Two landmark rock albums from the 1970s are now available in the reel-to-reel tape format: Fleetwood Mac and ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres.
Each album was meticulously duplicated in real time from a 1:1 copy of the flat analogue master tapes. This means a “master-quality listening experience that captures the full dynamics of the recording without the surface noise or groove wear of vinyl,” according to the albums’ label Rhino, which is the legacy arm of Warner Music.
So what about the tape itself? The 15 IPS (inches per second) half-track 1/4-inch tape is produced to the IEC equalisation standard on premium RTM LPR90 tape stock and stored on a 10.5-inch metal reel.
To play them, you will, of course, need a dedicated reel-to-reel tape machine.
And the albums? Released in 1975, Fleetwood Mac (also known as The White Album) was actually the second album of that name to be released by the band. It marked a change of course, with newcomers Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks lending a more pop-driven sound. It wasn’t a huge success at first, but reached number one after a year of the band touring. It has now been certified platinum nine times over.
Tres Hombres came out in 1973, and was ZZ Top’s first gold record. It signalled a mainstream appreciation of the band’s gritty Texas blues-rock sound, with tracks such as La Grange, Jesus Just Left Chicago and Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers establishing the Top as a major force in 70s rock.
Both albums are limited to 500 copies, and are available only from Rhino.com, where they cost £228 / $300 (around AU$430) each.
Rhino is currently working through the Warner Music back catalogue and releasing select albums on the reel-to-reel format. It recently announced Joni Mitchell’s Blue, and has previously released albums by Curtis Mayfield, The Stooges, Yes and T.Rex. Each comes with archival-grade packaging to honour the album’s original intent both visually and aurally.
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