Maple Surple before we moved to Clay Town in January 1977. However, this would not be the last we'd hear from K-Tel Records . . . as tomorrow's post will show . . .

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty - K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Right Back Where We Started From - Maxine Nightingale, Moonlight Feels Right - Starbuck, Summer - War, Island Girl - Elton John, A Fifth of Beethoven - Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band, Welcome Back - John Sebastian, Evil Woman - Electric Light Orchestra, Take A Hand - Rick Springfield, Rock and Roll All Nite - Kiss, Who Loves You - Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons

FACT SHEET: There's nothing to tell, really, This is a K-Tel record released in 1976.