TOMITA, ‘SNOWFLAKES ARE DANCING’ (1974); YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA (SELF-TITLED, 1979) Two pioneering works of Japanese synthpop bring together Debussy, Martin Denny, and Afrika Bambaataa. With Japan’s keen grasp on technology, you’d think the country would have been on the cutting … Continue reading →
PAUL MCCARTNEY, ‘COLD CUTS’ (CUSTOM 8-TRACK, 1971-79) Paul’s own collection of ’70s gems slipped through the cracks to become a bootleg and a homemade 8-track. Who’s the artist? Sir Paul McCartney, CH, MBE, ex-Beatle, pop half of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting … Continue reading →
THE RECORDS, ‘THE RECORDS’; BRAM TCHAIKOVSKY, ‘STRANGE MAN, CHANGED MAN’ (1979) Two shining moments of British power pop and the very nice 8-tracks that came with them. In fall 1979, there was a flurry of British new wave gems on … Continue reading →
CAT STEVENS, SONNY & CHER, BEE GEES REISSUES (1971-78) In which enterprising labels exploit ’70s superstars by repackaging their ’60s recordings — some good, some bad. Cat Stevens, Very Young and Early Songs (1971). At the end of 1971, Cat … Continue reading →
Big Star Custom Tape, ‘#1 Record’ (1972), ‘Radio City,’ (1974) 45 years later, the cult Memphis band’s first two albums finally make it to 8-track (sort of). A wrong set right: Here it is, the one tape (or two) that … Continue reading →
FOUR TAPES ON GROOVE MERCHANT (1974-76) Striking obscure ’70s jazz-funk gold on a cult label approved by the Beastie Boys. In Beastie Boys Book, Adam Horovitz describes visiting obscure Midwestern book-and-record shops because they “almost always have at least one … Continue reading →
CART SHOPPING IN LOS ANGELES! During a family trip to LA last weekend, I sneaked out to a few stores in search of 8-tracks. Here’s what I found! Amoeba Music: First stop after hitting town on Thursday. I was pretty … Continue reading →
THE BEATLES: ‘LIVE! AT THE STAR-CLUB, 1962’ (1977) We wrap up our Beatles month with a raucous but rewarding live album from early in the band’s career. Is this a bootleg? In 1977, It was a semi-legal release and widely … Continue reading →
SOLO BEATLES BOOTLEG COMPILATIONS (1971) For Part Four of our Beatles series, some 8-tracks that reunited the Fab Four…on tape, anyway! So these are Beatles tapes? Not exactly. These are collections of songs recorded by ex-Beatles during their early solo … Continue reading →
THE RUTLES (ALBUM & EP, 1978) For week three of our Beatles feature, here’s the soundtrack to a spoof history of the band that’s a great retro-pop album — no joke. (Note: see my earlier 8-Trackin’ post for background on … Continue reading →