Saludos.

Bien, por lo descrito en tu consulta estoy casi seguro que NO has sido timado.

Mi copia tiene exactamente las mismas caracteristicas que la tuya. A menos que hayamos sido timados los dos. ;-)

Lo que si que es cierto es que este CD fue durante algun tiempo una de esas joyas inencontrables hasta que, segun tengo entendido, en algun almacen del Reino Unido aparecieron como una tonelada de copias olvidadas que alguien se encargo de poner a la venta en eBay.

Es mas, esa persona, ante las razonables dudas de los potenciales compradores, se encargaba de indicar claramente en la descripcion la legitimidad del producto ofertado.

La consecuencia ha sido que el titulo en cuestion ha pedido gran parte de su valor de antaño. Si antes nunca bajaba de los 100,00US$ ahora se consigue por menos de 50,00US$.

Espero haberte sido de ayuda.

Un saludo,

WALLGAU.

wallgau2, May 23, 2005; 10:50 PM

Muchas gracias Wallgau.
La verdad es que ahora me quedo más tranquilo, aunque todo eso de que aparezcan de repente cantidades industriales de un CD antaño buscadísimo suena a leyenda urbana, con todo lo que eso tiene de posible engaño.
Por cierto, ¿pertenece tu copia a la nueva remesa o, por el contrario, la adquiriste cuando se trataba de un CD imposible de encontrar?
Gracias otra vez.

angeldibujo, May 23, 2005; 11:24 PM

Angel,

I owned the same CD (FUSD 103) a couple of years ago, and like walgau, my copy was exactly the same as which you describe: single page insert with the movie's tagline printed on the back. However, one thing I noticed about my copy was very strange. I noticed that there was a fingerprint on the label side of the disc (the top of the disc where the graphics are printed...the non-playing side), and when I tried to wipe the fingerprint off with a tissue (the same type of tissue that I always use on my CDs, without negative consequence), a permanent mark was left on the surface of the disc! Not only was the fingerprint permanent and unremovable, but each time I wiped the disc, another permanent mark was left. It was very frustrating, almost as if there was a sticky, gooey substance on the top of the disc...like the disc was melting! I thought that perhaps the disc was beginning to deteriorate due to the heat or old age or something, but I was dumbfounded as to the actual cause of the phenomenon. I ended up cleaning the surface of the disc with rubbing alcohol in order to get the "sticky surface" off. I was able to remove the sticky surface, and of course the CD played fine on my CD player since the damage was only on the "label side" of the disc, but visually it looked absolutely horrific because the rubbing alcohol left permanent marks on the disc when it dried.

The seller graciously allowed me to return the CD, and sent me another copy to replace the "defective" one (she told me that she had acquired AN ENTIRE BOX FULL of them, but she wouldn't tell me how she got them...I thought that was very suspicious). But the replacement CD exhibited the same exact problem as the first disc! I eventually ended up selling the second copy that I received on eBay because I did not like the fact that the CD could be damaged so easily (and also because, in my opinion, the score was not as good as I'd hoped).

Anyways, about a year after that incident, I purchased a copy of the "A Fish Called Wanda" soundtrack CD, this time from a reputable online soundtrack retailer, and the SAME EXACT THING happened again! I could not believe it! Each time I rubbed the surface of the top of the disc, a permanent mark was left because the surface was "sticky." It was like the surface of the disc was melting and therefore sensitive to being damaged at the slightest touch. Needless to say, I sold that copy and eventually got another CD pressing that was produced by a different record label, luckily this time avoiding the messy disc problem.

I wonder if you've noticed the same problem with your copy of THE BLOB soundtrack CD. If not, I emplore you to refrain from wiping the surface of the label side of the disc, because the same unfortunate fate may befall you. If you are curious, just wipe a tiny part of the outside of the disc so as not to cause too much irreparable damage. At any rate, your CD is probably an authentic factory pressing, as released by Filmtrax, although as you mentioned, the production quality is quite low. As for whether or not the THE BLOB soundtrack CD that was released by Filmtrax is an officially licensed product, endorsed and/or produced by the parties whom have vested interest in the copyrights (in other words, is it just a handsome bootleg?), I could not say.

