Fifteen years
ago, ROIR, then a cassette-only record company, released
"The Kitchen Tapes" by The Raincoats. This U.K. all girl
group, made popular by their recordings on the London Rough
Trade record label, had emerged on the burgeoning London
Punk/New Wave scene with a brilliant flash, captivating the
press and club punters in a rush of critical approval and
cult acclaim.
After a
series of break-ups, they were brought back in the mid 90's
from near obscurity by Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, who lauded
their praises in concerts and print. He convinced Geffen
Records to re-release their back catalog of three records
and record a new CD, as well.
HOW DID THE
1983 ROIR CASSETTE-ONLY HAPPEN?
In 1982 Neil
Cooper, ROIR founder, approached Ruth Polsky, The Raincoats
American coordinator, with the concept of recording them
live at The Kitchen For The Performing Arts, in NYC, where
they were scheduled to perform.
In 1982,
after a brief national tour, The Raincoats were stranded in
New York City without money to return to England. Perhaps
this is the main reason Shirley O'Loughlin, The Raincoats
long time manager, and the ladies themselves agreed to the
project, interim financing, so to speak.
We brought in
a four track Dorkorder and engineer John Hanti to record the
show on December 12, 1982. When we went to the studio to
master, the band and their manager were sitting in the
mastering booth with glum faces. The two off-the-board
tracks had not picked up anything, a potential disaster! I
asked the engineer to run the two ambient tracks,and they
were magnificent! The live to two track tapes really worked!
In 1983, ROIR released "The Kitchen Tapes" as cassette
number A-120, to glowing reviews and substantial
international sales.
We believe
"The Kitchen Tapes" is by far The Raincoats best and most
representative recording, as the ladies really "cut loose"
and were not limited by studio restrictions, which can
produce anxiety, apprehension, and caution in a young band
used to playing before a live audience.
Recorded live
at The Kitchen For The Performing Arts, NYC on Sunday,
December 12, 1982
Liner notes by Greil Marcus
(1982)
Digital CD mastered by Doug Pomeroy, Pomeroy Audio,
December, 1997.
