DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Decoding two- or three-letter matrix hand etchings on the early pressings (Part 2 of 2)

NOTE: Vinyl discs reported here with the hand-etched matrix code "PPP" was found not to be pressed at the Pitman factory. Please check the updated information in the blog entry from 8/20/2022.

One yet unelucidated DARKNESS matrix code found
in some of the early U.S. pressings.

In some fraction of the early vinyl copies of the U.S. DARKNESS album released in June 1978, you can find at least four different varieties of hand-etched matrix codes, PN, PMI, PMN and PK. Each code specifies one of the four pressing plants that had been used unusually and temporarily for making Springsteen's fourth LP, due to the transient shutdown of the Pitman plant, one of the three major Columbia plants back then. In the last post, I attempted to crack these codes and proposed that: (1) the first and shared letter P might denote the Pitman plant because it is the most probable common term; (2) a second letter, N, M or K, refers to an initial of company that owned one of these pressing plants; and (3) a third letter, I or N, specifies the State where a company locates its own facilities. According to these assumptions, I interpreted the four matrix codes as follows: PN for Pitman/North American Music Industries, Scranton, Pennsylvania; PMI for Pitman/MCA Records, Pinckneyville, Illinois; PMN for Pitman/MCA Records, Gloversville, New York; and PK for Pitman/Keel Manufacturing Corp., Hauppauge (blog posts 1 and 2), New York.

There may be more examples but I cannot so far find any others, except for the three-letter code PPP, which is hand-inscribed on the run-off matrix of SIDE 2 of the certain pressings. I own four such copies whose rear sleeve features the large track listing and black font credits (see the last post for the details of the rear sleeve variation). The four copies share the identical matrix information and the machine-stamped TML-M inscription is found on both sides of vinyl disc. Thus, these pressings are not repressed copies (see this

Upper: The original SIDE 1 matrix number suffix 1AD is crossed out, after which
1AG is added. Two-letter suffixes usually don't indicate initial pressings.
Lower: The likely pressing plant-specific code PPP is found on SIDE 2 only.

post for an example of repressing). However, they are also found not to be initial or very early pressings because their matrix number suffix consists of two letters as visible on each side (1AG/1AB). Like the other four matrix hand-etchings, I first presumed that PPP encodes a unique pressing plant name and its geographical location. So far, however, I couldn't think of any plausible interpretation for this matrix code using the aforementioned assumption rules.

The following are what I consider as key facts and circumstances:

1. As explained above, the PPP-handetching pressings are NOT regarded as initial or very early copies that are originally released on June 2nd, 1978.
2. The pressing number seems NOT to be small since these copies are relatively found easily at used record shops or online auction, suggesting that they were pressed at a Columbia's regular pressing plant.
3. Upon the settlement of strike, the Pitman plant resumed the operation by the end of May or early June in 1978 (according to the 05/27/1978 issue of the Billboard Magazine), and thus it is most likely that this facility got started pressing the DARKNESS album by early summer in 1978.
4. These particular vinyl discs were apparently NOT pressed at Santa Maria and Terre Haute plants, the other two regular Columbia plants in operation back then, because their representative matrix codes, such as 1S and T1, are not found on the dead-wax space. 

Taking these into account, I guess the most probable pressing plant that had pressed these discs would be the Pitman plant, even though what exactly the triple P encodes remains unelucidated (All I can say is that one P letter, at least, must refer to Pitman). Having said so, I am still not certain about whether my guess is right or wrong. So, I would like to know if other interpretations are possible on this code.

Finally, I have examined my collection and summarized, as shown above, the relationship of record company/pressing plant/matrix information for the early U.S. pressings of the DARKNESS LP. It must be noted that, as the tabulation is solely based on my own copies I have kept to date, this summary is not complete and still missing relevant pressings that should be incorporated herein. For instance, I guess there would be a few more variants that were pressed at non-regular pressing plants. Another guess is whether the Santa Maria 1A/2A pressing has been available (as I have never seen the copies). Does anyone have a copy of such?

 → Check here for the updated information.

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Decoding two- or three-letter matrix hand etchings on the early pressings (Part 1 of 2)

Left, The first news article on the Pitman strike reported in the Billboard magazine (issue 04/15/1978; Note that Billboard has put the magazine issues into the public domain by releasing them to Google Books and The Internet Archive); and middle & right, Pressing plant-specific matrix hand etchings as found on the early vinyl copies of DARKNESS released in the United States. For the details, refer to the main text.

