Depeche Mode 101 "unofficial" release?

Hi there.
I own this CD:


The barcode is the same.
I’ve found that in the inner side (when you open it), there’s a separate “cover image” - the one which is mostly seen/known (the image with posters).
Now… my CD ID is being matched to two other releases (US and GB), so how should I proceed here?
I think I should add my CD’s ID to the release from FR with the “all black” cover… correct?
Furthermore: what’s the right cover?
And is it really an “unofficial” release?
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Some things that might be helpful:

  • Ignore what exact version the DiscID is matching it to. DiscID’s that were added before a certain date were attached to every release in a group.
  • If the matrix on your CD’s looks like the one on Discogs (1001-000121-03) then it looks like a bootleg/home burnt release.
  • The correct front cover is what you see on the front of your release.

Only if it matches exactly. The back cover on this FR release differs from the Discogs one notably. If yours looks different in any way add a new release :slight_smile:

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Where do I find the matrix exactly?

I see a black cover with “Depeche Mode 101” written in the bottom part - like the French release. But when you open it up, there’s a separate “inlay” which is exactly the picture of the original release (the picture with the posters on the wall).

This FR release has exactly the back cover which my copy has! So it is the same, I’d say… ?!

I’ve found on the CD the URL www.takt.eu - which is some Russian site, but I need first to know about the matrix codes.
I’ve looked at the central part of the first CD and I can read:
www.takt.eu
2100003396983
8417772

On the transparent inner part this:
PI-9R23

Any help?

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That is the tiny text in the central hub of the CD. Sometimes you need a microscope to read it. The text at the end of your post is “the matrix details”. It signifies exact pressing details, manufacturing plant, CD master and a whole other extreme world of OCD details of precisely when and where that physical CD was created.

If the shrink wrapped product had this at the front, then it is the original cover. If you bought the CD second hand you will never really know which was the cover.

MB sees the “front” as what you saw when you picked it up new the first time. With something like the classic original vinyl of Wish You Were Here that means the real front is the black shrink wrap.

And be careful at misreading the www.takt.eu website as that would be seen as insulting. It is Polish. https://musicbrainz.org/label/7cc2a2d9-0c69-4570-8f6b-e4fec74735f1
\ https://www.discogs.com/label/289411-wwwtakteu

1 Like