[Encore Pressing] Rubber Soul [Cardboard Sleeve (mini LP)] [SHM-CD] [Limited Release] Customer Reviews

First off, this is NOT an audiophile review. I am reviewing this release from a purely aesthetic point of view. This stereo RUBBER SOUL mini LP SHM-CD is quite nice. The laminated mini LP cover is excellent. Overall, it's visually identical to the Mono Box version. What caused me to deduct a star from my review is the one flaw many of the mini LPs in this set unfortunately feature. When looking at the album from the back cover, it is apparent that the folded flipback flaps were not glued as flawlessly as the mono counterpart. A slight misalignment causes gaps in the corners and a spine that just isn't as perfect as the mono version. Not a major drawback, but disappointing nonetheless. On a positive note, this encore release features a resealable outer sleeve with a blue sticker (as opposed to the 1st pressing red sticker), a nice OBI, the 2009 booklet identical to the one released with the digipak version, and an additional booklet with song lyrics in English. Also included is a rice paper sleeve and the reproduced paper sleeve to house the disc itself, as it was with the original UK-released album. The actual disc features a reproduced PARLOPHONE lable. Overall, a good collectable.

Rubber Soul , like all of the other 2014 BEATLES Japanese SHM-CDS look and sound amazing. There are NO defects on the packaging. Yes , they are made of card board but they are double or more folded with the usual plastic / paper inserts. The CDS do not fall out easily at all. All of the double albums are folded even more. You get all of the ordinal LP goodies in mini LP size. That is a real bonus for mini LPS like The BEATLES [The White Album] and Sargent Peppers. As for the sound , it is nothing short of incredible and they sound much better than the 2009 remasters. Beware of some people who write that they didn't even like the 2009 remasters. These Japanese SHM-CDS are louder , cleaner and clearer than the 2009 remasters which I really liked but these do sound much better. Just try 1 on these BEATLES SHM-CDS and find out for yourself.

Let us admit it: many of us buy mini-LPs not for the music that we often know by heart and love. We pay top dollar for Japan mini-LPs because just looking at the faithfully reproduced replicas of the original LP covers or holding them in our hands is a trip down memory lane. Sure enough we expect Japanese quality from these products and actually rarely get disappointed. Alas, this is not the case at all with seven of these Beatles mini-LPs. I am not reviewing the sound quality here as I fully concur with Mathias Netzker's professional opinion on the RS, SPLHCB, and AR editions: "They used the same bass heavy and compressed digtal 2009 Remasters. The only differences I could find out, is that this SHM-CD is louder than the Standard CD". It is not my intention to review the SHM format, either. If it is the same 2009 remastering, this is what you get. The SHM sound quality improvements are miniscule at best. The real disappointment is the flipback covers for Please Please Me, With The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Yellow Submarine. All of these sleeves are poorly folded and glued, which results in gaps at the corners and misplaced spines. One can actually read the name of the artist and the album title printed on the spine when looking straight at the front of the cover. Both the original and encore releases have this defect that is hidden behind the obi. Just take the mini-lp out of the plastic sleeve and obi and see for yourself what I am talking about. It is hard to believe that these mini-LPs are made in Japan and I wonder if Universal Music outsourced the manufacturing to another country. In contrast, the Japanese-made cardboard sleeves in The Beatles in Mono box set (2009) are flawless. The non-flipback covers for Abbey Road and Let It Be are fine, and so are the gatefold sleeves of The Beatles for Sale, SPLHCB, Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles (White Album), and Past Masters. In conclusion, the mini-LP covers for Please Please Me, With The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Yellow Submarine are defective. Sound-wise, all of these CDs are identical with the regular 2009 remasters in digipack that are available from Amazon Marketplace for $4-6 apiece + S&H.

Do not get me wrong, this is a High Quality pressed CD with a nice Papersleeve, but nothing more! I have compared it back to back with the 2009 Standard CD and this CD is bit identical. SHM adds nothing to the soundquality. They used the same bass heavy and compressed digtal 2009 Remasters. The only differences I could find out, is that this SHM-CD is louder than the Standard CD. I do not understand what the fuzz is all about, since it is still a 16 Bit Redbook CD. If they had released it as SHM-SACD or Blu-Ray Audio or even DSD Flat Transfer CD using HR Cutting, this would be something else! I am a High End nuts and Musician with fine tuned and trained ears and I really can not hear any improvement.

ANOTHER EXCELLENT SHM CD! BEATS 2009 CD BY A WIDE MARGIN,CLEANER,MORE AIR AROUND INSTRUMENTS,MORE ANALOG IN THE BEST SENSE OF THE TERM!IT JUST SHOWS AFTER ALL THEASE YEARS HOW GOOD CD CAN SOUND,ITS TRANSPARENT ENOUGH TO SHOW DIFFERENCES IN DISC MANUFACTURE TYPES,REMASTERING,ETC., ON MY SACD PLAYER THE SACD LAYER OF A HYBRID DISC ALLWAYS SOUNDS BETTER,BUT MANY CDS LIKE THEASE SOUND BETTER THAN SACDS! ONE REASON I THINK THE PLATINUM SHM CDS HAVE RECIEVED MIXED REVIEWS IS TWOFOLD,FIRSTLY MAKING A DSD MASTER IS GOOD FOR SACD,BUT FOR CD,IT HAS TO BE CONVERTED BACK TO PCM! A LOSS IN SOUND,FLAT TRANSFERS CAN BEEB OK,BUT MOST REMASTERS ARE SUPERB AND BENEFIT FROM SHM FORMAT,SOME SHMS HAVE BEEN REMASTERED AGAIN IN JAPAN AND SOME SOUND DULLER IN TOP END,WHEN ORIGINAL REMASTER WAS ALLREADY SUPERB! ONE EXAMPLE,ROD STEWARTS EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY,SHM SOUNDS DULLER IN TREBLE,FLAT TRANSFER PLAT-SHM,LESS DULL,BUT A LOT LESS LEVEL,AN AMARERICAN GREATEST HITS VERSION WITH SOME SAME TRAKS ON BEETS ALL VERSIONS FOR SOUND!BUY THIS CD ITS BRILLIANT!!!