No, it's not Mad, no, it's not Japanese, and yes, I did actually pick this up at a retail store in the States! It is, however, an interesting special edition of One Direction's newest album, Four. This special edition of Four actually isn't based on the Ultimate Edition, strangely enough, but includes a copy of the regular edition of the album, and comes packaged with a perfume sample inside of a large slipcover that wraps around both pieces... exclusively at Walmart, to the best of my knowledge. (In my defense, it was the same price as a copy of the regular edition without the slip or the sample, and our special preorder of the Ultimate Edition still hasn't come in... eurgh.)
I can't say I was entirely pleased with this album, however. Whereas Take Me Home was a noticeable step up from Up All Night, and Midnight Memories was an even more noticeable step up from Take Me Home, One Direction seem to have settled a bit too comfortably into a formula out of the interesting experimentation they did on Midnight Memories. Outside of songs like Steal My Girl, Fireproof, No Control, and Stockholm Syndrome, the album isn't as, dare I say it, interesting as Midnight Memories is. That doesn't mean it's a bad album by any means, but it's a noticeable plateau rather than a step up.
The tracklisting is as follows:
2. Ready To Run
3. Where Do Broken Hearts Go
4. 18
5. Girl Almighty
6. Fool's Gold
7. Night Changes
8. No Control
9. Fireproof
10. Spaces
12. Clouds
Now to get down to what makes this edition special, beyond the slipcover: the perfume sample. This is actually where this edition becomes a disappointment, especially for the Directioners that this edition of the album is clearly geared towards; rather than being a sample of either of their newer "You & I" or "That Moment" perfumes, it's actually a sample of "Our Moment", their perfume released before Midnight Memories. Why not include one of the newer ones, when any Directioner who would be interested in picking up this edition would have already picked up "Our Moment" at some point? (Keep in mind, on the shrinkwrapping for this edition is a sticker indicating that a perfume sample is included, but it doesn't actually specify what perfume is included.)
The fragrance of disappointment...
If you want every edition possible of every physical release by One Direction, or you're a nut for slipcovers, I would tell you that you might as well go for it, but don't go for it if you otherwise think you're going to get anything truly special out of it. There aren't any of the Ultimate Edition's bonus tracks, nor are there any exclusive tracks to this edition, it's just the plain ol' jewel case edition packaged with an older perfume that most hardcore fans of One Direction would already have by now.
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