20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A missed opportunity, 18 Nov 2007
By florette69 (West Midlands, England) – See all my reviews
No, clearly this is not about the music. I cannot imagine anyone would contemplate buying this vinyl box set without prior knowledge and ownership of Nick Drake’s music. The Estate has maintained a steady stream of remasters, repackages and compilations during the past decade or so. The vinyl edition of this latest repackage aims solely to sate collector fetish.Early publicity for this very limited box set suggested the vinyl would be high quality German pressings, newly mastered from analogue sources by the original engineers. What the box actually contains is three low grade East European 135g pressings which are presumably mastered from the 2001 digital source. The playing surfaces are nowhere near silent, which detracts considerably from the subtle, tentative performances.
The box itself is attractively packaged. All three albums feature the complete original artwork, replica labels and inner sleeves. The booklet is identical to that in the CD set, i.e. irritatingly tiny CD sized, which demonstrates a rather penny-pinching attitude.
If, as an older fan of Nick Drake’s music, you already have the original Fruit Tree box, the new edition offers no advantages. Poorer quality pressings, no compilation of outtakes, and the DVD will be available separately in superior packaging. Similarly, if you have the Simply Vinyl pressings, although they were sourced from a lesser master, the pressings are at least as good as the new ones and quiet possibly better. While the recent Universal Japan vinyl pressings of the three albums individually cost almost as much as this box set, they actually represent good value for money as their high quality ensures they will be played and enjoyed.
This set was created by someone with no interest in the vinyl medium, and with little respect for the consumer. A major disappointment, particularly as it was marketed as the definitive and final Nick Drake vinyl release. Audiophiles and music fans will have to wait until Cisco or some other more capable specialist is able to license the analogue masters.
Hm, ich hoffe dieser Amazon.co.uk Kunde erzählt Mist, meine Vorfreude hat er schon angekratzt.
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Die Worte der Weisheit trugen uns so weit wie nie...