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Reissue, repackage, repackage...
Posted by Gavin Lucas, 2 February 2011, 17:34 Permalink Comments (19)
I don’t know what’s more horrifying to me – that Primal Scream’s seminal Screamadelica album is 20 years old this year, or that it’s being remastered, repackaged and re-issued by Sony Commercial Music Group (Sony CMG) in what looks to be a round biscuit tin of a ‘collectors edition’ that costs £100.
There is, of course, a website, screamadelica20.com, dedicated to the anniversary of Screamadelica – or rather, dedicated to selling the re-issued version. I can't help but wonder, who buys this stuff?
I’ve got the album at home, and I don’t feel I need a remastered version of it. It was made in the 1990s, not the 1920s. I’d never listen to the live CD, I don’t need a DJ slip mat (and I do DJ on occasion), nor do I see the relevance of its inclusion. And I certainly don’t want to watch a DVD that will inevitably have the likes of that bloke from Kasabian or one of the Gallagher brothers banging on about how much they rate an album I already know is brilliant. So, it’s looking like £100 will get me some remixes that may or may not be music to my ears, plus a load of stuff in a box that I don’t give two shits about.
Maybe the box itself is special (another ambiguous digital mock up from the site, shown above). Perhaps it’s made out of an interesting material or injection moulded using some beautifully tactile material. Maybe it’s round and indented to remind buyers of the ecstasy tablets they took when they were listening to it first time around. But how can I possibly know? There’s no indication on the website screamadelica20.com as to the reasoning behind the box’s unusual (and surely highly impractical) shape, or any indication as to what it is made from. Instead the site is full of words such as ‘deluxe’, ‘remastered’, ‘bonus’ and ‘exciting’. And it boasts an impressively unrealistic digital mock up of how the box set and its contents might look. Am I the only Screamadelica fan that wants to know more about the package before actually committing to buying one? Maybe I am. There's a white box version, limited to just 500 copies which has sold out on pre-orders already....
I’m frustrated. I’m exactly who Sony are aiming this re-issued album at: I’m a big fan of the album from its original release, I’m in my 30s with more disposable income than I’ve ever had and I’m a bone fide collector and hoarder of music with a record collection that threatens the structural integrity of my flat. And yet I feel totally turned off by the proposition – very probably because of other recent reissued music packages that have failed to impress.
The Plus Minus box of recently re-issued Joy Division seven inch singles, released by Rhino Records to mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s vocalist Ian Curtis’s death, was nicely conceived. A clam-shell cardboard box housed artwork by Peter Saville and ten singles – each sporting a photograph of the original single on its cover. But the cover images have been printed too dark – a particular problem when you look at the sleeve of the Closer single. There’s also a bizarre textured varnish on the front of the box that sadly transforms the negative image of a star cluster into what could be a splatter of black paint. Oops. The digital mock up for the set is also terrible thanks to the upscaling of the orange artwork and the box. In reality the singles are the same size as the orange artwork and all fit snugly in the similarly proportioned box. 
Sony CMG created several different packages of re-issued Stone Roses music in 2009 (to celebrate the band’s eponymously titled debut album’s 20th anniversary) but a friend bought the Collectors’ Edition version and the box housing the various discs and books and art prints etc has fallen apart. Another friend bought the enormous (575 × 295 × 80mm) Minotaur box set of re-issued Pixies albums but was disappointed to find the book he thought would have a fur cover (on account of the digital mock up he’d seen when ordering it online) was, in reality, clad in roofing felt.
Actually, the Pixies box set, produced by repackaging specialist Artist in Residence, is interesting. Its designer, Vaughan Oliver, considers it his best work to date. Minotaur comprises all of The Pixies’ studio albums in one set, but Oliver (who art directed the sleeves of all the original releases) has created brand new artwork for each one. As a collector, a Pixies fan, and a Vaughan Oliver fan, I find this project far more interesting than what’s promised on the Screamadelica20 site. But where the heck would I store it? What would I do with it?
Music packages have to be practical and should, at the very least, stand up to being opened and closed a few times. So-called collectors’ editions should also really be of exceptional quality and be thoughtfully conceived to genuinely engage the intended audience. Otherwise they’re just landfill waiting to happen.
