Fall Out Boy – So Much (For) Stardust [1st press]

Fall Out Boy’s latest album, So Much (For) Stardust is a return in the right direction for the band. Seeing as it may be Joe Trohman’s final album with the band, it’s could turn to be a fitting send off for one of the lesser recognized members. Yes, this album still has a few overtly pop tinges, but it’s not overbearing like it has been on their most recent albums Mania and American Beauty / American Psycho. On the other hand, it’s not even close to anything Infinity On High and prior. Best I can sum up So Much (For) Stardust is it can easily slot into Fall Out Boy’s discography inbetween Folie A Deux and Save Rock And Roll.

Because this is 2023, of course there is an abundance of variants for So Much (For) Stardust. And of course, many of them sold out because well, this is still Fall out Boy after all. And it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t take exception to the descriptions/names of some of the variants. To top things off, there is even a ridiculous variant that is better classified as a piece of memorabilia than an actual musical object. And if all that wasn’t enough, there is an indie record store in Scotland that literally makes up their own variants (something they have been doing for many releases lately).

Before I delve into more aspects of certain variants, something that may ruffle feathers, let’s discuss what is matter of fact. In total there are 13/14 total variants. That number may actually set a record for a single pressing (one is technically a second pressing), but no matter how you look at it it’s absurd. Pressing info has been floated around for most of the variants, but many of those numbers are not confirmed. I won’t mention what is discussed on message boards, reddit or Discogs unless it’s confirmed by an official source. Case and point; right now anyone can go into Discogs and add a new or amend an existing entry and make up whatever info they want. I can say there are 219 copies on poop brown with pee splatter and until someone else edits the information to remove it, it will remain on Discogs presented as fact. Not rumor; FACT.

So here is what is 100% confirmed via official sources. There are four band exclusives; 1,000 copies on “dark matter” marble (contains an additional subset variant/misprint), 2,000 copies on “green glow glow glow light”, 4,000 copies on “black ice heartbreak” and 8,000 copies on “cobalt crocodile tears. There is a Spotify “fans first” exclusive limited 4,000 copies on “milky” clear and an Urban Outfitters exclusive limited to 5,000 copies on “ultra” clear. The second pressing has 50 copies on tear filled record (read on for complete details). All the other variants DO NOT have pressing info released via official channels. Why people feel the need to provide information based on what they speculate is beyond me. Yes, in the past I’ve been known to say things like “there are probably thousands of these pressed.” But that statement is obviously not specific. I have never and will never say there is a specific number pressed unless I have it confirmed with a legitimate source (a band member, the label or rarely, the retailer claiming an exclusive).

If you’re doing the math at home, that leaves six unaccounted for variants. And this is where things go off the rails. Because within some of these variants are the aforementioned made up variants by a specific Scottish indie record store. So to reiterate there is an unknown amount on “navy blue annihilation,” gold, coke bottle clear, and black vinyl. The “navy blue annihilation” was/is supposedly a Fueled By Ramen web store exclusive, who somehow still get perks despite the band no longer being signed to the label; but somehow the aforementioned by this point Scottish indie record store secured hundreds of copies to make up their own variant. Gold is a Target exclusive. Coke bottle clear is an U.S. and UK/Euro indie record store exclusive. Black is not confirmed to be a mass retail exclusive, but every retailer selling this record that does not have a definitive exclusive variant will be stocking copies on black vinyl.

Now let’s discuss the Scottish indie record store I’ve repeatedly mentioned by this point. The shop is Assai Records, who has multiple locations around Scotland. What they do is take an already established vinyl variant and print up an exclusive obi-strip to go with it. All the ob-strips are hand numbered out of a random number. Some releases have more copies than others for whatever reason. In some cases hundreds more. This Fall Out Boy is not the first time they’ve created their own variants; they have done it many times. A cursory glance at their web store shows they have nine pages of these obi-strip exclusive variants, and the first page of which has 24 different releases.

