Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
A Visual Documentary (Now Online)
Enjoy!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
50 Words For Snow - UK First Issue Pressing
This is a double vinyl release with a gatefold sleeve. When I bought this in 2011, I decided right away that I was going to keep it sealed, so I've only been able to scan the outer portion of the jacket. The scans may not be perfect as it's much more difficult getting a clean scan when something is wrapped in plastic.
I can tell you that the LP is very similar to the CD release. The booklet is identical, just much larger. The record labels are similar to the CD design, with a large Fish People logo on each side. There are also no messages scratched into the run-off vinyl.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
50 Words For Snow - Newspaper Article
Even though I don't do this sort of thing on here, I thought I'd put it up for fun. My father dropped this off for me earlier, pleased as punch. He really has no clue about the internet. Just click as usual to enlarge it.
Monday, November 21, 2011
50 Words For Snow - UK First Issue CD Release
I have absolutely no idea if 50 Words For Snow has been reissued or not since its original release back in 2011, but if it has, you're looking at the original first issue UK release of it.
The packaging on this release is similar to the standard and deluxe versions of Director's Cut. Although I'm not entirely thrilled with the packaging, I do like the hardcover book look of it. It beats digipak packaging any day.
The one thing that irritates me about this packaging is the built in card pocket for the CD. It's an absolute pain to get out, not to mention that the bottom of the pocket on mine is already ripped through (good thing I have another sealed copy). Oh yeah, did I mention that the back of the CD is scratched up like crazy since the pocket is so tight that the CD rubs against the back of it like crazy when you're spending an hour trying to get it out. Just like with Aerial and Director's Cut, this is another poor packaging idea.
The entire packaging has a very stark quality to it, which includes the CD and the built in booklet. I'm not fussy about the built in booklet idea, but I'm not going to complain too much about it as it is very flexible... unlike the one that comes with the deluxe version of Director's Cut, which barely opens at all. It would have been nice if some of the promo photos had been included as well.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
This Woman's Work - UK CD Single
The UK CD single features the same tracks as the UK 12" Single. However, unlike the 12" Single, or even the 7" picture sleeve single, the CD single doesn't feature the printed lyrics to This Woman's Work anywhere on it. Personally, I think they could have easily printed them on the inside of the insert, which is left blank.
This release also comes in an extra thin CD case. I like them only for the fact that they take up less room.
One of the biggest annoyances with a lot of these CD single inserts is staining problems. This insert in particular becomes easily stained with fingerprints, so if you have to handle the insert take it out very carefully because rubbing out the fingerprints is nearly impossible.
Lastly, regarding Be Kind To My Mistakes. In case anyone is wondering, it's NOT the Castaway version. It's the exact same version you find on all of Kate's releases. As I've mentioned on quite a few posts now, you're only going to get the Castaway version by finding the soundtrack of the film or the German promo release - all other official releases are the overly edited version.
The CD didn't scan too well. After five attempts I gave up on it.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Cathy's Home Demos - CD Bootleg
I still remember how badly I wanted to find any CD or vinyl record years ago that had the demos on it. They were so hard to come by, and it used to make me mental trying to find them. So when I found this CD back in the '90s it really did feel like I had struck gold in a way because it was like having a lot of new Kate songs... even if they were only demos.
With the internet being the way that it is now, you can find these things so easily. We didn't have that luxury then. Everything was like a treasure hunt that sometimes lasted years. There's a site on the net, which I'm sure most people are familiar with. But if not, it features all of these demos, plus quite a few others. The interesting thing is that someone "cleaned up" a lot of them, so you don't hear the crackles, pops and hisses like you do on this CD. Check the site out here. They're MP3 format, so everything can be downloaded.
But anyway, getting back to this CD for a moment. If I remember correctly, this wasn't exactly cheap at the time, but that tended to be a given with bootlegs. The front and back of the insert is actually quite cheap, and surprisingly, the inside is a full colour photo, which is better quality than the front and back of the insert sleeve.
