Cotton Mather - Kontiki teaser tape (1986)

So I had some internal debate on whether to share this or not, but if not on Wilfuly Obscure, where?  Per the picture to your right, it's pretty easy to discern this wasn't made available to the general public (but soon would be in a slightly modified guise).  Austin, TX power pop mavens Cotton Mather made a few ripples when they're near-perfect debut, Cotton is King was dropped in 1994, but it's '97 follow-up, Kontiki, was significantly more lauded and met with far wider embrace. Prior to the album's release, Cotton main man Robert Harrison apparently distributed a few hand made tapes of new material he had been working on. One of those cassettes was handed off to a leading luminary/tastemaker in the scene, as it were, and decades later I was fortunate enough to have it fall in my hands. 

As per the title of this entry, this little three-song reel wasn't an advance for Kontiki, so much as a teaser or appetizer.  The first two tracks, "My Before And After" and "Spin My Wheels" would soon feature prominently on the album, with the third, "Innocent Street" being relegated to a b-side. "My Before.." strikes me as either a demo or unmixed version of the final product, which I like to think bears a slightly more organic hue here. "Spin My Wheels" is definitely an alternate take of the song, and an electric version at that. It was later released on the bonus CD of the 2012 deluxe edition of Kontiki.  In addition, that expanded version of the album included "Innocent Street" as a bonus selection too, albeit in an acoustic iteration whereas my cassette provides a differing electric take.  So there you have it. Three songs from 1996 that eventually saw the light of day a year later...with a few discrepancies. Enjoy.

01. My Before and After

02. Spin My Wheels

03. Innocent Street

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