CDs with hidden artwork

I had no idea that pic was hidden there, just pulled out my disc and took a look. It is indeed a little much, but when you buy a John Zorn CD, you have to expect these kinds of things. His album "The Gift" has some insane paintings inside there too.

 

I bought my copy of Kid A during the first week of release. I never knew there was a hidden booklet until now. Just looking at the pages is giving me a headache!

 

Aha! Didn't know that! Thanks for the heads up!

 

My copy of "Retrospective" by Bread had both trays covered. However, I have seen other copies and the artwork is displayed. Go figure.

 

Yes, it was limited to the first (uncensored) pressing in the US...longbox.

 

The first pressing also had a different catalog number from the regular version.

 

Wow. I have the Kid A extra book. Very nice surprise.

 

Just to clarify (or muddy) my copy was a non-longbox with the orange tray and the image under the tray. It was purchased at Moonstone records in Peterborough, ON, Canada.

 

Not sure about the Canadian version, but as Kym said the US version had a different catalog number that was only active for a month or so...

Another disc with a hidden bonus is Catherine Wheel's Happy Days, which had a folded lyric sheet under the tray.

 

McCartney's Rushes wasn't hidden was it? At least the copy I have had a clear tray.

My copy of the Rolling Stones "Jump Back" had a black tray, which I removed to reveal the artwork. I think that it is now sold with a clear tray, though.

 

Is this more about a run of discs that should have had a clear tray, were manufactured with black trays instead?

 

Every now and then, I will take a disc tray out and find a obi underneath. Some collectors would put the obis under the disc tray to protect them. Because the obi fits nicely lengthwise across the bottom of the tray, if one is under there, you won't be able to see it without removing the tray. The nicest one I've found that way was a Santana 35DP box obi.

But, before you guys start taking your collections apart, it's a pretty rare practice, so don't expect to find one. Most people just toss the obi or stick it between the pages of the booklet.

 

I think most of the examples given here are clearly of artwork that was intended to be hidden or obscured. Some of them, like Kid A, actually have custom trays that are unique to that particular album.

 

Frustratingly, the SACD/DVD reissue of this has this artwork as well, however it's hidden underneath the glued-in opaque black CD tray!

 

I think that's what he meant by "hidden".

The original CD has the artwork in plain sight on the UK cd. Not sure if the US version uses different artwork or just skipped it entirely because of the boobies.

 

Yeah, most of them were a frosty orange colour, but the one I got had the picture under a standard dark grey tray.

Another one that came out around the same time is Earth 2 by Earth, which had a photo of the band members pointing shotguns at the camera under the tray.

 

One of Lou Reeds latest albums has a dark navy blue image on the black cover that is sort of hidden.

 

Hey, I do that! I also do this with those J-cards some labels put along the top edge of a CD, with the artist/title on it and some other descriptive info.

 

Obis fit nicely inside of the booklet, but these I can't fit inside them and to get them under the tray, I have to fold them as they don't fit.

 

The original US edition of the CD omitted the artwork completely. My frustration is that, while the UK edition allowed you to replace the opaque tray with a clear one, the reissue has the tray glued-in (as is standard for digipacks). There's no way to view the artwork without partially destroying it!

 

What would be so cool (but will never happen) is a CD issue of "Yesterday... and Today" with a slipcase featuring the "trunk" cover. Slide it off and guess what's underneath?

So many marketing opportunities.

 

Playing off of the "North Texas Bands of the 90's" theme, "Rubberneck" by the Toadies has a picture of the band underneath the tray (not sure if this one eventually got switched to a clear tray or not).