About "cookies"

Yeah, OK, y'all.. Google said because of those new EU  regs I must let y'all know that this blog will collect "cookies" and that they even "helpfully" supplied a notice on my page.. :sigh:
 Actually, I found no notice... but it gets worse! You even have to give *permission* but there's no field that I've found, available to give it in!
Maybe it only appears to visitors..

Frankly, I don't want to have to collect your cookies unless I'm forced to. I know it makes browsing easier and all, but , you know, I don't like anything invasive, even a tiny little bit.
Even so, if anyone visiting finds a notice and there's a  field to click "OK" in , or, for that matter, "fugettaboutit", please leave a comment here so I know it's working OK.
 OK? Thanks a million!

I've been away...

...But now  I am back. After m y extended stay in the hospital I have started to feel up to posting again . TYping is still extremely difficult but I hsve lot of extremely rare tapes to post.
I have decided against scans in the future because it's too easy to simply edit or even make up a cover. Not counting the covers that get copied by other folks  and sold as originals. I won't go into detail about my experience with that.. but from now on I am going to post digital photographs.
Currently I am planning to post the rest of my Zappa tapes.. all first or second editions, and then myt FGleetwood Mac tapes.. the pre 1977 ones, that is. There's very little collectible or desirable in the Buck Nicks and newer era, except for their pre-Mac solo album and various radio interview reel to reels..
So stay tooned!

Time for some new posts

It's been a while since I've updated this blog.. in part because I've been trying to decide on what approach to use.. scans or photographs, as well as whether to add to previous posts or start fresh.
The decision I reaced is to do all three .. scans , photos, and start fresh.
 So for starters I'm goiing to post scans and photos of the first section of my Zappa collection.. next comes the Bizarre/Discreet/Reprise releases, then the CBS/Polydor/Zappa issues. . My collection does not include any posthumous releases. Perhapsthe Zappa estate is releasing them as he would have wished, perhaps not, but I suspect not. If you examine his last releases before he passed away, you can see that he had abandoned the "offensive" titles and covers in favor of a far more restrained presentation.. which I found rather appealing, actually...
However, back to the first section of my collection, which is while he was with Verve/MGM:

Freak Out: The first Zappa Verve cassette rel;ease I ever obtained .. seems to be a Record club of America copy.. that's the only ones of Freak Out I have ever seen, actually.
Although cassettes had only been available for 2 years before Frank left MGM, the RCoA still had plenty of stock left over so they were always included in the list one could select  their 8 or 10 "one cent" cassettes, up until probably 1972.

The pressings (tapings?) were generally shoddy, as well as the label print, which was stamped on the plastic shell directly from day one...
I have, actually, never seen a genuine AmpexVerve release of Freak Out, although there must surely be some copies in existence. I'm always looking to see if one turns up. Especially a Canadian one, since all the Ampex cassettes here came in J-card releases.. even those imported from the US...
I'll post the j-cards later on - they look really nice , seeing as they were designed and printed professionally by a tpp level printer whoi does album covers professionally... I use them instead , and seal the snapcases in a ziploc so they don't  get damaged or worn...

Absolutely Free & Lumpy Gravy (US):
The two issues I don't have..  anymore, although I still have scans to post. I did lose a lot of tapes that were in the boot of my car before it got .. er... borrowed. If anyone sees either copy on verve I'd appreciate hearing from you..!




Lumpy Gravy (UK version)
I did manage to obtain a British version.. I have no idea if he was more popular in the U.K. in the 60s
.. certainly he got more press, since I run into quite a bit more newsreel footage  from the UK, on Youtube , and the like. I think this is an early 70s issue, however, since it looks identical to the Polydor/Track "Who" cassettes from 71 with the black spine..


We're Only In It For The Money
I was going to say that these were hard to find, but, hey,. ALL of them have been insanely hard to locate..
I've quit collecting four or so timesin the past,  well, this is, I suppose, number 4, and each time just reaquiring what I had before gets harder, although there's no way I would even want to, at this stage. The last collection was just too large.
This time I've cut everything except cassettes.. I have some really rare and desirable 8 tracks such as Harrison's Wonderwall music, etc. But no way am I getting more..
The Zappa original MGM releases, on cassette, , however, have proven to be the most difficult to source I've ever come across.
I'm always surprised to locate one, then..


Ruben & The Jets
The previous tapes have had their scans cleaned up to a small degree, since the outer box label was often not always in the best condition..
This one, and the one that follow,  however, didn;'t need a thing. I rarely see snapcases in such a good condition as these two were. Amazing!

