Another of my "blasts from the past" in glorious analog tape format. Sure it's not up there with a 2" master but DANG! it sounds sooooo good!
This would have to have been one our of audio engineers favourite tapes when they had some "down time" and this is actually our safety copy #3, yes we had multiple copies of this recording (all originals of course, absolutely no dubbing permitted!)
It's been quite a while since I have listened to this one myself so today I fired up the Nakamichi and away we went - INTO HEAVEN! Wow! after all these years such brilliant music and the sound quality off the tape is very good.
Even my daughter was "into it" (she is just 14 years old)
QUEEN - Greatest Hits
Warner Brothers Records
Cat# M5E 5E 564
Australian REISSUE release
1984 (Original was released 1981)
This reissue was released three years after the original (same catalogue number) BUT if you look at the spine, it has the WB logo instead of Elektra. The tape label remains labelled as Elektra.
Cassette packaging is in very good condition, almost no marks or scratching at all and definitely no cracks or missing parts! Slight Yellowish tinge to the paper insert due to sunlight over the years but nothing dramatic. Tucked away right inside the folded insert our staff have written "Safety #3" to identify this copy. We had six copies originally, JIC (Just In Case) something terrible happened to this fabulous music.
Before playing I repacked the tape, and visually inspected carefully the clamshell, rollers and head pressure pad - no issues with the shell or tape at all
This is a White/Cream plastic welded type clamshell so if ever it was required to "get inside" to relube, etc then the best of luck because getting this type of clamshell is extremely difficult and usually you will end up destroying the tape.
I have then played this tape entirely, crisp clean sound and no problems at all with no "drop outs" or high frequency loss heard. Frequency response off the tape is wide, turned it up LOUD for those favourite tracks such as Bohemian Rhapsody! I also listened carefully for "tape hiss" at the start of tape, end of tape and between tracks and the level is very very low, indicating that the tape has seen very little play time.
TRACKS: Another One Bites The Dust, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Killer Queen, Fat Bottomed Girls, Bicycle Race, Tie Your Mother Down, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, Flash, Somebody To Love, You're My Best Friend, Keep Yourself Alive, Play The Game
Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure
