I was very pleased to finally get my hands on RoBERT’s box set Premier Écrin, which I understand is limited to just 100 copies. I guess the main reason it’s so limited is because RoBERT had to sit and kiss 100 photographs to insert into the boxes. It’s that kind of personal touch which makes Premier Écrin so essential to a collection. Here’s my kiss from RoBERT:
A mwah pour moi! But aside from the kiss, the lovely box – écrin means box or case in English, but more like a jewellery box – is full of gems and is incredibly great value. I knew that there would be some items in the box that I already had in my collection but in fact it turns out that even the CD albums are for the most part different versions to the ones I previously bought. For just 30 € you get the following:
- Sine CD – DEA 2001 reissue with 2 bonus tracks and 3 videos
- Princesse de Rien CD – 2007 reissue with 3 bonus tracks, 13 instrumentals, RoBERT interviewed by Amélie Nothomb, 3 Karina Square versions of Princesse de Rien tracks
- Sourde et Aveugle CD – 2009 reissue, including 2 bonus tracks
- Aux Marches du Palais CD – 2012
- A CD single – either Sorry or Ange & Démon
- A Live Album – either Haute Couture (2007) or RoBERT live à la Cigale (2004)
Five albums, a CD single, a kissed photograph all in a lovely box for 30 € – how can you resist? If you’re lucky, you’ll still be able to buy Premier Écrin from RoBERT’s website, where you will also find some other bargains with items from just 1 €. I bought myself a set of the fanzines and a calendar and I’ve since ordered some more of the CD singles I hadn’t yet got. It’s not just about getting bargains, of course, it’s also important to remember that it’s better to buy directly from RoBERT’s website – send the money directly to the musicians and not to enormous online shops.
Aside from being delighted with my kiss, I have finally – finally! – managed to find the holy grail of RoBERT’s discography: the Karina Square version of Princesse de Rien (1997), which is the baroque version of the album before it was reissued with more of an electronic sound. Nothing wrong with the reissue version from 2000 at all but I had always preferred the baroque version and I’ve been looking for it since it was released, so impossible was it to find the CD even at the time of release. I have had to make do with a copied CD all these years but now I have an official copy in my collection and that makes me very happy indeed:
Expect another post about RoBERT soon, but in the meantime get yourself over to the RoBERT shop to buy some stuff or go to the RoBERT website to find out about RoBERT’s new collaboration, Plastic Art Noise – there will be a digital version of the album (Like Strangers Do) later this month and then the CD will be released at the end of April.
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