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Pink Floyd / Japanese ‘paper sleeve’ CD vinyl replicas due in November

By Paul Sinclair

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66

Packaging freaks (guilty as charged) and CD collectors know that it’s hard to beat a Japanese pressing of an album presented with the full ‘vinyl replica’ treatment. These are also sometimes referred to as ‘mini-LP CDs’ or ‘paper sleeve’ editions. The good news for Pink Floyd fans is that the band’s entire discography from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn to The Endless River will receive this treatment with a run of limited edition mini-LP CD pressings due in November.

‘Vinyl replica’ has become a slightly corrupted term, since for bargain basement ‘original album series’ box sets, record labels frequently shove a disc in a low quality, spineless card sleeve and call it a ‘vinyl replica’. These forthcoming Pink Floyd reissues will be on another planet to those, with ‘mini-me’ CD versions of all 15 albums faithfully replicating all aspects of the original UK LP design. This means an attention to detail that recreates inner sleeves, posters, the sealed bag of Wish You Were Here, the sticker on the front of The Wall. They will all include ‘OBI’ strips which replicate the ones used for Japanese first LP pressings.

This series features the following titles: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets, More, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, Obscured by Clouds, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall, The Final Cut, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell, and The Endless River.

These Pink Floyd limited edition Japanese CDs are issued on 1 November 2017. CDJapan pre-order links below.

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66 Comments

66 thoughts on “Pink Floyd / Japanese ‘paper sleeve’ CD vinyl replicas due in November”

  1. Re. the Pink Floyd paper sleeves… one would be forgiven for thinking the interpretation of ‘limited’ may also refer to the period of time to which any given issue is limited, insomuch as many of the paper sleeve reissues are reissues of reissues.
    The smaller print often (always?) refers to which particular year’s remaster the reissue is of/from. In this instance they’re the 2011 remasters which were originally issued in that year with a follow-up issue in 2012.
    I bought the ones I wanted in 2012.
    Also, far be it for me to ascribe ‘completeness’… but I wish they’d done a ‘Relics’ as well.

  6. I won’t be bothering with these, but the Japanese mini lp versions of Hawkwind’s ‘Do Re Mi’ and ‘In Search of Space’ are two of the favourite items in my collection. Why is it only the Japanese that put so much care into things?

  8. These titles have been issued in this format a couple of times already. On the other hand, the U2 albums coming in a week have NEVER been issued in mini-lp papersleeve format. I had sent an email about this a month ago but it must have gotten lost in the shuffle.

  9. Not sure why any U.K. customers would go the U.K. Amazon route. They are really trying to take y’all for a ride.

    I ordered the whole lot from CD Japan for $400 delivered. Hopefully not hit hit with customs, but never been a problem before.

  11. Mini lp CD’s were a real attraction 10 or so years ago when the CD format had ruined the feel of having a ‘real’ album cover
    I personally became addicted to getting them and owned most of the original Floyd Japanese versions.
    However with the Vinyl resurgence and getting thr ‘real’ thing again I don’t see the attraction anymore.

    1. I agree with Musicmacca. – I had 100s of these things 10 to 15 years ago (all the Floyds, all the Genesis (2 versions of these!), Led Zeps, Yes, Tull etc etc) but the attraction for me was that I had sold off the original vinyl LPs and lusted after the ‘spirit’ of the original packaging (albeit vastly reduced in size). Nowadays, I simply buy the vinyl again…! – Takes up much more space though…

  12. Hmmm, the packaging will be lovely but I already have Discovery for the 2011 masters, and I kept Oh by the Way for the beautiful packaging. I won’t lie though, I am tempted.
    After The Early Years, I think I am done for Pink Floyd unless some of the early albums get the deluxe treatment like Piper did a decade ago. Or the fabled The Wall hi-res surround mix.
    Would love a Saucerful SE with the mono mix (that should have been in the Early years box), but will have to keep my needledrop I suppose :(

  13. I only have a very few of these Japanese mini-LPs, as they’re rather pricy and often offer little extra other than the packaging.

    But the ones I do have are a delight: 3 albums by Steppenwolf. As far as I know, they are the only instances of Steppenwolf music getting a good modern re-mastering. They sound fabulous.

  14. I’m so lucky to have found a used copy of the Oh By The Way box a few years ago for $100 Canadian! The finest, non Japanese mini LP cd packaging that I’ve seen and, clearly, based on the price of these, a real bargain.

  15. I’m a huge PF fan andI bought all the original first US lp releases and the first cd boxset. This release is a total load of rubbish…. for real???

    1. Not something you are interested in… but “load of rubbish”? The Japanese have successfully being giving this treatment to artists’ back catalogues for decades. They must be doing something right.

  16. Next to this Pink Floyd series and the entire studio albums from U2, it is worth noting that:
    – a series of 6 titles from B52s have been released on SHM-CD mini-LP format on August 23rd (Disk Union is also releasing a box for these).
    – a series of 6 titles from the Human League, from Reproduction to Romantic, are planned to be released on November 22nd, according to CDJapan (Disk Union plans to release a box for these on the same date, according to their web site).

  17. Although I own the previous round of Japanese mini-LPs, I’ll get this new set, for the following reasons:
    1.They contain the 2011 remasters.
    2.They are released as one series. The original mini-LP reissues were released in three series (Piper to The Wall in mid 2001, Final Cut on its own in 2004, and Momentary to Pulse in 2005).
    3.The obi strips this time are replicas of the lovely original LP obi strips, unlike the previous issues.

