Droid World

Original format: audio cassette / vinyl

The first audio book here (if one can truly call this an audio book) is a tape companion to a child's read-along tape/book set. According to Wookieepedia, this was episode 47 in the Star Wars: The Further Adventures series, and was also released on vinyl.

I would have loved to have this when I was a kid - hell, I love that I have this now. It's a shame I can't find the book.

Unfortunately, there is an error in the tape for about 5-6 seconds. I usually strive for the highest quality possible, but I figured that this was a bit too good to pass up because of a relatively short tape error. Looking at the tape, I'm really lucky it worked at all.




@320kb CBR

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Coming Out of Their Shells

Original format: audio cassette

At one point in my childhood my parents bought me this tape from Pizza Hut, and I'm pretty certain it was a prized possession of mine for the rest of my Ninja Turtle obsessed days. I have since lost that copy, but on vacation a few weeks ago I found the tape once again at a Habitat for Humanity store and had to grab it again.

I've done a bit of research on it since then, and found out it was actually a soundtrack to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle's stage show (the Turtles fan in me still gets a rush from hearing that), and there was also a VHS created of the show being performed. Also, according to an interview on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee
the tape went PLATINUM while only being sold at Pizza Hut. That really speaks to how awesome kids entertainment was in the late 80s/early 90s.

The music itself is generally very entertaining parodies of many popular styles and artists of the time. This includes rock, hip hop, R n' B, power ballads - you name it it's in there. My personal favorites are the tracks that have a definitive Bob Seger/John Mellencamp vibe - "No Treaties" and the opening track "Coming Out of Our Shells". The lyrics are absolutely hilarious ('Take that Shredder', 'I've seen the foot clan, man you know I thump it'), and that's all I really have to say about them. The 'guest vocals' are interesting breaks from the rest of the songs. "Skipping Stones" is by Splinter, and is a bit sappy but not bad. "April Ballad" is by April, and about as interesting as the song title. That is really the only poor track on the album though.

Don't miss this. It's a great bit of nostalgia, and sometimes a surprisingly rocking album.

For fans of: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 80s nostalgia

@320kb CBR