For So Much (For) Stardust Assai Records pulled out all the stops however, doing not just one, but two exclusive obi-strip variants. They did 500 copies with the “navy blue annihilation” and 300 copies of the coke bottle green. One thing of note about these Assai Records exclusive variants is the fact that none of them come factory sealed for whatever reason. I get obi-strips are traditionally placed over the top of a jacket or CD packaging (jewel case or digipak) and then shrink wrapped. But this store is literally tearing the shrink wrap off hundreds of records just to add the obi-strip.  The biggest issue when it comes to So Much (For) Stardust in particular is that every variant comes with a hype sticker that denotes the variant. To many people, myself included, this is a must have when buying new vinyl; especially at retail price.

Bottom line is, in my opinion, obi-strips are some of the most gimmicky things you can add on to a record. Yes, Assai Records are not the only place/label doing it. It’s a pointless trend in my opinion that bastardizes the true intent behind obi-strips. They’re simply meant as translation for non English speakers when a release is sold overseas. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s not a courtesy; it’s a necessity. It’s also not supposed to be a cash grab.

These Assai Records also present a slippery slope because what is stopping every indie record store around the world from doing the same thing? Or something more over the top? Or something different? Where does it end? All because simply having an already somewhat exclusive variant is not enough? So far, to my knowledge there have not been any legal challenges to what they are doing, despite these items being commercially available.The store claims all of them are artist approved, but not label approved; which is the legal terms is most often  the superseding decider. Similar things have been done by private individuals and nothing was done to them from a legal aspect. I’m talking about the Finch What It Is To Burn custom made replacement jackets that were offered up to people who were willing to buy one. But those Finch jackets were not commercially available.

I touched on it briefly above, but all the variants come with a hype sticker that denote the color of the record. All the stickers are a black circle; the only difference is what the text says and the color the title of the variant is. The text is not necessarily color coded however. For those wondering what some of the variants actually look like because the names for many of them make zero sense and even then the description of them is sometimes flat out wrong; here is a description of them:

“Green glow glow glow light,” which has a hype sticker that says “glow in the dark green,” is simply your typical glow in the dark variant, which was exclusive the band’s web store. The “black ice heartbreak,” which has a hype sticker that says “black ice,” is translucent brown. The “cobalt crocodile tears,” which has a hype sticker that says “cobalt” is translucent blue. The “milky” clear and “ultra” clear arre different hues of clear. “Navy blue annihilation” comes with a hype sticker that says “Bluejay” and it’s simply opaque blue. The milky is darker than the “ultra” clear. But in my opinion there are no degrees of clear; it’s either clear or it’s not. A more apt name for the “milky” clear would be frosted glass, and “ultra” clear should just be called clear.

This may be overly complicated, which is why I saved it for last. There is a catch with “dark matter” marble depending on where you bought it from/where it’s being sold. It mainly affects the UK/Euro copies for whatever reason, which signifies this variant is actually yet another subset/unique variant, and one that was not advertised as being a different pressing. First off, no matter where you bought it from or where you live, the hype sticker for this variant is wrong. The hype sticker says “black and gold swirl.”

People in Europe and the UK who bought the “dark matter” marble received a copy on black/dark grey base with white and gold/yellow/brown splatter. It’s obviously not a marble or a swirl. Meanwhile, those living in the U.S. received a copy that more closely resemble that intended finished product, which came out to be black w/ white swirl/marble. There is no gold anywhere to be found in the U.S. copies.

All copies of the first pressing come housed in a gatefold jacket and come with an insert. A download card/code is not included with physical copies. The jacket features the original album art. Retail price on So Much (For) Stardust is around $30. Sad that that is the going rate for new records in 2023. But with that said, I was able to buy a copy from Target for $11 on clearance.

This record is still not done though, as there is a second pressing. It’s tiny in scale however. The second pressing is the most absurd gimmick cash grab I have seen to date. If you thought liquid filled records jumped the shark; hold my beer.

