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.