Collaborations - CD Bootleg
Collaborations is probably one bootleg that I have very mixed feelings about. While some of the track choices are really cool, others aren't. Sing Children Sing is a horrible song. Well I'm sorry, but it is. Kate is only featured in the background chorus, and you barely hear her. If you ever come across this single don't waste your time buying it. The song is very disappointing. Another Day is from the '79 Christmas special and it sort of fades in, so the beginning of the song is slightly cut off. The Kick Inside cover doesn't feature Kate at all, and it sounds extremely dated. Actually, it's a good way to kill a song. The absolute worst track on here is This Woman's Work. It was directly copied from the film 'She's Having a Baby', so you get a mix of dialogue and song all blended together. The sound is also really bad. I also like how they point out on the inside of the booklet that "No soundtrack exists for this movie." Actually, a soundtrack does exist for the movie - I own the original vinyl LP of it, and you can check that out right here. As I've pointed out before, bootlegs are notorious for grammatical errors and misinformation.
Complaints aside, the packaging on this one is nice. Full colour photos (except for the inside insert) of decent quality. There's even a full colour photo inside the inlay tray, which isn't something you usually see with these bootlegs.
Overall, this isn't a great CD even for a bootleg. It's alright, but not great. It isn't a personal favourite of mine, and I think it would be a complete waste of time looking for this one... or even spending good money on it.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Butterfly Kisses - CD Bootleg
Butterfly Kisses is one of the last bootleg CDs I ever picked up, but it's also one of my absolute favourite ones. For a bootleg it's pretty nice quality overall - not only the packaging, but also the sound quality. All the tracks are live and come from various TV and concert performances.
What's even more nice are the CD inserts, which are full colour (except for the inner booklet ones) and done on pretty decent quality paper. It's pretty amazing, considering how some of the older CD bootlegs have really cheap quality inserts. I have one bootleg poked somewhere called 'Backsides', and the insert quality on that is so bad it almost looks like cheap photocopies.
This one has become quite rare and extremely difficult to find. It still turns up, but not often... and you can probably expect to pay a nice little chunk of money for it. It's also not surprising as this is really one of the nicer bootlegs that was manufactured. It's worth getting if you can find it for a decent price.
If you haven't noticed by now, the title is slightly altered on the CD. The booklet and insert list the title as "Butterfly Kisses", but on the CD it reads "Butterfly Kiss". Bootlegs are notorious for their blunders, but it's the right CD in case anyone is wondering about that.
Even though the tracks are listed on the back insert, I should point out there are a few more tracks on this CD that aren't listed here. I can't remember which ones they are offhand, but most likely they weren't listed for the simple fact that they ran out of room.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The Red Shoes - UK 3 Track Promo Advanced Radio CD Sampler
UK three track promo advanced Radio CD which was given out to radio stations in advance of the album's release for promotion purposes. This one also came in a flimsy jewel case.
The insert is a single, one-sided page. It also lists the tracks, the release date of the album with a few other random bits of information.
If I remember correctly, and don't quote me on this, I believe about 400 copies were made.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Hounds of Love - UK Promotional Press Kit
The UK Promotional Press Kit for Hounds of Love tends to be a much more difficult one to come across these days, especially with its contents complete and its special tri-fold folder in pristine condition. The folder is flimsy to start with, so it tends to suffer the most wear and tear.
Even though I've taken all new scans, I've also kept three of my original photos from this post so that people can see how the folder opens. I've reposted them at the very end. As I mentioned a moment ago, the folder is a tri-fold one, which has the album cover art on the front. When you untie the ribbon and open this first flap of the folder, you get a large menu sized printing of the tracks on the flap underneath. When this flap is opened, you then reach the main part of the folder that contains everything.
Included are the following items:
Vinyl copy of Hounds of Love - This is just a standard release of the album and not a promo of any kind. The photos on the front and back of the album jacket have a special gloss finish though. The inner sleeve/lyric insert is the same and so are the record labels.
Hounds of Love insert - An original two-sided order form featuring select items for purchase through EMI, including the limited signed prints. The other side features Kate's back catalogue and the available formats.
3 Press Photos - The photos can vary slightly from press kit to press kit in terms of which ones are used, but all are HOL era ones. This is also randomly done.
Two page/four-sided press release - This includes a press release for the album, as well as other career related biographical facts.
And that's pretty much it. Here are three photos I originally had on this post so that you get a better idea about the folder and how it opens.
The sad reality is that condition is everything when it comes to things like this. When I found this one over 20+ years ago, the folder was in the same condition that you see now. It's not in good shape. It's acceptable, but not good. I've seen these folders in far worse shape than mine (practically destroyed), but I've also seen them in much better shape too. A press kit where the folder is in the same shape as mine (or worse) should not be selling for the same kind of money as one where the folder is in much better condition, even if the contents are complete and in pristine condition. This folder is a big part of it, so that does affect the condition.
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