Collecting log: Collectable acquisitions in 2017 (Part 3 of 3)

Here is the final part of the three consecutive posts on this year's collectable selection (Part 1 and Part 2 here). As written on the last paragraph of this post, a question arises on the item introduced here which hopefully gets answered from knowledgeable visitors. This post is also the latest addition to a featured blog series DARKNESS US pressing LP variations.


DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US white label promo LP - Terre Haute pressing (US Columbia JC 35318)

From the auction page: I hadn't noticed a indigo-blue rubber stamp on the front sleeve indicating
where this copy came from, until I received the record shipped by the U.S. seller.

Collecting log: Collectable acquisitions in 2017 (Part 2 of 3)

The usual year-ending blog post continues. Following the previous post on a rare U.S. edition of THE RIVER LP (Part 1), this penultimate post (or maybe the last, depending on my circumstances) for 2017 spotlights an interesting box vinyl collectable I obtained this year.


BORN IN THE USA : US 1989 Radio Show Program 12-LP Box plus an Interviews/Generic Promos Disc (On The Radio Broadcasting, no number)

With 13 discs and 26 sides, this box set is the largest volume of radio show discs I have ever owned. Before this, it was ROCK ON THE ROAD Part II: The American Bands that was the maximum (5 discs), featuring the still unreleased live version of Prove It All Night recorded on July 1st, 1978, Berkeley, California.

Collecting log: Collectable acquisitions in 2017 (Part 1 of 3)

To me, officially and privately, 2017 was the busiest in recent years, and although the calendar year is coming to a close, here in the Far East, the fiscal year still continues to the end of March next year. Accordingly, the number of blog posts this year (that counts 22 including this one) is the lowest since 2014 when I started writing about my collection. This situation also slowed down my activities for collecting and hunting, which, in marked contrast to the last year's report, resulted in few exciting collectables in 2017 (and that's why I refrain using the term "best" collectable for the title of this year-end post). Having said that, I pick up three vinyl titles from this year's acquisition: they are not new here, or probably not main stream collectables, but still worth mentioning as interesting items. Note that this first post is also the latest part of a featured blog series THE RIVER LP collectibles.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: PAID THE COST TO BE THE BOSS and other bootlegs from the 1976-1977 Tour (concluded)

Two copies in my possession. One is an original Hangman-labeled, marble-blue vinyl pressing while the other with blank labels looks black vinyl but in fact is coffee brownish. Both discs are pressed from the same stampers. Hand-etched matrix numbers are AB-1 (side 1, as shown) and AB-2 (side 2).

The first ever issue of the Backstreets magazine, which was distributed free of charge at an early THE RIVER tour concert in Seattle on October 1980, features a one-page article titled Born to collect Springsteen paraphernalia, focusing on a serious U.S. collector of Springsteen items. In the article, while he mentions the six hottest collectables that include four vinyl items (LAST AMERICAN HERO Japanese promo LP, Blinded By The Light US 7" stock single, DARKNESS promo picture disc, and the then-brand-new Devil With The Blue Dress Medley promo 12" release), he also compiles a list of 30 bootleg albums he owns. I assume this list covers almost all, if not all, bootleg LP titles that predate the release of THE RIVER. The only 1976-1977 tour bootleg on his list is PAID THE COST TO BE THE BOSS (1LP; Nov. 4, 1976, New York City, NY), which indicates that this is probably the earliest known bootleg LP that documents live performances in this particular period between BORN TO RUN and DARKNESS albums.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: PAID THE COST TO BE THE BOSS and other bootlegs from the 1976-1977 Tour

Speaking of the Springsteen's officially sanctioned live archive series, I am one of those who have still continued to crave for old live performances of 1970s and 1980s. So, the most significant download to me this year was a twin release of Albany and Rochester concerts in New York, taken from the long-ignored period of 1976-1977 (covering the so-called "Chicken Scratch" and "Lawsuit" tours) that is excluded from LIVE/1975-85 and other official vinyl/digital releases. What was unexpected with the two sets of dowloads is that Springsteen has finally approved to use sub-standard recordings for official releases (i.e., These shows were recorded on cassette tapes). This fact may promise that more live archives, especially of classic performances early in his career, will follow as future releases, even if such recordings hardly meet Springsteen's standards in terms of sound quality.

