Collecting log: TOP 3 collectible acquisitions in 2014

Seeing the New Year soon, I have checked back the recent collecting log and selected what are considered as Top 3 collectibles from what I have obtained through this year. The (subjective, self-satisfied) results are listed below with a short note for each collectible.


Murder Incorporated / Because The Night (live) / Pink Cadillac / 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) 
(Holland Columbia 661313 6)

    This 4-track 12-inch vinyl is pressed in Holland for export to France in 1995. Housed in a black & white cover whose design is identical to that of the 7-inch vinyl (COL 661313 7; backed with Because The Night) or 5-inch CD-EP (COL 661313 2; the same configuration as the 12") under the same title. Like the CD-EP, it comes with a black sticker on the front sleeve saying in French "titre inédit avec le E Street Band" (new song with the E Street Band). According to the Lost In The Flood collector's page, for unknown reasons, this release was hastily withdrawn. Seldom seen on eBay indeed, and equally tough to find as the 7-inch counterpart.

TEARDROPS ON THE CITY   
(bootleg LP, no catalog number)
    This Swedish triple-LP bootleg from THE RIVER European Tour 1981, was and still is considered one of the essential titles in the history of Bruceleg. There are reissues and pirate versions of this vinyl bootleg circulating (and even the known CD editions have been sourced from the vinyl copies because, reportedly, the original master tape of the concert no longer exists). However, this copy is a genuine original pressing (and the second copy to my collection), as shown in the right (upper), parallel with the reissue pressing for comparison (lower; which I got sometime in mid-1980). As you can recognize, the difference is obvious. Never expected to have come across this very limited, fabulous copy at this price (about $10) here in the Far East, more than three decades after it came out from a north European country.

THE RIVER  
(New Zealand CBS S2BP 220235)
    Among all of the acquisitions in 2014, the absolute BEST is a regular copy of my favorite double LP from New Zealand. Why? Just take a look at the right-hand picture and it tells all. Unbelievably and truly one of a kind (see the post on 2/20/2016 for more details).


Have a Happy New Year and see you in 2015!

Radioshow Disc: ROCK ON THE ROAD Part II: The American Bands 5LP w/ Prove It All Night - Berkeley live 1978 (concluded)

Front of the custom D.I.R. file folder specifically
designed for this radio program LP

ROCK ON THE ROAD Part II: The American Bands is a 3-hour concert program that is issued and distributed to radio stations by D.I.R. Broadcasting Corporation (New York City, NY). The radio shows released by D.I.R. were available only by subscription to radio stations for broadcast, initially in reel-to-reel tapes, and later vinyl and CD formats. This 5-LP set is pressed in 1980 and captures 21 bands in concert in various venues spread all across the United States, plus interviews with the artists. The bands and musicians featured therein are Aerosmith, The Band, The Beach Boys, Pat Benatar, Blondie, The Blues Brothers, Jackson Browne, The Charlie Daniels Band, The Doobie Brothers, Foreigner, Heart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jefferson Starship, Van Morrison, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, The Marshall Tucker Band, James Taylor, Jessie Colin Young and Bruce Springsteen. It is said that all of the bands included are captured at the top of their game performing extended versions of some of their best known, rarest or most-loved songs.

The copy I have owned for years seems to be a complete set, accompanying a 8-page track-list/cue-sheet and other paper materials such as a 3-page affidavit/reply form with an pre-addressed envelope, all stored in the D.I.R. custom file folder specifically designed for this broadcast program. According to the affidavit/reply form, the program was assigned for broadcast on the 7th, 8th or 9th of November, 1980, depending on the choice of a radio station.

Inside the custom folder are various documents including cue
sheets, affidavit/reply form and others (the printout with blue
header is the Western Union mailgram; see the main text)

Among 10 sides from 5 vinyl discs, the highlight is definitely Side 3 that features two live tracks plus interview of Springsteen, starting with a short introduction by DJ that segues into Bishop Danced (Max's Kansas City in NYC, January 31, 1973). This is the long-known acoustic performance that has been aired on radio programs with the very first by the King Biscuit Flower Hours (KBFH; on February 18, 1973), bootlegged over the years (among the most famous is FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS), and finally released officially on TRACKS in 1998. Bishop Danced is followed by a short interview with Springsteen where he talks about a young girl who almost knocked out his front tooth by kissing him so hard (taken from the KBFH interview by WNEW-FM DJ Dave Herman in 1978). And then comes a lengthy live take of Prove It All Night (Berkeley, July 1, 1978) which is slightly cut at the beginning of piano intro in order to remove Herman's introduction to the song (the same editing can be heard on the 12" vinyl bootleg FILE UNDER BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN which is sourced from this radio show).

Part of the track listing (up to Side 4) in the 5-page cue sheet.
Note that Springsteen's two tracks are crossed out (meaning
not allowed to be aired) while all the other tracks (including
those not pictured) are identified by check marks.

Because both Herman's interview and the live recording of Prove It All Night are broadcasted via the KBFH program on July 9, 1978, at least concerning the Springsteen's live tracks and interview, the ROCK ON THE ROAD program is entirely based on the recording sources previously used for KBFH. This is no wonder, knowing that D.I.R. is responsible for both these radio programs. However, no official vinyl is known to exist for the July 9th KBFH radio show (D.I.R. had not used LP format until 1980 for distribution of radio show programs). Therefore, as mentioned in the last post, this particular live performance of Prove It All Night is exclusive to this set and not available on any other official vinyl or CD, except on the famous 12-inch acetate.

