Tape Op

It’s always a treat to get hold of a new issue of Tape Op, the recording-studio-geek magazine published in Sacramento by John Baccigaluppi and edited by Portland indie-rock producer Larry Crane. Gracing this issue’s cover is a circa-1970 photo of Emitt Rhodes, then a 19-year-old Los Angeles wunderkind who had recorded an astonishingly good debut album in his parents’ garage. It was released on ABC-Dunhill Records around the same time as Paul McCartney’s “bowl of cherries” debut; Rhodes, the Elliott Smith of his day, had the superior record. Rhodes released two subsequent discs and then faded into obscurity. Writer Kevin Ryan hooked up with him for a Q & A and added a short interview with engineer Keith Olsen, who later produced Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 pop breakthrough. Producer Dave Sardy, busy finishing the Revolution Smile’s Flawless/Interscope debut, is also interviewed. Go to www.tapeop.com.