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| TUNNEL vinyl rarities; still lacking the Spanish advanced promotional package, though |
Nearly 20 yeas ago, I obtained this EP (
Tunnel Of Love /
Ain’t Got You //
Brilliant Disguise /
One Step Up),
originally released in late 1987 or early 1988 in a west-central South American
country.
 |
Close-up pic of the left side of the rear
sleeve with a half-round cutout |
Back then, I never expected it to become one of the scarcest and
most valued items among Springsteen collectibles, although it was
already tad pricey as a 7-inch vinyl. Not knowing the "future value", when I found a copy for sale, my motivation to purchase it was just
simple:
"It's a rare format and configuration from a rare country, so OK, why don't take it." Since then I have never seen any copy offered, whether by private sale, set sale or auction. On literature and Internet review,
Record Collector ranks it as
no. 8 out of the top 40 worldwide rarities, estimating the value of £ 1,250(!) in mint condition (No. 329; November
2006 issue) and the
Lost In The Flood collector's website describes it as
"one of the rarest worldwide Springsteen 7-inch releases ever." Unbelievable.
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| Hand-etched matrix number on Side 1 |
Playable at 33 1/3 rpm, unique to this disc is of course its 4-track configuration including the only 7-inch release of
Ain’t Got You.
Another feature is that, like LP sleeves, the picture sleeve is
open at side rather than at top, a single pocket
sleeve format that is common to most European 7-inch releases but uncommon to the US and UK releases. The rear sleeve states in Spanish that
"MANUFACTURADO POR HERIBA LTDA. CON LICENCIA DE CBS-INDUSTRIA BOLIVIANA" (manufactured by
Heriba Ltda.,
CBS-licensed Bolivian industry), which is also printed along the rim of
the sunburst labels on the wax. According to Google search,
Heriba Ltda. is a legitimate record manufacturing company in that country, dealing with 7" singles, EP and LP vinyls released by various artists (for example, check
Discogs). Matrix numbers are hand-etched "
CBS SCP 10522 A" and "
CBS SCP 10522 B" on Side One and Two, respectively. There are two more hand-written inscriptions on each side of the dead wax area, one being "
28-I-88" and another unreadable to me (maybe mastering engineer's signature?). Just guessing that the former inscription may refer to a certain date (28/01/1988) such as the day the lacquer master was cut, or the official release date of this particular EP. Frankly, I am not so enthusiastic about this item, but I must admit that I'm happy with it in my collection.
