I am a huge Smiths fan and a collector of their songs, so naturally when i read about this i had to have it. Mixed reviews on different sites put me off a little, however i couldn't wait any longer and ordered it. On arrival i was initially really pleased. The box itself i actually thought was quite sturdy and looked good, but you can't remove the sticker from the front.
Inside the singles all come in individual covers recreated from the original singles and although they aren't perfect as they don't have the original catalogue numbers from Rough trade Records, they are well produced. There are also 2 rare singles and a poster thrown in, plus the box set itself is limited to 10,000 copies world wide - so when its gone its gone.
The only downside for me is that if you are a collector you'll have to buy both sets and at £30 a set that's a lot of money for what essentially is 10 singles that you probably already have. I also can't undestand why the Vinyl Box Set also gets free 320Kps MP3 downloads, 4 badges and is limited to only 7500 copies worldwide. Surely something else should be included in the CD box set in place of these items, or make it cheaper as the extra's in the Vinyl set make you feel like you've been a little ripped off. They don't make any of this clear in the information about it - So you have been warned !!
Saying that, there are still enough songs in the set to impress most collectors and even if you arent a collector, any Smiths fan would like this set. The songs are all remastered and sound amazing and i think it was their best period so all in all its a good box set..........but it could have been so much better.
