I love this album so much that it broke through my usual cynical resistance to reissues that aim to gouge just one more tenner out of the fans. Aside from it being my favourite Galaxie 500 album, it definitely has the best cover of them all. So wouldn't it be great to have a deluxe 12 inch copy of the album as a way to bathe in its brilliance?
Had I been more quick-witted when it arrived last year, I'd have left it unopened and sent it straight back. I couldn't believe what they'd done to that gorgeous expanse of white space in Naomi's design. Only put a fucking great barcode across it. And a big Domino logo, serving the double function of certifying inauthenticity (Domino didn't exist when This is Our Music was first released), and of showing that Domino consider themselves more important than the product. Then they added a sticker, not on cellophane film, but under the film on the card of the cover itself so it can't safely be removed. The sticker brags about how heavy the vinyl is, and that you can get MP3s (MP3s!) as well. It's as if a craftsman had put all his skill into creating the finest lens for a prized telescope, and then engraved his name and the specification of the glass right in the centre of the lens.
Having failed to return the record, I've posted reviews on various websites to warn that the cover you get is not the cover you see advertised.
I was so angry at first that I never got round to playing the actual record. Now I have, and it's so good that my anger almost melts away. Almost.
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