look closely and what you see in the picture above are remnants of the ireallylovemusic audio holy grail.
basically these are the master tapes/discs etc for the one and only nasty rox inc. album, ca$h.
the full story as to how these masters were unearthed was told in a rather wonderful blog entry by ztt records collector, strictly kev, (see link below for full story) and given that he knows of my ongoing quest to unearth a rare cd copy of the aforementioned album, thought it fun to send me a picture that would give me hope that the album may at some point get a reissue.
however, a little extra digging has revealed the truth.
due to the bands love of sample based beats (most of which were probably uncleared at the time of release) and 70s rock noise, the album will remain in the box.
such a shame.
all the more so given that back upon the release i happened to hold a cd copy in my hand in the our price shop in leeds, but due to my impoverished lifestyle, i put the cd back on the shelf and held on tight to my cassette edition.
so, where does that leave my needs for a digitally pure listen to the album ?
well, the release of the latest edition in the ongoing ztt records reissue series, the art of the 12″, contains a previously unreleased mix of one of the album tracks, 10th wonder, and bloody ace it is too with the love for acid house squiggles, cut-n-paste scratched to f*ck loops, go-go beats, and shout-response vocals.
such is my obsession with this long forgotten band, if this were the only track on the cd, i would still be recommending an immediate purchase.
as it is, the rest of the compilation is stuff to the gills with such treats.
of course there are remixes (most of which have never appeared on cd before) of the labels premier league releases by frankie goes to hollywood, propaganda, and the art of noise, (relax, two tribes, dr. mabuse, and moments in love, etc.), which are as excellent as the source material would suggest, but for the hardcore there are some additional treats which even the most vigilant label obsessive could never have heard before.
for example amongst the various tracks are snippets which provide an interesting flow to the tracklisting. some of the snippets are spoken dialogue, some short snapshots of melody, but these are a mere distraction from the real meat on the bone.
the enhanced examples of extended eighties excess.
over the 2 cd, 150 minute set, certain audio tricks and sonic trademarks become apparent, which is to be expected given that they were all effectively created by the same team of people holed up in the same studio.
not to mention that this was a time when the 12″ remix was still a relatively new idea when it came to pop music. so rarely explored limits were pushed with the duration of remixes, actors were dragged into the studio to provide entertaining dialogue, and overdubs were layered and layered to the max.
subsequently, aside from the usual suspects, i can’t help but succumb to previously unheard versions.
for example, the 12 minute tubular bells styled rage hard (the young persons guide to the 12″ mix), by frankie, effectively breaking the various sonic ideas down into their individual components with a verbal introduction to each part, and then once the various parts are complete, the song is played relatively straightforwardly; the lovely album closer (very nearly) by (lomax), who i had never heard of until i check the credits and see that it involved leslie winer who went onto make a very cool album, witch, but, the biggest most jaw dropping track of all (in my humble opinion), is the 9 minute stereo threatening 80s disco-funk of sleepwalking by the pigbag associated instinct. which if like me upon my first few spins of the cd, you fall prey to the desire to skip over after enduring its cheesy 1 minute opening, you will miss out on the track dramatically morphing into an almighty nu-disco monster, which if played out by lindstrom, prins thomas et al, would have the nu-balaerica crowd going totally nuts. brilliant but totally nuts (AND VERY FUNKY).
and then after a couple of years after the release of relax, it became very obvious that the world of ztt records changed, and the extensive booklet provides a long awaited insight as to the root of the labels fall from grace, and i quote :
“i didn’t want to do 12″s any more. i was sick of them. i just wasn’t in the mood’ ! ‘i just got bored of 12″s – i didn’t want to do them anymore’
and the man who said these words : trevor horn.
still, at least we now have this beautifully packaged set (credit must be given to salvo who are performing a fantastic job with this series) to remind those of us of a certain age that a certain strand of 80s pop music could be brash, exciting, and downright bloody fun.
so, in closing of this rant of nostalgia, all it remains for me to say is : does anyone have a cd copy of ca$h they would like me to take off their hands ?
i thought not, but you can’t blame a guy for trying,
strictly kev vs ztt records : here