The 1976-1977 tour bootlegs are initially released in the late 1970s to the early 1980s as excerpted concert live (upper three copies), and then appear in full or nearly complete form as triple-LP format in the mid-to-late 1980's (lower two). THE BOSTON BREAKER (mostly 25/03/1977, Boston MA; lower left) is released during the BORN IN THE USA tour (reported in the No. 14 issue of the Backstreets magazine published summer 1985) while IT'S ONLY ROCK AND ROLL (09/10/1976, South Bend IN; lower right) is one of the very last Brucelegs made in the end of the vinyl bootleg era last century, before the rise of bootleg CD industry early in the 1990s. 

Collecting log: GREETINGS US test pressing LP from the Pitman factory (and its comparison with Jim Cretecos's copy)

According to the labels on the wax, this copy is pressed at the Columbia Records' pressing plant in Pitman, N.J., and includes a stapled 10-page lyric sheet (the lyrics for Blinded By The Light are printed across 2 pages and the remaining eight songs on one page each). Inset, Each song is copyrighted by Sioux City Music Ltd., the music company derived from Laurel Canyon Ltd. (both run by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos) that became the management-exclusive arm after separation of music division.

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Supplementary Note to Hauppauge pressing (Pressing Plant run by Keel Mfg. Corp.)

Composite image from the actual auction page
(originally shown as three separated images)

This short post is just following up on early U.S. copies of the DARKNESS LP (JC 35318) that are pressed at the Keel manufacturing factory, located in Hauppauge, New York. Two months ago, I won a domestic auction of vinyl collection sold as "junk records," consisting of early six LP titles (five official and one bootleg albums; total eight discs). Although the seller did not provide any information on these records, especially on the official releases such as countries of origin, I was tempted to join the auction (and did so) because I knew that this kind of auction would usually not cost high (It actually cost me 300 JPY per disc, which exceeded a little bit my expectation, though). Another reason was that this volume contained one of the all-time classic bootlegs with an original orange slick insert. Finally, in a small picture displayed on the auction page, I spotted a gold stamp on the upper left corner of the rear sleeve of DARKNESS. Normally, it would be a "promo" stamp but I just couldn't read what was stamped exactly. Having received these records, I found that all but BORN TO RUN (which was a Japanese reissue missing an obi) were U.S. pressings, with DARKNESS originating from the Keel plant. The remaining were second pressing copies for GREETINGS ... in the postcard gate-fold sleeve (PC 31903) and THE WILD ... with the yellow/cream cover title (PC 32432), and an original THE RIVER from the Pitman factory (PC 36854).

Thoughts on My Father's House on NEBRASKA LP (addendum)

  Various Japanese releases of NEBRASKA and an official poster distributed for the promotion in 1982.

About a year ago, I wrote my thoughts on a longer, alternate version of My Father's House in four consecutive posts (here to here). On this subject, I had, and still have, one trivial question to be answered: Which version, standard or alternate, was originally included on the cassette tape (CBS/SONY 25KP 868) released in Japan?  Commercially, the alternate version first appeared in 1985 on the Japan-pressed copies of NEBRASKA CD, including those exported to the U.S. and Europe where they were manufactured as the first edition. According to the Brucebase website, this was because the U.S. Columbia Records have mistakenly sent the different master tapes (pseudo-stereo mix) to CBS/SONY for pressing CD in Japan. So, logically, the version on the cassette, which is released in 1982, must be the standard, shorter take without a synth code, just like that on the vinyl album. So, why I got to think about this?

Collecting log: THE RIVER-era promotion-only various artists' compilation albums released in Japan and The Killer Tracks From The River (concluded)

One of the few coolest sleeves among his entire vinyl releases.

