Half a Person LP

[Cowshed]

I recently found this LP in a old record store, and was wondering - is it very valuable? How much would be a reasonable price to pay for it?

I found the below info from Passions:
"An unlicensed triple-LP set was put together in Germany in 1988, combining the Portuguese pressings of the albums "The Smiths", "Meat Is Murder" and "The World Won't Listen". The set was titled HALF A PERSON, housed in a unique sleeve and found mostly in Germany and other European countries.
(Portugal Transmedia, 3-LP: 12006)."

 

[fastpulseboy]

Maybe real obsessed smiths fans would pay a lot for it...I would really be suprised if I found the thing (If I knew it wasn't a bootleg) But I won't pay too much for it, being happy with all the "official" releases.

 

[Uncleskinny]

There's two versions - from memory, one was Half a Person and the other was How Soon Is Now (I think) - one in a reddish cover and the other bluish. They are kind of rare, I sold mine a couple of years ago. What really lets them down is the shoddy packaging. They cram three vinyl LPs into one sleeve - I've seen a few of these now and the sleeves have all started to fall apart. If yours is in good nick, then well done for finding one of the rare good condition ones. They don't crop up very often on Ebay, but I think they go for about £20 per 3-LP set.

Peter

 

[portisphish]

I just purchased both of these sets from E-bay. Half A Person and How Soon is Now. I collect for the sound. I am after the best pressings of my favorite artists. For the Smiths, this happens to be the original rough trade vinyl releases. I believe some of the vinyl in these two sets are original rough trade releases. For example, The Queen is Dead has ROUGH96 A1/B1 in the deadwax. Hateful, on the other hand has TM/RT 76 A1/B1 in the deadwax, which leads me to believe this is a transmedia release. They all have hand-etched dates in the deadwax as well. I think the sound is excellent on these pressings. I compared Meat is Murder from this set with my Sire US pressing, and it wasn't close. The box set LP was far superioir. I don't yet have original rough trade vinyls of the LP's, so I can't say for sure, but I definitely recomend these 3 LP sets for the smiths vinyl lovers. I will second that the packaging is atrocious. I am looking to find some beat up vinyl with nice covers of these 6 releases, and store them that way. Anyone have some decent covers they want to sell?

 

[Stephane]

The records in those sets are all Portuguese pressings. If you want the best sound on vinyl, get the Japanese pressings.

Stephane

 

[Young And Alive]

That's the story of my life...

 

[portisphish]

The records in those sets are all Portuguese pressings. If you want the best sound on vinyl, get the Japanese pressings.

Stephane

How do you know these are portuguese pressings? I know it was released in portugal, but isn't it possible that they released UK versions with this set. The matrix information I posted above is what's confusing me.

I know the Japanese are notorious for EQ'ing the mixes on their vinyl releases. Excellent quality vinyl, usually though. One day I'll compare some original rough trades with their Japanese counterparts.

Oh, and btw....Your site has been very helpful, Stephane...thank-you.

 

[plug]

The pressings were of very poor quality, I still have them in the loft somewhere....They didn't get close to the quality of the original pressings...also the inner sleeves were a kind of celophane/Clingfilm type arrangement...Only for the real collector I would say

 

[portisphish]

The pressings were of very poor quality, I still have them in the loft somewhere....They didn't get close to the quality of the original pressings...also the inner sleeves were a kind of celophane/Clingfilm type arrangement...Only for the real collector I would say

This is hard for me to believe. I have an original Meat is Murder on the way, so I will be able to compare for myself, but as I mentioned earlier the Meat is Murder from my set blows away the Sire pressing. Yes, I know the US pressings leave a lot to be desired, but still. The instruments are all well defined, much more bass, and a much more powerful feel. Morrisey's voice clear and upfront in the mix. Dead quiet vinyl. I don't know how much better it can get. I'll report back with my findings once I take a listen to the original when it arrives. Yes, the whole packaging leaves much to be desired...you are correct on that one.

 

[portisphish]

Here's a link to the queen is dead page from Stephane's site. http://www.passionsjustlikemine.com/disc/smiths-d23tqid.htm

Only the UK and The Portugal releases list a catalog number of ROUGH96. Now, I'm not an expert on record pressing plants in portugal in the mid 80's, but why are these the only two countries that have the lp with ROUGH96?

 

[burnedmind]

Like Stephane said,
If you listen to the Roxy Music record "Avalon" the Japanese pressing is the best sounding and must sought after...
As goes for mant records...

 

[Stephane]

How do you know these are portuguese pressings?

Because I own the 3-LP set, the Portuguese LPs and the UK LPS.

I know it was released in portugal, but isn't it possible that they released UK versions with this set.

The set was actually released in Germany for distribution over Europe, using leftover Portuguese pressings.

Don't be fooled by the catalog numbers, some European countries sometimes used the UK catalog number, or something very similar. As for "The Queen Is Dead", the UK label is green while the Portuguese label is pink/purple. The portuguese pressing doesn't have the "Fear Of Manchester" / "Them was rotten days" etching, just the catalog number.

 

[portisphish]

Thanks for the info Stephane. I look forward to the day when I can compare these pressings for myself.

 

[marred]

I just purchased both of these sets from E-bay. Half A Person and How Soon is Now. I collect for the sound. I am after the best pressings of my favorite artists. For the Smiths, this happens to be the original rough trade vinyl releases. I believe some of the vinyl in these two sets are original rough trade releases. For example, The Queen is Dead has ROUGH96 A1/B1 in the deadwax. Hateful, on the other hand has TM/RT 76 A1/B1 in the deadwax, which leads me to believe this is a transmedia release. They all have hand-etched dates in the deadwax as well. I think the sound is excellent on these pressings. I compared Meat is Murder from this set with my Sire US pressing, and it wasn't close. The box set LP was far superioir. I don't yet have original rough trade vinyls of the LP's, so I can't say for sure, but I definitely recomend these 3 LP sets for the smiths vinyl lovers. I will second that the packaging is atrocious. I am looking to find some beat up vinyl with nice covers of these 6 releases, and store them that way. Anyone have some decent covers they want to sell?

well then how about putting up a pic of it se we know what we're talking about?

 

[portisphish]

well then how about putting up a pic of it se we know what we're talking about?

What do you want to see? The deadwax information I posted, or the label, or what?

 

[marred]

What do you want to see? The deadwax information I posted, or the label, or what?

Oh so does it not have sleeve artwork then?

 

[portisphish]

No...they stuff three LP's into a slightly oversised cover....horrible packaging!