For whatever reason, someone started a company that creates tear filled records called Crynyl. But all credit does not go to them, as it’s oin connunction with a fancy pants art studio called Brain.  So Much (For) Stardust is the first release done by the company, and hopefully the last. I don’t wish ill will on anyone, but when garbage like this is clogging up pressing plants; I wish the idea never even happened let alone came into existence.

Because of the absurdity of this idea, I did a lot of research, albeit simple in scope, into what a Crynyl record actually is and what is included with the release. Here are the pertinent facts. It contains actual tears from all four band members (despite only Pete Wentz being used for promo content) that are sealed inside the record. The tears are collected using sterile collection kits and are then diluted into a “sonically optimized solution.” The record requires special care; even more so than a traditional record.  It needs to not only be stored vertically, but right side up (top facing up), which is indicated by a small mark on the side of the record. This is to prevent leaking. Every copy was hand sealed (not surprising) using a proprietary technology that is trademarked as “Crynylseal.” Because of its unique nature it requires additional weight than what your turntable is normally set up for in order to play properly. Oh, and the best part, the company acknowledges and formally warns people that sound quality is poor. So this variant/pressing is pretty much a cash grab collector’s item that holds hardly any audio value.

The Crynyl variant comes in unique packaging, which is described as a gatefold box with a built in tissue dispenser. The artwork is unique and has absolutely nothing to do with the album itself; it’s not inspired by the original album art or packaging in any. In fact, it’s rather bland in my opinion as its just blue with fancy designs to mimic flowing liquid. The record itself is clear with one small area of liquid inside that you can obviously see. All copies are hand numbered on the back of the packaging out of 50.

Best, or worst part depending on how you look at stuff like this, is that it cost $100 before shipping and taxes (should they apply). And of course it sold out in minutes. And people on social media were heartbroken they weren’t able to get a copy.

The Damned Things – High Crimes

Dan Andriano has been apart of many different projects over the years. Probably the biggest stretch that departs from his bread and butter is The Damned Things; a heavy rock super group that also features Fall Out Boy drummer Andy Hurley and guitarist Joe Trohman, Every Time I Die singer Keith Buckley and Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian. Andriano was not an original member of the band; he joined in 2019 for their sophomore album High Crimes.

High Crimes was released on Nuclear Blast Records, a relatively unknown German indie label specializing in metal and heavier music. A big drop from the band’s major label debut album Ironiclast that was released in 2010.  Several band members have voiced their displeasure with how the first album ultimately panned out. Buckley has said in interviews he felt that album was too polished, and that live shows offered a better reflection of the band’s potential. It was no guarantee the band would continue after Ironicalst. Such is the nature of super groups as the members inevitably turn the focus back to their day jobs.

 High Crimes, after some member changes, in my opinion is a better blend of heavy riffs with catchier hooks. In other words, what the band intended to be; a blend of the catchy pop punk of Fall Out Boy and the heavier aspects Anthrax and Every Time I Die. Band members commented the writing and recording process of High Crimes was a much smoother experience.

The record was pressed as a single LP spread across three variants; baby blue limited to 300 copies, yellow limited to 1,000 copies and bone limited to 1200 copies. Baby blue was an FYE exclusive. As far as I can tell the other colors could be bought anywhere. But odds are if you bought this from a distro actually received the rarer yellow variant.

All copies come in a single pocket jacket and nothing else. There is no insert or printed dust sleeves. No download card/code either. Each variant comes with a hype sticker that denotes the color, with the bone and yellow variants have an identical hype sticker in terms of design. The FYE exclusive also has an exclusive, unique hype sticker that differs in design from the one found on the bone and yellow variants. Retail price on this is between $20-25; but it’s tough to get an accurate estimate because technically this is an import release, and as such some U.S. based retailers have used it as an excuse to jack up the price. Prices on the secondary market, even for the sold out FYE exclusive, have not reached ridiculous levels. Don’t let the ridiculous outliers fool you.

Fall Out Boy – Believers Never Die: Greatest Hits

For whatever reason, Island Records decided to release the first Fall Out Boy Greatest Hits album on vinyl after the second volume, which was a brand new release when it came out. This Greatest Hits album is more worthwhile in my opinion, as it’s from the pop punk era as opposed to the pop garbage era the band has evolved into.

