The Seatbelts – Cowboy Bebop

I have the MICA releases of the first three Cowboy Bebop soundtrack CDs with discs and inserts in pristine condition. Message me if interested.

SQ is solid but it does not include “The Real Folk Blues” (end credits song) and that makes all of these variants a complete failure IMO.

Dramatically quieter than the translucent sparkly versions. Side B is noticeably better than other editions.

Maybe I lucked out but not much surface noise, cosmos had the most surface noise, waltz for zizi is a slower song so the surface noise was a bit annoying there too but nowhere near cosmos, space lion and rain both sound amazing too

Lot of surface noise but overall, the music sounds great. I think by far the ugliest edition, but it was also the cheapest so I can't complain too much. Brown vinyl never looks good IMO.

Got this today after waiting about a month for it to arrive. Sounds great, but just one question, did anyone else get both purple instead of purple and red?

I dont know if I'm the only one, but both my LPs are purple, instead of 1 purple and 1 red. otherwise the Record sounds fantastic, no buzz or anything. Absolutetly worth it!

Love this soundtrack and had wanted a copy for quite a while but wasn't willing to pay the crazy amounts found on Ebay or Amazon. Luckily a great deal came up on Ebay from a reputable seller.
Great purchase. I have always loved jazz and happened upon Tank on YouTube and loved it. A diverse album with outstanding musicianship. The LPs themselves are pressed perfectly and the sound quality is top notch. Well worth the purchase.
Yes, I did go and watch the anime on YouTube and thought it was pretty cool. Not as great as it's soundtrack but a lot of fun.

I preordered this as "Seatbelts: Cowboy Bebop (Original Series Soundtrack) (Limited Edition) (LP1: Swordfish II Red Vinyl / LP2: Red Tail Purple Vinyl)" on 2022-01-24 and got this release delivered on 2022-03-18. After clarifying with the shop, the description of the article was changed to "Seatbelts: Filmmusik: Cowboy Bebop (Original Series Soundtrack) (Limited Edition) (Light Purple Marbled Vinyl)"

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/poprock/detail/-/art/seatbelts-cowboy-bebop/hnum/10269978

Finally mine arrives.
To not mince words Ill just say that this is simply a way to collect Bebop material and listen to the music on vinyl. One should not go in expecting some revelation in terms of sound or visual design.
My first gripe since day 1 has always been the rather unimaginative artwork. It does not reflect the show very well and does not work as a display piece. It may be by the original creator but thats a weak defense.
Its also a real shame Green Bird is nowhere to be found.
Soundwise theres nothing particularly wrong here, and sometimes its rather good on the simpler tracks. But the complex orchestrations feel pretty congested, 2D and lackluster in terms of remastering. Much more care could have been put in highlighting and staging the performances to make a convincing and realistic soundscape. This seems to me largely like a CD pressed to vinyl almost directly. There are few exceptions, particularly on Side D, which is a bit better but the set certainly doesnt start off with great impressions.
It does have decent bass and highs, its just how its all arranged and used that is a bit disappointment when compared to other great Jazz recordings and pressings.
The pressing is quite decent for me however with low surface noise and the odd pop here and there mostly. But those rough card inners should really be lined with plastic if intended to be used.
In the end its nice to have as a fan, but what puts it into perspective best I think is that Id rather have the bootleg for its nicer cover and likely similar sound.

Equipment Used:
Technics SL-1210GR Turntable
ATVM95ML Cartridge
Cyrus 2 Amplifier
System Fidelity SF-3050 Tower Speakers