RARE & FUN 1986 Pepsi Advertising Premiere INDUSTRIAL MUSICAL
$
115
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Description
If you've seen "Bathtubs Over Broadway" or read "Everything's Coming Up Profits," you know that private pressing "industrial musical" souvenir albums are some of the rarest and weirdest records in existence. These motivational musicals were only for dealers, salesmen, distributors and other industry insiders at sales meetings and conventions, and the souvenir vinyl records were not available to the public. And many of these shows boasted outstanding music and performances along with the bizarre corporate subject matter.
I'm the collector and historian profiled in the documentary "Bathtubs Over Broadway," and the co-author of "Everything's Coming Up Profits - The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals." I'm thinning out my stash of duplicates, and offering an assortment of records that range from the scarce, to the very rare, to the "you'll probably never encounter this again."
This souvenir of a January 1986 meeting Pepsi meeting (held in San Francisco, if that bridge is any indication) is significant on several fronts. It's got the shiniest cover of any industrial musical album -- quite hard to photograph. It's the very last known true industrial on vinyl; the great run that started in the early 50's stopped here, as vinyl gave way to CD's, and industrial shows were in retreat. And as I mention in the book, this show's outer space theme had been frantically cut back from its intended dimensions just days before the convention, according to writer Donald Epstein -- due to the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
But the most fun thing about this record is Pepsi's absolutely giddy celebration of the 1985 "New Coke" debacle.
The song "In the Blink of an Eye" is the most schadenfreudey industrial show tune ever to cross my path. The lyrics (helpfully printed on the back cover) crow about how the whole industry has been upended and Pepsi is now sitting pretty, thanks to Coke's blunder-riffic attempt to reformulate its flagship brand. It's quite well done and entertaining.
Other fun numbers are "PBGB, I Love You" (that's Pepsi Bottling Group, not sure what the extra B is), "Any Way You Slice It" (a celebration of the Slice fruit-flavored drink), "Pepsi Everywhere" (an affirmation of Pepsi's ubiquity all over the world and soon beyond), and "A Nice Old Fashioned Business," a humorous yet nervous look at how high technology is making things better, or not. I'm told another track, "Back to the Future," tied in to a special cameo appearance by Michael J. Fox.
This copy is very nice, with the cover showing insignificant wear other than some corner bends, and the disc is fresh and minty.
A great addition to a collection of industrial shows or weird vinyl in general, and a delightful artifact for Pepsi collectors.
Check out my other listings for many more killer examples of this deliciously strange and secret slice of American musical and corporate history (including Coke shows), as well as an assortment of other miscellaneous weird records from my hoard.
Buyers of multiple records get a break on shipping charges.
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