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WARNING: NOT THE K2-REMASTER RELEASED IN 2000

BOB | LOS ANGELES, CA | 09/13/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"In 2007, there were two Kinks catalog Japan mini-sleeve releases, one in July and another in September. The July release were JVC K2HD remastered discs. Chronologically, these started at "Muswell Hillbillies" and continued thru the end of the Kinks catalog.



However, the September release, and this is despite the text of at least one Japanese on-line retailer, are NOT JVC or K2/K2HD remastered discs. These were issued by BMG. The discs themselves have a "Made In Hong Kong" stamp on the inner ring.



The BMG titles are: The Kinks (1st album), Kinda Kinks, Kontroversy, Face To Face, Something Else, Live At Kelvin Hall, The Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire, Lola Vs. Powerman And The Money-Go-Round Part 1 and Percy.



After A/B comparison, these are the 1998 Castle/Essential remasters. These also contain the same same booklets as those releases. The Castle discs have the benefit of an absolute plethora of bonus tracks on each, which do not appear on the 2000 Japan K2 remasters.



WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?



Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.



Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.



Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.



Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.



All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs."

Not K2 and Not on 3 Discs Either!

Frederick Baptist | Singapore | 10/08/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The rating is not for the content of the album which is clearly not only the best Kinks album but is also one of the best albums to ever come out of the 60s. You wouldn't be far wrong to describe this album as the "Sgt. Pepper's" of the Kinks. Every track is very interesting and shows just how good a writer Ray Davies is when he is allowed to write what he feels instead of just having to pander to the commercial needs of the recording label and the non-discerning average fan. The Kinks' work has always been the subject of imitation which as we know is the sincerest form of flattery. From the Doors ("Hello, I Love You" copying "All Day and All of the Night") to Green Day (compare "Warning" to "Picture Book")it's clear that their influence continues till today.



Now this mini-lp replica sleeve design is quite good with a couple of booklets thrown in which include all the lyrics in English and Japanese and an essay on the background of the making of this album which is very informative. As the previous reviewer highlighted very correctly though, this is not K2-HD remastered and although everything else was made in Japan, the disc itself was "pressed in Hong Kong" which isn't very nice given this very material fact is not made known to me at the point of purchase. Still, the sound quality may not be the best version that is out there but thankfully is still quite good when compared to many other allegedly remastered discs that I've heard that are currently out there e.g. Jethro Tull's mlps version of "Aqualung" and Badfinger's "Straight Up" as well as Free's "Fire and Water" which by the way, suck very, very badly with respect to the sound quality of the recording. Oh yeah, did I mention that all the tracks including the bonus ones are on one disc and not the 3 that Amazon has advertised here? The true track listing is:



The Village Green Preservation Society

Do You Remember Walter?

Picture Book

Johnny Thunder

Last of the Steam-Powered Trains

Big Sky

Sitting By the Riverside

Animal Farm

Village Green

Starstruck

Phenomenal Cat

All My Friends Were There

Wicked Annabella

Monica

People Take Pictures of Each Other

The Village Green Preservation Society - Stereo version

Do You Remember Walter? - Stereo version

Picture Book - Stereo version

Johnny Thunder - Stereo version

Monica - Stereo version

Days - Stereo version

Village Green - Stereo version

Mr. Songbird - Stereo version

Wicked Annabella - Stereo version

Starstruck - Stereo version

Phenomenal Cat - Stereo version

People Take Pictures of Each Other - Stereo version

Days - Bonus



My recommendation is to try and get the better remastered version although if you are not too concerned about perfect sound quality, the quality of the sound on this disc, while still a little muddy, is still okay for the average listener."