On the other hand, the version of Bishop Danced is pressed in both vinyl and CD formats for special radio programs. The vinyl-disc version was distributed to radio stations for the KBFH 500th broadcast celebration (aired on April 15, 1984) while the CD was pressed for its 15th anniversary broadcast (May 29, 1988). Listening to this special broadcast disc, I can't help feeling that the radioshow version of this performance (with the spoken introduction) is much better than the TRACKS version as the former still retains more live atmosphere at the small club.

The mailgram requesting not to air Springsteen live 
(shown only the message part)

And back to the question posed in the last post: Why had this soundboard recording of Prove It All Night been rarely bootlegged in the vinyl era? Among the documents included in my copy, what I found interesting is an unusual printout message of the Western Union mailgram (which was back then widely used in official notifications and legal transactions).  Through the mailgram dated November 8, 1980,  D.I.R. requests all radio stations not to play Side 3 which is devoted to Springsteen's live tracks (read the mailgram; This explains why only the two Springsteen's tracks are crossed out, as shown above, on the track-listing sheet). In 1979, he and the Columbia Records filed against the Californian bootleggers (Vicky Vinyl and her colleagues) for having made those classic bootlegs like PIECE DE RESISTANCE and LIVE IN THE PROMISED LAND (see the previous post on October 12, 2014), and as of the date above, the case was probably still pending in court in West Coast (although the verdict was issued by the end of 1980). So, it is obvious that Springsteen and the Jon Landau management made this request in order to prevent bootlegging. The rather urgent request by the Springsteen camp, as it was made on November 8th while the broadcast was scheduled in the time frame between the 7th and 9th as mentioned above, may have reduced the opportunity that bootleggers access this soundboard recording from the radio show. Just guessing.

From Backstreets Records Catalog no. 33 (Winter 1993)

I've seen this 5-LP set on eBay before, but very infrequently (probably only a few times in the past decade). The right-hand picture is a part of Backstreets Records Catalog back in 1993, advertising this 5-LP set for sale. Nowadays, most copies are likely missing the custom paper folder, the cue sheets and other accompanying documents, either partly or entirely. So, the fully intact copies are considered quite rare.

I've just learnt that the Agora FM-broadcast concert (Cleveland, OH, August 9, 1978) is officially released online in its entire form. Finally, Springsteen has decided to open the vaults and liberate unreleased classic live recordings. Since at least twice seriously considered for the official release in the past (in 1978 and 1986), this live recording may see the light of day in near future, maybe as a bonus track of a 1978 concert download.

Radioshow Disc: ROCK ON THE ROAD Part II: The American Bands 5LP w/ Prove It All Night - Berkeley live 1978

Side three containing two live tracks,
Bishop Danced (NYC, 1973) and
Prove It All Night (Berkeley, 1978)

If you weigh official products over bootlegs for unreleased or live materials that are not available on regular releases, this set should be the one to get. This is because, to the best of my knowledge, the multi-disc radioshow set is the only official vinyl release where you can listen to the long-intro live recording of Prove It All Night (July 1st, 1978), that was originally planned to be released as a promo-only 12" vinyl in 1978, and later considered for inclusion in LIVE 1975/85 in 1986. So far not released in any CD format officially. A few copies of the acetate disc for the planned 12" vinyl are known to exist. One of such copies was put on auction in 1997 by Backstreets Records, with the minimum starting bid of $1,000. The auction catalog (issued in Spring 1997) introduces this item as follows:

How much value now?

In 1978, Columbia considered releasing a live version "Prove It All Night" as recorded at the Berkeley Community Theater 7/1/78. They went so far as to release reel to reel tapes of this 7:45 performance to radio station – some stations still play this tremendous version of this song and it was considered (but left off) the LIVE 75-85 album. Stickers for the cover of the 12-inch were printed up and eventually found their way into collector's hands. This however, more than a sticker – this is an actual Columbia Records acetate (with a "Mastering Lab" printed label) of this incredible performance. It comes in a white CBS "Demonstration, Not for Sale" jacket with the famous sticker on the cover. Also included is a sheet of mastering instructions and a Xerox of the proposed white label (it would have been given the number AS480 and it was planned to be released only two weeks after the show). However, the project was scrapped and vinyl copies of this 12-inch release were never pressed – this acetate was as far as the process ever got. Hence, this item is the only official issue of this historical live track. The quality of this recording is amazing....

Looking like a test pressing – a nice idea

As far as I know, this famous live recording was bootlegged only once in the vinyl era: FILE UNDER BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN was (and still is) the only vinyl bootleg that contains this version of Prove It All Night. This is a 12-inch 33 rpm release, often mistakenly referred to as picture disc in major Bruceleg guidebooks, most probably due to the enlarged picture labels on the colored wax [for example, check the description on Blinded By The Light by Patrick Humphries and Chris Hunt (1985) or the first volume of the Wanted magazine by Jan Rodenrijs (1994)]. Coupled with is Bishop Danced (from NYC 1973) that is also featured in this radioshow LP and released commercially in 1998 as one of the two live tracks on the TRACKS boxset. By comparative listening, it is apparent that this bootleg is made using this radioshow disc as the sound source.

By the way, despite the soundboard recording available on the acetate, reel-to-reel tapes (that were sent out to radio stations instead of the aborted promo-only 12" vinyl) and the radioshow LP, as noted above, this particular live version was rarely bootlegged in the vinyl era. I've long thought this being curious. Was it because radio stations overplayed this live recording? I guess probably not. Then why?

 — To be continued.

