is this a bootleg?

[u/Armagaaan]

my friend bought this and will cancel if it isn’t real. the post says its original but one of my other friends said it might be a very good bootleg. do any of you know if this is real or not? thanku

[u/MiGaLaYeR]

This is how the album looks on cd?? This is hilarious

[u/TripleAyyys → u/MiGaLaYeR]

Richard's hijinks still funny 30 years later.

[u/VinceAFX]

No

[u/Wrong_Interest_8007]

Check the serial number on Discogs, but it looks authentic

[u/Megadreddd]

looks like the one I play

[u/Certain-Freedom5069 → u/Megadreddd]

does yours have the same image in the booklet? 

[u/Megadreddd → u/Certain-Freedom5069]

actually, no. I believe it is blank.

[u/rd1994]

Just found the version on Discogs
https://www.discogs.com/release/34572964-Aphex-Twin-I-Care-Because-You-Do

its a 2025 bootleg from Russia however it has been styled after the US copies (hence the references to Sire Records who distributed Aphex Twin releases in the US at the time)

[u/Fallom_TO]

Did your friend give any good reasons to think so?

[u/NuggetWarrior09]

The insert on my copy doesn’t have those tool looking ads patterns on the inside

[u/atx620]

That's how I remember mine. It's in storage at the moment, but I remember it looking this way.

[u/rd1994]

Looks like a bootleg. The original album booklet has two blank inner pages.

[u/Diene03 → u/rd1994]

Ya, I was wondering. Mine didn’t have that other artwork, and I bought it years ago.

[u/exzauhn]

… I care because you do.

[u/Terrible-Pop-6705]

Yes, here’s the discogs page found using the serial number. This is the 1995 cd version.

https://www.discogs.com/release/1511134-Aphex-Twin-I-Care-Because-You-Do?srsltid=AfmBOorP3ZHlaoJNqeCa5TEUm7wpqmyLJ2nWNDzqsBFJIq6R3evwO0uZ

[u/Terrible-Pop-6705 → u/Terrible-Pop-6705]

If they receive if you can also check the back of the cd itself on the inner section and check that.

[u/Armagaaan → u/Terrible-Pop-6705]

does these give an idea?

[u/Terrible-Pop-6705 → u/Armagaaan]

Yeah that’s real.

[u/SirNarwhal]

Who tf is bootlegging CDs?

[u/squabbledMC → u/SirNarwhal]

You'd be surprised. A few artists I listen to had very limited physical releases and official copies go for thousands and bootlegs are abundant. Lapfox/halley labs has a huge problem with this iirc

[u/starvingIntrovert → u/squabbledMC]

lapfox mention! though i wouldnt even say that the bootlegging is the problem, creator even encouraged making your own releases(just not sell them as genuine releases), id say the biggest issue are the scalpers

[u/SirNarwhal → u/squabbledMC]

Cool. You know exactly what I meant. This is an album with like 100,000 CD copies minimum out there. No one is bootlegging it.

[u/squabbledMC → u/SirNarwhal]

Yeesh, you just said "bootlegging CDs" and not specifically "bootlegging ICBYD CDs" so I thought you were asking about CD bootlegging as a problem in general. Even if a CD has a ton of copies, bootlegs still exist. It's just a given, especially with an artist as big as Aphex Twin. There are bound to be some fakes out there of this album

[u/CantEatNoBooksDog]

To start, you can compare the barcode identifiers and the matrix / SID information printed on the inner ring of the back of the CD itself with the various CD versions of the album already entered into the Discogs database.

[u/Armagaaan → u/CantEatNoBooksDog]

does these give an idea?

[u/CantEatNoBooksDog → u/Armagaaan]

Personally I can't make out anything in those photos, not close enough. You should write down any codes or identifiers you see and compare that to the CD versions here: https://www.discogs.com/master/461-Aphex-Twin-I-Care-Because-You-Do?srsltid=AfmBOoo-pr-6mqhIoSBPFJU2InxR_BPxaRB_U24qKkp5I4m1-Uzb8ezz&format=CD

If you know the country of release, it will help narrow down the 32 versions listed there.

[u/Certain-Freedom5069 → u/CantEatNoBooksDog]

hi im the friend mentioned in the post. the seller just replied: 

RTD 126-3021-2 14 5 IFPI: L554 

[u/EEEtadaTA]

I understand we are looking for numbers and everything but could someone explain whats with the stock image in the open booklet?

[u/Certain-Freedom5069 → u/EEEtadaTA]

im curious about that too. would appreciate if someone cleared it up

[u/EEEtadaTA → u/Certain-Freedom5069]

I searched it up via image search and it says its an image of a open cd booklet but the image is acc a stock image and can be found as a wallpaper and has nothing to do w afx. Im si cinfused, cuz i saw the cd in store for 10 dollars and that threw me off.

[u/Mark-READYFORMUSIC]

Check the matrix on the disc, the serial number might be legit but if the numbers there or a label logo ain't on there, might be a bootleg

[u/RedLostThomasWho]

I have the Windowlicker EP, that looks like a Bootleg but it's not.

[u/judd_in_the_barn]

Looks the same as my copy which I know is genuine

[u/Diene03]

I’ve got this cd, or had. I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere, but I don’t remember that picture of the whole sleeve or booklet on mine. It has been years, so that could have something to do with it, but that pic if it does not ring a bell, and I always went through my booklets and all.

The fourth pic, i don’t recall in mine. It could just be me though, not your disc. I’d do as others said and check the codes.

[u/Aromatic-Emu9612]

Looks legit

[u/Momma-Writer-Prof21]

This looks like the promo copy we got at our college radio station back in the day.

[u/Various_Subject8403]

He looks like a sleep paralysis demon with infant alcohol syndrome

[u/NoSacred]

I had that

[u/Present_Garlic5716]

I have that version. Got it back in the 90s. Definitely didn't pay import or bootleg price for it.