May 11, 2016

Born To Run original US pressing 7-inch variants (not LP this time!)

Stamped on the dead wax areas are ZSS160700-1H/ZSS160700-1J (left) and ZSS160700-1C/ZSS160700-1C (right)
Take a look at the above image showing two regular copies of the original US 7-inch pressing of Born To Run (US Columbia 3-10209), backed with Meeting Across The River and released in 1975 (more than 40 years ago!). Here my question is how they differ from each other?  All the information provided on the sunburst labels is the same between the two copies. At a glance, you can easily recognize the difference in typeface used for the track title and artist name, with one looking normal (right) while the other being apparently taller (left). So are the other descriptions and there is some variation in font size and layout as well. These differences mostly indicate that they are pressed and manufactured at different locations because label designs often differ slightly among different pressing plants (back then, Columbia Records owned three pressing plants located in Terre Haute, IN, Pitman, NJ, and Santa Maria, CA). So, is it just that, or are there any more major differences?  The answer is yes, there is another substantial difference although it's hard to explain that with the label pictures alone.
— To be continued.

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1 comment :

  1. wbhist12/17/23, 9:48 PM

    From my eye, as an expert in type layout, the Santa Maria (with Varityper and Varityper Headliner fonts) seemed rather clunky and inelegant. The Pitman (whose type was also used on Terre Haute pressings) had more command and control over how to do it right.

    The typefaces used, from smallest to largest, on the Santa Maria pressings were:
    - 7 point Sans Serif Bold (Varityper)
    - 10 point Futura Bold (Varityper Headliner)
    - 14 point Alternate Gothic No. 1 (Varityper Headliner)
    This and other fonts of that nature were used by Santa Maria from May 1966 (when they weaned themselves off of The Bert-Co Enterprises of Los Angeles for their label copy needs on the 'Coast) and August 1977 (when that plant got the same package of Mergenthaler Linotype VIP fonts Pitman began using in June 1974, and Terre Haute later that year). These fonts (also including 12 point Gothic Extra Bold Condensed) were most prevalent on many a West Coast label such as Warner/Reprise, ABC/Dunhill, 20th Century, and White Whale. On those labels, for the most part, Pitman and Terre Haute pressings bore Santa Maria label type.

    Pitman used, on this, two basic typefaces: 8, 10 and 12 point Franklin Gothic, and 6 point Trade Gothic Light.

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