Collecting log: Rosalita Dutch 12" vinyl (still sealed)

Including or not including the poster. That is the question.
Together with the hard-to-find 7" counterpart.

No, no, this is not a recent acquisition. I have long kept this 12" vinyl, pressed in Holland and released in 1979, under sealed condition.  There are several reasons that make this particular release special among the entire Springsteen's official records. This is the first-ever commercially available 12" vinyl under HIS name, the first-ever commercial release of the title track along with the 7" counterpart pressed in the same country (although it is already released in 1974 on the second album and on the 3-track US promo-only 7" EP), and by far the only maxi 12" single with Night from the third album. However, what makes this release so collectable is not the vinyl itself but the inclusion of the folded poster of a 1975 live stage shot. Reportedly, such copies are quite limited in number and only the early pressings come with it.

BTW, why Rosalita is issued in 1979 in Holland as both 12" and 7" singles, 5 years after  its original release in 1974, has been unclear to me. Might it coincide with the premiere in Europa on TV broadcast of the promotional video clip of the live performance at a concert in Phoenix in 1978?

A copy of the early pressing with
the poster (pic from Popsike)

I have no idea whether my sealed copy is such a major rarity or one of the relatively common old vinyl without the bonus addition. Sometime I feel the temptation to tear up the wrap-around shrink to see if the poster is inserted into the sleeve, but so far I have been able to hold it back.

Any clue as to how to distinguish "the" copy from other pressings without opening the shrink wrap?

Incident On 57th Street (live): Which is the best sounding disc?

LIVE 1975/85 poster issued by CBS/Sony in Japan
with track listing on the right-hand side

About three decades ago, like many hardcore fans, I was also the one who was disappointed at the first glance of the track listing of LIVE 1975/85. I well remember that sometime September or October 1986, at an import record shop frequently visited back then, I stood straight and stiff in front of the huge poster on the wall that announces the forthcoming release of the 5-LP box set, checking thrice, forth, or even fifth, the complete 40-live tracks on the album. Despite repeated attempts, I was not able to find on the list, from my viewpoint, what should have been included in the extraordinarily anticipated live album.

One of the legendary bootlegs ...

Incident On 57th Street (live) was one of such missing tracks that is fortunately released later as a B-side of Fire 7" in the US and of the maxi 12" single War in Europe and Mexico. The 12” vinyl and CD EP containing this track are also pressed in Japan with the tracklist being different from the other related issues. Until the track list was available, I had confidently believed that this song would be on the LIVE album that must be the version from Main Point (February 5th, 1975), because of countless listening to this particular performance on the classic vinyl bootleg YOU CAN TRUST YOUR CAR TO THE MAN WHO WEARS THE STAR. So, it was a total surprise to me when I knew that the released version was a full-band electric performance at Nassau Coliseum (December 29th, 1980) that had, up till that point, never circulated on any bootleg (that was the only source for me back then to be able to listen to unreleased material). However, what turned out to be was that, in my opinion, this particular recording is one of the best live tracks among his entire catalog that have been released officially.

So far the best sounding Incident (live)
from my view.

One thing I have long thought about Incident (live) is its sound. As mentioned above, this track has been issued in three different formats, 7", 12" and CD. The US 7" disc is often mentioned among general vinyl collectors as the longest 7" ever pressed, running over 10 min. Needless to say, this seriously affects the sound quality. Even worse, one of my two turntables (cheaper one) no longer traces the vinyl correctly, with skips and surface noise. It's quite hard to understand why the Columbia US has decided to press one of the longest recording, if not the longest, in the history of the 7" or 45 rpm record (except for the purpose of cost cutting). By contrast, and obviously, one can expect much more excellent sound for the other two formats. The majority would argue that the CD version is better, but to my ears, the UK 12" sounds fabulous. I feel that the 12" vinyl sounds more dynamic and louder than the CD counterpart which is modest in comparison. So, for me, this UK pressing is one of the essential 12" in both sound and performance (I have no idea about the other 12" pressed in Holland because I do not own it).

Radioshow Disc: THE PRODUCERS Jimmy Iovine LP

Side 1 contains tracks from Lennon,
Springsteen and Patti Smith.

Radioshow LPs (and CDs) are also my target of collecting although I am not so enthusiastic as in collecting official rare records. Certain particular radioshow discs carry rare songs that are otherwise unavailable through regular releases (one of the good examples is the KING BISCUIT FLOWER HOUR program releases). So, the main reason to collect these discs is to obtain such tracks as live versions of officially released studio tracks or unreleased songs. However, even if nothing special in terms of featured tracks, these radioshows are enjoyable to me because listening to these records often gives an opportunity to feel a familiar song in fresh and different ways.

Top of the three-page info sheet

Here what I introduce is an example of such radioshow discs titled "THE PRODUCERS" which, according to the lead by DJ, is a series of the radio program spotlighting the most famous record producers in music history. This particular single LP features Jimmy Iovine, the recording engineer of such classic albums like BORN TO RUN and DARKNESS, and culls one song from each LP (Thunder Road and Prove It All Night). Also included are nine songs performed by other artists for whom he has worked mainly as producer or engineer such as John Lennon, Patti Smith, Tom Petty, Dire Straits, and Stevie Nicks. Broadcasted in Canada probably sometime in 1980s (no air date indicated on the accompanying 3-page information sheet).

Each side has various excerpts of interviews with Iovine that are scattered in between songs. The last half on Side 1 is devoted to his relationship with Springsteen where you can hear his talk about how he got to join the recording session of BORN TO RUN, introducing Thunder Road as the very first song he has heard as the album engineer. Before and after Prove It All Night, he also reminisces about those hard-working days engineering DARKNESS in the day time and producing Patti Smith's LP in the night, which has yielded her version of a Top 20 hit in 1978, Because The Night (last track on Side 1).