At least for this record they didn’t press a ton of variants. Only two for Believer Never Die: Greatest Hits yellow neon and black. The yellow is a Euro exclusive, who also get a black vinyl option. Everywhere else only gets black as the domestic option. Pressing info has not been released for any variant or pressing. Retail price on it is between $25-30 for the U.S. pressing. The Euro yellow variant cost over $30 for anyone having it shipped to the U.S..

Just to illustrate how much better this era of Fall Out Boy is/was; this first Greatest Hits record is a double LP, as opposed to the second volume which could fit on a single LP. Believers Never Die: Greatest Hits encompasses the Evening Out With Your Girlfriend, Take This To Your Grave, From Under The Cork Tree, Infinity On High and a portion of the Folie a Deux era, as well as featuring a couple exclusive and/or new songs. There is a great cover of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” their original Christmas song “Yule Shoot Your Eye Out” and a new tune titled “Alpha Dog.”

Surprisingly, Island Records did not cheap out and actually went with a gatefold jacket for this record. There is no insert, download card (probably due to legal reasons since multiple labels are involved and own rights to various songs on this compilation album). But Island does make it a point to have everyone know this is part of their 60^th Anniversary celebration, which is signified by an unnecessary, gigantic hype sticker on the cover. On my copy it’s haphazardly slapped towards the center of the cover. There is also an additional, more traditional hype sticker that advertises some of the songs featured on this Greatest Hits record.

V/A – Policia A Tribute To The Police

One of my all time favorite comps is Policia A Tribute To The Police. I never thought it would be pressed on vinyl. But fast forward to 2021 and Parting Gift Records, who have been on a tear and doing a deep dive into back catalogs from the early 200s scene, decided to license this out to release on vinyl.

The excitement of seeing that this would be pressed was quickly diminished slightly once I saw the price tag; $30. Yes this is a double LP in a gatefold jacket. And there are likely substantial licensing fees attached to this. But this is a no frills release for that price point. Once you see photos of the gatefold in the gallery below, you’ll understand just how pointless it is.

Parting Gift Records opted to press three variants and gave them all clever, themed names. There is  “Synchronicity” limited to 150 copies, “Roxanne” limited to 350 copies and “Next To You” limited to 500 copies.  “Synchronicity” is LP 1 on “bluejay w/ white and yellow splatter and LP 2 “apple” red w/ black & white splatter. “Roxanne” is a tri-color stripe featuring “bluejay,” “apple” red and white. “Next To You” is LP 1 on half “apple” red / half white and LP 2 on half “bluejay” / half white.

I’ll give credit where credit is due. For the most part this is a well thought out release in terms of themes and color schemes. The colors chosen for the variants are obviously a homage to police cars and emergency lights, as well as the colors schemes used for the original CD release from 2005. I doubt I will ever be a fan of giving variants names. That just over complicates things. Especially when you go for complex color schemes and/or patterns.  The previous paragraph literally would have been four sentences. But because I had to explain what the named variants look like, it pretty much double in length.

As of posting this the only variant sold out is “Synchronicity.” Parting Gift has not even sold out of their test presses, which they are selling for $100. No mention of how many test pressings the label made, or is selling. Which say a lot about the popularity of this comp. I’ve seen test pressings sell out when a label charges $150 for them.

Fall Out Boy – Believers Never Die Volume 2

Fall Out Boy released a greatest hits album on vinyl, but it wasn’t the one anyone wanted. For an inexplicable reason (cash grab!) the band released a second volume in the greatest hits catalog. Believers Never Die Volume 2 is entirely composed of songs from the post Folie a Deux era, so in other words; the bands three worst albums to date. This Greatest Hits album at least encompasses a distinctly different period for the band; their pop phase. While their first Greatest Hits album compiles more from their pop punk days. Both share one commonality as they each feature new, unreleased songs.

