''The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape'' is an album by American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded first as a solo project by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band became a trio with an initial lineup that included guitarist Santiago Dur ...

. It was released in 1987 by

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. To ...

. The album is a CD compilation of Big Black's '' Atomizer'' album (minus the song "Strange Things"), "Heartbeat" single and ''

Headache A headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of Depression (mood), depression in those with severe ...

'' EP. ''Atomizer'' is pictured on the cover artwork as an eight-track tape playing in a

Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...

TNT portable player. The title of the album, and the liner notes by

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

, show the band's low regard for compact discs, drawing parallels between CD and the

8-track tape The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic-tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, ...

of 1970s, preferring to release all of their material on vinyl LP records.

Reception

AllMusic called it "An indispensable compilation" and gave it a rating of 4.5/5

Track listing

All songs written by Big Black, except where noted. #"Jordan, Minnesota" - 3:20 #"Passing Complexion" - 3:04 #"Big Money" - 2:29 #"Kerosene" - 6:05 #"Bad Houses" - 3:09 #"Fists of Love" - 4:21 #"Stinking Drunk" - 3:27 #"Bazooka Joe" - 4:43 #"Cables (

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)" - 3:09 #" Heartbeat" (

Colin Newman Colin John Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire (band), Wire. Early life Newman was born in Salisbury ...

) - 3:48 #"Things to Do Today" - 1:44 #"I Can't Believe" - 1:03 #"My Disco" - 2:52 #"Grinder" - 2:23 #"Ready Men" - 3:51 #"Pete, King of the Detectives" - 2:42 "Heartbeat" is a cover of the

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song.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich Man's Eight Track Tape, The Big Black albums 1987 compilation albums Homestead Records compilation albums Touch and Go Records compilation albums Blast First compilation albums Au Go Go Records compilation albums