Cheap Trick is getting great buzz for releasing its new album "The Latest" on 8-track (as well as other formats).
$30 will get you Cheap Trick's new album in the 8-track format
$30 will get you the pleasure of hearing what really is a very good album (yes, I'm a Cheap Trick geek, but "Latest" really is their best in a long time) in a format known for crappy sound quality and the ridiculous switching of tracks, sometimes midsong.
Yeah, the 8-track version is a publicity trick. But is there more to it? Yep, if you believe the July 17 edition of Soundcheck, in which a caller suggests that 8-tracks are making a comeback because nostalgic classic car owners want their models to reflect the 1970s experience. The caller adds that 8-tracks are a hot item on eBay.
Time will tell whether Cheap Trick sells more than a few 8-tracks or whether more artists follow suit but given the hullabaloo over the retro feel of the new Camaro, I could see middle-aged car nuts wanting to relive the past and shelling out the dough to ensure there's some new tunes amid an 8-track mix more likely to be dominated by Zeppelin, Sabbath and Grand Funk.