THE MIX (Uruguay, 1991)
EMI - 501788-4



A trait I've found in many collectors, which surprises people who do not collect stuff, is that we're often fans of statistics and lists, as much as piles of records or very rare items. As I add items to this blog, I realise I put a lot of cassettes here for statistical reasons more than anything - I flick through my cassettes and think, hmm, when was the last time I had a "Man Machine", or how long has it been since I added a German issue, or - in my previous post - I realise I haven't had a cassette single yet and hurry to remedy that situation.

 

So when I noticed that I've only posted The Mix in pirate editions, it seemed pretty obvious that I'd have to feature an official cassette of that album soon. Here it is!

 

1991 was a big year for cassettes, and even if Kraftwerk were not at the height of their commercial success, The Mix exists in a lot of editions. At this point though, the band had taken more control of their creative output than before, and most editions have the same cover design, with only minor details setting them apart from the German and EU versions. There's an Italian one with a different spine to the EU, UK, US and other "normal" versions, but if you want something that looks a bit different, you may have to look a bit further afield... 

 

This one's from Uruguay. To my knowledge the only Kraftwerk cassette issued there.


As to exactly WHY the Uruguay version comes in a unique front cover, I could not say. It seems unlikely that the local EMI executives looked at the proof sleeves they had been sent from Europe, and somehow decided that fine as they were, they were not good enough for Uruguay, and set about improving the design - simply because this "improvement" looks like it was done by a chimpanzee, and one that had had too much to drink, at that. The standard image of the Ralfbot in action is still the main feature, but heavily cropped, and the band name and album title are in black on white above and below the image. A couple of yellow stripes frame the picture, they slide depressedly across the front and over the spine, before, it seems, deciding that the whole ordeal is pointless, and giving up before reaching either the info panel or back flap.

 

The cover is a 2-panel J-card printed on one side, and so badly printed that the Ralfbot seems to be swimming in some bubbly blue liquid.

 

In this case I must also apologise for the condition of the copy presented. It seems to have been water damaged on two separate occasions, and when I got it, the J-card was nearly coming apart. It's a pretty rare item though, so in spite of it all I'm very happy to have it.






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