Grooves was a mid-1990s budget subscription that sent out 17-track CDs for $9.99 (cassettes $7.99). It was aggressively targeted at promoting Alternative Rock to the young married adults who had become disillusioned with the music on the rock stations of the time (and there were plenty of them out there). The letter with the direct-mail offering ($2.99 for the first volume) had the following to say:

"Remember when rock n' roll was the most important thing in the world? . . . Those were the days - before we had kids and careers, Little League, P.T.A., or 80-hour work weeks, we had a lot more time for music. And we had radio stations that played one great song after another. Then what happened? Either we grew up, or they stopped making great rock n' roll. Now, you turn on the radio and it's either the same old oldies played over and over . . . talk, talk, talk . . . or the same old classic rock cuts played over and over. (I mean, do you ever need to hear Free Bird again?) . . . It's enough to make you gag . . . or even worse - give classical or country a listen."

Geez, what did they really think? Were young adults ever so shallow that rock n' roll was the most important thing in the world? Was country music really worse than gagging? [no e-mails, please!]

Anyone who had come through the eighties and liked the music was sure to be disoriented by the mid-nineties - music was changing, as it periodically does. So Time-Life had this great idea. Let's do samplers of album tracks that would appeal to the young adults who had grown up with the eighties music. (Lots of other labels were doing magazine-music things, either with CDs or with video.) The problem was, it didn't particularly resonate with the target audience. Like most CDs that have no hits on them, subscribers didn't find them too exciting. After 14 volumes, a rather short run by Time-Life standards, Time-Life threw in the towel and shut it down.

The liner notes for each volume folded out into a small magazine. Other than the 14 volumes in the series, we know of no retail versions or additional special volumes issued.

Original 1994 direct-mail sales material was aimed aggressively at young adults, or "the Grownup Rock Generation," who were disillusioned with the rock music on the radio.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Time-Life or Warner Bros. Records. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (some of which are out of print), we suggest you contact Time-Life or see our Frequently Asked Questions page and follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 2008 by Mike Callahan.