    That said, I wish this new set would:
    – Include Delicate Sound Of Thunder and Pulse, as the 2005 series did.
    – Include Waters’ Pros & Cons, Radio KAOS, and Amused To Death, as the 2005 did.
    – Be pressed on BluSpec, SHM or Platinum SHM CDs, as mentioned above.
    – Be packaged in 7inch sleeves, as mentioned above too.

    And I hope there will be a Disk Union box coming up. The original 2011 remasters came spread in three Disk Union boxes back then, even if not released as mini-LPs… so there may be hope!

    PS: The U2 series coming out on September 20th is a real must, as, unlike Pink Floyd, is released on Mini-LP format for the first time. (I have ordered the Disk Union box set as soon as I got aware of it!).

  18. One final thing (sorry). On The Wall, it was not a “sticker”. It was originally a clear piece of plastic, that stuck to the cover due to a static charge………..

        1. No really…although early Japanese pressings of 1980s albums sound good. I know lots of people thought the Beatles recent-ish Japanese mini-LP sounded amazing.

    2. And the good thing too you generally have a small booklet in Japanese & lyrics are included, a few months ago i spent 11 days in Japan an amazing holiday too, & one of my objectives to do a bit of homework was to find two popular record stores in Tokyo and gee from a distance “there it is” Tower Records! The only problem i spent 3 hours in the store & that wasn’t enough “Time”
      To “cut” a long story short i don’t mind House Of Lords do you have their new album yes. And just around the corner too is HMV Japan true too Paul their packaging is excellent

      1. In about 2002 I went into HMV in Nagoya, home of then hotter-than-hot-abroad Acid Mothers Temple, and asked if they had anything by the band. They’d never heard of them. Or The Boredoms. But I guess they could have sold me some KinKi Kids or SMAP. I now live in Tokyo (been here 10 years now, never going back to Britain) and it’s wonderful for buying great music. Tower’s fantastic, but Tokyo’s better for all the little independent record shops in every neighborhood. That said, I tend to buy most things on Amazon Japan since Japan doesn’t do “special offers.” So don’t come here expecting a bargain, and your Amazon import is likely to be little more expensive than we pay here. (CDs are fairly expensive in Japan.)

        Can I plug the book on Pink Floyd I have coming out next year? Thought not.

  21. Although I’m a big fan of the Japanese mini LP a real inducement to buy these would be if they were issued in 7″ x 7″ mini LP replicas such as done over the past couple of years for the Stones, ELP, Yes and others. And upgrading to the platinum SHM-SACD format would be make these reissues a must buy!

    1. I use SAL small packet for CD Japan deliveries, usually takes about 2 weeks and much cheaper at £3.50 (or £6.50 if you want it registered). Never had a problem, so no need to pay £25. Use the ‘calculate’ drop down option to see the various options.

    1. Not all Pink Floyd albums can be remixed. The multitrack tapes for “Piper at The Gates of Dawn” & “Soundtrack From More” no longer exist.

      1. It is necessary to squeeze out everything that is possible

        James Guthrie how many years remastered The Wall?

        This year many were waiting for the Box – Set of Animals …

  26. Careful, in 6 months I see a japanese box set with these and and extra disc. Maybe a small booklet in a 10 by 10 box set.
    Will there be a European edition of single discs and will that turn into a box set also? This seems like a scam to buy them now and then be upset when they come out in a box set with extras.

    Dave

    1. Elliott there is a copy on Ebay right now but it’s a second hand copy, unsure how many times it has been played but they claim it’s in excellent condition, and the rest of the releases will be available @ HMV & Cd Japan they are listed around the 1st November & 22nd as well in US dollars

  29. Would love this set but i’m guessing after shipping and customs fees they would be a little out of reach, for me anyway regarding cost.
    Took me nearly a year to persuade the other half that the Early Years box set was worth the price. (we all know it wasn’t!)

  32. Yes, the Floyd albums except “Endless River” were released a long time ago in Japan. I think this is the first time they have been reissued in this format in Japan. They seem to be standard cds as opposed to a lot of the SHM SACD Blue Spec etc versions that the Japenese have a tendency to put out a few years after the original mini lp cd’s.

      1. The damn track SHOULD NOT BE THERE. It’s a real bummer they insist on including it these days. It was left off originally, and for good reason – it’s a bit of a dirge. This is my favorite album, but damn I’m glad I have the original CD release without it.

        3. That’s not true. It was planned to be on the album (along with The Gunners dream parts one and two) but would have left side one touching on 30 minutes, so were cut. With the advent of CDs, side length (for good and bad) became an unnecessary requirement.
          In 2004 Roger had the track put back. It does feel odd if you’ve grown used to listening to the original mix, but it was intended to be there.
          There are a couple of last minute edits to the Wall too (as the lyric sheets show) but I guess Roger felt less inclined to re-edit as he has his own versions out, or management refused to let him tinker with so famous an album.
          If it really annoys you, its really easy to burn a copy of the CD sans the track

          1. Yeah, I was really happy that Tigers was included finally (actually re-bought my copy just to get that track).

            Overall happy that The Endless River is finally getting a mini-LP release. I’m gradually replacing my CD collection with these where possible (and other digifiles etc. if they’re the best option) so it’ll be nice to have this match up with the rest of my Floyd collection.

  34. I’m sure this has been done before, except for Endless River , because I’ve I’ve got DSM , WYWH , Animals and The Wall . Must have been over 10 years ago .

    3. Yeah Piper -> The Final Cut was released by EMI japan on this format in between 2000 – 2004, (including Relics and A Greatl Collection),
      A Momentary -> Pulse was released by SONY japan in 2005 on this format (including Delicate and Pulse).

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