Something New

Black Spine J-Cards with three white bars were amongst the earliest tapes released in Canada, and the design outlived the paper label era. K7.2108.3A.2 shares the same black J-card as 3A.1, but the tape inside is different: a white shell with the text printed directly onto the plastic, with no paper label at all.

The printing uses the oval Capitol logo rather than the target logo found on the paper labels of 3A.1, and bilingual Canadian text with the Mississauga address of Capitol Records-EMI of Canada Limited, which places it around 1981. See also 3A.1 (yellow paper labels, 1978) and 3A.3 (black shell, silver print).

Availability

This printed-shell incarnation dates from around 1981, after the paper-label copies (3A.1) and alongside the black printed shell (3A.3). The black spine J-card ran until the SDR reformatting of 1982, when Capitol Records-EMI of Canada moved the catalogue over to the new Super Dynamic Range series. No SDR pressing of Something New has been documented to date, so leftover black spine stock may well have been sold through until the colour J-card arrived in 1985 (see variation 6) - though that remains to be confirmed.

Pressing Information

The shell is white plastic with the text printed directly onto it in black - there is no paper label. Each side reads "THE BEATLES/ SOMETHING NEW" with the track listing beneath, the oval Capitol logo at the left, and PROGRAM 1 or PROGRAM 2 over the catalogue number 4XT-2108 at the right. Below the tape window is the bilingual manufacturer line: "Fabriqué au Canada Disques Capitol - EMI du Canada Ltée / Manufactured in Canada Capitol Records-EMI of Canada Limited / 3109 American Dr Mississauga Ont L4V 1B2". The Mississauga address and the EMI company name both point to the early 1980s.

The shell itself is moulded "MADE IN U.S.A.", so the plastic came out of an American mould. That does not make the tape American: the printed Canadian manufacturer line below the window, with the Mississauga address, points to the cassette being either assembled or moulded here from imported American parts, which was common practice at the time.

Different types of shells were often used simultaneously and seemingly, also interchangeably. There is no clear timeline based on the types of shells that were used.

Cover

The cover (or J-card) featured the USA "BLACK spine" design: a generic layout where the spine of the J-Card is black with three white bars. Some titles were released on a light blue J-card, but these were usually reserved for half price budget releases and compilations. This title was only released on the black J-card format.

The J-card is identical to the one used on 3A.1: black front with the live Ed Sullivan Show photograph used on the album cover, A and B track listings, and a back panel carrying the bilingual "Fabriqué au Canada / Manufactured in Canada" text with the Mississauga address. Only the tape inside distinguishes this variation.

Packaging

Tapes were sold in a black back jewel case, and sealed in a firm wrap that was folded shut.