Collecting log: More on DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN Japanese LP (1st press)

A two-page advertisement from a major Japanese music
magazine issued around the time of the album release.
This portrait picture has been used for promotional posters.

Back in 1978, the promotion of Springsteen's then new album DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (CBS/SONY 25AP 1000) was handled here in Japan by Mr. Ryo Okada of CBS/SONY Records. As already mentioned in the past blog, upon the release of THE PROMISE box (SONY SIPC 2971-6) in 2010 to commemorate the 32th anniversary of the album, he was interviewed about the struggle of promoting this dark-toned album following enthusiastic BORN TO RUN, which is included in the booklet exclusive to the Japanese edition of the box set. In the interview, one thing he emphasizes is how he really wished Badlands (CBS/SONY 06SP 256) could be cut, instead of Prove It All Night (CBS/SONY 06SP 232), as the lead-off single to get more airplay on the radio for achieving the commercial success and spotlight on this album. This interview also contains some information that might attract interest from record collectors like me, a part of which has already been introduced in the aforementioned blog article. In the following, though trivial, I attempt to summarize the rest of such information particularly related to this LP.

Instantly memorable catalog number found on the white label for
promotion only and the regular label that is rubber-stamped with
the word "mi-hon-ban" in the three Japanese Kanji characters
meaning a sample disc.

In 1978, DARKNESS is released on June 2 in the US, and then in Japan within one month therefrom (July 1). Back then, this schedule was exceptionally tight for releasing a foreign album here. He told that it was sometime in May that he first heard of the news of the new album. So, every decision must be made quickly in the manufacture and production of the album and the first single. According to him, the clear-cut catalog number (exactly, the serial number “1000” of “25AP 1000”) of the album was specially assigned for this release so that the staff of the sales department of the company easily remembered it. Mr. Okada recalled that he managed to get prior approval from his boss for this particular catalog number [By the way, "25" and "AP" refer to the fixed retail price (2,500 JPY) in the domestic market and the release format (i.e., album release), respectively].

Two versions of the original colorful Obi (the left is earlier)
which contrasts with the rather somber album jacket.
The live snapshot on the top, from 1976-77 tour, is really cool.

Special treatments are also made for the Obi strips for the first pressing of this LP, as evidenced by the use of the multiple color scheme (red, yellow, blue, white, and black). This was rather a rare case, at least with the CBS/Sony products, because at the time, two-colored Obi was the standard for the company's LP releases. In fact, the colorful Obi adds to the great effect of the album jacket which stands out when compared to those of contemporary albums released by other artists from the same record label. Featuring a color photo image is also rather exceptional. He explained that this live snapshot was provided by the Canadian branch of Columbia Records/CBS Records when the Obi artwork was to be designed for the prompt release. Since the shot fitted perfectly what Mr. Okada envisioned, it was adopted immediately and placed on the top of the Obi. From these tales, it seems that he has done whatever he could with religious care for the highly anticipated album by a potentially important, but relatively unknown foreign young rocker here.

A one-page version of the album Ad found
in a major music magazine issued in 1978

Speaking of the first pressing DARKNESS Obi, as you might notice, there exist two variants: one without and another with an extra red-colored margin on the right (about 1.6 cm width). What this part of the Obi writes about is that the free giveaway of an extra-large poster is available for the first 20,000 purchasers and limited to the initial pressing only (I believe that the poster was handed to a buyer at shops upon purchasing the album). So, the wider Obi strip is a proof for the very first DARKNESS album pressed in Japan. The size of the free poster is indicated on this space of the Obi as 1 m 3 cm height x 1 m 47 cm width.

Finally, I point out two minor differences between the US and Japanese LP sleeves that probably you already know. One is with respect to the inner sleeve which is made of noticeably thinner paper for the Japanese version compared to the US counterpart. Another difference is found on the rear side of the album jacket.

Rear sleeve variation with respect to font size and color: left, original US press
(with a gold promo stamp); middle, US repress (with a red & white "Badlands"
sticker on front); right, Japanese 1st press.

As shown right, the original US release uses the large font for listing the album tracks on the top left and black ink for printing the album credits on the bottom left. The Japanese original (and reissue) releases, however, use the small font for the tracklist as seen in the later US pressings. On the other hand, the album credits remain printed in black but not in white ink, just like the US original pressing. I cannot find any clue to explain this mixed-up font usage in his interview.