Rich Man's 8 Track Tape

It's Big Black. So it's five star material no matter the output. This here disc has "Atomizer" and the EPs "Heartbeat" and "Headache". You get all that goodness in one place for about eleven smackers. You all know how cranky Steve Albini is about digital music, right? Well, he has a few choice words to say about the CD inside the cover. He expected it to disappear super quickly as a medium. That's not quite how it happened..CD's terminated vinyl with extreme prejudice and enjoyed primacy as the way to listen to music for a good bit there until the MP3 and filesharing came along. Only just recently has there been a renaissance in the vinyl industry, and now it's more expensive than the CD because of limited runs which irritates me greatly, because I prefer the sound of vinyl as well. So CDs are the most economical way to have a piece of "product" if things like that mean something to you. Yes, the great Albini whiffed on his prediction. But this disc is a homer.

Classic Steve Albini and company... I still feel they are the best band playing to a drum machine ever. Can't go wrong with early Big Black!

They don't make music like this anymore.

What can you say...this album is great. It has gotten me through many a long drive. If your going to buy any Big Black this is the one.

Big Black founder/recording studio owner/all-around curmudgeon Steve Albini has hated the CD format since the beginning. He considers it inferior in sound quality and overpriced to boot. Thus, "The Rich Man's Eight-Track Tape," originally released in the late 80's, is both a compromise to the market and a deliberate provocation. Albini's own words on the subject:"This compact disc, compiled to exploit those of you gullible enough to own the bastardly first generation digital home music system, contains all analog masters. Compact discs are quite durable, this being their only advantage over real music media. You should take every opportunity to scratch them, fingerprint them and eat egg and bacon sandwiches off them. Don't worry about their longevity, as Philips will pronounce them obsolete when the next phase of the market-squeezing technology bonanza begins."Of course, it's now been a couple of generations, in tech terms, since the CD was introduced, and the format is still with us, though many (like the business executives who make money off them) believe they're in sharp decline. Rival formats (SACD, DVDA, etc.) have tried to muscle in, and then there's the swift encroachment of the lowly mp3. Since none of Albini's bands are available for legal download, it's pretty easy to imagine his opinion of the format. Big Black were and are a brilliant band, and anyone who thinks they know something about "extreme" rock music has to have their music. My advice: buy two copies of each of their releases on CD, and convert them to mp3's. That'll be sure to annoy the hell out of him, and an annoyed Albini is a creative Albini. Then again, take a listen to the CD versions of the music and the LP versions. Guess which one will sound better? This is, of course, on purpose. Even though today's CD's are much better to the original model, Big Black's releases have never been remastered and if Albini has anything to say about it, they never will be."Eight Track" is basically the CD release of Big Black's debut full-length LP, the incredible "Atomizer," with the omission of the mediocre "Strange Things." Oddly taking advantage of the longer running times of CD's, this release also tacks on the just swell "Headache" EP, as well as the "Heartbeat" 7" single. Needless to say, it's a classic of aggressive, noisy post-punk, with a relentless, deliberately primitive drum machine (nicknamed "Roland") instead of a live skin basher. Despite the lean, muscular sound the band acheived, this is not the immature, knuckle-dragging sludge that so much heavy metal (at least of that era) cranked out. Wheareas metal was marketed to immature knuckle-draggers, Big Black wrote ABOUT them. That's a distinction lost on a lot of critics back in the day, but the steely intelligence of pummelling songs like "Fists Of Love" or "Passing Complexion" should be obvious now. Album opener "Jordan, Minnesota" is based on a real news story about an entire town of alleged pedophiles. This story was eventually proven to be a hoax, part of the wave of child-abuse hysteria that struck the country during the 80's, but the song still has the metaphorical impact of a brutal horror movie. Likewise, the pyromaniacal pain-freaks of one of Big Black's greatest songs, "Kerosene" don't need to correspond with any actual real-world events to be effective. Throughout the album, Abini's corrosive guitar and Dave Riley's lurching bass, not to mention the relentless pounding of the drum machine, create an uncompromising roar stripped of any melodic frills. There is, however, a sense of humor. It's sardonic and ironic, but it's there.So if you don't mind having to crank the volume way up and fidgeting with the EQ just to get a passable sound, this is the place to start. The band's second (and final) album, the cheekily-titled "Songs About F***ing" is in my opinion even better, and is just as recommended. Still, let's permit Abini to have the last words:"The future belongs to analog loyalists. F*** digital."

Being introduced to the Big Black at college in the 1980's, where they fast became my favorite band, was an incredible experience.I adored their music, it was everything great about alternative/indie music pre Nirvana and Teen Spirit...that is the vast majority of people hated it! Or didn't understand it! Or were confused by it! Or were just of the opinion that because it wasn't in the top 20 or wasn't played on mainstream radio or it wasn't some safe old band such as Led Zepp or Floyd, that it had to be crap!It really felt like my own special music and they were great day's! Sadly I have outgrown this album now...19 has turned 35!! It seems so harsh and silly now! And unlistenable!For those still interested in skinny, creepy Steve Albini, then be aware that the studio tracks ie Atomizer, Songs About F**king are far superior to this live album which doesn't really do the work of the Big Black great justice."Now it's on to Chicago and let's win there!"Blair