Collecting log: The Japanese original release of NEBRASKA LP. Was it really issued with a magnificent full-color poster? (Part 2 of 2)

A typical NEBRASKA ad in music
magazines in Japan came with a
catchphrase, "This is a personal
message to you from Bruce."

Among collectors, certain copies of Japan's original NEBRASKA LP (CBS/SONY 25AP 2440) have been highly sought-after because a collectors' bible, the Blinded By The Light book (P. Humphries & C. Hunt, 1985, Plexus, London), reports that the first 1000 copies were issued with a 24" x 36" color poster (exactly, A1 size: 23.4" x 33.1"). As explained in the previous post (09/18/2024), however, I have long been skeptical about this description.

Back when it was originally released in Japan in October 1982, many posters were not inserted into the LP sleeve but were handed in-store as a roll-up form to those who bought the album. Suppose there were poster-contained LP records in the order of a thousand copies instead of 100 or 10 copies only. If that were the truth, in my sense, we could have had many more chances to see or encounter such copies, at least here in Japan.

The 24" x 36" poster is neatly folded to a size that
fits into the LP jacket, obviously done at the printer.
However, it's too tight when a record disc, inner
sleeve, Japanese liner note, and poster are all put
inside the sleeve together.

That being said, the poster-contained copies have been circulated in the second-hand market, even though quite hard to come across. For example, I've seen two copies sold successfully on eBay in June 2006 and July 2019. In the former case, the cumulative total bids of 18 for the copy auctioned by a Japanese seller resulted in a winning bid of US $213.16 (that would cost $332.85 in 2024, according to the US Inflation Calculator). The latter copy from Italy fetched $371.00 (calculated to be $456.82 in 2024) with a total of nine bids.

As far as I've seen, if not all, almost all of these posters were six-folded professionally and accurately in perfect squares that fit into the album sleeve, including the above two examples (and mine). In addition, the first pressing of the Japanese LP was not shrink-wrapped, as opposed to the second and third pressings released in 1982 and 1984, respectively (different obi decorations easily identify the three releases). However, these do not necessarily mean that the folded posters were originally included or inserted into the sleeve of a certain limited fraction of the original copies.

The back cover of Backstreets Mag no. 10 issue
displays the NEBRASKA poster processed in a
modified, mezzotint-like appearance. Note the
folded lines that look identical to the image in 
the previous post (09/18/2024). 

Back in 1984 (four decades ago!), the Number 10 issue of Backstreets magazine published a four-page featured article entitled "THE BOSS IN JAPAN" that introduced various Japanese collectibles. The album and poster in question were mentioned following the regular second pressing LP of GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. (CBS/SONY SOPO-124) decorated with a wrap-around obi strip that completely covers the album sleeve (see 11/30/2014 for this collectible LP):

The only other noteworthy stock variations is the Japanese Nebraska which in its first limited edition came complete with a magnificent full color poster, folded and inserted into the jacket.   It was impossible to find even in Japan and commands high collector’s prices now. An even smaller number of the posters were printed and not folded. For our money, this is one of the very nicest posters of Bruce yet, a must see (it’s on  the back cover of this magazine, in a mezzotinted version).  [Text underline made by this blogger]

According to the credits, this article was compiled with the help of a few Japanese collectors and experts, including Mr. Yosuke Ono, the then and still most famous Springsteen collector in Japan. So, the information conveyed therein is considered highly trustworthy. Nevertheless, errors and mistakes are rather common in collector magazines, especially the more informative ones like this. For example, the GREETINGS LP mentioned above is mistakenly called the "first" edition. The above excerpt reports that the unfolded posters were printed in an even smaller number (than the folded posters), which contradicts what I've observed: the unfolded (rolled) posters have circulated relatively more frequently in online auction and the collectors' market. In fact, two such posters are currently being put up for the YAHOO! JAPAN Auction by different sellers (auction IDs p1153621639 and w1141750178; both will end tonight).

The poster section of the 6th Annual Summer Warehouse
Sale Catalog issued in 1995 by Backstreets Records lists
a folded NEBRASKA poster alone without the LP for sale
at $200! The poster size (18" x 30") is erroneously smaller
than the actual size.

Finally, yes or no, which is the answer to this subject? Despite the Backstreets Mag's article, my answer is probably no. I'm still not confident, though. I guess the folded posters were probably also handed over at retail shops because of the relative ease of handling and carrying in a record bag compared with the rolled ones. On the other hand, although not impossible, it must have been too tight to push a multi-folded poster into a standard single LP sleeve that holds a vinyl disc, a thick inner sleeve, a questionnaire card, and a two-folded Japanese lyric translation/liner-note sheet. 