TIME-LIFE ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY, PART 30

Cover	Number - Title - Artist - [Release Date] Contents
	R980-01( Warner Special Products OPCD-1651) - Grooves: Volume One - Various Artists [1994] Buffalo River Home - John Hiatt/Pundits And Poets - Patty Larkin/Hard Way - Taj Mahal/Atlantic City - Band/Fifty Years After The Fair - Aimee Mann/Miss Jean - Richard Barone/Sullivan Street - Counting Crows/Tuesday Morning - Pogues/Come Tomorrow - Patti Scialfa/Into Your Arms - Lemonheads/Sky Blue And Black - Jackson Browne/My Girlhood Among The Outlaws - Maria McKee/Runaway Wind - Paul Westerberg/Give Back The Keys To My Heart - Uncle Tupelo/Happy Song - Melissa Ferrick/Tough Enough - Johnny Clegg & Savuka
	R980-02 (Warner Special Products OPCD-1656) - Grooves: Volume Two - Various Artists [1994] /Closer To Free - BoDeans/Ariel - October Project/Shine It All On - E/Stewart's Coat - Rickie Lee Jones/Birches - Bill Morrissey/Leave It Up To The Angels - Michael McDermott/Leaving Las Vegas - Sheryl Crow/New Jersey - Red House Painters/Brother Sister - Brand New Heavies/Mingus Eyes - Richard Thompson/Slackjawed - Connells/Go On - Angela Strehli/You're Not There - Pierce Pettis/Too Little Too Late - Sir Douglas Quintet/I'll Send A Message - Greenberry Woods/Hold On - Sun 60
	R980-03 (Warner Special Products OPCD-1661) - Grooves: Volume Three - Various Artists [1994] Back On Earth - Valentine Smith/Down And Out Law - Kevn Kinney/Let's Take Some Drugs And Drive Around - Silos/Your Ghost - Kristin Hersh/Time - Boz Scaggs/Same Changes - Sam Phillips/After The Lights Go Down Low - Al Kooper/A Little Bit Of Bad - NRBQ/The Cowboy Mambo - Barrence Whitfield With Tom Russell/Two Wings - Jimmie Vaughan/Safe - Professor And Maryann/Philadelphia Story - Wild Colonials/Mexican Moon - Concrete Blonde/Bone In My Ear - Bruce Cockburn/It's Mine - Eleanor McEvoy/This Time Around - Luna/Don't Cha Know - Jimmie Vaughan
	R980-04 (Warner Special Products OPCD-1671) - Grooves: Volume Four - Various Artists [1994] Ticket Home - Paladins/Pursuit Of Happiness - Sara Hickman/Sunflower - Paul Weller/Sunspot Stopwatch - Pete Droge/Even While I Sleep - Willy DeVille/Fourth Of July - Dave Alvin/You Owe It All To Me - Texas/Same Day Service - Dr. John/They've Wrecked The House Of Venus - Lisa Mednick/Hannah Jane - Hootie & Blowfish/Strange Conversation - Ted Hawkins/Talk About Love - John Gorka/Regular Daydreams - Peter Himmelman/Let The Train Blow The Whistle - Johnny Cash/A Prayer (For Those Not Here) - Jules Shear/Love Colours - Pretenders/Whispering Your Name - Jules Shear
	R980-05 (Warner Special Products OPCD-1673) - Grooves: Volume Five - Various Artists [1994] Hold Me Up - Velvet Crush/Layer By Layer - Steve Wynn/You R Loved - Victoria Williams/Tell Everybody I Know - Keb Mo/Partisan - Katell Keineg/Holding Back The River - Luka Bloom/Who's So Scared - Disappear Fear/Dreams In Motion - Felix Cavaliere/Good Times - Edie Brickell/Mockingbirds - Grant Lee Buffalo/Send Me On My Way - Rusted Root/Her Man Leaves Town - Rebecca Pidgeon/Two Lovers Stop - Freedy Johnston/You And Eye - David Byrne/Oye Isabel - Iguanas/And If Venice Is Sinking - Spirit Of The West/Century Plant - Victoria Williams
	R980-06 (Warner Special Products OPCD-1679) - Grooves: Volume Six - Various Artists [1995] Moon - Fossil/Shimmer - Throwing Muses/Believe What You're Saying - Sugar/Every Little Thing - Michael Hall/Should - Over The Rhine/Haunted Episodes - Graham Parker/I Don't Think So - Dinosaur Jr./No One To Run With - Allman Brothers Band/Ghost Dance - Robbie Robertson & Red Road Ensemble/This Land Is Our Land - Todd Snider/Amnesia - Kevin Salem/Losin' It - Black 47/Hope In A Hopeless World - Pops Staples/Whip-Smart - Liz Phair/Akua Tuta - Kashtin/Going Back To Georgia - Nanci Griffith With Adam Duritz/Spoken Introduction - Ted Hawkins & Vin Scelsa/Searching For My Love - Ted Hawkins
	R980-07 (Warner Special Products OPCD-1690) - Grooves: Volume Seven - Various Artists [1995] Seal My Fate - Belly/The Blue Train - Linda Ronstadt/Angel Angel - Don Dixon/Hell's Gates - Jason & the Scorchers/Chill Out (Things Gonna Change) - John Lee Hooker (with Carlos Santana)/It Is What It Is (And That's All) - Steve Forbert/Stay What You Are - Ivan Neville (with Aaron Neville)/Pull Some Strings - Matt Keating/Blue - Jayhawks/O Baby - Siouxie & the Banshees/River Of Fallen Stars - Pete & Maura Kennedy/Lake Marie - John Prine/Walk Out - Matthew Sweet/Kathy - Barbara Kessler/Shootin' for the Moon - Sonny Landreth/Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley/Spoken Introduction - Jayhawks and Vin Scelsa/Bad Time - Jayhawks
