Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile: Deviations 1

Is it really worth buying this release or should I just get the fragile instead?

Is this an instrumental & alternate take version of The Fragile? Why is it 4 LPs when The Fragile is 3 LPs? Please help!

Superb production. Everything you love about late 90s NIN, distilled into concentrate, and overdosed, yet interwoven by serene, celestial interstitia. It's indulgent, but that's what I come to vinyl for in the first place: Deep dive into an ocean of immersive detail. If you're the same, well here you go.

Pure perfection, both, in composition and production. It brings all the emotions that were intended by the artist straight to all your senses. Pressing is absolutely breathtakingly high quality. So much satisfaction from buying it and then getting your money worth in priceless experience.

Having just been lucky enough to find an ultrasonic cleaner I've been working through my records and have put this on in the first time in a while. Now don't get me wrong... this record didn't really need a clean, it was an amazing pressing already. But oh my god does this come cross like the movie score without needing the visuals. I totally forget just how breathtaking this pressing and its contents are. Forget if you know or like Nine Inch Nails, just give this a go if you like something that can be ambient, harsh, relaxed, aggressive, atmospheric and dark all at the same time.

If you're thinking about buying it though I would mirror what others are saying about the packaging. I bought mine on preorder and the sleeve just isn't up to task. So if the sleeve is showing as mint then maybe ask for photographic proof.

But overall, records should be judged by this pressing.

This pressing, like all of NIN's 2017 vinyl reissues, is damn near perfect sonically. Full and dynamic with almost no surface noise to speak of. The packaging, however, is a disaster. I had to buy 6 copies before I found one in mint condition. The sleeves are too tight to hold the LPs so they're very prone to crack and the cardboard is so thin that the spin creases like crazy when put into a mailer. All in all the packaging is not appropriate to hold 4 LPs and it's made worse by the fact that the cardboard isn't thick enough. It's also very minimal for the $80 list price. The LPs come in generic white sleeves and all that's inside is an 11"x11" piece of thick paper with the tracklisting on one side.