By making a pig’s ear of some of these editions, and by confusing potential buyers with half-baked marketing twaddle and misleading imagery, the labels that produce them are committing a music packaging crime potentially more sinful and damaging to the concept of the physical music release than the introduction of the dreaded jewel case. If record labels don’t invest appropriately in the packages they proclaim to be extra special, then they run the risk of totally killing the concept of the physical release.
As it is, there’s a huge risk that the term ‘special edition’ becomes synonymous with ill-conceived, cheaply made boxes of needless crap. Keep on like this and people will avoid reissued albums and, instead, do their shopping for 20 year old classics on eBay.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Has anyone been really impressed (or really disappointed) with a repackaged, re-issued album in recent years? Let us know in the comment box below and I'll endeavour to post up images of the stuff that's impressed you most. To kick things off - here's a image of a re-issued musical package that I was actually impressed with...
About three years ago I couldn't resist buying a freshly repackaged and re-issued Rolling Stones compilation, Rolled Gold, re-titled Rolled Gold + (shown above). I had the original compilation on double LP but the new package sported a beautiful new illustrated sleeve by Alex Trochut - and the compilation had been repressed on four, rather than two, slabs of heavy weight vinyl. Gold innersleeves and vinyl labels too made the package irresistable to me as a collector of vinyl. Really nice job - by Zip Design.
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19 Comments
Nice typography work on the Rolling Stones Gold by Alex Trochut
2011-02-02 23:54:50
Yes, I've been impressed by one reissue recently: Kraftwerk's The Catalogue. I only just got round to acquiring it after months of telling myself I couldn't justify such a purchase (I had already received the individual. remastered CDs for review purposes). However, I'm a lifelong fan of the group and so I finally gave in. I'm utterly impressed by the design and presentation. Nothing extraneous, just beautifully assembled and thought out. It does justice, at last, to their legacy.
On a much smaller scale, the Type reissue of Thomas Koner's first three albums was rather nice and pleasingly understated. Also, not exactly reissued albums, but Warp20 and NinjaXX were very attractive packages for fans of the labels. All the above covered on hardformat.org - except the Kraftwerk which I've yet to document.
2011-02-03 00:27:45
Nice work on the recent Chic box set, Savoir Faire. A 4 disc retrospective, also featuring artists they wrote & produced for like Diana Ross, Sister Sledge, Norma Jean Wright etc. The discs themselves are pleasingly retro and based on some of the original vinyl and the whole package reflects the era that the band had their greatest success. Five excellent remixes by Dimitri from Paris as well off of the original masters, which respect the originals while giving them a bit of a refresh. Very good value too – an all round success to my mind.
2011-02-03 10:44:20
The recent repackaging of Springsteen's Darkness At The Edge Of Town in a reproduction of his spiral bound notebook is quite well done. The notebook is referred to in the doco so it's also a nice extension of that.
2011-02-03 10:53:35
Sorry, is this the same blog advertising £175 wallpaper?
2011-02-03 11:14:00
Great to see an article on the potential downsides of 'special edition' and 'limited' packaging, usually a guaranteed success with the CR readership. For too long collectors and completist music fans have been taken advantage of by sloppy and undeserving pieces such as (some of) these.
2011-02-03 11:45:36
@Colin, @Jason, @ Keith @ EVERYONE
This piece will appear as content on our iPad app (when it launches next month) but we thought it would be nice to accompany it with readers recommendations of great repackaged albums. If you can take sharp, well lit images of the works of which you speak, send them to me at gavin.lucas@centaur.co.uk and I'll let you know if your image will appear on the iPad version of the piece. Thank you thank you
Gavin Lucas
2011-02-03 16:08:38
Interesting read Gav, absolutely agree with you re packaging that fails to impress or last the test of time. It's very frustrating and leads to disillusionment with both these special editions and record companies alike. The problem is unless the reissues are really well thought out and produced then the hardcore fans or collectors that buy them will feel ripped off and treated dirty.