This vinyl LP seems to be fairly rare (at least I have never seen any other copy except my own) and remains one of my favorite radioshow releases.

Collecting log: GREETINGS Japanese 2nd pressing LP with a wrap-around Obi

Note the unnecessarily and rather punctiliously
folded wrap-around Obi (pic from actual auction).

Quite busy these days and can't have enough time to write something about rare records and old bootleg titles. So, I just made a quick note from my collecting log that may be interesting to potential readers. I recently obtained by internet auction a used copy of the second Japanese LP pressing of GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. (CBS/SONY SOPO-124), which is famous for the wrap-around Obi decoration. It cost only 380 Yen (= 3 bucks and some pennies) without competition, probably because the Obi, as shown in the picture (from actual auction), was folded and cut open along the bottom edge, although the postcard sleeve and vinyl are rather clean in excellent condition.

From BACKSTREETS Records catalogs issued back in 1990s
(specifically from 1991, 1992 and 1996).

This release has been one of the steady collectibles from Japan, even not only as a promo but also as a regular copy. Having looked through old catalogues I received from BACKSTREETS Records back in 1990s, I found that it was advertised at between $350 and $425 for set sale (though I think this was still way overpriced even in the era when vinyl discs were more demanded and much more valued than currently viewed as popular music collectibles ). A good buy, isn't it?

But what made me happy with this cheap purchase is that finally I got all the three copies for this particular release! (BTW, I have yet bought that remastered LP box; that's way too expensive!)

ALL THE THREE GET TOGETHER: a test pressing with blank white labels, a white label sample copy with a boarding ticket-style questionnaire card, and a regular issue of the Japanese second pressing for the first album (CBS/Sony SOPO-124)

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS (concluded)

While I am convinced the UK heavy vinyl as the initial pressing by doing my own amateurish analysis, there has still been confusion about the relationship and timeline of early repressings and pirated copies of this bootleg. For example, I do not still figure out what makes clear distinction between Releases B and C (see the previous post on Oct. 24), assuming that both editions do really exist. Since the advent of the online auction, copies of FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS has almost regularly turned up on eBay UK or USA markets in various forms, and occasionally auctioned off by seemingly knowledgeable sellers judged from their item description. So, when I found such sellers, I used to request them for the detailed information on the vinyl and sleeve, or about how they obtained their own copy, even if I had no intention to raise a bid.
 

Release D (HR-133): the genuine first American pressing?
Note the dead wax matrix area which appears to be much
wider than the other pressings. Images taken from the actual
auction in 2003 (which I didn't join).

Back in 2003, one seller in the US responded to my query message with some interesting information. His copy was obviously Release D (see the rightward photos from the actual auction), which is specifically characterized by the different matrix number (HR-133 A/B) and, when compared to the heavy UK vinyl or the red-colored US pressings, by the wider dead wax space on the vinyl disc (i.e., the space between the edge of the label and the edge of the grooves of the last track). The other features unique to this release are the vinyl color which is bloody red, and the sleeve picture which is more contrasted than that of the original UK release (a sign of rephotographed images). The modified image contrast seems to be common among copies of the "wider" dead wax edition (e.g., compare the sleeve of #8 with any other sleeve in the first picture shown in the last post on Nov. 9).
 
According to him, this one is the genuine absolute first American pressing after one month of the original UK release. He said that he obtained the copy from the people who made it (“They used to sell at the monthly Capitol Records swapmeet out there right after they issued it”). Because this refers to the legendary swapmeet that was held in the parking lot of the Capitol Records tower in Hollywood from late 1960s throughout 1970s, if he is believable, this version of the bootleg is most probably made by West Coast bootleggers. He continued, “That pressing was sold out within 2 swapmeets (two months), and then they made the 2nd one on black vinyl with the wrap around insert of the same sleeve image." If so, certain slick cover edition is one of the early repressed copies. "Then about three months later, a different bootlegger made it again on red vinyl which was mastered from a copy of the original UK or US vinyl (not the tapes),” he further added. Again, if his story is true, at least three different versions (two independent pressings and one repressing) came out in the US in half a year following the original UK release.
 
My interpretations of what he responded to me are summarized as follows: (1) Release D preceded Release B or C; (2) Release D is mastered from the tape, but not from the UK-pressed predecessor vinyl; (3) the early copies of Release D exist in two forms, the original blood red vinyl in the printed sleeve (as the picture shown above) and the black vinyl repressing in the fold-out slick cover; (4) Release B or C is possibly a pirated copy rather than an independent pressing as, according to him, it is not mastered from the tapes but from the vinyl. Although it is almost impossible nowadays to verify his tale, the information is detailed and certainly interesting.
 

Wider dead wax vinyl pressings in various colors. The width of
dead wax space is indicated by a yellow double-head arrow.
These images are picked up from eBay.

