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?)

So they were still being made in 1987?

Seems crazy. Nice find.

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...

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?

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.

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).

Uhm.. what are 8-tracks?

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.

SashaNicole said:

Uhm.. what are 8-tracks?

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

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

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]

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...

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.

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

It was that or The Eagles I think.

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

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.

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.

im a crazy 8 track collector....

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

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

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.

SashaNicole said:

Uhm.. what are 8-tracks?

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

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.

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