Greg X. Volz - The River Is Rising

[p-freak]

I recently bought this album on CD, but I'm a bit suspicious. It was sealed when I got it, so I'd like to confirm authenticity of my copy.

There are two early issues. One is the digipak issue where the CD is pressed in Japan. And the other one is manufactured in the USA and comes in a normal jewel case. The one I bought is (hopefully) the second one. Is there anyone who has this original Myrrh jewel case release? Could you maybe share a scan / photograph of the actual CD with me? I'd like to confirm if my copy is legit.

[sue d.]

I have an original Myrrh copy.... I'll scan it for you tomorrow.

[brent]

CDs were only packaged in jewel cases when The River Is Rising was released. Digipacks are relatively recent.

I don't know if Greg licensed for Japanese markets or not. You could email Greg and see what he says.

[p-freak]

Thanks, Sue!

Sorry, Brent, but you're wrong there. Some of the earliest CD pressings for a few albums from the mid 80s were actually done in Japan. I have a digipak release of Back To The Street. The digipak was made in the US and the CD was pressed in Japan. This is actually the first release of Back To The Street. The same goes for the River Is Rising. It was released in a digipak that was made in the US, while the CD was pressed in Japan. I know there are also early CD releases of Beat The System and This Means War! (both in a normal jewel case though) where the CDs where pressed in Japan. That was when they didn't yet have a CD pressing factory in the US. So these CDs were made for the American market and have never been on sale in Japan.

[brent]

You are right about the pressings. In the beginning, the majority of the pressing plants were in Japan. That is where the CD was invented.

AGI didn't get the patent for the Digipak until 87. So, if you got a digipak before 87, it is not a real digipak, but some other thing that was likely part of another package, or you bought it after 87.

It wasn't until the mid 90s that major US retailers were accepting them, because they wanted the sticker on the top with the name and UPC code for merchandising and inventory scanning purposes. In fact, some retailers still do not accept them. Yes, you could get them of course, but they were not the norm, that is what I meant by "wdiely" accepted. In the USA, there was a retail standard for packaging. The first CDs were packaged in tall boxes to accommodate vendor LP shelving, in the jewel cases alone for revolving racks, etc.

Re: Japanese sale...Petra had a pretty good machine selling them. Japan is still a hard market to get into, but I do believe that they sold in Japan. I will ask. I know the guy that did international sales.

Here is a tidbit. The reason it is called the "red Book" format had nothing to do with the data, the laser or the dye. The man that developed it kept all of his design notes in a red notebook.