Sincerely,

Your amigo in cyberspace...

American.Nightmare, May 24, 2005; 3:05 AM

Hi American Nightmare!

It's funny (and worrying), but the same damned nightmare has happened to me trying to clean the sticky surface of my copy of "The Blob" (first a tissue, then alcohol, and finally the smoothest tissue again). At the end I've been able to remove that disgusting texture, but as a result of that, the printed surface has been permanently damaged (nothing really unbearable, but definitively annoying); lucky enough, all the featured text --themes, label, etc.-- remains intact.

I'm glad that the cleaning operation doesn't affect the playable side of the disc, which is in perfect condition and doesn't have that sticky touch, but I burst in anger every time I remember the painful moment of cleaning the disc. Arrrgggg!!!

I don't know what to think. Anyway, I encourage everyone having suffer the same case to tell it here.

"The curse of the sticky CD surfaces"...

angeldibujo, May 24, 2005; 7:10 AM

Wow. That's crazy that you had the same problem. Maybe it was a defective pressing or something? I wonder what causes this to happen to some CDs and not others? Please...does anybody know what causes this frustrating phenomenon?

American.Nightmare, May 24, 2005; 7:24 AM

The sticky surface is a well known problem. The CD was pressed by Nimbus in the UK and back in the late 80ies they had some problems with their CD-coatings. Some CDs in my collection (e.g. Red Heat, Willow, The Blob or Arnold Bax Filmmusic) are sticky.

There is nothing you can do against it. Don't try to clean the CDs with water. I did so with my "Red Heat"-CD and the whole surface went off. Luckily, I had two copies of this CD.



sjania, May 24, 2005; 1:46 PM

Hello,

First, my Blob copy is exactly the same and does have that sticky surface.

Second, the worst thing that can happen to CDs is the "disc rot" problem. None of my soundtrack CDs have this yet, but a lot of CDs that were manufactured by the english pressing plant "PDO" in the early 90's (and some others) have it.

First, the edges on the label side change to a bronze color. Then, the "bronzing" grows towards the inside. Slowly, the tracks begin to skip, starting with the last one. Eventually, the disc will end up "dead"...

I hope not too many of you encountered this problem...

Best,
Burnie

P.S. Sorry for shifting off topic


blinddoc, May 24, 2005; 3:16 PM

Saludos de nuevo, Angeldibujo.

Vaya, parece que tu consulta ha derivado hacia un misterio en toda regla.

Espoleado por los comentarios de otros usuarios decidi echar un vistazo al asunto del superficie pegajosa (algo de lo que no me habia dado cuenta).

Deje una huella y luego intente limpiarla y entonces ¡¡¡arghhh!!!, justo lo que comentaban, la suciedad no desaparece sino que empeora. Me recuerda al famoso articulo de broma ese del jabon que cuanto mas te frotas las manos mas te manchas. :)

La respuesta que te dio AmericanNightmare viene a confirmar lo que yo tenia entendido y juraria que los dos lo conseguimos del mismo vendedor de eBay (en este caso, una vendedora) que consiguio una buena remesa.

Hay otro detalle que creo termina de confirmar la autenticidad del CD.

Recorde que tenia otra BSO de la casa FILMTRAX, en este caso la de "AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE", y por lo que he podido comprobar el tipo de impresion en el circulo central es igual, incluido lo de "mastered by nimbus".

Sin embargo, este titulo no padece el sindrome de la superficie pegajosa. Supongo que al ser un CD fabricado en los 90 ya habian solucionado lo que fuera que causaba el problema (el CD de THE BLOB es de los 80).

Un placer ser de ayuda.

Saludos cordiales,

WALLGAU.

wallgau2, May 26, 2005; 12:31 AM

I would advise never to touch the surface of the disc again.
The enamel coding on the disc is either weak or wasn't applied on while the disc was in manufacture. I have discovered this same problem on the label side surface of the soundtrack to Hiding Out. Even lint or hair would stick to the surface and if you try to wipe it...ouch! I have had 2 copies and they where both like this, now I only have one copy in my collection.

aclockwork_oranges71, May 30, 2005; 5:16 AM