As I first introduced here March in the last year, there is a small unusual variety of the early U.S. pressings of his fourth album, as to where they were pressed. These variants occurred because, when the LP was ready for production, the Pitman pressing plant, one of the three major plants used by Columbia Records back then, was not available for the operation due to continued labor issues that first happened on the 2nd of April 1978, according to Billboard Magazine. Thus far, I have confirmed that at least four vinyl manufacturing plants, excluding the other two major Columbia-related plants in Santa Maria and Terre Haute, made up for the shortfall in vinyl pressing at the early phase of the album release. The said four plants were owned by the following companies that had probably never been involved in Springsteen's album production before:

• North American Music Industries (NAMI), Scranton, PA
• MCA Records, Pinckneyville, IL
• MCA Records, Gloversville, NY
• Keel Manufacturing Corp., Hauppauge, NY (posts 1 and 2)

Most probably, these plants contributed only to the early pressing but were not utilized when the album was repressed, for I have never seen any relevant copies without TML dead-wax stamps (a signature of the early pressings; see this post for more info) or housed in the later LP sleeves*.

*To my understanding and as mentioned here previously, with the exception of Half-Speed Mastered and recent Remastered reissues, there exist three kinds of different sleeves for the US DARKNESS LP with variations on the rear: 
      #1, large track listing/black font credits without barcodes;
      #2, small track listing/white font credits without barcodes; and
      #3, small track listing/white font credits with barcodes.

Upper, left to right: #1 sleeve, white label promo Terre Haute pressing; #2
sleeve, regular Terre Haute pressing; #3 sleeve, regular Pitman (?) pressing;
and the Japanese white label promo first pressing (Obi is removed to indicate
the absence of barcodes). Lower: thick (left) and thin (right) inner sleeves.

These issues are also distinguished by some differences found in the accompanying inner sleeve and lyric insert. For example, the inner sleeve is grouped into two variations which are made of thick and thin papers with standard and poor quality images, respectively. Generally, #1 and #2 come with the thick inner sleeve whereas the thin version is mostly associated with #3. Although I am not sure, #1 was probably out slightly earlier than #2 because I have never seen white label promo copies that came in the #2 sleeve. The Japanese first pressing and all the subsequent vinyl issues there feature the small track listing, indicating that the #2 sleeve probably appeared on the U.S. market less than one month following the #1 version (Note that the first Japanese pressing is released one month behind the original U.S. release; see this post). So, here I refer to both #2 and #3 as "later LP sleeves" even though I know some collectors claim that #1 and #2 appeared simultaneously (i.e. they were printed by different printers). Post your comments if you have different views and information on the U.S. rear sleeve variation.

As I already explained in a series of the previous posts, each of these unusual vinyl discs has a unique symbol that is stamped on the run-off groove area, such as that denoting the Union Jack (i.e. Keel pressings) or a stylized U.S. Capitol building (i.e. NAMI pressings). Each symbol is specific to one of the four pressing plants and thus signifies where a vinyl copy originated from. In addition, such vinyl copies carry a unique, hand-written, two- or three-letter matrix code that is also specific to a pressing plant, as listed below (and shown in the above pictures).

• PN for NAMI, Scranton, PA
• PMI for MCA Records, Pinckneyville, IL
• PMN for MCA Records, Gloversville, NY
• PK for Keel Manufacturing Corp., Hauppauge, NY (posts 1 and 2)

So, what do these simple short codes mean?  It is a matter of fun for me to crack these matrix inscriptions, even if my interpretations may often be found incorrect. First, all the codes begin with "P", for which I assume "Pitman" since I cannot come up with any other commonalities, that are indicated by this single letter, among these pressing plants except the fact that they have served as substitutes for that New Jersey plant. The second letter in each code (N, M or K) probably refers to the initial of company name (i.e. N for NAMI, M for MCA, and K for Keel). The third letter in PMI or PMN distinguishes the location of the two plants back then owned by MCA Records (i.e. I for Illinois or N for New York). To summarize:

• PN = Pitman + NAMI
• PMI = Pitman + MCA + IL
• PMN = Pitman + MCA + NY
• PK = Pitman + Keel

While I am still not certain with regard to the first letter "P", I think this interpretation sounds logically good. There is, however, yet another three-letter code which I cannot figure out thus far. The code is found on the dead wax space of not very early, but not later repressed copies (coming in #1 sleeve), based on the matrix number suffixes. 
— To be continued.

Steel Mill - LIVE AT THE MATRIX: A limited edition numbered CD box with a 48-page booklet, also known as the first "protection-gap" CD available exclusively as a mail order (not on vinyl topics)

Originally released in 1989 or 1990, this copy is still in pristine condition. If my memory serves me correctly, another box which is covered with reddish brown cloth was also available. Such variant was probably released earlier (and so with a lower limited number) than the grey box. The thick booklet carries many pictures of the band, posters, tickets and memorabilia, which are reproduced in color or black and white.
 