	R980-08 (Warner Special Products OPCD-1697) - Grooves: Volume Eight - Various Artists [1995] A Girl Like You - Edwyn Collins/The Jig Is Up - Jill Sobule/Anna Lee - Sonia Dada/I'd Be Lying - Mary Karlzen/I Must Be High - Wilco/Evil Gal - Francine Reed/St. Teresa - Joan Osborne/Everything's Fine - Surfing Brides/The Stars Line Up - Marianne Faithful/Lighting Fires - Grant McClennan/Sundays - Moonpools And Caterpillars/She's Waiting For Me - A.J. Croce/Not That Dumb - Suddenly Tammy/Handgun - General Public/Trouble - Popa Chubby/I Might Be Crying - Tanita Tikaram/Brick House - Joan Osborne
	R980-09 (Sony Music Special Products A 26546) - Grooves: Volume Nine - Various Artists [1995] The Long Voyage - Suzanne Vega & John Cale/The Idle Hours - Floating Men/Where It Goes - Lori Carson/Promises Broken - Soul Asylum/Blister Soul - Vigilantes Of Love/Summer - Buffalo Tom/There's A Rhythm - Ron Sexsmith/Better Than Nothing - Jennifer Trynin/Strawdogs (Before The Fall) - Terrell/Do The Romp - Junior Kimbrough/Cotton Dress - Catchers/She Talks To Rainbows - Ramones/Here - Mae Moore/Easy To Forget - Rembrandts/Baltimore - Peter Case/Where I Go - Natalie Merchant/So Be It - Floating Men
	R980-10 (BMG Direct Marketing TDC-670) - Grooves: Volume Ten - Various Artists [1995] Here Comes The Night - Fabulous Thunderbirds/Light - Drivin' N' Cryin'/Tossed Like A Stone - Health And Happiness Show/Same Thing In Reverse - Boy George/The Promise - Tracy Chapman/Don't Look Back - Teenage Fanclub/Crown Victoria Custom '51 - Jerry Lee Lewis/Ride - Pretty & Twisted/Worth Fighting For - Kris Kristofferson/Age Of Reason - Wake Ooloo/Shredding The Document - John Hiatt/Rock With Me - Cyril Neville And The Uptown Allstars/Last Of The Good Straight Girls - Susan Werner/Eileen - Butch Hancock/Snow Day - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories/Philosophy - Ben Folds Five/Spoken Introduction - John Hiatt & Vin Scelsa/Walk On - John Hiatt
	R980-11 (Sony Music Special Products A 26833) - Grooves: Volume Eleven - Various Artists [1996] Light A Candle For Me - Bogmen/All Just To Get To You - Joe Ely/Said & Done - Speed The Plough/Of Course You Can - Spearhead/See The Child - Jane Siberry/Evolution - Big Geraniums/Cradle And All - Ani DiFranco/Vivaldi's Concerto In G Minor: Allegro - Bobby McFerrin/Long About That Time - Delevantes/Hold On To Midnight - Freddy Jones Band/Ray - Aimee Mann/Without Her Around - Swales/Maybe An Angel - Heather Nova/Gravity Fails - Bottle Rockets/Where Will I Be - Emmylou Harris/Windfall - Son Volt/On The Way Home - Delevantes
	R980-12 (EMI-Capitol Special Markets 7243 8 19165 4 4) - Grooves: Volume Twelve - Various Artists [1996] Edge Of Heaven - Nate Ouderkirk/Money Makes The Monkey Dance - Nil Lara/Take The L Train (To Brooklyn) - Brooklyn Funk Essentials/Complicated - Poi Dog Pondering/Lucky You - Heather Eatman/Love Ruins Everything - Lloyd Cole/Ill Fated - Golden Smog/Hang On To Your Emotions - Lou Reed/Matter Of Time - Tina And The B-Side Movement/Anastasia Changes Her Mind - Paul Kelly/Coyote Moon - Rainravens/Stand Up - Ferron/Angels For Crime - Eric Matthews/Joe - Jude Cole/I'll Be Fine - Emmet Swimming/Everything Falls Apart - Dog's Eye View/Haywire - Dog's Eye View
	R980-13 (Sony Music Special Products A 028085) - Grooves: Volume Thirteen - Various Artists [1996] How To Be Happy - Too Much Joy/Desperate Times - Jim's Big Ego/Ask Somebody Who Ain't (If U Think The System's Workin') - Speech/Free Your Mind. - Band/Truth Untold - Odds/Sweetheart - Penelope Houston/Birdland - Jolene/In My Mind - Jonny Polonsky/The Summer I Read Colette - Rosanne Cash/Is Fellini Really Dead - Elliott Murphy/Angel Mine - Cowboy Junkies/My Heart My Life - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook/No Woman No Cry - Fugees/All To Myself - Philosopher Kings/Slip - Alejandro Escovedo/All The Time In The World - Subdudes/Spoken Introduction - Alejandro Escovedo & Vin Scelsa/Pissed Off 2 A.M. - Alejandro Escovedo
	R980-14 (Sony Music Special Products A 028347) - Grooves: Volume Fourteen - Various Artists [1996] Feel My Way - Mysteries Of Life/Where I Lead Me - Jonell Mosser/Sharpening Axes - Graham Parker/Not Too Late - Satchel/Hand On My Heart - Judith Owen/Skin Turns Blue - Primitive Radio Gods/Black And White (As Simple As) - Joe Sample/Nothin On Me - Shawn Colvin/There She Goes - Jimmie Dale Gilmore/Late Night Radio - David Gray/Love And The Lack Of It - Syd Straw/Rosie - Peter Wolf/More Than One Way Home - Keb Mo/Penthouse In The Woods - Scud Mountain Boys/Harvest Moon - Cassandra Wilson/First Day Of The Sun - Darden Smith/Spoken Introduction - Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Vin Scelsa/Because Of The Wind - Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Thanks to Pamela Espeland.



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