Elektra Entertainment June 1991 New Releases (USA, Promotional sampler, 1991)
Elektra (PR-8381)


It's time for another compilation today, and it's a promo! This one has much in common with the November 1986 Guide from a previous post, a style of promotional item I find it interesting on many levels.


This cassette runs more or less like a promotional radio show, with short snippets of tracks from 19 releases, plus voice-over. There are entries from Natalie Cole, Queen and Barry Adamson here, among others (jazz saxofonist David Sanborn, famous producer Desmond Child etc). The tracks are often mixed without pauses, so you go from a bit of Gipsy Kings to the familiar intro to The Robots... The voice over sounds kinda robotic, too, and the stuff he says is the kind of thing you'd expect from modern AI today: 

"Kraftwerk returns with their new release, The Mix. The band has gone through its entire catalog, selecting songs that would best benefit from and demonstrate their new approach to computer generated and controlled digital music. The Mix is literally a 'best of Kraftwerk', with all the music you'll hear transferred from analog to the digital domain". Phew, my head is spinning! Was digital still a positive buzz word in 1991? Who knows. 

After a minute or so of The Robots, the voice-over continues with some more information on their live performances, promising that there are robots, and "US audiences will have a chance to see this new creation sometime this summer". In other words, this information was still official as late as June 1991! Kraftwerk did not perform in America on their 1991 tour, and the few dates that were scheduled, were in September, so it seems surprising that a record company promo would still in June promise summer dates.
 

The cassette comes in a 2-panel J-card on thick card stock, with print on both sides. The cassette is clear with white on-body print.







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