I just received the highly collectable
Out Of Tears VSCDG 1524 with 5 tracks
(#1212 of 4000) for a reasonable price.

I knew that they withdrew it
and there was a chemical problem with the
surface of the CD. But mine looks like there´s
glue on the playing side.

Any similar observations?

The best way to avoid the inevitable is to buy a sealed one. I had a lot of these back in the early 2000’s and virtually all the opened ones had awful looking play surface. I decided to keep a sealed one for myself and I can relax assuming it’s beautiful inside.

If your glue substance is on the bottom side, you should try to wipe it away with goo-gone or something and then polish it with a polishing cloth set (NOT wax or "polish"). The important stuff is on the top surface, facing down and the laser reads through the bottom to the digital info carried on the top surface. So you cannot really damage the bottom beyond repair by attempting to remove the contamination, it just takes a little work to return it to transparent state.

jb

Quote
jbwelda
If your glue substance is on the bottom side, you should try to wipe it away with goo-gone or something and then polish it with a polishing cloth set (NOT wax or "polish"). The important stuff is on the top surface, facing down and the laser reads through the bottom to the digital info carried on the top surface. So you cannot really damage the bottom beyond repair by attempting to remove the contamination, it just takes a little work to return it to transparent state.

jb

jb, it just looks like it´s glue. I´ve read somewhere that this CD
pressing had a chemical issue ruining the playing surface from inside.
It looks like that.

Oh. Bummer.

I might have that around. I will take a look.

Just looked. Four song version. No jackpot!


jb



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-09-06 01:58 by jbwelda.

Bought it for 90, the Ebay description said
"CD in good condition".
When I got it the back looked far worse than expected.
I made an inquiry, sending the seller a picture.
"If you send back € 50 I keep it." Just got the money back.
So I got it for 40 bucks...

Well, 40 Euros.

I had no idea something like that would fetch so much money.

jb

Even poor condition ones would regularly trade at 200 to 400 UKP in the late 90's early 2000's. It was mainly French dealers that had them because the export ones were sent to France before they were pulled.

What exactly was so special about these? I mean besides being promo items with promo catalogue numbers. There was an "exclusive" track on the four track version I have (no idea how "exclusive" it actually was)...was there something otherwise unobtainium on this five track version?

jb

Try washing it with dish soap and a soft cloth. I have had CDs that get a film on them from being in a plastic case. My Voodoo Brew box set bootleg CDs were unplayable but after cleaning them they were ok. Try it and report back

Quote
jbwelda
What exactly was so special about these? I mean besides being promo items with promo catalogue numbers. There was an "exclusive" track on the four track version I have (no idea how "exclusive" it actually was)...was there something otherwise unobtainium on this five track version?

jb

It wasn't a promo, It was designed for retail but the rules were changed on what counted for the singles chart and a 5 track "single" was ruled out as having too many tracks to count. Net result the format was pulled and only the boxes that had been sent to collectors stores as exports (mainly France) got out. Of course when they were told the release had been pulled they weren't about to send them back! I don't know how many are circulating but based on how often I see them vs. other things I know the production quantities of then I would estimate up to about 200 of the 4,000 which is why they command a high price. It's nothing to do with how desirable they are and everything to do with how rare they are. This is one of THE hardest UK CD's and if you are a CD collector then you need it.

I bought one fairly cheap a couple of years ago expecting the worst. I was surprised to find it had no CD rot and was perfectly playable, and still is. This one is #2233.

I have had CD rot on other CDs though - the CD takes on a bronze-ish colour, the edges go dark and brittle and start to break off. Unfortunately you can't do anything about it, no amount of cleaning will resolve the issue.

thanks for the explanation mattlee, appreciate it.

jb

Quote
mattleeuk

Quote
jbwelda
What exactly was so special about these? I mean besides being promo items with promo catalogue numbers. There was an "exclusive" track on the four track version I have (no idea how "exclusive" it actually was)...was there something otherwise unobtainium on this five track version?

jb

It wasn't a promo, It was designed for retail but the rules were changed on what counted for the singles chart and a 5 track "single" was ruled out as having too many tracks to count. Net result the format was pulled and only the boxes that had been sent to collectors stores as exports (mainly France) got out. Of course when they were told the release had been pulled they weren't about to send them back! I don't know how many are circulating but based on how often I see them vs. other things I know the production quantities of then I would estimate up to about 200 of the 4,000 which is why they command a high price. It's nothing to do with how desirable they are and everything to do with how rare they are. This is one of THE hardest UK CD's and if you are a CD collector then you need it.

Even if it looks like a cat toy, damaged by CD rot and unplayable



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-09-10 18:38 by ironbelly.

What songs are on this release?

Quote
Valeswood
What songs are on this release?

Out Of Tears (Don Was Edit)
I´m Gonna Drive
So Young
The Storm
Jump On Top Of Me