After all, the correct answer to this question might not mean so much to us collectors because a folded poster, whether originally enclosed in the sleeve or not, makes a great companion piece to this Japanese record.

— Back to Part 1.

 

Collecting log: The Japanese original release of NEBRASKA LP. Was it really issued with a magnificent full-color poster? (Part 1 of 2)

Six-folded posters are available almost strictly as a set with the
album. In contrast, the rolled and unfolded posters (see the
image on 09/24/2017) generally circulate alone at auctions
and collectors' markets.

Japan is one of the great sources for vinyl and CD collectibles, not only for unique products of both regular and promotional releases but also for standard-issue variants (e.g., obi decoration and variation, graphic modification with Japanese characters, Japan-only booklets, etc.). However, there have been misunderstandings and insufficient information on some common and rare collectors' items. Let me start by mentioning a few notable instances that have already been featured in past blog posts. 

• The first vinyl edition of LIVE/1975-85 (CBS/SONY 75AP 3300-4) is often said to come out with a gold obi, so as the initial CD version (CBS/SONY 75DP 700-2) did, but the red is the first (see 11/23/2020). 
• It had long been unknown or unnoticed that the extremely rare, promotion-only Human Touch c/w Better Days 3" CD single (SONY XDEP 93043), also subtitled The Boss Is Back!!, was originally accompanied by a tri-fold insert with the twin album's info and lyrics, just because such insert is missing in most copies in circulation (see 05/19/2017).

Another example of my awareness concerns the first LP edition of NEBRASKA (CBS/SONY 25AP 2440), released here on October 9, 1982. The collectible section of the Blinded By The Light book (P. Humphries & C. Hunt, 1985, Plexus, London) writes, 'First 1000 copies issued with a 24" x 36" colour poster,'  which, to my understanding, is a somewhat misleading description. Why? That's because it says as if a poster were included in the first 1000 copies of the album (which I don't think so). Still, such an interpretation seems to be a long-held belief among many, especially foreign collectors. In the following, I explain the reasons for my claim.

• In Japan, promotional and bonus posters were generally handed to purchasers by retail shop cashiers as rolls rather than folded and inserted into album sleeves to ensure the posters remained crease-free for display (the rolled NEBRASKA poster is shown in the blog post on 09/24/2017).
• This was (and still is) the standard way for Japanese record companies to distribute posters to customers. 
• The only exception I can think of among his Japanese releases is Live Collection (CBS/SONY 20AP 3326), a Japan-exclusive four-track 12" EP released in 1987, which included a tetra-folded color poster inserted into the shrink-wrapped sleeve.
  

Left: The live version of Incident On 57 Street alone was worth getting this Japan-only maxi-single, although sound-wise, I prefer the same track on the 12" U.K. release (CBS 650193 6;  see 12/09/2014). Right: The front sleeve gold sticker says "with a pinup" in the very small Japanese font, meaning a poster is inserted into the record sleeve.

In agreement with these observations, the vertical obi of the first press shortly states (in Japanese), "★Poster giveaway for first press only. (new line) Please ask in-store for details," but never reads something like "Bonus poster included" anywhere on the obi, sleeve, or liner-note insert (see the image below).

The poster-related note can only be found
on the first-pressing obi (encircled with a
yellow line), which is absent from the obi
strips for the second and third pressings.

• In light of the above facts and observations, it is likely that most of the said 1000 posters were printed for a giveaway and distributed in-store to those who pre-ordered or bought the album at retail shops (I was a real-time purchaser in 1982, back in high school).
• I would lke to stress that if 1000 copies of the LP had been indeed issued with the poster enclosed in the sleeve, we must have seen such copies more frequently for auction and second-hand sale (but in fact, extraordinarily much fewer chances to see them even here in Japan).
• On the other hand, unfolded posters alone are occasionally turned up at online auctions or available at the collectors' markets, supporting that they were handed out to album purchasers independently of the LP record.

These could explain why the first pressing (easily identified by the obi) with or containing a poster seldom comes across even though 1000 copies were supposed to be so. Then, what explanation is possible for the six-folded poster, as shown in the top image?

— Continued to Part 2. 

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: 'E' TICKET, its very limited first edition, also known as the advanced release (Part 5 of 5)This article supplements and follows up on the previous posts on this bootleg in October 2014.

"Another (fake)" advanced copy (upper)  differs from a
genuine copy (lower) in several respects.

Content-wise, the final post on the very first release of this classic bootleg focuses on a topic that may be rather unimportant or uninteresting to you: comparing it with another "ADVANCED PRESSING - E TICKET - COLLECTORS ITEM" that also came in a simple white cover with only the above title printed on it. For years, this release seemed (and still seems) to have caused confusion among bootleg collectors, which is still observed in online vinyl record databases and blog articles. An example is found in the relevant Discogs entry (see the image below) that describes it as being pressed in Germany and released in 1975!

