Hi all! I am thinking of ordering this from the QOL shop this week, But wanted to know a couple of things first. First off is the obvious... How much better is the sound than on the 1991 HR issue? And second, What is the packaging like? The Innuendo vinyl has done QUITE a nice job in not being available for me to buy (you little white sleeved bastard you!!!), So I don't know what the packaging was like. Thanks in advance! :D
A few of us had a little testing of the 2001 remasters, innuendo included. We found a common factor with all the post-82 albums we heard, they carved a bit out of the middle of the sound. I find it weird as the pre-82 albums don't sound like that at all. There's no solid result on why this is. But it should rest as a warning.
DF did tests where fans on here would pick either the Hollywood Records, 2001 or 98 remaster sound as the best. Most picked HR(91) versions.
Peace,
Adam.
I don't think anyone can really explain it better than this guy, on his collection page:
"2004 Japanese Card Sleeves (2001 remasters in miniature LP covers):
These are simply beautiful. Unlike the 'Crown Jewels' or the Japanese versions released in 1998, these are all faithfully reproduced down to the last detail, in superb quality. They genuinely look like miniature albums and contain printed inner sleeves, posters and foldout lyric sheets in both Japanese and English. Actual value is approximately $23 each U.S., but importing them is a bit costly and they end up being roughly $30 minimum after shipping regardless of where you buy. My orders of three from HMV Japan vary from $89 - $92 with Fed Ex shipping. (I'm buying these at 3 per month in reverse order. Final three arriving early July)
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention sound quality. Overall it's quite good. The later digitally mixed and mastered albums seem to be missing some midrange whilst being clear and bassy (which I like personally) but they still sound quite nice. So far, 'The Game' and 'News of the World' have struck me as sounding better than ever in this form."
(link
And I would add that 'Innuendo' is the most uneven of the remasters. Some of it sounds better, some worse. As for the packaging on that.. it's one of the more simpler titles. Non-gatefold, just an inner sleeve with the 4 cartoon-enhanced pics of the band members on one side, lyrics and the familiar blue-toned squeezed picture on the other.
They all come with an obi strip on the left (removable of course) and sealed in resealable mylar sleeves, the kind with a fold-over flap that sticks.
"They all come with an obi strip on the left (removable of course) and sealed in resealable mylar sleeves, the kind with a fold-over flap that sticks."
Ooh cool! That sounds neat!
I think I will go ahead and get it and see for myself. Adam and Jeff, Thanks much for your help!
The only problem is that it will make your Crown Jewels set seem cheap compared to the beautiful quality of these. That's still well worth the $35 closeout price though :) You could pay more than that for just one of these.
Another note.. they recreate the vinyl artwork so faithfully that bonus tracks on 'A Kind of Magic' and 'The Miracle' aren't listed, and it notes some tracks edited for 'Innuendo' but they aren't really.
I hope to one day borrow a scanner from a store for awhile to do some scans of these.. particularly the inner sleeves, as they look like they're such good quality they'll scan well.