EARLY CD WEEK* (APRIL 18-23, 2022)
According to this article from the June 1984 issue of Stereo Review, this disc was "the first test/demo Compact Disc available in this country." Even with a target audience of hardcore audiophiles, this CD appeared on the first Compact Discs chart published by CashBox on September 15, 1984:
Two discs in one! The first half is various recorded sounds - both natural and synthesized - made during the '70s and '80s at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford University while the latter half is a test section with pink noise, sine waves and whatnot. It's not much good to me except as a curiosity as I really don't have the high end equipment needed to fine tune my modest audio system. But I can just imagine what it must have sounded like to someone who had never heard a CD before when it was played in a home electronics store at full blast.
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| An excerpt from the extensive liner notes |
My copy must be a later pressing as the disc itself reads "Made in U.S.A. by Sanyo" and CDs weren't yet being pressed in the US in 1983. Complete liner notes are available here, including descriptions of each piece by the composers and the following warning: "CAUTION: There are some sounds on this disc that if played too loudly will seriously affect the dispusion [sic] of your sound system." It's fun to hear what was considered cutting edge back in '83, but probably not a CD I'll listen to again unless there's people who won't leave the party so I'll loudly play the latter half so they'll get out of my house. For what it's worth, I listened on headphones.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Peak on the CashBox Top CD chart: #17
Tracks:
It's best heard while reading the liner notes so you know what the hell is going on. Lots of experimental compositions in the first half. The first track includes the old THX logo chord that we heard before movies in the theatres for years. Track 3, The Lions Are Growing, sounds like an Art of Noise demo, so that's a fun change of pace. With tracks like Specific Racquetball, Generic Racquetball, Venice Beach, Foothill Park and Helicopter, you get what is advertised by the title. The test section, as you might imagine, is not for your listening enjoyment, but it is brief. The final track is one minute of silence.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
*I recently compiled complete chart data for compact disc charts from both Billboard and CashBox magazines. While doing so, I saw the names of a number of very early sampler/demonstration discs with which I was completely unfamiliar. I found a few early CDs that charted, as well as similar discs from 1983-85, and am featuring those this week.
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