Believers Never Die Volume 2 was pressed on four different variants, with three of them being exclusive to the band’s web store. The three band exclusives are white/red split limited to 1,000 copies, white/red splatter (white with red splatter) limited to 2,000 copies and white/red blob limited to 3,000 copies. There is also a mass retail exclusive on black vinyl limited to an unknown amount. One thing of note about the white/red blog, it’s erroneously being described as an Urban Outfitters (UO) exclusive by UO. This is a lie as the band was selling copies of this variant. But at least UO didn’t do their usual mark up of $5 on this record. They are selling it for the same price as the band; $25 before shipping (should it apply).

All copies come with a general hype sticker, but there is an additional sticker for all the colored variants that indicates color. This is where things get a bit tricky, as the stickers don’t match the description the band gave. The white/red blob sticker simply reads “red and white vinyl,” which can be very confusing considering all the colored variants consist of red and white.

The band has sold out of all their variants. But UO is still selling copies of the white/red blob. It’s sad when there is such as drastic difference in price between colored variants or from one retailer versus another. I mentioned above the band and UO are selling this record for $25. But you can easily buy the retail variant for well under $20. I bought this for $13 from Target.

There is no download card/code included with this record, which is not surprising because Island Records was one of the pioneers with not including them with their vinyl releases. The single pocket jacket is a cheap one, as it’s very flimsy compared to other ones in my collection. An insert is included, which has liner notes on one side with a promo photo of the band on the reverse side. No lyrics on the insert, but considering this is a greatest hits compilation, you’re probably already familiar with the lyrics, so it’s not a total loss. One could make the case that the insert just drove up the cost of this record, because in the grand scheme of things it’s pointless.

Fall Out Boy – Save Rock And Roll (Pax-Am Edition)

Island Records did an interesting thing with two of Fall Out Boy’s releases; combining them into a single release. But not only that, doing so on a format that neither of them were released on previously. No, I’m not talking about vinyl specifically, but the size. Not size in that way, which may or may not matter depending on who you talk to, but size of the record itself. Island decided to combine Save Rock And Roll and Pax-Am Days into a single release, pressing it as a double LP. Seeing as the original pressings of Save Rock And Roll and Pax-Am Days were done as a double 10” and double 7” respectively, it’s an interesting move to combine to two releases into a single release.

The only way both would fit together is as a double LP. That is not what’s interesting about this. What is interesting is that a major label is actually making a concession. Pax-Am Days sold very well on vinyl. So much so that it’s not only OOP, it’s fetching upwards of $60 on the secondary market. When it originally cost around $15. Save Rock And Roll however, sold poorly on vinyl. To the point where you can buy it for as little as $10. When it sold for $25 when it first came out.

But once again, a major label priced itself out of the market. The dubbed Save Rock And Roll Pax-Am Edition was marked with a $40 price tag when it was first released. So clearly they learned nothing. They actually tried finding a median price between the two high and low sell points between the two, separate releases. My advice is to wait until not only a deal, but a great deal, in order to buy this. It’s not selling out any time soon, and prices continue to drop. I bought this for $15 shipped. So ultimately I bought all three versions of these releases for the price of one.

All copies of Save Rock And Roll Pax-Am Edition come housed in a tri-fold jacket. Save Rock And Roll is found on sides A,  and C, with Pax-Am Days found on side D. The cover art is basically the same as Save Rock And Roll, with the obvious title change. Which you can see in the photo gallery below. I’m including pics of the covers of the original vinyl releases of both in the gallery, so those so inclined can see the differences. There is no insert, or download card/code, which yet again, shows the greed and cost cutting of major labels. Pressing info has not been released for this record, and it never will be.

Fall Out Boy – M A N I A

Where do I begin with the latest Fall Out Boy album? To sum things up; it’s one of the worst pieces of garbage I’ve ever had the displeasure to hear. If you thought it couldn’t get worse than their previous album American Beauty / American Psycho you’d be wrong. But then why did you buy it you say? Well you see, I didn’t actually buy it. I used some loyalty points I saved up to get this for free from my local record store on Record Store Day.

