Something New

8T.2108.1.1 is the first pressing of Something New in Canada on the 8-Track format. This variation was issued in stereo. This variation is recognized by its white Ampex Datapack shell and white slick marked "MANUFACTURED AND DISTRIBUTED BY CAPITOL RECORD (CANADA) LTD". Early copies were housed in a red and black side opening cardboard slipcase featuring the song titles (the picture below is a generic rendering to illustrate what it looked like, but no official slip case for Something New has been found yet for inclusion on this website).

Availability

This variation was available between the fall of 1968, and 1970 (for approximately 2 years) when Ampex transitioned to black shells with black slicks - (see variations 2A, 2B and 3).

General Information

These first 8-Track tapes from November 1968-1970 were not manufactured by Capitol (Capitol hired subcontractors until 1976, as they were doing for vinyl records before they opened their own pressing facility in Mississauga). These early Canadian tapes featured a white Ampex Datapack shell with a white Canadian paper slick. This was different from the USA tapes released at the same time, which used 2-piece separate pink slicks instead. Canadian white shell tapes were originally housed in a unique red and black cardboard Capitol slip case onto which was glued a unique paper title sheet. These slip cases were dropped around the summer of 1969, after which generic slip cases were used instead.

Note** Canada never produced the 4-track "Muntz" tape that was available in the USA (these looked like smaller 8-Track tapes), sticking only to the more common 8-Track format and regular cassette format. Furthermore, it is unlikely that any Beatles Muntz tapes were imported by Capitol of Canada.

Pressing Information

Capitol of Canada subcontracted Ampex of Canada Limited in a suburb of Toronto, to manufacture these Canadian 8-Track tapes. As Piers mentions in his Discography pt. 2 book, the Ampex of Canada 8-track tapes were manufactured in Canada using white plastic “Datapack” shells (the shell model that was produced under licence from Data Packaging Corp. in the USA). These generic shells were unbranded, allowing companies to present the cartridges as their own in-house productions (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 2 and 3).

The Ampex Datapack format was used in white, then black, until 1973 when Capitol turned to "Lear Jet" instead of Ampex for 8-Track tape production.

8T.2108.1.1 has markings as follows:

• White plastic shell
• Long gripper cavity
• A deep "U" shaped slot on the top left back side
• 5 clip holes holding the two halves of the shell together
• White paper slick

Cover and packaging

Early Ampex releases were sold in a cardboard slip case that would fit sideways (unlike later top opening slip cases). These were generic black and red Capitol cases with a cutout to show the album cover on the inserted shell, onto which was glued a white piece of paper wrapped around featuring the specific album title and catalogue number on the edge, and the track listing wrapped on the back. These are EXTREMELY hard to find today, in any condition. These were sold in a tight shrink wrap. The red and black cardboard slipcases were available until approximately the summer of 1969, after which generic slip cases were used instead.