I don't know exactly when this particular bootleg was manufactured and began to circulate. As far as I checked, none of the bootleg catalogs I received from domestic retailers in the mid-to-late 1980s listed this version among many pirated varieties of "E" TICKET (see the image immediately below). It was probably issued in the late 1980s but not imported to Japan (although I am not sure as I lived in Kyoto, where not many bootlegs were readily available, unlike in Tokyo) or released after, maybe in the 1990s when vinyl records became minor as a bootleg medium because of the advent of CD.

A bootleg catalog from the late 1980s lists an example of a typical pirate release of "E" TICKET, which came in an insert cover. Back then, because of a fervent demand for Springsteen's underground releases, Japanese bootleg retailers usually asked for high prices for vinyl bootlegs, as shown here, especially of old famous titles like this used copy, even though it was not an original or early pressing, as indicated by "RE" (=reissue). Compared to the bootleg's price (6,800 JPY), an official LP was generally sold for 2,500 or 2,800 JPY in Japan.

Discogs describes the release year as 1975,
which is wrong. The label name is misspelled.

If you own a copy of this copycat, you would instantly deny that it was released in the late 1970s as an advanced release of one of the most famous Springsteen bootlegs. For example, I can mention at least the following four facts to explain why:

• The white sleeve is much cleaner in appearance and manufactured of better quality, which cannot be considered from the 1970s' plain white cover often used for West Coast bootlegs. As you see in the image on the top, white covers from the 1970s are generally prone to showing age.
  
• The album title is not stamped but printed in indigo color on the front sleeve, which contradicts why the early release had to employ a stamped cover before the famous black-and-white picture sleeve edition (i.e., the delay in printing). The rear sleeve also prints "PROMOTIONAL COPY—NOT FOR SALE." Although this note is a hackneyed expression repeatedly used by bootleggers to conceal the identity of their products, I have seen few bootlegs featuring this phrase on Springsteen's original bootlegs released in the 1970s.
  
• The hörweite stereophonie label was reproduced on the wax in different colors with inferior printing quality. As I already pointed out (10/19/2014), this custom label was not used for the "genuine" advanced or early pressings, probably due to the same reason why the picture sleeve was not used. Instead, such vinyl pressings came with Ruthless Rhymes labels, one of the several representative West Coast bootleg labels frequently used in the late 1970s.
• The matrix numbers, handwritten ST / MX 1 on SIDES ONE and ST / MX 2 on SIDE TWO, were obviously taken from a label inscription "℗ 1971 Deutschland (ST/MX) 33 1/3 r.p.m." (which is also printed on Ruthless Rhymes labels). To my knowledge, however, none of the early or original discs carried such numbers on the deadwax space (their matrix numbers are ESB-75-002-A / ESB-75-002-B), clearly indicating that this "advanced" pressing has nothing to do with the early or original release of the classic bootleg.

The images on the far left compare album titles stamped (upper) or printed (lower) on the front sleeves of the two advanced releases. The comparison is also made for record labels between an original regular pressing (middle left) and a "fake" advanced disc (middle right). Part of the round rim text on each label is magnified in each upper right corner to compare printing quality. Note the difference in the diameter size of the stamper rings. The "fake" advanced release carries a "promotional copy" indication on the bottom of the rear side sleeve (far right); no such promo notification is present in the "genuine" advanced copies or regular pressing in a black-and-white picture sleeve with the German production credits on the rear.

Shown deadwax matrix numbers are from SIDE TWO
of a "fake" advanced disc with reproduced hörweite
stereophonie labels (top), a "genuine" advanced disc
with Ruthless Rhymes labels (middle), and a relatively
common original press with original hörweite
stereophonie labels (bottom).

Okay, but how did the bootleggers come up with the idea of releasing a "fake" advanced edition of the classic bootleg? Although there is no evidence, I guess the bootleggers who made it, probably manufactured somewhere in Europe in the late 1980s or 1990s, knew about the behind-the-scenes story of releasing "E" TICKET. It seems to me that this obvious copycat LP is not just a bogus product but an homage to this classic bootleg that every (old) serious Springsteen fan and collector must have added to the collection in any form or edition. What do you think about this?

When I wrote for the first time on this bootleg soon after I launched this blog site (10/12/2014), I never thought I would write about it again after ten years. Also, I did not expect I would have continued the blog thing for ten years. And I don't know when my record-collecting journey will come to an end...

— Back to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, or Part 4.