Surprisingly Modern 8-Track Tapes

Mention an appreciation of 8 track tapes, and you'll get a lot of bewildered looks.  At one time 8-track was the only portable music format, and now it's been unfairly reduced to a punchline - a thick plastic icon of the 60's and 70's.

There are a number of reasons to be genuinely sore at 8-tracks.  You couldn't rewind the carts, the internal mechanisms could fritz out, and worst of all - the songs were often put on the tape in a different order than the album.  Re-sequencing songs could sometimes make the songs fit on the 8 track cartridge better.  Even so, sometimes songs were actually split in the middle across multiple tracks.  I'm sure that some of you might remember the big "ka-thunk" that could sometimes barge into the middle of your favorite tune.

One more surprise up 8-track's sleeve is just how long it stuck around on the sly.  Around 1984 8-tracks disappeared from most retailers' shelves, but determined fans could still pick up some limited new releases until about 1988 via mail-away record clubs.  That's the story behind the Phil Collins 8-track of his massively successful solo effort, "No Jacket Required".  That makes "No Jacket Required" one of the few albums that would have been concurrently released on LP, 8-track, cassette, CD, VHS, CED, and who knows what else since.

List of 8 tracks that came out surprisingly late in the game
Amazon link to 8-Track documentary made by a friend
In case you don't already have "No Jacket Required" in five formats...
Our look at 2X-L; an educational toy powered by 8-track

Comments

[Cementimental]

I recently got hold of a couple of 8-track recorders, one of which is Quad! Planning to start an 8-track cartridge noise label and make super obscure limited edition releases, but lots labour-intensive servicing of cartridges etc will be required so who knows when I'll bother? :)

[nightdriver]

Genesis had roots that went back into the 1970's. The 8-track that threw me was "Licensed to Ill," by the Beastie Boys. It's perfect, though- you can really slam those big cartritges in hard. How cool would it be to have a Chrysler Impala cruising w/ the top down, hot bikini-girl sipping a Bacardi Breezer next to you and- SLAM!! "Duh-Nuh, duh-dah... NO SLEEP 'TIL BROOKLYN!"

[Jake]

How cool would it be to have a Chrysler Impala?

I don't know, you'll have to tell me because such a beast only exists in your head.

Also, that's great that Genesis had roots in the 70's. No Jacket Required was not a Genesis release - it was a Phil Collins release. They are not the same thing. But I expect someone who thinks a Chrysler Impala exists to get these little details wrong. I mean, Chevy and Chrysler are both American car companies, it's practically the same thing, right?

[bohus]

Aw, c'mon Jake... Nightdriver twisted up a couple things, but we shouldn't be mean about it, right? We've all written some weird stuff after a hit of (wait for it...) BRASS MONKEY, that funky monkey, junky!

Beastie Boys reference aside, I meant to mention that of course there had been Genesis and Phil Collins 8 tracks before, but No Jacket Required is so firmly an 80's album that it's odd to see it on 8 track.

You know, it would be Cementimental who wants to do an 8 track label. ;) In the documentary "So Wrong They're Right" that I linked to, there is a label who just does 8 track limited releases, so it is feasible in a totally psycho obscure way. ;) They found a cache of shrinkwrapped 8 track albums, so they just used those as raw stock and printed new stickers. If you do it, let us know!

[nickels]

my leif garrett 8-track was got me through the rough years of pre-pubescence. he did a mean rendition of 'run around sue'. too bad he has gone the way of the 8-track...poor leif. nice trip down memory lane, though!

[Phill]

Russ Forster is a cool guy. I've (sadly) never seen "So Wrong They're Right", but I did see "Tributary" which was great.

[pwntalive]

Congrats for throwing in the CED. I dont know many people who are even aware of this format, let alone making it part of a post. Mad respect.

[bohus]

Just to throw the love around, I'm grooving on your handle "pwntalive". Heh.

I never owned a CED, but a friend of mine growing up had one. At some point, a local video store blew their entire CED collection out for 50 cents each, so his family had a huge number of them. They were sad, fuzzy, pan & scan versions of movies, but it was still impressive.

I had a CED machine that I'd found someplace, but it was destroyed in a flood. The last time I saw CED's was at an outdoor record fair, and even at pennies a disc they couldn't move the darned things. I've always got my laser disc collection if I want a fragile and troublesome video format. ;)

[RC]

You kids and your ever-changing formats... I'll stick to my Stereo-Pak (4-track) cartridges, thank you very much. Who could possibly need twice as many tracks? Bah!

(Note: Not entirely joking, I have dozens)

[bohus]

That's really cool - we will undoubtedly write those up one of these days, it's just that I've not had one in my hands. Where did you get them?

I've had two machines that I should have bought (so I could claim to be able to digitize any media) but lacked the cash at the time. I once could have gotten an open reel Sony home video machine for $25, and also a Philips DCC machine for $35. I'm probably smarter to have kept my money in my pocket... ;)

[nightdriver]

It'd be a good fight, though." Vern

[Walt]

The 8-track shares the same inventor as the Lear Jet!! Good thing nobody could say it was obsolete upon invention.

I used to repair 8-tracks, and remember the "fun" of aligning the head, not all tapes had the tracks in the same place, and I didn't have a reference tape to go by. And then there were the ones that could record...may as well could have used tin cans on strings to listen with.

I also remember putting the tape back into several cartridges where the owner learned to keep them away from children.

PS: (used to) Always wanted one of those egg-shaped players!

[Pzazz]

To this day, anytime I hear "Paradise by the dashboard light", my mind puts in the ka-thunk of changing tracks at the appropriate place.....