Final note: The detailed bootleg guidebooks commonly explain that the Release D vinyl disc is pressed in various colors (again, check the previous post on Oct. 24). Indeed, I've seen on eBay a variety of colored vinyl with the wider dead wax space (the examples are shown in the photo collage on the right). I measured the width of the dead wax space that is about 20 mm on both sides of the heavy UK vinyls (Release A, UK-4). On the other hand, each side of the Release D disc (HR-133) has the space that is more than double the width of the UK disc, about 48 mm and 42 mm for Side 1 and Side 2, respectively. Generally, on different pressings of the same title using the same master tapes, the width of the dead wax space is a factor that can affect the sound of the vinyl in positive and negative ways. From my understanding, the narrower dead wax space (as a result of the wider groove) may result in more dynamic sound, but tends to cause distorted sound toward the center of the disc (i.e., the final track of each side is most seriously affected by the distortion). When compared the sound between the heavy UK vinyl and wider dead wax HR-133 pressings, to my ears, the UK vinyls do sound better although my copy of Release D is apparently a repress (it comes in a warp around slick insert cover and the matrix HR-133 is scratched out).

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS (continued)

A total of eight copies are classified into three classes
based on the matrix info, vinyl color and sleeve images.

According to the published bootleg guides, what distinguishes the original (UK) pressing of this bootleg from various later (US) issues is the weight of vinyl: the original disc is said to be made of heavy vinyl (see the previous post on Oct. 24). The presumed UK pressings at hand are certainly heavier than the others indeed. Heavier or thicker LP records are often said to sound better than standard pressings although I do not take this myth seriously. Anyway, if so, the initial pressing of FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS may be one of such a few audiophile-oriented vinyl bootlegs in existence. This aroused my interest in classifying a total of 8 copies sitting on my record shelf, on the basis of their weight. Note that, according to the matrix numbers, vinyl colors, and sleeve images as explained in the last post, these copies have been grouped into three classes [five (#1-5), two (#6, 7) and one (#8)], as shown in the picture above.
 

LP records range in weight from as little as less than 100 g of a cheap and light one to 200 g of an audiophile-oriented heavy pressing. Typically, a regular LP on average weighs between 120 g and 140 g. So, here any vinyl copy over 140-to-150 g weight would be considered a “heavy” record (cf. Official record companies seem to define 160, 180 and 200g vinyls as heavy or high-fidelity pressings). Although not enough samples are available for statistics, the result is rather clear. As shown in the table below, all the five copies (#1 to #5), that I have classified as the UK pressing, weighed over 140 g, with the average and maximum being 156 g and 167 g, respectively.  
 

On the contrary, none of the remaining three pressings (#6 to #8), that supposedly originated from the US and included red-colored vinyls, fulfilled the criterion. I have checked a few other Bruceleg titles and found those pressings also fell into 120 to 140 g in weight (for example, an original copy of "E" TICKET was 131 g in weight). We wouldn't know it now, but the bootleggers might try to produce the first pressing of this particular bootleg with possible high-quality sound, because the source (i.e., Intersong acetate or a low-generation tape copied thereof) was considered one of the best possibly available to them.   — To be continued.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS (continued)

Putting aside bootleg guides and references, my customary measure to distinguish, by appearance, the original pressing from a variety of later and pirated copies is simply to compare sleeve images between two given copies of the same title. In many instances, sleeve artwork reproduction results in down-grade modification of an original image, most notably on the image quality and size. What I check primarily is the size of cover images which is often enlarged slightly during reproduction. This simultaneously causes the loss of the marginal parts of an original image.

Close examination of the cover artwork shows the differences
between "red" (top) and "heavy" (beneath) vinyl releases

Shown in the left-hand picture is the front and rear sleeves of two different copies of FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS, one carrying so-called a heavy vinyl UK pressing (Release A; see the last post on Oct. 24) and the other with a more common red vinyl US pressing (possibly Release B). Obviously, the one (US release) placed over the other (UK release) has the enlarged image, missing its marginal portion (see Bruce's hair in the rear sleeve, for example) and with little marginal space between the edge and text of album title, artist name or track listing. These are apparent signatures of cover art reproduction and therefore, the sleeve of the red vinyl US release can be a copy or a rephotograghing print from that of the heavy vinyl UK edition (an indication that the UK pressing is the very first pressing of this legendary bootleg).

The record labels (top) and dead wax
"UK-4"matrix numbers on "heavy" (middle)
and "red" (bottom) vinyl discs

Most, if not all, of vinyl Bruceleg guides describe that the original heavy vinyl pressing from UK has no matrix number while the US red vinyl pressing carries "UK-4” as the matrix code (exactly, "UK4-1” on Side 1 as shown here). However, all of the heavy vinyl discs in my possession are inscribed on the dead wax with “UK4 · 1” on Side 1 that appreciably differs from the US matrix inscription. So, they were pressed from different stampers even though the same matrix number was used. As for the record label, both heavy vinyl and red vinyl pressings have an orange blank label on each side. It seems that the US bootleggers have tried making their own version as much as faithful to the original UK version except for the wax color and thickness (otherwise, I cannot think of any logical reason to use “UK” for matrix number). It is not clear to me whether the sound source for the US vinyls is a tape copied off from the Intersong acetate (meaning an independent pressing) or the UK vinyl pressing (meaning a pirate copy). Because the same sound dropout occurs on the first track of Side 2 (which is most probably a defect of the acetate), at least both pressings must share the same original source. By the way, the heavy vinyl, which is reportedly a characteristic unique to the UK pressing, is really heavier than the other vinyls?  — To be continued.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS

“If they kept sales charts on bootlegs, FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS and E TICKET [sic] would both easily be best sellers: They are the two records almost every collector will have.” [excerpted from a short article entitled “The essential bootleg album guide,” featured in the fanzine Backstreets no.6 (May 1983)].

How many different pressings are these 8 copies grouped into?
How many are red-colored, black or heavy vinyls?

