Comparative Visualization
Album Information
Catalog #: A&M CD 3240
Barcode: none
Matrix: 3719 2
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Catalog #: A&M CD 3719 (CRC record club)
Barcode: none
Matrix: CD-3719 1A11 6Y
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Catalog #: A&M CD 3240 (BMG record club)
Barcode: D 125243
Matrix: 75021 3240 2 01%
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Comments
This one is a curious situation. My existing CD was a CRC club CD, but it was made in Japan. I had forgotten it was either of them and just thought I had a US copy, so when I found a smooth-cased version, I bought it. Obviously, that one was pressed in Japan, too.
When I went to compare the two, I was surprised there was a difference. At the same time, I was surprised to find my CRC disc had the back cover artwork upside down! I was even further surprised to see that the CD had two different catalog numbers. The CRC case booklet says Printed in USA, even though the disc is still marked Made in Japan. Overall, the CRC edition seems to be a disaster all around. I’ve read stories of how things were handled in record clubs back in the day, so I’m not entirely surprised.
I recently discovered I had a third copy, a BMG club CD. This one has the back artwork right side up. So this is the first case of comparing 3 waveforms. You can see that the original Japan version is drowned out, and the CRC version (white) blends mostly with the BMG (red), so they are probably working off another mastering.