An interesting mixed bag this week.
Firstly, a German promo copy of Carnival 2000. It’s somehow signed, but I don’t recognize the signature as a band member and I suspect it’s an ownership mark or something: I will look further into this. The main reason for getting it was the press release.
Then a Canadian CD copy of “Two Wheels Good”. Following a reorganization of the CD collection from groaning shelves to a cabinet where I could actually see and examine them, I found a few gaps geographically which I’ve been filling out. Canada issued most of the albums in the main formats, and this CD is a nice one with a pink tracklist section on the rear packaging which I’ve not seen elsewhere. In common with most of the “Two Wheels Good” CDs if not all, there are some bonus tracks: “He’ll have to go”, “Faron Young Trucking Mix”, and “The Yearning Loins”.
And last but definitely not least, some of my very favourite but most difficult to find things. In the early days of CDs in the US, “Long Box” packaging was used so CDs could be put into record bins and were difficult to steal. They became controversial because of the additional cost and waste and were eventually discontinued. Because most people threw them away immediately, they’re relatively difficult to find, and I do pick them up where I can. It’s not the least interesting part of Prefab Sprout from a collecting perspective that their career spanned many formats, from vinyl and cassette and VHS through CD and minidisc and even videodisc, and so the collection very much works as a history in microcosm of the way the music industry worked over that period. In fact you can even trace the development of pressings for example of CDs from Japan initially then into local centres and then into larger hubs and via the Sony Copy Protection fiasco. And part of that story is very definitely long boxes.