2011-02-03 19:34:37
How about Howard Jones first 2 albums from the mid 80's repackaged as a boxed set with a bonus CD of live tracks? Howard recently re-licensed these albums himself from Warners and has remastered them from the original tapes and released them under his own label, Dtox. Where possible, the original transparencies were sourced and re-scanned and all logos etc. digitally re-created from the original vinyl album covers to capture the flavour of the original artwork (original 'Dream into Action' artwork by Rob O' Connor at Stylo Rouge'). The slip case packaging for 'Human's Lib' also now shows artist 'Steg's original black and white album cover painting in a 'never seen before' colourised version. We're working on the next boxed set now and more are planned for the future... All as a limited run and financed by Howard's own label. See the packaging design here: http://www.stevecripps.co.uk/Howard_Jones_Boxed_Set.html
2011-02-03 20:08:19
Shatner's Bassoon
2011-02-04 11:16:52
Horrifying?
Frustrated?
Get a grip guys!
And I notice you all are guys.
I think it's good to introduce a new generation to music we all know and love. I like novelty. There's nothing new in this world and if we want to talk about packaging in metal tins you all remember the PiL metal box album I take it? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Metal-Box-Public-Image-Ltd/dp/B000007UDQ Now that WAS a classic. Or is that just my age ;-)
2011-02-04 12:48:11
I was very impressed by the 75th Anniversary repackage of "A Kind Of Blue" by Miles Davis... The album was Re-Released on CD, with a double vinyl version in blue coloured vinyl.... also the hard-back book it came with was a fantastic document of an amazing piece of work.... (I am a BIG Miles fan)...
2011-02-04 13:10:20
I have a copy of the Stone Roses Collector's Edition . . . the only element I wasnt happy with was the price - definitely not worth £100.
The quality of the print and the overall pack is very good. Your friend must have really rough with his copy for it to have broken.
Unfair this release has been included in your list of shame.
2011-02-04 14:50:15
I used to work selling European music to the U.S. and Japan for Tower Records. In the 90's there was a company in Germany that made the worst boxsets ever, non of them licensed but they sold in big numbers. In an old-fashioned record store setting, the Boxsets are always on a shelf, maybe out of reach, always shrinkwrapped. So no-one knew what was in them until they'd spent big.
A great record store manager once told me how he sold boxsets. He knew customers would come in weekly, stare yearningly at the boset they wanted, vowed to save up for it and walk out. So, he systematically took every one off sale into the storeroom at different times. Within a week, a panicky looking customer would ask if it had been sold. No, it had been reserved in the back room for a customer who should have been back yesterday to buy it, was the answer given. Panicky customer would buy it on the spot.
Only to find out when they get home it is the regular album plus some cheap tat.
Simon Twilley
http://www.PackTV.co.uk
2011-02-06 12:28:54
Hear hear. I've said it before and I'll say it again – what is the point of an 'art print'? Too small to frame on your wall, too big to be a postcard. Just pure filler for a collectors box with not enough content.
2011-02-07 16:19:44
@Alison Bates
I have to say that I disagree with you; I don't believe this is a question of introducing new generations to great music. Most of these over-packaged special editions are obviously intended for people who are already familiar with the music. They're only satisfying a demand in that it is a demand they have artificially created - based on the loyalty of fans.
In theory, there's nothing wrong with the limited edition reissue. When done well, and in a respectful and honest manner, a box set can be a real joy. There is something lovely about revisiting classic albums in a new, monumental, format. But many special editions hide an absence of valuable additional content behind unnecessary aesthetic extravagance and sheer material volume (i.e. art prints). The problem starts when, without the need to invest money and risk in new talent, record companies (and, for that matter, bands) start taking advantage of the potential for heavy profit margins. There isn't much 'novelty' in that.
2011-02-09 02:00:40
Well it's all keeping graphic designers in work but I can't understand who buys CDs. Vinyl yes... and downloads...
2011-02-09 12:14:21
John Arny, i buy CDs, not vinyl for i am not a disc jockey, also i have little truck with a ridiculous machine with 109 buttons to 'Download' the only reason i am writing without a feather is that a chum told me Gavin had written some choice things about ver Scream. Nicely...
2011-02-15 13:17:44
"So, it’s looking like £100 will get me some remixes that may or may not be music to my ears, plus a load of stuff in a box that I don’t give two shits about."
Welcome to the wonderfully unimaginative, morally bankrupt world of the 21st century music industry!
2011-02-22 16:07:02
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