Dark (8) – Dark Round The Edges

I'm a little late to the party here- what exactly is the point of the weird baggie cover with lame artwork? Reminds me of a kids fantasy movie poster lol

Just got a copy of this. The vinyl was kinda scuffed on arrival with some marks, but once I had cleaned it and put it on my turntable I was pleasantly surprised. The surface noise/crackle was quite minimal and I only noticed two pops on side two. Sound was great too, and I loved the extras it came with. Well worth tracking down!

The long-awaited ultimate reissue of a true masterpiece... made with care and love. A bit like a dream coming true. Unfortunately it seems there were some issues at the factory regarding the pressing. My copy (bought new - and a previous one had already been returned) and two volumes of the Catalogue Raisonne have scratches and marks (even unwashable fingerprints), altering the listening experience. A pity that the manufacturing ruined a part of this beautiful project. Beyond this, artistically, my gratitude to Steve Giles and his fellows.

Sounds way better than the boot I have, the vocals are far less harsh. Excellent and complete package.

My record sounds pretty good, but the reproduction of the cover looks like a bad bootleg

Beautiful packaging, awesome booklet, but the pressing is terrible. Tons of surface noise. Washed the record like 3 times and theres still tons of surface noise, whooshing, and even a couple very loud pops. Visible defects can be seen all over the record such as scratches and dimples.

What can I say:
Long awaited, finally here. Sound is great.
Labels have been beautifully reproduced. Cover now printed as originally intended. Very elaborate edition. Very nice.
However, the LP had to be thoroughly cleaned first. Lots of crackling on first play (from the manufacturing process, pressing is otherwise good).
The cover isn't quite made like the original: Pockets on both sides. In the original, to my knowledge, the original back cover (with the girl) was just a single sheet, not a sleeve, the insert of the record in the front cover was inside towards the middle.
A little thing to mention.
The booklet is larger than the original, but that's not a disadvantage. It's also more voluminous, which is nice. Lots of information, lots of nice pictures.
The only downside in my opinion: The cover has a light blue/grey coloring and is a bit blurry. That's a little unfortunate.
All in all, a highly recommended edition.
(Not numbered).

My shortish review. This just arrived in the post today and have to say I'm impressed the pressing is silent and the dynamics are great. The wider package is great too including an hype outer-bag, booklet poster and gatefold made of heavy card to match the heavy music. A treat!

First ever accurate facsimile edition that reproduces one of the rarest 12 original gatefold sleeves including the original borders.

The front & back are printed the correct way round for the first time ever!
(every previous reissue is printed with the back cover as the front cover, imagine doing that with any other LP? Eg Black Sabbath , Hendrix or Led Zep ? There would be universal outrage.)

Mastered from the original Master Tapes at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, with Steve Giles & Ron Johnson supervising the Mastering.

Lacquers cut at Abbey Road.

The cover is exactly like the original, there is no added text, catalogue numbers or barcode.

20 page expanded booklet.

Printed Inner Sleeve with all tech data for the LP.

Printed 12" Insert.

Printed Outer Bag on Kraft Paper, with a new painted cover by legendary Sci Fi artist Mark Salwowski who worked on NEL book covers and Michael Moorcock books.

Extensive text and bio written by Steve Giles, Ron Johnson, Clive Thorneycroft, Martin Weaver, Tim Giles & Allan Bowley, the original engineer for Round The Edges.

Introduction to this series of Darks complete works is written by the Ex Director of the Canadian National Gallery, a leading Art Historian & World expert on Italian Renaissance Art, decorated by the Italian Government. This offers a unique perspective on Darks legacy, connecting Prog Rock to Fine Art, just like we always suspected...

Limited Edition.