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).

It is rather rare that the labels print artist name and track
information although some of them are not correct
("SPINSTEEN" and "PROMISED LAND"). Compare this to
"blank" Ruthless Rhymes labels seen here.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 78 probably appeared in late 1978 or 1979, along with several other bootlegs that also originated from tapes recording FM-broadcasts by radio stations from the Roxy in Los Angeles, Agora in Cleveland, Capitol Theater in Passaic and Winterland in San Francisco; the live broadcast from Fox Theater in Atlanta was rarely bootlegged in the vinyl era. One note to this bootleg is that If I am not mistaken, it is one of the earliest, perhaps the second ever full-color sleeve release (though the front only) following the famous LIVE on Coral Records. Such sleeve might have aroused collector's interest, since back then cheap slick insert covers were still the standard package design for many bootleg releases. The record label is the Ruthless Rhymes, one of many variations used for West Coast bootlegs in the late 1970s, and one of the regular labels frequently used by the then infamous bootlegger Vicki Vinyl.

As you know, Vicki Vinyl is responsible for producing PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE (see here). So, she probably released at least two different bootlegs using the same source, regardless of what the rear sleeve of BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 78 states ["RECORDED LIVE AT (sic) CINCINNATI, OHIO SEPTEMBER 78"]. This represents a typical example of traditional practice in bootlegging in order to make more money: selling essentially the same content (or part of it) in different packages with intentionally wrong information on the recordings. All right, but is that all there is in this bootlegger's practice?
— To be continued.

Upper: The spine of SPRINGSTEEN 78 inserted between FOR TRUE ROCKERS and LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY 12.31.1980  (the latter better known as HAPPY NEW YEAR!) box sets reads "acr records 61 bruce springsteen live stereo." Sleeve spine credits are rather rare with Springsteen's bootlegs in the 1970s. Lower: Wrong recording information printed on the bottom of the rear sleeve together with tracklisting where some of the song titles are also not accurate. Okay, but where's Prove It All Night ? (which shouldn't have been excluded!)