Today marks the official reissue release of Weirdo, the 1994 classic from Athens-based underdog rockers Five Eight. A spry, 11-track album, Weirdo represents a would-be alt-rock breakthrough that never quite came.
Remixed from master tapes by local engineer David Barbe, and remastered by Jim Wilson, the record is available to purchase in digital and colored vinyl formats via a special Bandcamp page. (It’s also available on limited edition 180-gram vinyl via Austin, TX label Chicken Ranch Records.)
From the press release:
Barbe comments on how he has returned Weirdo to the way it was originally intended, saying, “When I turned in the finished mixes to the A&R man, he listened, called me and said, ‘You have made a great record.’ His opinion would change. I believed that the hyped, over-processed records of the early ’90s were going to sound hopelessly dated in time. He wanted Five Eight to give him his own Nevermind, and this was not it.”
At the time, the label pushed and received the record they wanted, but now Five Eight has finally arrived at the sonic version of Weirdo that they imagined from the beginning.
Stream the new version of Weirdo, which features five unreleased bonus tracks, below.
Read our 2014 Q&A with Five Eight, where band members reflect on 25 years in the music business, here.
Like what you just read? Support Flagpole by making a donation today. Every dollar you give helps fund our ongoing mission to provide Athens with quality, independent journalism.
