Anatomy of a Mixtape - Olive Juice '87 Part XI "Blank Tape"
Part XI “Blank Tape”
After a complete listen to the remnants (the “non-labeled songs”), I discover the tunes that follow on side B have all been taped off the radio station Cape 104 (WKPE), the Top 40 station of choice in the mid to late 80s on Cape Cod. Even though I purchased this cassette on the Cape and was fairly certain about where it originated, the front and back announcements by the DJ announcing Cape 104 are proof positive that this cassette was, without a doubt, produced on and by a resident of Cape Cod.
But assuming the balance of these songs on the second side are not part of the original “Olive Juice ‘87” compilation because they aren’t written out on the label, and there’s inconsistency in the quality and care of the recordings, I have questions.
Questions like,
Who’s responsible for these additional songs on side B?
Was it the recipient of “Olive Juice ‘87”? Noticing about 25 minutes of blank tape on side B, maybe he nor she decided to add their own filler? Maybe, after the relationship ended?
But at that point, why not just tape over the whole thing?
Was this tape originally a collection of someone else’s songs before it was recorded over and labeled in what would become “Olive Juice ‘87?”
Did Olive Juice even give this tape to anyone? Was this a confessional tape not meant to get into anyone else’s hands, purely made for his own emotional listening experience, and therefore he just dubbed over a used tape that was within reach?
Because if I were taping over other songs on a previously recorded cassette with the intent on actually giving it to someone, and I had extra space on side B that would show evidence that this tape had previously served a different purpose, I would take the careful step of dubbing a blank recording over the leftovers to at least give the appearance that I cared enough to start with a fresh tape. A little “Wite-out” of previous song evidence if you will, which may be a tad glaring, but nothing like leaving audible sounds or evidence of “used tape”.
But, maybe side B was never finished? Maybe “Olive Juice ‘87” is not complete? After all, that would explain why the tabs for side B weren’t popped out like they were for the clearly finished side A. It would also provide some explanation as to why there’s this random mix of pre-recorded songs on side B that were left off the tracklist and some of which don’t really fit into the musical styles of the rest of the tape. It’s a simple explanation, Olive Juice just hadn’t gotten to recording over them yet and still hasn’t 30 years later.
Which brings us back to the possibility, maybe this is a love letter that was never finished and sadly, never sent?
And after reviewing the evidence and considering the facts, I think that this is the likeliest scenario; “Olive Juice ‘87” is incomplete and never made it to the intended receiver.
Here we are, heading into the grab-bag of songs that follow The Outfield. Keep in mind, this ride is similar to the old wooden roller coaster at the amusement park that somehow remains open. While you may get caught up in the nostalgia of it, it’s quite jerky, full of false starts and sudden stops, and you might even feel like shit by the end.
You’ve been warned. Now let’s begin.
Track #5 - “You Got It All”
After the initial mix of “Olive Juice ‘87” closes out with the final statement that Olive Juice will be sending all the love in the world to his girl, or guy, it’s followed up with an abrupt cut into the 5th song on side B. It’s “You Got it All” by The Jets, and we’re greeted with the first round of the chorus just before the second verse from this 1986 song written by the one and only Rupert Holmes of Pina Colada fame.
Track #6 - “Someday”
The Jets into Glass Tiger, wow, I wasn’t kidding about a roller coaster. But it’s during this one that I hear the DJ call out the station call letters, “Cape 104” for the first time. Found on the dial at 104.7, as I mentioned before, Cape 104 was THE Top 40 station on Cape Cod ruling the airwaves throughout the 80s. After a decade of success, the station rebranded itself to an oldies station in the early 90s and is currently known as “Ocean 104”. It actually happens to be my current top choice of radio station when driving around the Cape in the summer, since it fires up steady doses of classic summer easy-listening like Elton John, Supertramp, and Fleetwood Mac, among others.
But now this relic — the leftover B side of “Olive Juice ‘87” — is one of the only artifacts, a sound clip into years past, of the Top 40 magic that addressed the listeners of the Cape. And they were not without the sounds of Glass Tiger in the spring of 1987, thank heavens.
Track #7 - “In Your Eyes”
If we’re living in 1987, we’re likely thinking of the love-inspiring Peter Gabriel classic that has made its way onto thousands, nay, millions of mixtapes made for lovers across the globe over the years. But I’m here to tell you ladies and gentlemen, this is an entirely different song by one Jeffrey Osbourne.
Track #8 - Jacob’s Ladder
I’ve got some news for you, and it’s more Huey Lewis on side B. This was released as a single in 1986 but reached #1 in 1987. All of a sudden, Huey Lewis and the News are making a run at Depeche Mode to take the lead on OJ ‘87, and to be perfectly frank, I never would have thought this at any point on side A.
At this point, I’m really feeling that someone in the Olive Juice household made a tape of their favorite songs off of Cape 104 sometime in late ‘86 or early ‘87, but when Olive Juice felt hopelessly in love and needed to express those feelings, he swiped the tape from, my gut tells me a sister, and he started his ode to love via 1980s New Wave and never got to finish it out.
Comments
Post a Comment