Since the mid-1970s, as pointed out in the early issue of the Backstreets Magazine (#10, Summer 1984), Japan has been a major source of highly collectable vinyl records from Springsteen. As far as the 1970's albums go, the most highly demanded include the advanced white label promotional 1st pressing copy of THE WILD, THE INNOCENT & THE E STREET SHUFFLE (CBS/SONY SOPL-239; released in 1974) with a typo obi, both regular and promotional 2nd pressing copies of GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. (SOPO-124; released in 1975) with a wrap-around obi, and the world's first-ever custom promotion-only album LAST AMERICAN HERO FROM ASBURY PARK N.J. (YAPC 95; relased in 1978). Although not an LP but a 12-inch EP recorded at 33 1/3 rpm, The Killer Tracks From The River (XDAP 93030; released in 1981), another custom promo-only compilation,probably represents the most important Japanese 30-cm diameter discs released in the 1980s under his name.

Collecting log: THE RIVER-era promotion-only various artists' compilation albums released in Japan and The Killer Tracks From The River

Various promotion-only vinyl compilation albums
released in Japan and other countries

On one Saturday a few weeks ago, I drove down for 20 min to the used record shop I mentioned here and there on this blog, to see if the shop's got something rare in stock. Unfortunately, there were nothing special for Springsteen collectibles that caught my eyes. So, before leaving the shop, I checked promotional LP compilations of various artists that might contain his track(s), even though the category is not my prime target as told previously. Then I found (and bought) a mediocre-looking LP titled ALL AMERICAN TOP 100 VOLUME 33 - 1981 MARCH (CBS/SONY XAAP 90021). This is one of the almost monthly-release series of promotion-only compilation samplers CBS/Sony had continued to release in the vinyl era. Picking up ten or more songs from the label's artists and groups based on their chart action on Billboard Hot 100, this single-LP compilation series occasionally contained one single-cut track from Springsteen's albums, as far as it stayed within the top 100 single chart. For example, before the 1981 March issue, Prove It All Night was included in both 1978 July (YAPC 96) and August (YAPC 98) issues; Badlands in the 1978 October (YAPC 100) issue; and Hungry Heart in 1980 September (XAAP 90017) through 1981 February (XAAP 90020) issues.

THE RIVER Gate-fold sleeve 2LP: Venezuelan release

Right after opening the parcel that has been delivered from the other
side of the globe. International shipping cost only $5.00 by FEDEX 
which are unbelievably cheap compared to the current standard rates
for importing LP or 12" releases.

Special record packages, like gate-fold sleeves or box sets, always stimulate collectors' mind. This is particularly the case when they are limited in quantities or available only in certain regions or countries. As already featured several times in this blog, the gate-fold sleeve edition of THE RIVER LP is a representative example of such vinyl collectibles and has been released back in 1980 in the following five countries: Israel (CBS 88510), Mexico (CBS LP2S-103), Venezuela (CBS CS-10378), South Africa (CBS AGP 87/88) and Hong Kong (CBS/SONY 40AP 1960-1). What makes these releases more collector-oriented is the fact that they differ from each other, slightly or totally, in terms of the artwork design inside the gate-fold sleeve. So, serious collectors, including myself, have collected them all (or are trying to do so).

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Gloversville pressing (Pressing Plant owned by MCA Records)

Unfortunately, the signature (⧈-G-⧈) of MCA Records'
pressing plant in Gloversville is stamped so weak that it is
not clearly visible on the dead wax of my copy (shown 
is the stamp on Side 2, as indicated by hand-etched "2").
Check the Discogs website for the clearer images.

The U.S.-pressed DARKNESS LP (Columbia JC 35318) variation continues. First introduced here in this blog, early copies of this vinyl album have more varieties than those of the other albums, in terms of the location of the pressing plant where the record was manufactured. The cause of this variation was due to the labor strike that took place in Spring 1978 at the Pitman pressing plant of NJ, the then major factory to manufacture and distributie Columbia Records' products mainly for the East Coast market. This compelled the plant to stop its operation temporarily and so, several unusual pressing plants (to Springsteen's records) had compensated for the album production, although the two other major Columbia's plants located in Santa Maria CA, and Terre Haute IN, were most probably unaffected and operating. Here on this post, I show the fourth example of such early DARKNESS copies, not originating from any of the three major Columbia Records' plants, but pressed at MCA Records' Gloversville plant of NY, according to the dead wax matrix information on the vinyl disc.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: Thoughts on double LP bootleg releases from the DARKNESS Tour '78 (concluded)

