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Welcome
When this site went live (August 2006) the problem we faced was how were we going to fill up those huge screens people were starting to buy. They just kept getting bigger and bigger with better and better resolution.
How that's all changed in the last couple of years!
The challenge now is to accommodate big screens and ... tiny ones. The internet gurus told us we could send different pages etc to different "devices" depending on what the devices told us they were. The problem with this is that they don't all obey the rules.
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Welcome to the definitive English language resource for all things related to Mini LP Replica CDs.
The crème de la crème of mini paper sleeve LP replicas, and by far the largest selection in this site is the Japanese Mini LP CD.
Since mid 2007, our small team of dedicated enthusiast volunteers have uploaded near complete scans of more than 3,500 cardboard sleeve releases including over 400 official Japanese boxes and box sets. We have identified at least 13,000 Japanese Mini LP releases which we've recorded in our database and plan to build on this as new and old releases come to light.
Be sure to read our section on watching out for fakes. If you want to avoid fakes you can do no better than buy from one our known and trusted eBay sellers using our custom search. |
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A mini LP is a CD version of something that was originally released as a 12" (12 inch) vinyl LP.
In many cases the packaging is superior to, or at least more elaborate than the majority of vinyl releases. The reason being that many follow-up vinyl releases were inferior to the first vinyl release (or at least lacked some of the extras found in the first release - such as postcards, posters, lyric sheets etc).
They are often referred to as "cardboard sleeves" and "paper sleeves" being made exclusively from paper or cardboard (other than the CD of course). Other names and abbreviations include: "jpn lp sleeve cd" and "kami-jacket". (The last of these I guess is an indication that they are held in high esteem by many who collect them.)
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The term "promo box" is used generically to describe custom made boxes that are used to store Japanese mini LPs.
Disk Union
The majority of these boxes are created by a Japanese company "Disk Union" and they are truly promotional. They are "given away" as an incentive to people who purchase the entire set of a particular release. Each release is usually for one artist and also is usually on or around a specific date.
For example, Toshiba may release 10 mini LPs for a single artist over a period of a month or so (if not all on the same day). Disk Union purchase a set number of these and hold them in stock until the last is released. Meanwhile Disk Union create a special box using artwork usually based on, or directly derived from, one of the artist's releases. |
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The best way to spot a fake is to have an original and a fake side by side and compare them ... but of course we don't usually have this luxury and it's often too late before we realise.
The safest way to avoid buying a fake is to know what to look for.
The easiest way to avoid buying a fake (new and out of print) is to buy from one the numerous minilps.net verfied sellers on eBay. Our "Fake-free eBay shop" lists only releases from the major sellers that our community has checked out and confirmed as being legitimate releases. They are located in Japan, North America (USA and Canada), Western Europe (UK and Germany), Australia, China and Korea. Many of them stock current releases and ship locally for cheaper than Japanese rates.
Some recent significant fakes are the following boxes:
- Led Zeppelin 40th Anniversary Box
- Pink Floyd Oh By The Way Box
- Beatles in Mono
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Obi has a couple of meanings.
On this site it IS NOT an article of Japanese clothing (a sash or belt for securing and decorating a kimono).
On this site it is the small piece of paper included with a CD or LP usually wrapped around the left hand spine of the item. (See also promo obi.)
An obi strip is, for all intents and purposes, a disposable item. It provides information to the seller and to the buyer (mostly in Japanese) about the item being sold. Once the item has been sold to the consumer it is basically useless (it has served its purpose).
Although not strictly ephemera (disposable paper items such as postage stamps and cigarette and bubble gum cards), obis are collectable items in their own right.
To non-Japanese reading buyers, the dates on the obi provide an indication of when the item was made or became available. |
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Featured Releases (A selection of...)See all Featured Releases
UICY-93013-38 : 2006-03-16 2006 (reprinted at least once) release of Stones albums from the earliest days up to 1975. Does not include the early 70s releases. Each album included a collector card. The backs of the cards, when laid side by side, formed the cover image of "Their Satanic Majesties Request". |
VICP-5442,3,4 : 1994-09-21 | | |
Caroline-2008 : 2008-08-05 In late 2008 Caroline Records in the USA released a number of albums by the following artists: UFO, Jethro Tull, Quicksilver Messenger, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, The Raspberries, Kate Bush, Blondie, The Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Van Der Graaf Generator (full list below).
Unlike the suspect Universal releases these are 100% Japanese. The only difference between these and the Japanese (apart from being as much as 50% cheaper) is a sticker on the bar code of the obi.
As at March 2009 most of these are still available at Amazon. |
Die Cut Covers : Die cutting of the cover image or inserts is probably the most common technique employed to create gimmick covers. It's probably also in most cases the cheapest.
There are thousands of die cut covers. Here are a few of the more popular and best known releases.
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POCP-9194 to POCP-9208 & 9212/3 : 1999-09-29 The first edition of the first series of mini LPs for the Who (target obis) came with inserts that were pre-punched. A binder and T-Shirt accompanied the release. It is not clear how these were obtained but it seems likely that the small yellow coupon on the obi would have been snipped off and the folder at least was awarded on surrendering the full set of coupons. |
DU-BOX045 : 2005-09-28 Tarkus promo box and obis released to accompany the first K2 24 bit release of the first five ELP albums.
The artwork is darker than the album cover. It came with 6 promo obis, 2 for Trilogy.
Some of the images shown here include all but one of the Tarkus Mini LP releases spanning 1994 - 2008 | | |
See all Featured Releases
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News...
| Artist | Release ID | Format | Title | Release Date | News... |
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(Most of the following is based on info found online in the Papersleeve sections of CDJapan). | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30482 | Blu-spec CD2 (2) | Self Portrait | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and 2013 remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30484 | Blu-spec CD2 | New Morning | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30485 | Blu-spec CD2 (2) | Greatest Hits Vol.2 | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30487 | Blu-spec CD2 | Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and 2013 remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30488 | Blu-spec CD2 | Dylan | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and 2013 remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30489 | Blu-spec CD2 | Planet Waves | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30490 | Blu-spec CD2 (2) | Before The Flood | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30492 | Blu-spec CD2 | Blood On The Tracks | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30493 | Blu-spec CD2 (2) | The Basement Tapes | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." | Dylan, Bob | SICP-30495 | Blu-spec CD2 | Desire | 2014-04-23 | New release (due on 2014/04/23) | Cardboard sleeve reissue from Bob Dylan features the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest remastering. Comes with new liner notes. Part of a 14-album Bob Dylan cardboard sleeve reissue series features the albums "Self Portrait," "New Morning," "Greatest Hits Vol.2," "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Dylan," "Planet Waves," "Before The Flood," "Blood On The Tracks," "The Basement Tapes," "Desire," "Hard Rain," "Street Legal," "Bob Dylan At Budokan," and "Slow Train Coming." |
Most recent update...Click on the image to see details 
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