Deathwaltz, apologies if you misunderstood me. As others have stated, yes, I was referring ONLY to the cardboard sleeves, NOT to the rest of the product, of course! I even mentioned that some titles, like "The Fog" and "New York Ripper", have "exceptional", sturdy outer sleeves. I am grateful for what you guys do, and am a happy customer. In my previous post I wrote "God knows they have my admiration, eternal gratitude and hard-earned $$$ for it". Just ask my local record shop owner. He will be happy to testify that I put my wallet where my mouth is.
Having said that, I think that in life there's always a little bit of room for improvement and constructive criticism. In that respect, my biggest gripe continues to be the lack of original artwork, the sub-par (again, WITH NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS) liner notes (it really wouldn't take much at all to proof-read these, and if the artist doesn't even know the film to begin with, do we really want to read his/her thoughts on the subject?) and the posters which (and it seems I am not alone) probably add considerably to the final price tag and are not truly very practical. Now, if these were posters of the original artwork, my opinion would be a different one, but I understand that their inclusion could open the doors to copyright issues, etc.
Finally, and I do realize I am in the minority here, I could easily, happily, thrillingly do without the colored vinyl. Sound quality comes first (and second, and third) in my book, and black vinyl simply sounds better and is less temperamental, not to mention less gimmicky. Do we really need 3 or 4 ever so slightly different variations of the same title? Keeping track of this stuff on Discogs, for example, can be an exercise in frustration!
The problematic record I mentioned earlier was the "gold" edition of "The Fog". I paid $50 + tax for it here in the US, and it is, plain and simply, unlistenable due to surface noise, etc. On the other hand, the recent "New York Ripper" sounds INCREDIBLE, and almost whisper-quiet. Loved the well-written, intelligent liner notes as well, and would love to see them presented in a similar manner from now on, inside the actual package. It's always a pleasure to read Stephen Thrower's take on Fulci. Congrats on a great job on that one!
To sum up, please know that I LOVE the simple fact that this amazing, life-changing music is available to us through your hard work and dedication. But please do keep our comments, suggestions and concerns in mind, since I think this can only lead to even better products and an overall more satisfying "package".