This bootleg is one of the earliest triple-vinyl box sets. Two blue-transparent
vinyls on the center are LP discs and the lilac-opaque disc on the right is a
12" EP (45 rpm). I don't know anything about "Hangman" labels except that
this East Coast-based (?) bootleg label has also released some other
Springsteen LP and 7" vinyls, such as PAID THE PRICE TO BE THE BOSS
from a November 1976 show and the Fever/Higher & Higher (live) single.

It was since 1978's DARKNESS Tour that triple-vinyl format has become standard for Springsteen's live bootleg, as represented by PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE, LIVE IN THE PROMISED LAND and PHILADELPHIA SPECIAL. This simply reflected the length of concerts Springsteen performed during this tour which had been substantially extended compared to the previous tour (i.e., From this tour, shows were divided into two sections plus encores). Before these bootleg titles, there had probably been only one or two releases of multi-disc sets consisting of more than a double LP: BOX O' ROCKS (5LP) and THE GREAT WHITE BOSS (3LP). However, the former is a repackaged volume of the first three issues of Hoffman Avenue Records releases [i.e. THE JERSEY DEVIL (1LP), THERE AIN'T NOBODY HERE FROM BILLBOARD TONIGHT (2LP) and HOT COALS FROM FIERY FURNACE (2LP)]. The latter, on the other hand, is actually not a 3LP set but to be exact, it is a double album plus a 12" EP (45 rpm), and I don't know for certain if this particular version (i.e. Hangman labels) among several of the Bottom Line bootlegs indeed came out before the aforementioned DARKNESS Tour bootlegs.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: Thoughts on double LP bootleg releases from the DARKNESS Tour '78

Even though released nearly 40 years ago, this copy is still in excellent
condition. Shown on the left is a triple-vinyl bootleg called GOLD. DUST
AND ROCK'N ROLL (with the booklet) bootlegging a 1985 European concert.
It was also sold by the same seller at the same low price (290 JPY)
and so I just bought it.

Last April, I obtained a copy of an old vinyl DARKNESS tour bootleg entitled BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 78 (Audifön ACR61) that consists of an excerpt taken from the legendary FM-broadcasted live at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey, September 19th 1978. This concert is much more widely known by the bootleg title PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE, one of the most critically acclaimed in the history of Bruceleg. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 78 is a double LP release containing a half of the entire 24 songs played that night (counting Not Fade Away/She's the One and so called Detroit Medley as one individually) whereas almost the complete show is covered in the triple vinyl PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE box set (i.e. Incomplete is Fire that is cut in the middle during the song's break, most probably due to space limitation on Side C that includes lengthy Jungleland and Kitty's Back). When collecting vinyl Brucelegs enthusiastically in old days, I used to avoid independently pressed, but content-wise duplicated releases of a same live concert mainly to hold down expenses, unless the second copy had better sound or other kinds of merits. This 2-LP bootleg was no exception and I've long ignored it because the far more complete box set was available. A main reason for purchasing the copy was that it could be considered old enough to fall into the category of classic vinyl bootleg, but more than this was the way cheap price it was sold for at auction (won without competition at 290 JPY = $2.55 as of today's exchange rate).

HUMAN TOUCH / LUCKY TOWN Japanese collectibles (not on vinyl): On the 25th anniversary of the twin album releases (concluded)

Part of my cassette collection. On the 5th from the right is 
the one I consider the most unique and rarest among these.

