Achtung Baby question

[alia612]

I'm not sure if this is the proper place to post this in, but I'll try.

Anyway, my older brother's copy of Achtung Baby was bought brand-new. It is in a cardboard fold-out sleeve. My copy of Achtung Baby was bought used and is in a regular jewel case.

Are both of these legitimate copies of the album? Why was it put out in two different styles of packaging?

Thanks

 

[Bonochick]

I have a copy in the jewel case and one in the cardboard foldout package. They are both official. As to why they were both released... To just offer things up differently?

 

[alia612]

Okay, thanks!

 

[womanfish]

Definitely both official.
I remember at that time that some artists started to distribute CD's with just the cardboard, and I think it was environmentally motivated. Remember the Alternative NRG album with U2 on it? It was only distributed in the cardboard.

 

[Michael Griffiths]

My Achtung Baby is in a *white*case instead of black. It looks sooo much better, too. Goes so well with the colours and art work. Gives it a kind of fresh look.

 

[Schmeg]

I saw the cardboard case in the used bins at Strawberries' a few weeks ago for $6. It was gone a few days later when I made up my mind to get it. I wish I had picked it up.

 

[hibricc]

As an old man who remembers the transition from vinyl to CDs, I can comment on this. When CD sales reached critical mass back in the late '80s, record stores were reluctant to re-fit their 12" deep bins to fit the new smaller CDs. So record companies were packaging CD jewel cases in a second outer cardboard package that was (you guessed it) 12" tall, so it could stand up in the existing retail bins. So when you bought a CD, the first thing you did was open up this cardboard box (the "longbox") and throw it away. Well, environmentally minded artists started complaining to their record companies about the waste, so some labels introduced the EcoPak, a mostly cardboard CD holder that folded over itself to enclose the CD. If I remember correctly, when originally sold, the EcoPak had plastic spines attached to it for stand-up stability, and the whole thing came shrink-wrapped. So the only part that was thrown away was the plastic wrap and the spines. And hey, the EcoPak itself was recyclable! (Of course, you wouldn't have the liner notes and artwork anymore.)
There was a retail battle between jewel box cases and EcoPaks going on right around the release of Achtung Baby, which was available in both packages, depending on the retailer (forward-thinking retailers converted their bins and sold the jewelboxes, while others carried the EcoPaks). We all know who won in the end.

 

[a-mole]

too bad.. because I actually love the EcoPaks
I am always happy when I get a cd in one of those.. dunno, I think they rock