NOTE: This blogpost is a substitute for the "Comments" section of an item on my Amazon wish list. You can find it by typing in the Amazon search bar: B01B2M9RM6. Amazon's wish list comments allow for up to 300 characters per item.
NOTE2: It sounds like I'm miserable b/c I don't own this item, but I'm fully aware this item means very little to my life overall. I'm posting all of this here b/c I'm an obsessive nut and a stickler for detail dying for attention. I understand if nobody wants to read all of this.
Recently, as I think I've written about here before, Epic (Sony) rectified a problem that had been in existence since 2001. Michael Jackson BAD was re-issued at that time, with remastered sound, (surprisingly good) bonus tracks, and RE-VAMPED COVER-ART. The iconic front cover-art was left alone, except for a slipcase which was later done away with, but the back cover-art, which went hand in hand with the front cover-art (IMO) was totally wiped away and replaced with some lame concert photo. They reinstated the back cover-art in 2012, when the 25th Anniversary edition came out (identifiable as BAD25), but re-vamped the front cover-art. They weren't so dumb as to do away with the entirety of it, but they didn't need to do anything to it. It was iconic b/c it was perfect. I don't think the photographer just asked Michael Jackson to stand in front of a white backdrop and snapped a pic at random and submitted it to Epic Records for approval. It's possible for an icon to become an icon at the first try, but icons generally need grooming. This was a work of art -- and it's not as if it it was just some random thing that nobody cared about that the creator wasted his time and money on b/c it was important to him; this was part of a cultural phenomenon that is synonymous with the entire three years that remained in the 1980s at the time of the album's release. The 2012 cover-art seemed more akin to a ripoff or an amateur (hack) paying tribute. If you want to post your fan art publically, go ahead, but for Epic/Sony to slap it on the front of the album is a huge disrespect to the music and the good memories it made for those who lived it through back then.
This issue has been addressed. Apparently I'm not the only who has felt this way. In 2015, the remastered sound, bonus tracks and amateurish meddling with the graphics were removed and we now have the exact same item I remember owning and loving when I was a toddler and as a teenager wishing I was a little younger.
The only problem is the jewel case. It's not a problem with the particular jewel case. It's an industry problem. CDs are considered on the verge of extinction. The return of the vinyl LP is only exacerbating that fact. So record cos have to cut costs. Jewel cases are no longer as durable. Sometimes you go into a store and the case seems OK, but you open it up and the center that holds the disc in place is in shatters. And it's not just that. The cases scratch much easier. A lot of CD cases used to be fat and shiny upon unwrapping. Now they're often dull and fragile. If you treat your stuff right, your fat and shiny jewel case can stay just as shiny as it was when you bought it. A lot of people don't, and that makes buying used CDs often less satisfying than buying them brand new. But in this case, you're not buying it brand new. You're buying a historic relic (classic) that most people don't care about and probably wouldn't consider buying if the prices of older CDs weren't so low nowadays. The CDs that just came out this year often do still come in shiny thick cases. Usually they don't come in a jewel case, but rather a combination of cardboard and plastic or sometimes they'll just wrap them in cardboard which I hate b/c the disc is no much more prone to scratches. But the new recordings released on CD that aren't housed in cardboard or hybrid packaging are very nicely packaged usually. That fact is not exclusive to Billboard Top 20 musical acts either. I bought a CD called NERVE ENDINGS by Too Close To Touch. The music was good, not great, got boring after awhile and I really hesitated to get rid of it because it was so nice to have a good quality jewel case in my hands. But record companies will often repress a CD when the band that makes it follows it up with another. When Hot Band releases their follow up to HB2014 titled HB2016, HB2014 is considered "old" and instead of discontinuing production of the older sibling to HB2016, the factory continues to produce copies of HB2014, albeit on cheaper quality plastic inside of an even cheaper plastic casing.
Oh, and as if that wasn't annoying enough, I've recently come to realize that replacement jewel cases are also hard to find. Nobody is making them anymore. Staples is the only place I could find any w/o paying an arm and a leg.
The vinyl LP edition that was recently released (listed as an import on Amazon) is the way to go. The CD edition has never been THE BEST way to go. Vinyl is usually better at capturing iconic cover imagery anyway, especially for albums that came out before 1988. I have a mini-LP CD, but the plastic sleeve is dirty. I don't think it was like that when I got it in the mail from someone on Amazon selling it super cheap. I'm afraid to buy another one 'cause I'm likely to ruin that one too. The design is striking though. The disc is housed in what they call a gatefold cover. It opens up like a book and the disc is housed inside a slot on one end. I even like the way the track list is printed on the back cover. It doesn't specify "Side A" vs "Side B". The lettering is bold and in all caps, just like the thugs in the beginning of the music video questioning the degree of the others' "Bad"-ness.
The vinyl edition is expensive. It's always been the best way to go and at the current rate of $20 apprx, it's really not bad. If one wants to send me a birthday present, christmas present, or let me know I have a stalker (it could happen...right?), then it's also not only a terriblly outrageous price to pay, but it also saves the time of inquiring to sellers on the Amazon Marketplace and Discogs' about weather or not their copy of Michael Jackson BAD comes in the original jewel case and if the original jewel case is damaged and if so how badly etc. etc...nobody that I know has the time and inclination to do all that.
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