This is the final part on the Japanese Top 3 collectibles concerning HUMAN TOUCH and LUCKY TOWN, following two blogs reporting the second- and third-ranking items posted last May. In my personal view, top on the list is an item that may be questionable to some collectors for its authenticity. That is again a seldom seen cassette tape issued by Sony Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., for promotion of the twin album a few months after the release. The tape captures a broadcasted live from the Hollywood Center Studios, Los Angeles, on June 5th, 1992, collectively known as "Dress Rehearsal" for the upcoming 1992-1993 world tour. The recorded performance is nothing rarity as it was aired over FM radio across the USA, and consequently, has been widely available in some forms including various bootleg releases. The reason why I ranked it as number one is based on the fact that the aired performance (or part of it) has never been released in any official form in any country of the world except this one, provided that it is truly a genuine Sony product.

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Hauppauge pressing (Pressing Plant run by Keel Mfg. Corp.)

Keel's dead wax symbol (stamped on both sides)

Up to THE RIVER copies released early in the 1980s, most, if not all, of the U.S. vinyl copies of Springsteen's albums had been pressed at three major pressing plants of the U.S. Columbia Records: Pitman (ceased manufacturing vinyls in December 1986), Terre Haute (stopped vinyl pressing in late 1982), and Santa Maria (closed in 1981). As I wrote previously, however, the DARKNESS LP is the exception. This was because the Pitman pressing plant stopped operation temporarily due to labor issues just before the scheduled release date of his highly anticipated 4th album in Spring 1978. As a result, vinyl manufacturing factories, that had probably never made (or at least had not made major) contributions on pressing any of Springsteen's LPs before, got involved in the album production. This led to a small variety of the early vinyl copies of DARKNESS that differ in where they were pressed. In fact, the locations of pressing plants were mostly unusual for Springsteen's albums available back then, such as Pinckneyville, IL, and Scranton, PA. Such vinyl variants can be identified by checking label designs, circular indents on the labels, or matrix etchings and unique stamps found on the dead wax space.

BORN TO RUN US pressing LP variants: Clarifying pressing plant-specific matrix number suffixes 1A, 1B, and 1C

This post represents the 100th upload on this blog in two years and eight months of sharing my views and thoughts on what I have collected over the years, mainly focusing on vinyl collectibles of both official and bootleg records (but I haven't written about what I don't own - that's my policy). It is remarkable to me (as a non-native English user) that I still continue and enjoy writing. Here I take this opportunity to thank all of you who have read and commented to this blog and those who have sent me private messages for whatever reasons.

HUMAN TOUCH / LUCKY TOWN Japanese collectibles (not on vinyl): On the 25th anniversary of the twin album releases (continued)

The text-only sleeve is often used for advanced promo releases, especially in 
regions outside the U.S., like Japan, as any picture material is not available
or not allowed to be used when discs are ready for distribution. A combination
of two small Kanji characters in parenthesis means "planned" or "scheduled."

The second selection from what I consider the Top 3 Japanese rarities from HUMAN TOUCH and LUCKY TOWN is probably the rarest and most sought-after among all of Springsteen's 3" CDs. The Boss Is Back!!: Human Touch c/w Better Days (SONY XDEP 93043) is an advanced promotion-only single release for distribution to radio stations and music critics/reviewers before it was available for regular sale in Japan on March 19, 1992. For this reason, and owing to the unique, now defunct disc format and custom-designed black & red title sleeve, this CD has become highly demanded by collectors all over the world. 

HUMAN TOUCH / LUCKY TOWN Japanese collectibles (not on vinyl): On the 25th anniversary of the twin album releases

This year marks the 25th anniversary of HUMAN TOUCH and LUCKY TOWN, simultaneously released here in Japan on April 8th, 1992 (about a week behind the US release date). I remember that his new moves (recording without the E Street Band and touring with "the other" band) were highly criticized by many, especially those who saw themselves as old-guard and long-time fans. In this regard, I was rather in a minority because several of the performances they played during 1992-1993 were (and still are) my favorites, including uptempo rocking Atlantic City (as mentioned before), the 1992 version of If I Should Fall Behind performed in the original folk-rock arrangement, and the 1993 rendition of Lucky Town with the extended guitar outro. 