With  M A N I A the band/label released several variants, most of which were exclusively available via the band’s official web store. They released four colored variants this way, along with the standard black vinyl that was widely available. These colors were blue, red, lavender and swirl (lavender base w/ red and blue swirl/marbling). One thing to note is that the “lavender” color the two colored variants are described as is actually more of a purple than lavender. Pressing info has never been released for any of the variants, and it appears that after many months the colored variants are sold out.

The record comes in a single pocket jacket with both a fill color printed dust sleeve and insert. The insert, however, is not full size. Size wise the insert is like one you’d find included with a 10” record instead of a 12”/LP of any sort. Once again, Island Records did not include a download card/code with this release. Which seems to be their MO at this point in what is very likely an effort to maximize profits by cutting costs anywhere they can, along with the hopes of suckering people into spending more money for either digital files or a CD copy of the album after already buying a copy of the album on vinyl.

Retail price on this album is around $20 depending on where you buy it from. Some online retailers have started slashing prices on it, so you can find this for closer to $15 (before shipping should you be charged for it).

 

V/A – Ghostbusters (2016) Soundtrack

The Ghostbusters reboot has been the source of controversy long before it ever went into production. And that controversy continued to swell as time wore on. The soundtrack did nothing but stoke the fire, as Fall Out Boy’s horrid rendition of the iconic Ghostbusters theme song tied up the awfulness of the movie in a nice little bow.

Yes, despite how bad the Fall Out Boy song is, I did buy this soundtrack for my Fall Out Boy collection, but I only spent $5 on it. How you ask? By taking a chance on an ebay mis-listing, where someone foolishly had the vinyl soundtrack listed in the CD category as a “used” CD without any pictures, and the item description stating “still factory sealed vinyl LP 2016 soundtrack.” It also helped that the seller had the listing titled as “Ghost blisters Spundtrack.” So I wound up getting the ” Ghost blisters Spundtrack” for a $3 BIN with $1.99 shipping. For that price I was willing to take the risk of a CD showing up. Retail price on this soundtrack is $20. But lo and behold, when the package arrived it was an LP mailer with a record inside. splurge to keep my Fall Out Boy collection somewhat complete. .

The soundtrack was pressed as a single LP and has two variants; red and black. Red was a Barnes & Noble “vinyl day” exclusive limited to an unknown amount of copies. Rarely does B&N release pressing info for any of their exclusives. Black is available everywhere else, even B&N now as they somehow managed to sell out of their exclusive color. Pressing info for the black has also never been released, and never expect it to be For those wondering “vinyl day,” a completely made up “holiday” was August 13, 2016, and I think B&N is the only place that does anything for it and they’re likely the ones who invented “vinyl day.”

The soundtrack for the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot features tweaked artwork from the original iconic artwork and Ghostbusters logo. Yet another thing done in a seemingly endless line of things that would piss people off. It was liked the powers at be went out of their way to piss people off. All copies come with an insert, and the download card is printed on the insert itself. There is a hype sticker, which is affixed to the top left corner on all copies. It’s tough to see it because the sticker itself is clear with slime green lettering. The B&N exclusive color has an additional hype sticker promoting their exclusive color.

 

 

Fall Out Boy – American Beauty/American Psycho

Fall Out Boy’s latest album, American Beauty/American Psycho is hands down their worst album. But the completist in me felt compelled to buy the album on vinyl despite that. The price for this record is on the high side for four reasons; the band is popular, the album sold well (digitally and CD)/is popular, it’s a major label release and lastly, morons have proven they will be things released on vinyl regardless of how high the price is.

With that said the retail price for this record is close to $20, could be slightly more than that or slightly less than that depending on where you buy it, but you get the idea. I waited until well after a year from the album’s release to buy it, and I did so from Bull Moose using my Bull Moose points, so I got this for half off. Not only that, I waited to buy it from them on Cyber Monday this year, when they lowered their price for American Beauty/American Psycho to $15 from their regular $18 price. So I bought this for $7.50, a price I am happy with to keep my Fall Out Boy collection up to date and continue the progress to getting it completed.