Mothermania:
Got this one same time as the Ruben and the Jets.. what a score! These are all so steenkin rare that I NEVER expected to find them..

The ***** of the Mothers 
Why they decided to create such an unlistable title for this tape confounds me. Unlike Mothermania, this wasn't an approved compilation, but Verve owned the rights for all his pre 1969 material, so I guess they could create whatever titles and artwork they wanted. I suppose they were trying to create a "Zappa-esque" cover. Didn't wash. IMHO.

It's been a long time since I've posted..

And I apologize for that. Health reasons, plus I discovered I had been remiss in maintaining my picture database fees, so I literally have no more room to upload any art (although I'll check that out) I am going to try to weed through removing any duplicates because I have several hundred new scans of 1968-71 tapes Cheers! Doc
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And that was written LAST year!! Now I have almost entirely finished all my collecting, having every mint first issue of Beatles / Zappa & The Mothers / Fleetwood Mac, etc so soon as I can I'll refresh the uploads...
Sept 18th..2015

An Apple a day...

Apple cassettes are really becoming rarer, depending on which ones they are..
Here I'm going to list every Apple cassette ever made, and some that weren't also...
How's about John and Yoko:

Some of these are actually what the cassette cover *would probably* look like if I could find a copy. In order to make life interesting, I will leave it up to you to guess which they are ;-)
More to follow!

Some new scans are coming, soon

After this seriously extended absence, due to just plain lousy health issues, I really feel it is time to take the rest of the tapes I currrently have and post the scans. Because the act of sorting into labels, and leaving well thought out comments and retrospectives takes a large part of the time, I will (mostly) just post  the scans, and the categories, adding the comments and sorting them out after..
Thank you...

I'm Back!!! For real this time...

Finally, after 3 months (edit.. try SIX months) with no internet, I  have a connection again... ( I thought I had, but it took me another 3 months before I got service again ) Unfortunately, It is through he previous management of the RV park I moved into  three months ago, and he finally fixed the access just now, right before getting canned.. Since I don't know if I will still have access after he's left, this may only last a week ;-(..
 Let's hope it last longer...
 Meanwhile I will try to update and add to my posts here very soon...

I AM FOR REAL BACK NOW!!!!!

Recently added:

NOTICE TO EVERYBODY.... You may have noticed entries have slowed down lately.. one reason is that I am undergoing a renovation and cleanup where I live..
As part of this, there will be no entries anymore (barring a few late last minute ones) for about a month (estimated) as my computer will be disconnected, and all my hardware and components moved into temporary storage..
Once this is done, I will be able to add all those entries I have been wanting to, including the full set of mint first issue Beatles cassettes, and some so rare they are purported to not exist at all, according to the "experts"
==================
Keep checking in.. it won't be long !!!!
Doc .....July the 17th 2012
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Added... A Pink Floyd section..
Added.. A Fleetwood Mac section, (updated on May 20th!)
Added... A Ten Years After section.
Added John Lee Hooker.. (updated May 20th)
Added.. BB, Albert, and Freddie King (BB King updated, 20th of May)
Updated.. The Reel to Reel section
Added..An extensive John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers section
Updated.. "Historia De La Musica Rock"  (May 20th)
Added.. A new "Small Faces" section (May 20th)
Updated the David Bowie section (May 21st)
Updated.. the Eight track cassette section (May 26)
Updated.. "Historia De La Musica Rock" (May 28)
Added, & updated, a "Beatles" section     (June 11)
Updated... The "Beatles" section (June 14)
Added & Updated.. The "Eight tracks" section.. added an incredibly rare 1st edition "Let It Be" 8 track cartridge..!
Updated...Beatles section.. added German cassettes (June 15)
Added... a "Humble Pie" section (June 23)
Added.. an "Ampex tapes" section (June 26)
Updated.. The Beatles section with one of a kind United Artists AHDN cassette.. (July 9)

Added.. A Steve Miller section September 13th

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NEW! April 25th 2014
Added......Apple John & Yoko tapes
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PS.. Don't lose your way here simply because I have posts up front.. MOST OF THIS BLOG is NOTHING BUT CASSETTES!

Incidentally, Mike's survey is now HERE

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Finally.........
I have been ahead of the "curve" all my life.. essentially, any time I develop a serious interest in something, it's popularity blows worldwide about 2 to 3 years later.. i have a mental block giving examples (as itr has been very painfil and frustrating) and  I DONT want to go over this painful sh*t again, but hey, get in now, with cassettes , 2 to 3 years they're not gonna be cheap no more, basically going where reel to reels have gone (80 - 300 $ apiece) that'sa just too much for a tape, y'think?

