Meet Me In St. Louis - Variations On Swing

So, let's begin. This is the newest addition to my admittedly small collection, but there's a chance it's already one of my favourites. I first heard of MMISL when their former label (the wonderful Big Scary Monsters) put all of the MP3s for this album on their website for free for the second Meet Me In St Louis Day (24th September, for those interested). As a sucker for free albums, I downloaded it straight away and then was promptly met with itunes refusing to let me put most of the tracks into my library. A few months later, I finally got it in and swiftly fell in love. It's a fantastic album, and makes me wish so much that they hadn't split. As usual, I couldn't not own a physical version of an album that I enjoy so much. So when Denovali, who released the vinyl, reduced it to the excellent price of €6 I couldn't pass it up. It was released in January 2008 and limited to 500. Let's take a look at it.

The artwork looks utterly stunning. This picture doesn't quite do it justice, it's a lot more pinky than it looks. I could stare at it for hours.

There's a lovely two-sided insert. One side features a band picture and some obligatory thanks, the other side is a type-written lyric sheet. It's a nice inclusion.

Now, remember how I said it was limited to 500? Well, mine came with black dust sleeves and numbered 116/150. According to the Denovali release information, this is the pre-order version. I've got a pre-order version of an album that came out nearly 3 years ago. I'm not complaining.

THIS is why I got the vinyl instead of the CD (click it to see the image in a larger size, as with all of them). Wow. It's clear with a black splatter, and it looks utterly fantastic. Whoever chose these colours, well done. You chose brilliantly.

Just as a little extra point (and a level of detail I almost definitely won't go into again), the labels on this vinyl are excellent. They're designed to look like a collage of old film posters, and I really like that.

Overall, this is an excellently put together package for what is an awesome album. A big well done to everyone involved.