LIMITED EDITION : madonna - rebel heart (super deluxe edition)

A well put together, if slightly mis-titled edition. The album comes in three releases: standard, deluxe and super deluxe. Now for me, "super deluxe" sounds like it'd be some majestic, designed for the heavens box set - what this actually is is a perfectly decent edition, just not enough for that kind of title! Don't get me wrong, I love the folding out format and glossy finish to the images but I want a little more. Two specific things that niggle at me... First: The second disc has "Disc 2" printed onto it (seen in the image above), so I nice touch would be to have "Disc 1" on the first CD. A little thing, but I noticed it:

The bigger annoyance to me was the exclusion of the album booklet... I can't tell you how much I hate that being overlooked. As a fan who wants all the bells and whistles of a physical album (and will pay more money for the 'top' version - as a super deluxe would have you believe), I want the booklet that would be included in the standard and deluxe editions. This version includes no linear notes and although has some great looking packaging, doesn't actually give you all the information about the album. Quite a large oversight in my opinion.. A nice edition, but not Madge's best designed piece.

LIMITED EDITION : kylie minogue - kylie (debut album) (reissue collector's edition)

Now, long time readers of the simonsez blog will know I LOVE me a Kylie limited edition release (see here, here and here). So when it was announced that Ms. Minogue's first four albums would be re-released as special celebrations of her PWL years, I was more than overjoyed to hear there would be limited edition boxsets involved. So, to celebrate in my own special way I will be putting up four special posts to share the reissued albums - starting with her debut album "Kylie". ENJOY (YOURSELF)!!

The boxset is the size of a 12" vinyl and comes with the original album art emblazoned on the front. Let's be honest, that late 80s cover hasn't held up amazingly, once you get up close even the photo quality is really something to behold in all its fuzzy glory.. But somehow it adds into the feel of the piece. It's honouring the fashions and early looks of the pop princess, not trying to modernise and cover over the cheesier pictures etc. For that, it really feels like a celebration and a time capsule to be delved into.

For anyone who has the CD (or even the cassette) version of the album, you will see how true this has kept to the original artwork - from cover to logos to spine design.

That hair hat she's rocking is truly iconic! :D

Now lets lift the lid and dive in..

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the post...

LIMITED EDITION : cheryl - only human (boxset)

 As a progression from her last album (2012's 'A Million Lights'), Cheryl seemed to up the quality-factor of music and visual with this album, in conjunction with her return to the X-Factor. This also saw a high-quality boxset version released for the new album 'Only Human'. Let's jump into it below and see what Mrs Fernandez-Versini has to offer!

 

First off, I think this is her best album cover to date. They've all been pretty standard head-on beauty shots but this one seems to up the gloss factor with that animal strip running through her face and the type is simpler and more striking. YES!

 

 

For the boxset, the type gets an added edge of a lovely burgundy coloured foiling, I love it.

 

The foiling is used on the back cover of the box also, for the tracklisting:

 

The boxset has a lovely matte finish for the cover and the hinged lid fits beautifully over the base.

 

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :)

LIMITED EDITION : laroux - trouble in paradise (deluxe box set)

When Laroux first announced a comeback after multiple years silence, I was very happy. I was even happier when the 'Trouble In Paradise' album was announced and EVEN HAPPIER when the cover art was unveiled (stay tuned for that, if you still haven't feasted your eyes). The cherry on top of this already multi-layered feast was that the album would also be released a deluxe box set...so let's go In For The Kill and dive in...

One major selling point of this edition was the fact it has it's own exclusive cover, very much in the vein of it's Pop Art, collagey original artwork - this one elaborates more on the lazy, sun soaked Americana imagery we had already seen glimpses of.

And what says Americana better than a nice glossy glaze! Certain elements of the matte cover have been stencilled out in a shiny coating which adds to the texture and look of the piece. Stunning :)

This is a limited edition boxset - only 3000 were produced - each one is individually stamped.

I love that the outside box feels quite understated, glossy and white. It makes the insides pop even more so...

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :) 

LIMITED EDITION: girls aloud - ten (limited edition boxset)

 

Continuing the girl group theme (see my last post on All Saints' 90s-licious deluxe edition), we're now moving to Girls Aloud and their greatest hits collection 'Ten'. Celebrating a decade in the spotlight, this was a celebration of their biggest songs and the impact on pop they has achieved. Keep reading to see my cover-to-cover look into this Whole Lott History...

 

Quite a subtle start to the edition, for a band usually known for the Xenomania off the wall pop moments (a la 'Biology') and iconic, eye popping artwork (a la 'What Will The Neighbours Say?') this seemed a surprise to me - where's the colour? Where's the girls? It's sleek...but doesn't feel very Aloud to me...