As this quote exemplifies, these two vinyl LPs are a twin peak of Springsteen's early studio bootlegs: they are housed in well-done jackets using now-classic photos of the DARKNESS era and with excellent sound quality originated from low generation tapes of studio recording and a demo acetate disc. Content-wise, I prefer FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS to “E” TICKET because the album was full of the materials that were unreleased back then, rather than consisting of mostly alternate takes of released songs. Piracy activity increases in proportion to the popularity and demand of a given title, whether it is official or bootleg, and this fantastic bootleg was no exception. Over the years, various forms of reproduction have appeared, from straightforward copies to completely different packages of the original LP.

My vinyl bootleg references in
book form (mainly used for
titles from pre-BITUSA era)

Before the internet was widely available as a common tool for information gathering, I used to refer to Blinded By The Light (by Patrick Humphries and Chris Hunt,1985) as a main reference for bootleg LPs. This book summarizes a fairly comprehensive list of almost all the vinyl Brucelegs available back then (up to 1984), and therein found on FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS (U.K. 4) is the description that “First pressing on red vinyl, later copies on black or grey vinyl.” So, I had long believed that the originals were red vinyls, which later turned out probably not to be when more information became available and was assumed to be trustworthy. For example, The Bruce Springsteen Bootleg Bible vol. 1, (by Tony Montana, 1985) classifies this bootleg into four releases as below, based on the matrix number / number of disc / country of origin / sleeve / vinyl (with my annotations in parentheses).

• Release A:  (no info or no number) / 1 LP / U.K. / Black and red cover / heavy vinyl
• Release B:  UK-4 / 1 LP / U.S. / Black and red cover / red vinyl
• Release C:  UK-4 / 1 LP / U.S. / Black and red cover / red vinyl
• Release D:  HR-1-33 (or HR133) /1 LP / (no info) / Black and red insert / various color vinyl 

Most other bootleg guides (including sort of) that have been published thereafter seem to cite the above information for describing this particular bootleg LP. To mention but an example, you can see essentially the same information in the first volume of the Wanted magazine (by Jan Rodenrijs, 1994), a now-defunct, excellent bootleg CD guide that also includes the up-to-date listing of almost all vinyl Brucelegs (note: this speculation may be wrong if the information originally came from Hot Wacks, any issues of which I have never read because I am not interested in any bootleg by other artists). Lately, more information, including several pirated copies, has become available online, the most detailed at brucespringsteen.it.

A famous 6-track acetate from
Intersong Music with hand-written
mistake THE "EAST" ST. BAND

The source of this bootleg LP is undoubtedly a famous 12" acetate (or tapes thereof) with six tracks, all of which were then-unreleased (four songs from the recording sessions of the second album THE WILD, THE INNOCENT & THE E STREET SHUFFLE, and two live performances). Having cut a deal with Adrian Rudge, a British producer who ran a publishing company called Intersong Music in the U.K., Mike Appel, the former Springsteen manager, tried to get English and European performers to cover his songs back in 1974. So, it is generally believed that this LP, unlike many American bootlegs around that time, has a U.K. origin (Release A; the first non-US Bruceleg?). Soon after this release, a few independent bootleggers in the U.S. seem to have pressed their own versions as listed above (Releases B, C, and possibly D). However, the details have still remained elusive. Although I do not know about this title as much as I know about “E” TICKET, I'll post what I guess from comparing several copies of my own, as shown above.  — To be continued.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: "E" TICKET (concluded)

A fake stamped cover release
with a different text string and
inappropriate record labels

There has been another version of the stamped cover that looks like an early or advanced pressing (also check a brief note from brucespringsteen.it). From my viewpoint, this white cover LP represents a typical example of pirating a famous/popular bootleg. Apparently, the bootleggers have reproduced it without exactly knowing what the original form of LP was like, which resulted in a completely different stamp on a white cover (that reads "ADVANCE PRESSING - E TICKET - COLLECTORS ITEM") and incorrect labels on the wax  (that should have been Ruthless Rhymes rather than hörweite stereophonie for the very early pressing).

Apparently pirated (not a repress) as
compared to the genuine second copy

On the other hand, the second pressing in black & white sleeve has been copied and re-released much more frequently through the years. These pirated copies, which include poorly photocopied sleeves to picture disc editions, are generally distinguishable from the originals by matrix numbers, labels, overall printing quality, and sleeve design that often omits the spine description "Howeite / Bruce Springsteen - "E" Ticket / ESB 75-002." As mentioned in the previous post (Oct. 12) and shown here, the first copy of "E" TICKET I obtained many years ago was apparently a pirated copy of the bootleg, with a plain spine, a noticeable loss of the picture details, and different labels and matrix inscription (that is "E TICKET A/B" instead of "ESB-75-002-A/B") on the wax.

Finally, the most important question still remains to be addressed — that is, why do the stamped covers exist?  His answer was so simple that I had the wind taken out of my sails a little. Sometimes bootleggers pressed the vinyls before the labels or sleeves were completed. In such a situation, if a bootleg LP were to be released, the first pressing should not come with them. Instead, plain white covers and white or available substitutable labels (Ruthless Rhymes, in this case) were used temporarily until custom sleeves and labels were ready. According to him, this was indeed true for this legendary Bruceleg. The initial edition of "E" TICKET was manufactured simply following the traditional customary practices of making bootleg records (i.e., just stamping on a plain white cover) because the photo sleeve of that DARKNESS outtake shot and custom hörweite stereophonie labels were still under preparation when the very first vinyl pressing had become available to the bootleggers.

