Is that not the cheesiest title you could give a release? Even for an unofficial one, it's pretty awful isn't it? I'm not asking to get flamed here, I get the references (Eraser and Something I Can Never Have, alright? I know my NIN) but it's still silly sounding. The Tainted Touch Of Trent's Caress? Yeah yeah, I know it sounds good with the quad T sound, whatever. If anything, this mixtape demonstrates Trent's acumen for excellent production and his dedication to making his mixes special.
I don't know much about where this tape came from, other than it was traded online between NIN fans in the mid-nineties and supposedly organized by some members of alt.music.ninnies: David D. Yuhnke, Michael Roston, Mr. Orange, Squirtis, and csy. Props to them for their work.
For it's time, the contents of this tape are pretty incredible with rare remixes, unreleased tracks and live recordings, although the live tracks, for the most part, are thoroughly awful and should be avoided at all costs. On top of that, whoever assembled this collection either had access to good DJ equipment or an early digital editing suite as is evident by the excellent sequencing and occasional fades. All in all, pretty rare stuff for an era when CD-Rs were fairly uncommon and tape trading was still the most affordable way to get your favorite artist's rarest recordings.
Most of these recordings are pretty easy to come by nowadays, so I hope no one is too disappointed, but it's still a nice collection and, if you don't have these tracks already, this is a great place to get them. Enjoy!
Erase Me: The Tainted Touch Of Trent's Caress
Part One
Part Two
01 Intro
Live recording of the introduction to early NIN live shows. This track is pretty much unlistenable but I've included it for completeness sake.
02 Head Like A Hole (Opal)
This is a Trent created remix was not released in the US. It's a really great remix which made the European single for Head Like A Hole very collectible. The beat is sampled from The Time's Release It which is on Prince's Graffiti Bridge soundtrack.
03 Curve - Missing Link (Screaming Bird Mix)
Awesome remix by Trent and Flood. They've slowed down the original and added all kinds of chunky guitar and production to the track. Simply amazing!
04 Nine Inch Nails - Maybe Just Once
This is an unreleased track from Trent's pre-Pretty Hate Machine demo tape which is commonly called Purest Feeling. Most of the demo was re-done for PHM, but this and another song remain unreleased to this day.
05 Machines Of Loving Grace - Burnt Offering
This is a remix of the song Burn Like Brilliant Trash (At Jackie's Funeral). There is also another remix and a dub version available that Trent made for this track.
06 KMFDM - Light (Fat Back Dub)
Trent remixes KMFDM. I don't mean to be brief here but what else is there to say?
07 Nine Inch Nails - Purest Feeling
The other unreleased track from Purest Feeling, this features Trent on sax. Yes, Trent plays the sax, and he does so very well. This and Maybe Just Once are unreleased for a reason, but still interesting to check out.
08 Marilyn Manson - Mother Inferior Got Her Gunn
Trent's remix of Manson's Get Your Gunn.
09 Queen - Stone Cold Crazy (Re-Produced by Trent Reznor)
Unreleased remix from about 1992. This was given a promotional only CD release.
THIS IS WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE TO FLIP THE TAPE
10 Nine Inch Nails - March Of The Pigs (Live Video Version)
As the title implies, this is the version from the performance video for March Of The Pigs. This was released as the B-Side to the Closer cassette single.
11 Butthole Surfers - Who Was In My Room Last Night? (Trent Reznor Remix)
This isn't a terribly interesting remix, but it's still nice to have.
12 1000 Homo DJ's - Supernaut (Original Version)
This was one of the most controversial tracks, at least business-wise, for Trent and company. The story, as I've heard it, is Trent was visiting Ministry while they were recording The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste. Al Jourgensen was supposed to record vocals but was too wasted from whatever he was using at the time, so Trent was asked to record the vocals. This would have been on the 1000 Homo DJ's EP as is, but Steve Gottlieb, owner of TVT Records, Trent's then-current label, decided not to grant permission for Wax Trax! to release the track. Al returned to the studio to re-record the vocals himself, and that became the version featured on the EP, but a Wax Trax! sampler cassette had already been issued featuring the original version and it was promptly bootlegged and shared among friends. Unfortunately, Gottlieb got the last laugh when TVT purchased Wax Trax! after they filed for bankruptcy. A label retrospective compilation, the Black Box, was issued and the original version of Supernaut is exclusive to that release.
13 Megadeth - Symphony Of Destruction (Gristle Mix)
Trent mentioned this mix in one his Prodigy posts as being so long that it might not be issued in it's complete form. This is the full version of the track, which did see release, as did an edit. I prefer the edit, but this is still quite a good track.
14 Nine Inch Nails - Happiness In Slavery (PK Slavery Remix)
This is from a promotional 12" for Happiness In Slavery. Adrian Sherwood provided this and another remix of the same track, both of which are featured on the 12" alongside the Broken and Fixed versions. This remix has never had an official release outside of the promo 12".
15 Nine Inch Nails - Now I'm Nothing/Terrible Lie (Live)
Live recording of this excellent medley, but the quality sucks. This is simply unlistenable. This would be great if it were a soundboard recording or in better quality, but as it is you should skip this track.
16 Queen - Tie Your Mother Down (Re-Produced by Trent Reznor)
Trent's other Queen remix from around 1992. This has not seen a release of any sort, promotional or otherwise. Trent strips the rhythm and most of the backing track and makes a funky industrial groove.
BONUS TRACK: Nine Inch Nails - Last (Butch Vig Remix)
This is not part of the mixtape and has to be downloaded separately. Some copies of the mixtape featured this track as an unlisted bonus, but it's not on mine. Doesn't matter though because the original circulating version sounded like shit. This version is an official post by Trent at remix.nin.com and is of excellent quality. Here is a little more on this track from a very old discography post available here (also the source of the list of organizers of the mixtape):
This track was originally remixed for Fixed but removed from the final track listing. The ending of it ended up being used in 'Throw This Away' and credited to Butch Vig. The complete mix originally popped up on the internet as a file, NIN_LAST.AIFF, available by ftp from CYBERDEN.COM. It disappeared from the site quite some time ago. It appeared as a hidden bonus track on the Erase Me: The Tainted Touch of Trent's Caress cassette compilation.
That sums it up very nicely. So, I hope you enjoy this tape and it's excellent contents. Please let me know if you have any additional info about it's origins as I'd love to know details!
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