1984 Pre-Recorded Chrome Cassette: Peter Katin Plays Chopin

I haven’t posted much in the way of pre-recorded cassettery from 1984, so to make amends here’s a classic, Made in England, chromium dioxide product from that very year.

All the hallmarks of the period are there. The proud boast of “CHROME TAPE” on the front of the inlay – essential info in the early to mid eighties when hi-fi credentials lay at the forefront of audio cassette marketing. The “CHROME – FOR QUALTY” C-logo appears on the cream paper label, as does the “DOLBY SYSTEM”-accompanied Dolby logo, which prevailed on casings before the text was phased out to leave only the double-D symbol.

The Damned – Anything (CrO2 Audio Cassette)

Made at the height of the chromium dioxide era, this pre-record, released on the MCA label, forms a nice little nugget of nostalgia. With its black shell, silver paper label, and green tape leader, the cassette looks, as well as plays, like a quality product.

Philips Chromium Dioxide Audio Cassette: Für Elise

This is another really nice example of a high quality chromium dioxide pre-recorded cassette tape. It’s a Philips compilation entitled Für Elise – The Magic of the Piano, which includes works by a raft of composers including Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Mozart, Liszt, Chopin, Brahms, Schubert and Gershwin.