Obsessed with Spine Artwork?

I might be...

For instance, after acquiring the Kansas back catalog on CD, I am left wondering: Is there a version of Audio-Visions out there that has left-justified red lettering (like the others)?



I mean, I know it's hardly important; but it just looks... odd. Ya know?


Oh, one other thing that bugs me -- when spine art reads in the opposite direction. I own a few like this...



Thoughts?

 

Your copy of Audio-Visions in a new remaster, while the rest of your Kansas CD's are originals. Seek out the original it'll probably be really cheap and the spine will match. Not to mention you will get a nice analog type sounding CD with good dynamics rather than the LOUDER digital remaster you now have.

Rick

 

I have a nostalgic attachment to the "red on white" CBS spine font.

I can't explain it, but I know what part of it is.

For me, it's EXTREMELY easy to read from a distance.

The print is LARGE. (My eyesight took big dump when I hit 42/3)

It's not TOO BUSY. Some spine fonts get fancy and are quite hard to read.

I agree about the "opposite direction" thing. I find a lot of imports that are like that. Seems like somebody was asleep at the wheel.

Why did they drop the red ink? I have no proof, but the cynic in me wouldn't be surprised if the red ink was slightly more expensive, and they were being cheap.

 

No, the standard in a lot of countries is bottom-up on the spine. I work with textbooks and French books, for example, always have the spine type from the bottom. So do other countries.

There's no "correct" way. If you have a wall of bookshelves, it's easier to read the spines on your left if they're bottom-up and the spines on your right if they're top-down. There's no ergonomic advantage either way, AFAIK.

 

IMM, the "correct" way is having the type "left to right", on the spine like a book. You take it off the shelf, and the jewel case opening is facing up.

That seems to be the most sensible to me.

 

So were the black text spines secret remasters? I believe my CD of Accept 'Balls to the Wall' is like this. I don't remember when I bought it, but it was before the clear trayed Metal Masters? remaster which came out following it (this series also did Europe's 'Final Countdown' and Quiet Riot's 'Metal Health', among others).

 

BTW, I really like these spines. I bought a lot of cassettes which had the same style to them. My only gripe in the used market is that many of them have faded, to where it's a pink on white. Looks really bad, and I pass over many because of this.

 

+1

Except when it's a title that is HARD to find!

No, the black spines aren't "secret" remasters - the Kansas one in the photo is a "LEGACY" edition, which are pretty much all remasters.

I think a few titles actually had black on white with the same font - Psychedelic Furs "Midnight to Midnight" springs to mind as one that wasn't red. And the original issue of Cheap Trick's GREATEST HITS is purple, to match the tint on the cover photo.

 

Whilst I find back-to-front titling a tad annoying I just slide it in upside down.

 

fabtrick: I am still looking for a replacement to Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute. My spine text is pink, and I see copies all the time with good spines, but the disc is always beat to hell. I really don't want to pay $8 for a new back insert, as I probably couldn't resell those discs in the condition they are. Then again, the store is selling them, so I probably could get some back by selling to the same place, but I sure as heck wouldn't bother selling those on eBay.

 

You got me thinking of spines!

 

Well, IMHO you also need some serious work on lining those discs up, man. You're all crooked and I've taken the liberty to illustrate just how far off you are at the moment. You definitely need some improvement in this area as well.

 

I like the Free remasters spin with the picture of Kossoff on it although I would have thought that they would have flipped it and had Rodgers on it (I realize he's on the other side but he was the main creative force in the band, lead singer and the only consistent member aside from Kirke from beginning to end as Kossoff only "guested" on the last album they made).

 

After 20+ years of buying used CD's in Japan, I can spot the spines and obis of older pressings on a shelf from 10 feet away! I can see that Dennis has a nice collection of all the Beach Boys pastmasters - some with virtually no fading!

 

I'm missing 3 of the Brother CDs though!

 

Hey nice spines Dennis!

I get a kick out of the 35DP spines, the CP35/32 spines, but especially go for the RCA (Japan/Germany) spines
Nice

 

Haha! I know what you mean. I can flick through upright-oriented CD's at a store at a rate of about 4 or 5 a second and still stop at something good

 

I'm pretty sure that's the only version of Audio-Visions that exists.

 

There Is A Correct Way

Sometimes it seems that someone believes that there is a correct way, but they can't remember or make up their mind which way it is, so they go with both.

Five cds/artists into the Spotlight On...Great Ladies and Gentlemen of Song 24 cd series, Capitol Records (US) decided to correct their error.

Similarly 20 cds into their Charly Blues Masterworks 50 cd series, Charly (EU) decided to correct/switch things around.

 

I just turn the CD so all the titles flow the same way...other than that, I could care less...

 

Those Beach Boys Pastmasters obis look nice! I've only got 2 with obis, but they're not faded

I love seeing a matching set of spines on my shelf

If I was at home I'd post a picture of the Rhino British Invasion set...

 

So you guys store your jpn cd's with the obi's facing out? If you do that, how can you tell what cd it is?

 

I'm a bit of a spine nut myself...I like things to be uniform...I also like the old Columbia/CBS spines...
I always found the Toto self titled debut a bit odd with the black backround and the red print...
And is it me but do Rhino spines fade quicker than others...they must have used some cheapo ink on those spines...I try my best to keep them out of any sunlight but regardless I could have a couple 20 year old CD's next to each other and the Rhino will almost always fade more than the other.

JF