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The Purple Tape
Singer-Songwriter · 2008 · 33 tracks · 1h 34m

The Purple Tape

Lisa Loeb

A 33-track archival collection of lo-fi demos and oral history. Sparse acoustic guitars and breathy vocals captured before the world knew her name.

January 22, 2008 · Not On Label (Lisa Loeb Self-released)

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A deeply personal and unpolished retrospective that feels like a warm conversation with the past.

Tracklist · 33 Tracks · 1h 34m
01
Snow Day
3:33
01
The Purple Tape: Introduction and History
2:34
02
Early Days in NYC
1:04
02
Train Songs
3:19
03
Liz and Lisa
1:18
03
Hurricane
3:50
04
Why the People Tape?
0:57
04
Come Back Home
3:39
05
It’s Over
3:37
05
Gigging in NYC
1:54
06
Nine Stories
0:37
06
This
3:02
07
Marketing and the Music Business
3:09
07
Days Were Different
3:28
08
Guessing Game
2:21
08
Recording the Purple Tape
3:27
09
The Purple Tape Artwork
1:53
09
Do You Sleep?
3:40
10
Airplanes
2:16
10
Songwriting
1:52
11
Snow Day
4:49
12
Train Songs
3:50
13
Hurricane
3:20
14
Come Back Home
3:11
15
It’s Over
3:59
16
This
4:02
17
Days Were Different
1:20
18
Guessing Game
2:44
19
Do You Sleep?
4:06
20
Airplanes
2:38
21
Bringing the Past to the Present
1:41
22
Snow Day (live in-studio)
4:05
23
Stay (I Missed You) (acoustic)
2:58
Moments Worth Listening For
The audible tape hiss and room noise that precedes the first strum of Snow Day, grounding the record in a specific time and place.
Loeb's conversational tone during the 'Introduction and History' segments, which turn the album into a sonic documentary.
The stark, unadorned version of 'Stay (I Missed You)' that strips the hit down to its most skeletal and vulnerable form.
Reviews
AllMusic
Read review
Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does The Purple Tape sound next to the rest of Lisa Loeb's catalogue?

Nostalgic+2.1σ

Nostalgic saturates this record far more than the artist's norm.

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