 

OK! Here we go, shocking pink lining - now we're talking. Sleek black outside, bright pink inside: the embodiment of a grown up girl group? Love the cover art to the album, which we'll inspect more later.

 

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :) 

LIMITED EDITION: all saints - all saints (deluxe edition boxset)

Now, I'm going to take us on a trip down memory lane...back to 1997 and girl groups were ruling the charts. There was of course (my favourite) the Spice Girls and their slightly cooler, lil bit more urban sisters All Saints. All Saints debut album 'All Saints' was a collection of slow burning downbeat pop with flavours of R&B and I loved it! This deluxe edition is special to me as I had no idea it existed (no mention of it on most of the internet or wikipedia pages) until a year or so ago, when I was browsing eBay and this appeared in my recommended! So lets pour a cup of Black Coffee and take a trip back to the 90s...
there's gunna be a lot of khaki so hold tight...

The front of the boxset, I think, is pretty strong graphically - that stencil type the band used as their logo was bold and felt a little grungy too. Their first album seemed to have this cammo green palette throughout, which is used for this also.

Close up on the sticker, also you can see there is an almost faux-leather texture to the box.

The lid's off and you are greeted with a big A and S :) (also this kind of constellation motif on the letters used throughout the album art later also). This is an oversized photo booklet, which we'll explore more in a moment, but first, underneath that...

 ...We see the rest of the contents! The original album, a remix album (one of the first remix exclusive albums to be released and chart, fun fact) and - as it's the 90s - a VHS of the band's music videos. *swoon*

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :)

LIMITED EDITION : kylie minogue - kiss me once (limited edition vinyl box set)

So, I felt it was high time for another round of "My Editions" - where I post about a limited edition piece from my personal collection. This time I'll be diving 'Into The Blue' with Kylie Minogue's 'Kiss Me Once (Limited Edition Vinyl Box Set)'. It's a gorgeously kissable, silk cloth-bound box set filled to the brim with sass. So let's get going!

First stop, what's included:

- 12" double vinyl of the standard version of the album 

- Deluxe edition of the album on CD (With exclusive artwork featuring handwritten lipstick text by Kylie herself)

- Card featuring digital download code for the album

- 5 x 12" art prints on heavy paper stock, featuring an exclusive image only in this box set and a hand numbered life size kiss from Kylie

- 12" vinyl sticker sheet with 'Kiss Me Once' lips graphic

- 12" "faux window" featuring raindrops and the album title, so you can recreate the album artwork!

All is contained in a silk cloth-bound 12" vinyl box. 100 copies were signed by Kylie at random.

Next stop...some beautiful images and commentary of this dee-lightful box set:

A close up on that loverly, shimmering silk cloth-bound box. It simply features the 'Kiss Me Once' lips graphic stitched in the middle of the lid and it's hard to get the full effect without holding it in your hands. I spent a solid twenty minutes just stroking it... (in honour of 'Les Sex' and 'Sexercise' of course!). A simple touch, but it really adds to a sense of elegance about the piece.

It's a very slimline box, I was actually quite surprised when it arrived. At first glance it looks like it could only fit in a couple of vinyl - but keep reading to see what else is included.

Lid off and you're greeted by more lips and lipstick...I'm sensing a theme... It really does remind me of Christina Aguilera's 'Bionic', but it's so gorgeous I'm willing to overlook it

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :)

NEW SINGLE ARTWORK : sky ferreira - boys

MY FAVOURITE SONG OFF THE ALBUM <3 Good selection Sky and I'm loving this kind of throwback to Hammer Horror posters.

NEW MIXTAPE ARTWORK : jojo - #lovejo

Fresh from being released from that strangling contract with Blackground (Thank the lawd! Now bring us that new album hunty) - Jo released a gift to her fans on Valentine's day '#LOVEJO'. The artwork is a lil' like a clothes advert, but she's looking divine, so it's fine ;)

NEW SINGLE ARTWORK : kelis - jerk ribs

NEW SINGLE ARTWORK : shakira - empire

NEW SINGLE & REMIX SINGLE ARTWORK : miley cyrus - adore you & adore you (cedric gervais remix)

'Adore You' has to be my favourite song off the 'Bangerz' album (maybe favourite ballad, favourite banger is probably 'Do My Thang' :P #simonsezfact) - and it makes my heart soar that they used my favourite promo image from this era for the cover art. The wilting pink roses, the baby doll lips, the art canvassy texture layered on top - GORGEOUS!

And with the single picking up pace, a remixed version (by the great Cedric Gervais) has been unleashed - featuring it's own Elvira "Mistress of the Dark"-esque cover: