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Thread started 04/16/11 1:43pm

luxuryyaht

Spotted: Sign o' the Times on 8 Track

A while ago I posted in the classified section a wanted ad for SOTT on 8 track.

Laughing yet?

There was a general consensus that it probably didn't actually exist (1986 generally seems to be the cut off date) but I insisted that I had seen one in a movie about such things called So Wrong They're Right.

So I rented it and spotted THIS at the 33 second mark:

(cool, eh?)

Double Peace
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Reply #1 posted 04/16/11 2:06pm

TheDigitalGard
ener

So they were still being made in 1987?

Seems crazy. Nice find.

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Reply #2 posted 04/16/11 2:30pm

eyewishuheaven

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Wow, that's crazy... I wonder where they sold 'em!

Ah, 8-tracks, and their ridiculous fade-out/fade-in charm. My first album was an 8-track: Ace Frehley, solo album! Seven year-old me was Back in the New York Groove... razz

PRINCE: the only man who could wear high heels and makeup and STILL steal your woman!
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Reply #3 posted 04/16/11 2:34pm

electricberet

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Here's further confirmation:

http://www.8trackheaven.com/80s-2.html

Apparently these final 8-tracks were only available to members of the Columbia and RCA record clubs. These were clubs where you could pay 1 cent to get several albums and then had to buy several more at the regular price (which I recall was higher than what you'd pay in a store). I was a record club member at some point, but I never had any 8-tracks. Are 8-track tapes supposed to sound better than regular cassettes?

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Reply #4 posted 04/16/11 2:44pm

eyewishuheaven

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electricberet said:

Are 8-track tapes supposed to sound better than regular cassettes?

I don't think so, but a lot of cars were equipped to play 'em (8-track was the first time you could play your own music in the car - a BIG deal).

After car cassette players came in, a lot of people avoided cds in the early days for the same reason: couldn't play 'em in the car.

PRINCE: the only man who could wear high heels and makeup and STILL steal your woman!
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Reply #5 posted 04/16/11 3:00pm

novabrkr

8-tracks have double the playing speed as c-cassettes. Therefore, they should "theoretically" have better fidelity. However, that depends entirely on the quality of the playback equipment and the maintenance of it (8-track required apparently just as much maintenance as reel-to-reel recorders).

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Reply #6 posted 04/16/11 3:06pm

SashaNicole

Uhm.. what are 8-tracks?

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Reply #7 posted 04/16/11 3:41pm

TheDigitalGard
ener

electricberet said:

Here's further confirmation:

http://www.8trackheaven.com/80s-2.html

Apparently these final 8-tracks were only available to members of the Columbia and RCA record clubs. These were clubs where you could pay 1 cent to get several albums and then had to buy several more at the regular price (which I recall was higher than what you'd pay in a store). I was a record club member at some point, but I never had any 8-tracks. Are 8-track tapes supposed to sound better than regular cassettes?

That is good info. Thank you.

I had heard that SOTT did exist on 8trk, but that it was a record club only release, I just had no idea where I had heard that info, so I could not confirm.

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Reply #8 posted 04/16/11 3:42pm

TheDigitalGard
ener

SashaNicole said:

Uhm.. what are 8-tracks?

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...track_tape

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Reply #9 posted 04/16/11 3:47pm

Efan

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It's funny that they got the cover of SOTT wrong on the 8-track.

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Reply #10 posted 04/16/11 3:49pm

TheDigitalGard
ener

Efan said:

It's funny that they got the cover of SOTT wrong on the 8-track.

Haha, I know, you would think they would have spent the time to get the cover to fit.

At least you can see Prince's shoulder.

[Edited 4/16/11 15:49pm]

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Reply #11 posted 04/16/11 3:51pm

TheDigitalGard
ener

eyewishuheaven said:

Wow, that's crazy... I wonder where they sold 'em!

Ah, 8-tracks, and their ridiculous fade-out/fade-in charm. My first album was an 8-track: Ace Frehley, solo album! Seven year-old me was Back in the New York Groove... razz

I remember 8tracks being sold in petrol stations.

Also, the tape just used to stop in the middle of songs, then you had to turn them over.

lol

My dad bought a car with an 8trk player, and the glove box was full of them, he gave me an Abba tape confused .

It was that or The Eagles I think.

[Edited 4/16/11 15:53pm]

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Reply #12 posted 04/16/11 3:58pm

electricberet

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TheDigitalGardener said:

Efan said:

It's funny that they got the cover of SOTT wrong on the 8-track.

Haha, I know, you would think they would have spent the time to get the cover to fit.

At least you can see Prince's shoulder.

[Edited 4/16/11 15:49pm]

Sounds like the most likely customers for these releases in 1987 would have been people with older cars that still had 8-track players in them (maybe including some teenagers who couldn't afford a new car). The sloppy job on the packaging might reflect the small number of copies they expected to sell.

The Census Bureau estimates that there are 2,518 American Indians and Alaska Natives currently living in the city of Long Beach.
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Reply #13 posted 04/16/11 4:38pm

2020

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Very interesting - I thought it was like 1982 is when they stopped produing 8 tracks. It'd be cool to see 1999 and Purple Rain on 8 track
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Reply #14 posted 04/16/11 4:42pm

Efan

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2020 said:

Very interesting - I thought it was like 1982 is when they stopped produing 8 tracks. It'd be cool to see 1999 and Purple Rain on 8 track

I had both of those on 8 track.

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Reply #15 posted 04/16/11 8:37pm

itsjustaroundt
hecorner

im a crazy 8 track collector....

SOTT is my holy grail!!!!!!!

thank u for posting this... i just about gave up!

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Reply #16 posted 04/17/11 2:20am

CowboyCatchphr
ase

I own SOTT on a huge record sized floppy disc like thing. I gotta search to find out what is called again. My bet with the 8 Track was it was booted and not a true release.

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Reply #17 posted 04/17/11 2:32am

mplsmike

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SashaNicole said:

Uhm.. what are 8-tracks?

8 Tracks were like giant and bulky cassettes tapes in the 1970's

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Reply #18 posted 04/17/11 6:03am

ufoclub

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A friend of mine inherited a big yellow 70's cadillac and in it he found an 8-track to Songs in the Key of Life. He used to jam it. It wasn't until a year later that he realized it was only part 2 of the entire album! He thought the album was amasterpiece and he was inly listening to half of it. It spanned two 8-track cassettes.

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Reply #19 posted 04/17/11 7:15am

luxuryyaht

ufoclub said:

A friend of mine inherited a big yellow 70's cadillac and in it he found an 8-track to Songs in the Key of Life. He used to jam it. It wasn't until a year later that he realized it was only part 2 of the entire album! He thought the album was amasterpiece and he was inly listening to half of it. It spanned two 8-track cassettes.

EXACTLY.

This here is my ride and has a totally functional 8 track player in it. I have everything up to Parade except for Dirty Mind

Double Peace
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Reply #20 posted 04/17/11 7:15am

luxuryyaht

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