There two variants for this record for the U.S. pressing, and two for the UK pressing. It’s a bit odd for both pressings though, as there may or may not be multiple pressings for each of them. The record originally came out in both the U.S. and UK on the same color, then a few months after it was released on vinyl two retailers (one in the U.S. and 1 in the UK) started selling exclusive colors. Since these variants came out after the record was on sale for a while, it could be a new pressing. But the record remained in print before and after on the original color. So it’s anybody’s guess if these two different retail exclusives are new pressings or simply a variant that was pressed during the initial run of records.

As just mentioned; the bulk of the U.S. pressing was done on one color; blue/clear/ice blue/. The hype sticker on the cover says “blue” and all promo descriptions of the item online say blue. But every copy is essentially clear with blue, and is obviously translucent (this fact becomes important later on if you keep reading). It’s somewhere between clear and coke bottle. Some copies even have blue streaks and swirls mixed in. My copy has the most of this blue streaks/swirls that I have seen. You can decide on what color you want to call this record judging on the pics attached to this entry, just know every copy looks the same if you take out the blue streaks/swirls in my copy.

In September 2015 Newbury Comics announced they would have an exclusive color of American Beauty/American Psycho limited to 1,000 copies. This exclusive color is blue, but it’s not to be confused with the blue of the widely available copies. The Newbury color is royal blue. As of posting this (December 2015) the Newbury exclusive is still available. So it seems Newbury missed the boat for their typical price gouging on unnecessary re-presses/exclusive colors. The Newbury Comics exclusive cost $19.99, a run of the mill price for this record, which I admit is a bit unusual for Newbury but not expected trying to cash in on with a new color variant.

The widely available UK pressing is the same color as the U.S. pressing. The exclusive color was available from HMV, a entertainment retailer similar to FYE in the U.S. The HMV exclusive was a Father’s Day exclusive release only available in physical stores on Father’s Day in 2015. It was supposedly limited to 500 copies but the information was never officially released by any reputable entity, only copy and pasted on a messaged board from some email solicitation. Based on pictures of the variant the HMC posted on social media, their exclusive color appears to be the same color as the widely available U.S. and UK pressing, but is opaque instead of translucent.

Now down to the nitty gritty of this release. It comes in a gatefold jacket, which is pretty pointless all things considered. But it’s nice to have considering they would have charged just as much had it come in a traditional single pocket jacket. The gatefold artwork is a close up photo of a glacier. The jacket has a matte finish as well. An insert is included, which has the lyrics printed on one side and an alternate cover photo on the reverse side. A download code nor a CD copy are included, which in this day and age is completely unacceptable.

V/A – We Love Disney

We Love Disney is a comp released somewhat under the radar despite it being Disney related. And if never knowing of this comp’s existence wasn’t enough, the variants and all the pertinent info about them will drive you up the wall. There are no less than four different versions of this comp, with variants of some sprinkled in there. There is a collector’s edition box set, deluxe edition, standard edition and picture disc edition. To make things as easy to understand as possible I will dedicate at least one paragraph to each of those. And before I delve deeper into this rabbit hole, pressing info for most of the editions and variants has not been released and never expect it to be.

First off lets tackle the box set. It’s limited to 2,500 pieces and they make sure to note “for the first edition,” so they already have a second run planned. I’m not exactly sure how the box itself is constructed, mainly what it’s made of. My guess would be either wood or thick cardboard. I haven’t seen a picture or video of an actual box set, only an artist’s rendering and/or mock up for demo purposes. The box it light green in color and when you open it a Tinker Bell die cut piece folds out of the lid. The lid also has a pocket for the certificate of authenticity to slid into.There “hinges” of the box are lace.