The first boxed edition 3LP recording of
the legendary Winterland 1978 concert

Bootleggers often swapped their "artifacts" in their community for fun and hobby, or just for making more profits by selling otherwise unavailable titles at their local markets. Supposedly, these initial copies, back then maybe available in a rather small quantity, were distributed among bootlegger's peers and their inner-circle members, including Bruce fanatics and enthusiastic Bruceleg supporters/collectors like him. The hand-written serial numbers were introduced probably to give some specialty and potential value to the otherwise dry and tasteless looking of the white cover, which was another customary practice of manufacturing bootleg. It is noteworthy to mention that a very similar practice has been observed in another landmark release, LIVE IN THE PROMISED LAND, the first issue of which was the limited-box edition with a stamped four-digit number on the yellow insert; the famous deluxe fold-out sleeve version came out a little later (which has also been heavily pirated over the years).

By the way, I am looking for the transcription or scanned copy of the following article: Dadomo, Giovanni — 'Bruce in Boots', review of Fire on the Fingertips, Sounds 1979. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could kindly help me with this.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: "E" TICKET (continued)

From the front sleeves of the first
and second pressings

The first pressing of "E" TICKET, which was just stamped on a white cover with a hand-written serial number, was, of course, unheard of back then. I well remember that I could not resist the temptation of having the special edition of this famous/legendary LP in the long history of Springsteen's bootleg, not only for its scarcity but also for a possible background story behind its pressing. Currently in my possession are two copies each of the first stamped cover and second black & white picture sleeve versions.

The rear sleeves of the inky first
press (upper) and the nicely
designed second press (lower)

The cover of both two copies of the first pressing is generic white featuring just a simple hand-made stamp in black ink that reads BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 'E' TICKET (by the way, I can't help but think that the stamp could have been better made). These stamped covers were most likely stacked flat in a careless way before black ink had dried, because the stamped text is blurry on the front (see the above picture), and the rear side of the white covers is fairly inky and dirty (see the picture right). Right-hand on the stamp immediately is a blue-inked, two-digit serial number for each copy, apparently written by the same person based on the scripts on the two sleeves. I do not know how many copies were numbered, although they are estimated to be not many considering the painstaking hand-written labor of numbering.

Record labels used for the first and second pressing of "E" TICKET and the matrix numbers hand-etched
on the dead wax (upper, Ruthless Rhymes; lower, hörweite stereophonie)

Three configurations of the original pressings:
stamped cover/Ruthless Rhymes label, picture
cover/Ruthless Rhymes label, and picture
cover/hörweite stereophonie label

As far as I examined, the vinyl disc from the first release is the same as that of the well-known second pressing housed in the black & white picture sleeve. The matrix numbers that are hand-etched "ESB-75-002-A" for Side One and "ESB-75-002-B" for Side Two are identical between these pressings, and there are no other codes or inscriptions on the dead wax areas. So, these vinyls obviously originated from the same set of stampers. The first pressing record labels were Ruthless Rhymes, one of the many varieties of bootleg labels that appeared in West Coast back then, often used by several different bootleggers, including Vicky Vinyl. This label was replaced by the yellow/green-colored hörweite stereophonie label when the second pressing came out. However, the picture sleeve version with the Ruthless Rhymes labels has circulated frequently in the collector's market (see the picture left). From these observations, it is evident that the earlier was the vinyl copies with the Ruthless Rhymes label.  — To be continued.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: "E" TICKET

Two very first Bruceleg CD titles
released back in 1989

Since the advent of the first Springsteen bootleg CD in 1989, almost all of the sound sources of vinyl bootleg have been digitized in physical media like CD and CD-R and become widely available on-line as electronic files in mp3 and FLAC formats (by the way, I still keep the original copies of the two earliest Bruceleg CD releases, YOU MEAN SO MUCH TO ME by Great Dane Records and TUNNEL OF LUST by a fake Swingin' Pig label). The main focus here on revisiting classic bootleg vinyls does not concern the sound quality but rather attempts to clarify a frequently asked question of which is the first and which is the second (or which is earlier and which is later), because a vinyl bootleg had often been repressed or pirated over the years, regardless of whether it was great or mediocre.

Let me begin this new subject with "E" TICKET. When I started collecting vinyl Brucelegs around in 1981, this excellent single LP was already regarded as one of the two legendary studio-recording Brucelegs, along with the equally fascinating FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS from the U.K. According to my record, I got my first copy of "E" TICKET in 1982 which was neither an original pressing nor a repressed issue but a pirated copy as evaluated from my current knowledge based on the labels on the wax and the matrix inscriptions. Back then, however, I knew little about how to distinguish the original pressing from later or pirate copies because of the lack of accurate information due to its nature. Besides, there were no practical means to gather information on vinyl bootlegs. It was long before the internet was widely available!

The four disputed vinyl bootleg albums,
reportedly made by the alleged
Californian bootlegger in the late 1970s.

The vinyl bootleg of "E" TICKET is presumably produced sometime in 1978-1979 by unidentified bootlegger(s) in the West Coast. Publicly, this studio outtake/alternate take collection has been said to be made by a then-famous female Californian bootlegger called Vicky Vinyl, most known whose Bruceleg artifacts are PIECE DE RESISTANCE and LIVE IN THE PROMISED LAND (also known as WINTERLAND, 1978), the two triple-disc bootlegs capturing famous 1978-tour FM broadcasts. Although V. Vinyl admitted that she was responsible for these two landmark releases, as for "E" TICKET, she denied her involvement in Federal district court in Los Angeles when Springsteen and CBS Records sued her in 1979 for copyright infringement by producing a total of four bootleg titles [i.e., those mentioned above plus FIRE (a double red/yellow colored LP consisting of excerpts from the Winterland 1978 broadcasted show)].

