Know of any good 4-track(cassette) albums out there?

Ooh, interesting info!

Of the material I've read, it was always referenced that McCartney recorded his first album on a 4-track, at home. That's the first time I've heard otherwise. I'm a bit behind on my reading up on Beatles lore.

Thanx!!
 
Yes, yes, It's great that the Beatles and Paul McCartney used 4-track, but isn't the thread supposed to be about cassette 4-tracks?
 
So true, my friend!

The handful of record classics, originally recorded on cassette 4-tracks.

"Nebraska" is the one I always think of,... and Beck's "Loser".
 
Sonic Idiot said:
Check out Iron & Wine's first album. And it IS an album--an album is an album by virtue of the artist calling it such and not predicated by pop industry standards.

It's called The Creek Drank The Cradle. There are some clips on the site. If you like downturned, guitar and voice ala Nick Drake type music, you should run and order this man's ALBUMS pronto. (Although his first four track album made such a splash, he got a record contract and his second album is a full on studio affair.) Both albums are very good in their own way with the one constant being this fellow has a lot of talent and writes beautiful music. Goes to show you that good songs and talent shine through any medium.

He recorded The Creek Drank the Cradle alone. It's a bedroom masterpiece--and a real inspiration to home recordists like us.

http://www.ironandwine.com

Oh yeah. That album is phenomenal. Definitely just him, an acoustic guitar, and a 4-track with sweet background tape hiss.
 
all i can think of at the moment is elliott smiths first album "roman candle". and maybe his second one as well.

and on a side note, beck never released an album called loser.
 
A Reel Person said:
Of the material I've read, it was always referenced that McCartney recorded his first album on a 4-track, at home. That's the first time I've heard otherwise. I'm a bit behind on my reading up on Beatles lore.

Thanx!!
Yes, even Mccartney said he recorded this album in his home in an interview back in 1970. But, I think it is in "The Beatles Abby Road Sessions" by Lewis (?) forget last name, shows actual session bookings by Mr. Paul under a pseudoname. I think that paul used his stuff at home to demo parts and songs for the formal recordings. Paul says in his interview that he only had his Studer 4-track and 1 mic (no mixer). How it was possible to record his album is a mystery to me, or maybe I should take recording lessons from Paul, but I tend to believe that Paul is full-of-crap. It was definately done in a pro studio. The sound tells you that.
 
....and I have to say I'm not a big Bruce Sprinsteen fan by anymeans but Nebraska is a great album. Mr. State Trooper Please don't stop me....scary fucking tune
 
visa said:
all i can think of at the moment is elliott smiths first album "roman candle". and maybe his second one as well.

and on a side note, beck never released an album called loser.

Beck did record a single-ep thang (maxi-single?) called Loser, though. It has like five low-fi gems up on it.
 
Yes, even Mccartney said he recorded this album in his home in an interview back in 1970. But, I think it is in "The Beatles Abby Road Sessions" by Lewis (?) forget last name, shows actual session bookings by Mr. Paul under a pseudoname. I think that paul used his stuff at home to demo parts and songs for the formal recordings. Paul says in his interview that he only had his Studer 4-track and 1 mic (no mixer). How it was possible to record his album is a mystery to me, or maybe I should take recording lessons from Paul, but I tend to believe that Paul is full-of-crap. It was definately done in a pro studio. The sound tells you that.

I think you are on to it.

Many musicians will "work" on projects at home, then take the tapes into the pro studio and transfer the tracks onto big multi-track decks and keep working on the overdubs until they have a finished cut. Or back home to do a few more dubs, then a mixdown in the big studio.

I personally have worked with some artists in just this way while I engineered sessions in my studio during the 1970's..

Some artists will "brag" that they did the album at home on a small tape recorder to impress people for some reason.

In fact, some percentage of the project IS done at home, but the rest is done in the big studio with engineers and exotic mics and big boards..

Now, Paul McCartney does not have to brag to anyone to impress them, but in some sense, there may have been a reason for him in 1970 to embellish his accomplishments in his home studio set-up.
 
Any info on McCartney's first LP? That's gotta be the first home-recorded Gold Album.

McCartney's first solo album was largely recorded at EMI and Apple studios. He snuck in under a false name and recorded much of it while recording Abbey Road. "The Beatles Recording Sessions" has detailed logs of his recording of this album. I have read what Paul said many years later, but he did not record this album at home.
 
elliott smith-roman candle
springsteen-nebraska
john frusciante- niandra la des and usually just a t-shirt,
smile from the streets you hold
wilco-...can't remember
guano apes- lost (t)apes
 
I've read that the early Motown hits were done on a 2 track Ampex reel to reel that they modified and to be a 3 track. Recordings done on that, in the back room at Berry Gordy's house are still being played everyday all over the world, and that was 45 years ago.

As far as 4 track cassettes, I really can't join the party on them. I did 2 albums and a video on them in the 80's and found the sound very small although I liked the analog-ness.
 
I record to 8-track cassette only. Almost all the records I record end up as a cd or viny released by small labels in Europe. Not big names of course, but still...cassette ain't dead. :cool:
 
Has anyone heard any good or fairly decent albums recorded entirely on 4-track

this album was ok, i guess. :p

here's the individual tracks:

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I do know of some kick ass "commercial recordings" out there that were recorded on a portastudio.-such as Guided by Voices and Lou Barlow of Sebedoh. I'm interested in finding out about more of these artists. Hell, if anyone out there has any albums recorded on this media they should post that shit here. I love the sound of a cassette 4-track album. It may sound stupid, but I think that there's something a bit romantic about recording GOOD songs on these or other primitive devices.

I appreciate the 'less is more' approach as well. I finally wore out my Fostex 4 tracker and have upgraded to a Boss BR1600, but I really liked the fact that songs had to be distilled down to the essential elements on a 4 track cassette rig.
 
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