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 haven't had much time to write about rare records or old bootleg titles. So, here's a brief note from my collecting log that might interest some readers. I recently picked up, through a domestic online auction, a used copy of the second Japanese LP pressing of GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. (CBS/SONY SOPO-124) — the one famous for its wrap-around obi decoration. It cost me only 380 Yen (= 3 bucks and some pennies) with no other bidders, probably because, as shown in the picture (from the actual auction), the obi was folded and cut open along the bottom edge. Even so, both the postcard sleeve and vinyl are clean in excellent condition.

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).

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.

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).