David Bowie – 1. Outside (The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper Cycle)

What are the chances?

I just found a still sealed copy at a local store for $200.

First record sounded fantastic. Put on the second record and all of a sudden I had a case of deja vu!

Why? I got two Record 1’s.

It’s now five years out of print and there’s nothing that can be done. Goodness gracious - so much for hunting for a grail.

I pre-ordered this shortly after it was announced, as it’s one of the Bowie albums I’d wanted the most for a fair while. I was concerned by the comments on other Friday Music Bowie reissues, but really I don’t see any problem with this one. The images from the CD booklet are very slightly smudgy when you look at them up close, but as long as you don’t have your face a couple of inches from them it’s really not noticeable at all.

Mastering job is great, and so is the pressing. Heavyweight vinyl with zero surface noise and looks gorgeous to boot. Mine was shipped to the UK from the US and I had no issues with sleeve damage like other people have described. There’s a very slight ring impression from the record on the spine side of the front cover, but nothing else to speak of - no splits, bumped corners or anything else.

Bit late to be recommending this version since the few copies for sale have already rocketed in price, but if you’re in the market for it and don’t mind paying a pretty penny, this is a pretty fantastic reissue of a pretty fantastic album.

I scored mine from Amazon Warehouse Deals earlier this month for a cool $40 and its only issue is a small seam split on the top. Otherwise there are no other packaging or disc issues worth mentioning. Anyhoo it sounds AMAZING, highly recommended!

Mine arrived and appears to be damage free. Looks great!

Beautiful re-issue of this very underrated Bowie album. Vinyl sounds good and the packaging is beautiful. Looks like I am the only one whose cover was not damaged.

Yep can agree with all comments below on this one; the trifold sleeves are being damaged by over zealous packaging sealing them too tight or they are just getting bashed around! The vinyl is good quality and sounds good though, pleased to say.

The saving grace for me is that this is a decent pressing and the Vinyl sounds very good but there are definitely quality control issues with the trifold sleeve from Friday Music mine arrived with all corners squashed and the trifold cover flat due to the shrink wrap being too tight. I've decided I'm storing the vinyl separately and have filed away the empty trifold Album cover in a protective sleeve to reduce wear and tear and keep in as best condition as possible. The online UK retailer I bought mine from agreed the sleeves are not good enough and said as I preordered I got the best of a bad bunch had the vinyl not sounded as good and the fact I love this album I'd have returned it.
Amazon.co.uk had this listed for £60 so glad I didn't pay that much.

Surprisingly, not a bad release. Definitely better than their reissue of Hours. The mastering job is, mercifully, MUCH better! I noticed right away once "Outside" started playing that it's much more dynamic and much cleaner. The bass is nice and clean, and the vocals sound crisp and clear. The artwork and packaging are also pretty nice-looking, except for the tracklisting which lists the third track as "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" when it shouldn't have that apostrophe on "Hearts" (it's not supposed to be a possessive...great attention to detail there, FM /s).

Anyway, it's a pretty good release that should at least tide us over to if/whenever Parlophone will release a proper reissue. Also, the black/white splatter color of the vinyl is pretty gorgeous, and kind of goes perfectly with the record's art mystery storyline.