New Virtual XI collector's edition

DJ James

DJ James

A coma stole my name.
This is an email amazon sent me,

'Dear Amazon.com Customer,

Customers who have purchased or rated music by Iron Maiden might like to know that Virtual XI will be released on August 29, 2011.  You can pre-order yours by following the link below

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00002 ... 960_snp_dp

Contains: Very Limited Edition 3d Linticular Front Cover + A 16 Page Booklet'

I might just get this, Virtual wasn't one my favorites. All this collectors stuff seems like a plus!
 
Sounds fishy. Why would there be a stand-alone collector's edition of an album released with no official acknowledgement whatsoever?

The first pressing did indeed have a 3D lenticular cover (same as Rock in Rio, incidentally), however it is now very rare. I'm assuming that it does not have a different booklet than the standard edition, and that is exactly 16 pages thick. Two possibilities spring to mind on this one. Either someone at Amazon found an old box of original first pressings and is now offering them as collector's editions, or this is a bootleg of the first pressing.
 
I really don't know, amazon randomly sent me this letter. So I'm pretty sure it's legitimate.
 
Now just because Amazon sent you that, doesn't make it legit. For awhile they were selling a fake new Dream Theater album called "Welcome Reality".
 
Mosh said:
Now just because Amazon sent you that, doesn't make it legit. For awhile they were selling a fake new Dream Theater album called "Welcome Reality".
Click to expand...

Wow, I'll wait til' someone buys it then they'll tell me if it's real or not. By the way someone tell me how many Maiden remasters were made.
 
How many albums were remastered? Or how many times did they remaster the albums? Well, everything up to Virtual has been remastered quite a few times. I personally can't tell the difference between any of them but I'm sure some of the audiophiles on here could explain that. The remasters that are out now come with sleeves. There are some remasters that don't though. Some remasters have a bonus 2nd disc with b-sides on them I think. But these are rare, I've never seen one and I'm not sure as to whether or not Amazon would have them.
 
Well, I have the Powerslave and Somewhere in Time remasters and I put them together side by side and it makes a picture but I need more remasters to see the full picture. (By the way I mean the 02 remasters.)
 
Ahh. You want the eddie picture.

Iron Maiden
Killers
Number of the Beast
Piece of Mind
Powerslave
Live After Death
Somewhere in Time
Seventh Son
No Prayer
Fear of the Dark
Live at Donnington
A Real Live Dead One
X Factor
Virtual XI

I think that's all of them.
 
I have a full set of remasters that completes the Eddie picture on the spines.

It includes these albums...

Iron Maiden
Killers
Number Of The Beast
Piece Of Mind
Powerslave
Live After Death
Somewhere In Time
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
No Prayer For The Dying
Fear Of The Dark
Live At Donnington
A Real Live Dead One

The Bayley era discs are not part of my set and I have the full picture.

BTW, I have never heard anything about The X Factor or Virtual IX ever getting a remaster...
 
OK, thanks guys. I'm getting PoM and LaD soon... But I'm not sure if Live after Death is the remaster.
 
Yea they did get remasters. But the picture just adds to the wall.
 
Thats news to me aswell, ive got the full eddie picture - Real live dead one, but my x factor and virtual xi just have their standard sides. I suppose its not a big loss though with it just being the wall.
 
Mosh said:
Yea they did get remasters. But the picture just adds to the wall.
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I've never seen/heard of those two getting remasters, I was of the impression it was everything from Iron Maiden - Donnington 1992
Even the copies of TXF and VXI I see in shops now are the original ones without the Eddie picture
Tron said:
Thats news to me aswell, ive got the full eddie picture - Real live dead one, but my x factor and virtual xi just have their standard sides. I suppose its not a big loss though with it just being the wall.
Click to expand...

Indeed.
The 'Eddies Head' box set incudes all the remasters and it has no X Factor or Virtual XI
Plus consider those remasters (with the Eddie face) were in 1998 - remastering Virtual XI would be pointless as it only came out that same year, and TXF just three years prior
 
Perun said:
Sounds fishy. Why would there be a stand-alone collector's edition of an album released with no official acknowledgement whatsoever?

The first pressing did indeed have a 3D lenticular cover (same as Rock in Rio, incidentally), however it is now very rare. I'm assuming that it does not have a different booklet than the standard edition, and that is exactly 16 pages thick.
Click to expand...
Precisely what I thought. My version of Virtual XI is exactly what is described here - a 3D lenticular cover and a 16 page booklet. Point of note, I would have purchased Virtual XI within weeks of it's release, so it stands to reason I would have got the first pressing.

Perun said:
Two possibilities spring to mind on this one. Either someone at Amazon found an old box of original first pressings and is now offering them as collector's editions, or this is a bootleg of the first pressing.
Click to expand...
Unless it can be proven otherwise, Perun's suggestion is spot on.
Actually, to elaborate further on this - the lenticular cover is not presented in the same way as in Rock in Rio. The 3D cover on Virtual XI is a square card that fits into the CD jewel case between the booklet and the case itself. In Rock in Rio it's a cover to envelope the whole jewel case.
 
The Eddie's Head set (or the one I'm looking at!) definitely lacks XF & Virtual XI --12 cases (15 discs; three live sets with two discs each).

But why would Harris not remaster the two Blaze-era albums in 1998, if they were remastering the whole back catalogue? There are plenty of people selling copies of XF on Amazon and eBay stating "1998" as the release date. Fair enough Virtual XI is a little confusing, having just been released. Pretty sure they were both remastered though. What they have on the spine (face/wall or not) I don't know.
 
The X Factor did indeed get a remaster very soon after its release, and even before the Eddie's Head box set was released. Virtual XI never got remastered to my knowledge. And neither album is in any way affiliated with the 1998 reissues (the ones with the Eddie picture on their spine and the multimedia bonus). Take my word as a long-time Maiden collector and as someone who has seen dozens of other people's Maiden collections in person and on photographs. The 1998 Remasters include only the albums from Iron Maiden through Live at Donington. Any reissues or remasters of the Blaze-era albums have nothing to do with them.

And if you are still not convinced, just take a look at this ad:

11144.jpg
 
I bought one of those in 1998.  It's just a little cardboard cover type thing that sits in front of the normal booklet.  It's actually pretty cool.
 
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