CDJapan is quick! I only paid for regular shipping, still my 7 Prince SHM CDs arrived in Austin in 4 days (usually takes about a week). Their deals are pretty good - you get a 500 yen (ca. $5) coupon for every order over $50 + bonus points (in this case ca. 700 yen / $6-7) that you can take off your next order. And for those who want their CDs delivered unharmed, see pics (note: old Burbank/Warner label on "For You" CD):

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They look amazing

They look great!

Oh, I want these now...

Is Lovesexy in one sequence?

What is an SHM CD ? Is that something like SACD ? Can you play them on a regular stereo system or a computer or do you need a special player?
Do those CDs sound better than American or Europan pressings ? I heard that Japanese CDs sound better because they print less CDs from one blueprint than in other countries.

That "For You" CD looks great! I do love the detail the Japanese market pays to releases.

SHM is just another way of selling the same old thing again, so don't believe the hype. It stands for Super High Material and is meant to yield better audio quality through a different kind of plastic being used for the CD. Total crap if you ask me! I don't see how this is possible at all, although it could have some bearing on the life of the CD (as in it lasting longer). You can play SHM discs on a standard CD player.

asma said:

yes it is

So they covered Prince's CDs from "For You " to "Lovesexy"?

I would just get these to have a miniture replicas of the original vinyl.
I wouldn't care too much about playing them or how they sound. The detail on these are INCREDIBLE!
[Edited 7/26/09 8:47am]

I'm in the UK. I ordered these from hmv.co.jp on Sat 25/07 and they were posted on Mon 27/07. The arrived yesterday, Thurs 30/07. Very quick!

The packaging is fantastic and so much cooler than I'd expected, even having seen the photos that others have posted. It takes me back to buying the albums as a kid - I got all excited and wanted to pop them into the CD player and blast them out for the first time in many years, whilst spending hours just soaking up the cover art.

I can't confirm if the audio is any different as I ripped all my Prince CDs ages ago and then did quite a lot of work to improve the quality using some very good audio tools on my computer. The original CDs are now in storage so I can't compare directly. However, I would say that these probably sound a little better better than the originals as the audio straight off these CDs seems more like how mine sounds having been worked on - just a bit denser. Nothing like Ultimate though.

Despite the fact that they are not re-mastered, I would say that anyone who remembers excitement and anticipation when buying the albums on vinyl back in the 80's is going to love having these, certainly a lot more than having the jewel-case versions that are more commonly available.

WOWZERS! I want all of those!

Thanks for posting the photos.