The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape by Big Black (CD, Nov-1992, Touch & Go)

I heard the song "Kerosene" on a local college radio station and loved it! I called the station to find out the name of the band, started researching online and found out that they were pretty rare. I was lucky enough to find this deal, 2 CDs, with a total of 33 tracks! ALL FOR $12!! What makes it the ultimate value is that this band ROCKS!

First of all I was quite surprised to learn this band was from the 1980s, most of the tracks on The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape sound very modern, yet I find it very hard to compare them to anything I've heard from any era. They use some very interesting guitar effects, and often a very sharply picked bass, possibly also with effects and different tuning.

The percussion is amazing, from what I've read they mostly used synthesized drums, and they got quite creative with some tracks. That's one thing I notice immediately about music, when artists stray from the ho-hum cookie-cutter drum lines, it really sets them apart, but the mindless masses would probably never notice.

The lyrics and presentation are amazing. There's lots of shouting and screaming, and angry growling, but it's nothing like bands that just yell for the sake of yelling, to try to attract people with the shock value. In my opinion I think that the delivery is genuine and heartfelt. The dark, macabre subject matter of most songs makes the overall package complete! I was born in 1980, but I would bet that the substance of the songs was quite shocking for that time period, if anyone that heard it was sober and intelligent.

Some of the songs definitely have that signature 80s sound, reminiscent of much more tacky acts like Tears for Fears, Flock of Seagulls, etc. But as soon as the vocals begin, all similarities end! I like to describe the overall sound of a band by picturing a spectrum with two other bands, one on each end, with the band being described being near the center (if that makes sense). For Big Black I would say early Nine Inch Nails and Ministry, leaning a little more towards NIN, for the darkness and variety.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!