"E" TICKET: The very first release in a stamped cover and
the second issue in professional looking

I obtained several old vinyl Bruceleg titles, including the original copies of "E" TICKET, nearly two decades ago from a man who lived in Southern California, the once-great center of vinyl bootlegging activity in the US from the late 1960s throughout 1970s. He had a deep knowledge of the activity and history of West Coast bootlegs in general, and those of Brucelegs in particular. Hence, through the communication with him, I've got to know some inside stories of Brucelegs made there. For example, he confessed that he knew who made "E" TICKET, referring to the figure as a male ("I knew the guy who made it"), which is, in fact, consistent with Vicky's statement of her defense in court saying that she was nothing to do with this bootleg LP.

Contained among the vinyl Brucelegs he had provided me with was what is often called the "advanced copy" or "blank-cover pre-release" version of "E" TICKET. This special early edition has been skeptical of its genuity even by knowledgeable collectors (for reference, see brucespringsteen.it and The Amazing Kornyfone Label). According to him, there was a simple reason for the existence of this early version in a stamped white cover.  — To be continued.

THE RIVER Gate-fold sleeve 2LP: South African and Zimbabwean records

A few additional notes on the South African pressing and its relation to the possible Zimbabwean release. 

Postulated company logo and name on the rear sleeves
that might identify country of manufacture
(right top, South African; right bottom, Zimbabwean)

On the South African LP: Neither label nor sleeve indicates as to where the record is pressed. However, there is a logo character on the sleeve that seems to identify the South African pressings of vinyl records. On the bottom right-hand corner of the back sleeve is a blue-colored logo "interpak", possibly referring to the name of a printing service company in that country (not confirmed, but Google search suggested so), although the meaning of the accompanied number ("110") is totally unknown. To support this, the logo is also found on the rear sleeves of the South African LP pressings of various Pink Floyd albums that are released from the CBS label (this info is taken from here).

Seller's compliments?

On the Zimbabwean LP: To the best of my knowledge, there has been no solid evidence for the official release of Springsteen records in Zimbabwe. Nevertheless, on the previous post on Sep. 20, I mentioned the possibility of the gate-fold LP release from Zimbabwe as I've seen what was advertised as the copy auctioned off on eBay (only once, though). Although I am still not sure whether the double sleeve LP (or even the official release) really exists, I do own the single sleeve issue that was obtained from a Zimbabwean seller [By the way, in the postal package of the record, this seller enclosed a 10 billion bill of Zimbabwean dollars (10,000,000,000 ZWD) which, of course, has been devalued and worthless due to hyperinflation that hit this country during 2008-2009].

The catalog number (CBS AGP 87/88) is the same as the South African's. The sleeve is apparently made from recycle board, which according to the seller, is the norm for African records. Mostly due to this customary practice, African sleeves have never been as glossy as other sleeves and are more prone to wear. Interestingly, the seller also noted that many of African records from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Rhodesia, are currently being recycled and made into handbags and other goods, which makes these LP pressings even rarer.

The labels of Disc 2/Side 4 of the South African (left) and
Zimbabwean (right) records. Shown in the bottom is the
misprinted second track on the Zimbabwean LP label.

Overall, the record label and sleeve are very similar to, but distinct from, those of the South African copy, suggesting that this is not a cheap recycle of the leftover stock from the neighboring country. Based on the matrix number and inscription, the vinyl discs seem not to have been pressed there but were probably imported (or diverted?) from South Africa. Alternatively, the LP might have been manufactured in South Africa for export to Zimbabwe. These scenarios are not unlikely taking into consideration that the two African states have at least geographically close relationship. Below are some details of what I observed with the Zimbabwean LP in comparison to the South African release.

1. Both Zimbabwean and South African discs adopt the sunburst CBS label on which "Gramophone Records" is mentioned. However, as shown in the picture, the label design and description noticeably differ each other. 
2. The matrix numbers are identical on Side 1 (PAL 36855 SAF F27) and Side 4 (PAL 36856 SAF F30) between these two African releases, and differ only slightly on Side 2 and Side 3 (for both the sides: South African, PAL 36856 SAF F27; Zimbabwean, PAL 36856 SAF F26).
3. The rear sleeve design of the Zimbabwean LP is the same as that of the South African release except for the following two points: (1) The track list is printed on the upper left corner; (2) The "interpak" logo is not found on the bottom right corner. Instead, a white small square sticker is pasted saying "Belmont Printers" (see the picture above), which seems to be a Zimbabwean company according to the Google search. No idea about what a large "4A" means.
4. Like the South African issue, the Zimbabwean release has two printing errors: one being the same as the South African's rear sleeve misprint credit ("Garry Talent") while the other a different typo on the Side 4 label, erroneously listing the second track as "The Price You Can Pay" (another example of this song being misprinted is found on the record label of the Brazilian LP that says "The Price You Play").

Rear sleeve of the Zimbabwean LP with track listing (left)
and that of the South African (right) without it.

Though looking similar, as noted above, the record labels and sleeve of the Zimbabwean album (the single sleeve in my possession) are appreciably distinguishable from those of the South African. From these facts and observations, I think that the single sleeve release is confirmatory but the double jacket release remains to be documented. At present, I cannot deny the possibility that the South African copy was recycled for making the Zimbabwean version of the double sleeve LP.

From the following posts, I am planning to write about classic vinyl bootlegs from my collection. Topics on the official releases including THE RIVER and others will return sometime in future.