A Very special cassette.. the FIRST Beatles cassette!

Yup.. the first Beatles cassette EMI ever issued..
 I missed out several times in the past, trying to obtain one.. one sold for over $120.00, and the other was in a lot of  all 5 of the first issues.. but this is the very first one, period that they ever issued..
 Most of the cassettes that came out later, were 2 tone color only, until 1968, but in 1967, the Beatrles warranted a full color sleeve.
 I had given up on being able to ever post a scan of this one,  but thanks to
Alex, at Spiral Archive Records the current owner of this tape before it (just now) has changed hands again, who submitted some excellent scans for this blog, I am able to show you a good copy of , as I stated earlier, the VERY FIRST EMI Beatles cassette, and possibly one of the very first cassettes ever issued. THANKS ALEX!!!!!!!!

At almost the same time this came out in 1967, another cassette *also* was one of the first 30 made, and I do own a copy of *it*

It's George Martin's solo album of the tunes he produced for the Beatles. called "Off The Beatle Track".. You'll notice that this has the more typical for 1967 Two tone color cover.. Full color cassettes didn't arrive at EMI until 1968:

Both of these tapes will eventually be moved to the "Beatles" section, but for now, here they are...

Best of Fleetwood Mac 1972 with Purple Dancer

This is an astounding album.. and it is such a shame that it is the only one that has NEVER been reissued on CD. Nor have the two standout tracks on it, one of which is the studio rendition of "World In Harmony" Although other takes have since come out, this is by far the best one.. The second is "Purple Dancer".. and the back story is pretty much the same.. other takes have surfaced.. mostly live.. but this is the superior one by far. Both of these came out only on singles, until the appeared on this German compilation in 1972..
 I got lucky finding a pristine tape source.. Judge for yourself if you don't think it is the under-appreciated gem I think it is. As it is out of print in any format, and at this late stage, likely to remain that way, I don't expect many chances to hear it come up...

A New sister blog, for Vinyl, is coming soon..

Yup.. after i discovered just how HARD it was to find artwork for so many of my older blues LP's,, most of which are B.B. King "United" issues etc, I went and scanned them myself.. a whole lot of work too, as to properly scan an LP on a typical scanner requires 4 scans per side, which then need to be "puzzled" together..
 I will post the link here when it is up....

A Steve ~Miller section..

OK I'm nearly moved, and in the mneantime I've managed to scan all the Steve Miller cassettes
I was dumbfounded when I ran into, on two seperate occasions, absolute first edition Steve Miller cassettes, and in mint shape.. I never thought i would ever see any of these, ever, never mind all of them..
Boy was I nervous taking them out of the housings to scan them.. as clearly they had never been even opened before...!
So first.. in order of cassette issue numbers:
Children Of The Future

Next is Sailor:

Next is Brave New World:

Next is Your Saving Grace (a favorite of mine):

And their fifth one, called, amazingly enough, Number 5:

After I had found these, I really doubted I'd ever manage to fill out the collection with the next5 two, as they're rare as hen's teeth.. Yet within a month I ran into them too...

Rock Love:

And Journey From Eden..

Amazing, Eh?

Next one is "The Joker".. I found a mint first edition, but it hasn't arrived in the mail yet...

So, Onwards to

Fly Like An Eagle, which is the one everybody knows, and lots of less informed folks thought was his first album!

Back in 1972, there was a compilation that came out, and was still in print when Fly Like An Eagle came out.. in fact, it was the only way to hear his older stuff, as they were all out of print:

This is the compilation..Anthology:

The box it came in:

~The last one I'm going to post is "Book Of Dreams", which, I think was really "part 2' of 'Fly Like An Eagle', as it's from the same recording sessions:

I'll post the cassette tape housings a bit later on, maybe after I've finished moving

Cheers!

Ampex tapes

This category I'll make a hodge podge of those early Ampex tapes..

This first one is interestring, in that it's an Ampex tape, but nowhere does it say so.. It simply says RCA/Dunhill,  which is a strange combination, as Dunhill was an ABC subsidiary..
It must be one of the very earliest RCA tapes made though..

Here's all the cassettes, wher5e you can see that the John Philips tape is in fact identical in man ufacture to the Ampex's...

Here's a more normal Ampex.. these are Canadian ones , however, so they're EXTREMELY rare..

95% of ALL the Ampex tapes you will ever see, will be American ones, as Canada had (and still has) a much smaller population than the US (about 10%, or at the time, 20 million)..

and so , naturally, far fewer tapes were made here...