The box set includes the following items; deluxe edition vinyl, standard edition vinyl, “limited edition” CD, standard edition CD,  four limited edition numbered lithographs (all of Tinker Bell), “The Magic Behind We Love Disney” DVD, digital deluxe album, “limited edition” t-shirt (only comes in size Large) in a One-Time Only Design (We Love Disney album art), tote bag (We Love Disney album art printed on it) and certificate of authenticity. Basically you get everything associated with this album minus the picture disc. The lithographs, t-shirt, tote bag and DVD are all exclusive to the box set. The price is flat out ridiculous for this, even by Disney’s standards; $400. With that price tag you should at least be able to pick your shirt size. Most Disney fans are not a Large.

Next up we’ll delve into the deluxe edition of the vinyl version. The deluxe edition is pressed as a double LP and has two more tracks than the standard version. They are dubbed bonus tracks and are tacked onto the end of the comp; “It’s Not Easy Being Green (From “The Muppet Show”)” by Brenna Whitaker and “A Whole New World (From “Aladdin”)” by Yuna. The deluxe edition has different artwork than than standard version, and I wouldn’t exactly call it exclusive. The only difference is the background color, which is grey instead of white. Another difference in the packaging is the deluxe edition comes in a gatefold jacket when the standard edition does not. An insert is also included, which is the identical to the insert included with the standard version. There are two variants for the deluxe edition; green, which is avaiable everywhere selling the deluxe edition, and gold, which is a Barnes & Noble exclusive. No word on pressing info for either variant of the deluxe edition. Price on the deluxe edition (green vinyl) is around $30 ($35 from official store), but the Barnes & Noble variant somehow costs $5-10 less at $25.

The standard edition of We Love Disney is also pressed as a double LP but only comes on black vinyl. It’s not housed in a gatefold jacket, instead it comes in one of those chintzy double LP single pocket jackets. Instead of the cover art having a grey background like with the deluxe edition, the standard edition artwork has a white background. A full color, double sided insert is included with the standard edition. The insert is the same for the deluxe and regular versions. The track listing is the regular track listing, it does not have any bonus tracks. Price on this is around $20 retail (although the official web store is charging $24), but if you wait to buy this you’ll likely be able to buy it for under $15.

The picture disc version is pretty much exactly what you think it is. It’s a double LP picture disc set housed in a picture disc sleeve. The track listing is the same as the deluxe edition, so it has the two bonus tracks. There is an insert included. From pictures on the official website for this comp it looks like the same insert that is included with the standard edition of the comp, but I can’t say with any certainty. I also haven’t seen any pictures of all sides of this version, only one side. That one side is a drawing of Tinker Bell against a green background. The only place selling the picture disc version is the official website for this comp, and the price is $40.

There is an entire website and store for this comp (welovedisneymusic.com). It’s not just amongst the label’s website or store. It has its own dedicated server and web address. Copies of the vinyl version are being sold at Disney Parks too. Because ff there is one place I definitely want to buy records it’s at an theme park.

Here is the track listing (* denotes exclusive bonus track on deluxe edition and picture disc version):

Side A

1. NE-YO – Friend Like Me (Aladdin)
2. Jessie J – Part Of Your World (The Little Mermaid)
3. Jason Derulo – Can You Feel The Love Tonight / Nants’ Ingonyama (The Lion King)
4. Gwen Stefani – The Rainbow Connection (The Muppet Movie)

Side B

1. Ariana Grande – Zero To Hero (Hercules)
2. Jhené Aiko – In A World Of My Own/Very Good Advice (Alice in Wonderland)
3. Fall Out Boy I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song) (The Jungle Book)

Side C

1. Tori Kelly – Colors Of The Wind (Pocahontas)
2. Kacey Musgraves – A Spoonful of Sugar (Mary Poppins)
3. Charles Perry – Ev’rybody Wants To Be A Cat (The Aristocats)

Side D

1. Jessie Ware – A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes (Cinderella)
2. Lucy Hale & Rascal Flatts – Let It Go (Frozen)
3. Various Artists – It’s A Small World
4. Brenna Whitaker – It’s Not Easy Being Green (The Muppet Show) *
5. Yuna – A Whole New World (Aladdin) *