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE 3LP box (Update 1)

According to Hobbes, sold at $25 back in old days
(see his comment to this blog)

First of all, thank you so much for recent comments on some topics and private messages (PM) directed to me after the last blog was up on this site. I feel sorry for not being able to respond to most of them by posting new blogs, just because I'm having a flood of work that still pulls me away from blogging. Since I started this site, I've tried to write at least once a month (and did so). This time, however, I just couldn't do that. As a result, there was no update last month. Now I'm recovering from overwork, but I think I still need some time for restoring normal activity. Anyway, here's a short note in response to a recent comment and a PM regarding PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE from two fellow collectors.

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Scranton pressing (Pressing Plant owned by North American Music Industries)

A full-page ad for Prove It All Night, the first single from
DARKNESS album, in the May-27th 1978 issue of Billboard
magazine that reports the end of the Pitman strike. 

Through the 1970s up to early 1980s, there were three major vinyl-pressing plants, located in Terre Haute, IN (1953-1982), Pitman, NJ (1960-1986) and Santa Maria, CA (1963-1981), that served the US Columbia Records. So, most of vinyl copies of Springsteen's albums up to THE RIVER originate from one of these plants. As told in the last blog, however, the original copies of DARKNESS album have more variation with respect to where they are pressed, because the Pitman Plant stopped pressing operation temporarily upon strike until close to the scheduled release date (due late May 1978), which necessitated the company to find out substituting factories. In the May-27th issue, Billboard magazine reports that the strike ended May 17, 1978. The magazine continues that the full production is expected to resume by this week* and that the settlement will allow CBS to be able to meet demand on upcoming releases by Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Boston, and Dave Mason (*May 27th is Saturday).

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Pinckneyville pressing (Pressing Plant owned by MCA Records)

Still-sealed US vinyl collection of the DARKNESS album from my archive

Although one of the best sounding vinyls among his early original releases, collecting-wise, the US release of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN LP (US Columbia JC 35318) has not been so attractive to me, especially compared to the other classic albums such as BORN TO RUN or THE RIVER. This is probably because it is a single album housed in a single pocket sleeve without significant variations, with the exception of the picture disc edition that is not commercially available and released solely for promoting the album in the U.S. market; the half-speed mastered LP (US Columbia HC 45318), another notable variation, is classified as a reissue - not an original. Nonetheless, there still exist minor but noticeable variations, for example, in the font size (large or small) and color (black or white) used for displaying track listing and album credits on the rear LP sleeve, respectively, and thickness and printing quality of the inner sleeve with a B&W photo portrait and the credits, as briefly mentioned here.

Collecting log: CHAPTER & VERSE 2LP Japanese edition. A real disappointing release, speaking collector-wise

The Japanese edition is found out to be just a simple repackage of the European release, additionally reproducing the rear sleeve as a slick insert for Japanese credits and information (see the enlarged image of the portion below). Note that vinyl discs are not originally protected by frosted inner plastic poly bags. Including such poly bags was normal for conventional vinyl discs released in Japan, though.

Collecting log: LAST AMERICAN HERO FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J., Japanese custom promotion-only compilation LP (reprise) — Information sheet originally included?

Never seen before this Japan-only extreme scarcity that is
accompanied with a 7-page info sheet from the company 
(CBS/SONY Japan)

Recently, this mega rare vinyl LP was up for a major Japanese auction site and the competition closed last weekend. The copy went to someone (not me!) who paid over $1,100 (129,500 JPY exactly) as a result of a cumulative total of 36 bids. It is interesting to note that this is the fourth copy of this custom promotion-only album auctioned off here that I saw less than a year ago. The first copy was put on auction last April in 2016 and the winning bid was 241,000 JPY with a cumulative total of 30 bids. The second one came out last June and was sold for 219,500 JPY, which involved total 58 bids. Late December last year, the third one was won for 193,000 JPY with total 44 bids. As far as I examined the images that were shown on the individual auction pages, these auctioned records were different, independent copies each other. I think this is quite a rare case that such an extreme scarcity suddenly emerged four times on the auction site within 10 months, taking into account the frequency by which it appeared on auction in the past and the limited copy number pressed back in 1978 (reportedly 100 copies, the unconfirmed number of which has been exported to the US; check the previous blog).