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VMP ANTHOLOGY

The Story of Ghetto Records

A story told through seven albums of Latin soul meeting the hardest salsa, modal jazz, and frenetic boogaloo – sounds you’ve ever heard, with special attention to telling Bataan’s story and his groundbreaking label.

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This record is only available for Members. VMP members receive our exclusive Records of the Month and special access to other limited titles (like this one). Starting at $44/month.

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Orders are expected to ship in 3-5 business days. We will notify you of any shipping updates.
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Ghetto Records started as [Joe Bataan’s] dream, a way to get over on The Man and out of the ’hood, a bold move by the "ordinary guy" looking for independence and creative control in an industry that exploited his talents but treated him like property. History is woven with stories like these. Like many dreams and schemes born of the street, this one was audacious, perhaps reckless to a fault, born out of desperation and full of hope and chutzpah, only to be dashed and come crashing down a short while later as larger forces, machinations far beyond the dreamer’s control, caused a premature end that would serve as a wakeup call, a teaching moment that would sow the seeds of the dreamer’s next venture and profoundly affect the future of the very music industry it was fighting against.
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Pablo E. Yglesias, Latin music historian, in the Liner Notes for The Story of Ghetto Records

Get The Whole Story….

VMP Anthology goes beyond the seven albums included in your box. Alongside your box and the albums within it, we provide in-depth, original Listening Notes and a digestible multi-episode podcast to serve as your definitive guide though these records. VMP Anthology isn’t just a box set that’s supposed to gather dust on your shelves — it’s an immersive and transformative story that comes alive for you to spend weeks (or longer!) inside of. We can’t wait for you to dive deeper into Joe Bataan and Ghetto Records’ history, and the albums in this box.

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Eddie Lebrón
Ghetto Records Presents... Eddie Lebrón (1970)
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Papo Felix and Ray Rodríguez
Papo Felix Meets Ray Rodríguez (1971)
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Paul Ortiz Y La Orquesta Son
Los Que Son (1971)
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La Fantástica
From Ear To Ear (1971)
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Joe Acosta
The Power Of Love (1971)
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Candido Y Su Movimiento
Palos De Fuego (1972)
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Joe Bataan
Drug Story (2022)

What's Included

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Podcasts De Fuego
Hosted by Pablo E. Yglesias, the podcast for this box will feature deep dives into all of the releases, and stories from the artists’ lives. Hear about Joe Bataan, locked in battle with Latin music heavyweight Fania, refused to hit the mat, and started Ghetto Records, and how he etched into the canon Latin music masterworks.
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Six Hard-To-Find Records, And A Brand New One
First edition limited to 1,000 on black vinyl: six LPs of rare albums that are sought the world over by cratediggers, and a brand new album of unreleased Joe Bataan songs, and impossible-to-find Ghetto Records’ singles, on LP for the first time.
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Boogaloo To The Best
All titles except for Los Que Son (which was cut AAA from tapes) and "Drug Story" and "Latin Soul Squaredance" from Drug Story (which were sourced from master tapes) were restored and remastered from needle drops of original vinyl copies by Jason Bitner. With the exception of Drug Story, lacquers for all titles were cut by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering.
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Please Do Tell Me How the Story Ends
Read the story of these seven albums in a very special 28-page Listening Notes and photo booklet written by music journalist and Latin music historian Pablo E. Yglesias.
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Premium Commemorative Box
Designed in-house at VMP, these records are housed in an original box that’s inspired by the classic black and silver center labels on early Ghetto releases, with an inner slipcase featuring iconic photos of Joe Bataan.
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How Was The Audio Sourced?

Ghetto Records’ master tapes were largely lost in the chaos of the label’s closure in the mid-70s. The team at Now-Again sourced the cleanest copies of rare original vinyl, which mastering engineer Jason Bitner spliced, restored and remastered. The exception was the Paul Ortiz album Los Que Son, whose master tapes Bataan zealously guarded over the years, and which was cut in an all-analog transfer. The never heard Bataan songs on Drug Story were found on a master tape in Spain, decades after Bataan thought he had lost it forever.
Lacquers for all titles (excluding Drug Story) were cut by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. All seven titles are pressed on exclusive 180g black vinyl at GZ.

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Podcast and Listening Notes

Get the full story of Joe Bataan and Ghetto Records through our podcast and listening notes booklet. The booklet, 28 pages long with dozens of photos from the era, is found in your box, it covers the story of the bands on Ghetto and the label’s creation and dissolution. Our podcast will offer a discussion of all the albums, and their histories.

FAQs

Got a question?

VMP Anthology is the vinyl box set, reinvented. It aims to use music to tell a story, and gives space for lots of listening, learning, and conversation along the way.
VMP started as a record of the month club in 2013 and has expanded into an online record store and magazine.
Shipping is free in the U.S. and $20 internationally. Records will be sent in one shipment. Orders are expected to ship in October 2022. Timeline is subject to change. We will notify you of any shipping updates.
We created VMP Anthology for people who recognize that every album has a deep story to tell. By breaking up the albums, we give you space to truly listen and absorb each individual recording, listen to the podcast and soak it in. Of course, this is just a suggestion!
Nope! We built VMP Anthology as a way for all fans to experience music more deeply, and VMP membership is not required.
Yes, shipping is available in 16 countries in addition to the U.S. (view all FAQs for more details). Due to the box value and carrier constraints, international customers are responsible for customs and duties. When shipping to a country that is subject to VAT, this will also be due upon receipt.
Afterpay is an interest-free financing option that allows you to make four bi-weekly (every two weeks) installment payments rather than one upfront payment. If you choose Afterpay at checkout, you will be redirected to the Afterpay site to create an account and to complete your payment. You won’t be charged any interest or fees, as long as your payments are made on time. At this time, Afterpay is only available for customers in the United States.
To get the Member Price, you must be an active VMP Member for our monthly record subscription (and make sure you are logged in).
View All FAQs

The Story of Ghetto Records

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The Story of Ghetto Records
The Story of Ghetto Records
Ghetto Records

Join Waitlist: This product is currently unavailable. You're on the waitlist and will be notified if it becomes available. Join the waitlist to be notified if it becomes available.

This record is only available for Members. VMP members receive our exclusive Records of the Month and special access to other limited titles (like this one). Starting at $44/month.

Unavailable: This product is currently unavailable. You're on the waitlist and will be notified if it becomes available. Join the waitlist to be notified if it becomes available.

This product is in your Waitlist Save to Waitlist
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