Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Starting in 2001, Toshiba and Sony Japan successively released 18 Pink Floyd titles in LP-mini-sleeve replica format. With only 5000 copies of each title manufactured for worldwide distribution, they quickly sold out, then soared in aftermarket resale value, as supply never even began to approach demand. A full set, new (if you could find a genuine Japan set, not a bunch of Russian fakes), would probably now be somewhere north of a thousand bucks on eBay. From a collectable standpoint, those Japan mini-sleeves are held by all fans as THE Pink Floyd catalog to own, and it is EXACTLY that pent-up demand and desire that EMI is attempting to exploit with this "Oh By The Way" box. This box set is nothing more than Capitol/EMI's wretched attempt to wring as much final revenue out of the old remasters as possible. Put quite simply: THERE'S NOTHING NEW HERE IN THIS BOX but a poster and two coasters. If you buy it, you're allowing EMI marketing vermin to wretchedly devour the contents of your wallet, snickering at you as they drag your hard-earned cash back to their dank coffers, all the while leaving a slug-like trail of slime in their wake. If all 10,000 box sets sell thru, multiplied by the set's wholesale price, even after production costs, EMI stands to net a cool million plus. At the very least: DON'T fall for the marketing gag of the faux "LP album sleeves", as their quality is far less than the Japan `sleeves, DON'T be fooled by the "limited edition" marketing, as this set will depreciate in value from the day you open it, and DON'T fork over big bucks for the same masters you either already own, or can find new or used in standard jewel-case editions, and for far less money, than this expensive, redundant, worthless box set. WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD? Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you. Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics. Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere. Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded. All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.