A limited number is stamped on the sticker that is glued on the
back side of the box lid. I was late to order a copy, which is
obviously reflected on the high serial number.

While constantly playing vinyl discs on my old DENON turntable, like many, I also use modern technology for casual listening and frequently load electronic sound files into some music softwares, such as iTunes and VOX. So, listening to CD is very rare these days. This weekend, however, I felt a compulsion to listen to an old 1973 show on CD as the recording was not stored on my MacBook Pro. To find out the copy, I pulled out and examined the contents of what I've called a "miscellaneous box" full of bootleg CD titles released in the 1990s I have seldom played for a long while. Through this small labor, unexpectedly, I found a long-forgotten, small packet buried deep in the box, which was secured with printed packing tapes featuring a trademark symbolizing that famous "giant dog breed" as well as company name. 

What I recall in the first place on Great Dane Records is that, by issuing a series of live CD of historically important performances every one or two month in the early 1990s, they have made collectors' dream come true. So, here in Japan, a new title from the record label arrived regularly and expectedly from Italy in this time interval. With the demise of vinyl bootleg, it was really exciting experiences to witness such new tides of live concert releases in the then-cutting edge format at an import CD/record shop I used to visit when I was young.

Back then, the Italian copyright law protected live recordings only for 20 years and studio recordings only for 25 years, which were considerably shorter than those of other countries. The differences in protection term caused "protection-gap" between Italy and other countries, and such "protection-gap" had accelerated CD releases of old live recordings that belonged to public domain there and in other countries such as Germany with a relatively shorter period of copyright protection (Hence, these CDs were called "protection-gap" CDs). However, although coming with well-cared and professional-looking sleeves and booklets that were comparable to official products, Springsteen's live CDs released by Great Dane Records were still illegal products when they first appeared in 1989-1991, even under the Italian copyright law. This was simply because, by that time, all the live recordings after his major debut in 1973 were yet less than 20 years old.

Steel Mill - LIVE AT THE MATRIX (GDR MAIL 1) is advertized on the booklet of the relatively late CD issues on Great Dane Records. Shown is the one included in the Master Plus version of THE SAINT, THE INCIDENT, AND THE MAIN POINT SHUFFLE (GDR CD 9012). Note that the early booklet accompanied with the original version, most copies of which suffered from so-called CD rot (including mine), does not list this limited box set.

However, there was only one Springsteen-related title on the Great Dane Records label that was probably non-illegitimate and successfully avoided the copyright protection issue (still only in Italy) when it was released around in 1990. This acceptable "protection-gap" CD is a single disc set that captures a famous live concert before his major debut, dating back to January 13, 1970, performed at the Matrix club in San Francisco, California, when he played as the lead vocalist/guitarist in a heavy blues/rock power quartet known as Steel Mill. It was a special collector's edition from Great Dane Records that was available in a limited number of 1,000 copies exclusively through a mail-order service provided by the company (so, not available at the retail level for foreign customers like me). I don't exactly remember when and how I got to know this release. Probably through their advertisement booklet (shown above) or a bootleg CD column on one of the Backstreets magazine issues that have been published in 1990.

Even though generally recognized as a bootleg company, Great 
Dane Records were a legitimate company at least in Italy. So,
they had conducted business honorably. Stapled on the top of
the invoice sheet is the receipt for the credit card transaction.

Although I was (and still am) not primarily interested in his music and performance in this particular era (i.e. before the major debut), I couldn't help ordering a copy because, as a collector, I was compellingly attracted to its unique package in a limited run, including a 48-page booklet, which was specially issued by the then flag-bearer company at the dawn of new bootleg industry. According to the accompanying invoice included in the packet, the price was 44,600 Italian lire, which correspond to approximately US $40 at the then exchange rate, and the hand-written date indicates that the CD was ordered on November 21, 1990, which is close to three decades ago.
— Wrote down this as just a note for an unexpected finding (to myself).

Collecting log: Spirit In The Night - Growin' Up / Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) early U.S. promotion-only custom 7" EP

The white-labeled, promo-only EP originally came in a generic die-cut
company sleeve. Oddly, the sole track from the then latest second
album is placed on SIDE 2 while two songs cut from the previous
debut album are featured on SIDE 1.

For many serious Springsteen fans, June 2 is remembered as the original U.S. release date of the then long-awaited 4th album DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (US Columbia JC 35318). Since this year marks the 40th anniversary of the release year (1978), such fans have already posted a celebration thread in various forums dedicated to the Man and His Music. Serious analog collectors, however, might know that on the same day 44 years ago (June 2, 1974)*, a promotion-only 3-track EP was released to U.S. radio stations, which has become among top collectibles nowadays. While better known for its catalog number prefix "AE7" (which is given to Columbia's promo-only 7" releases), to date, Spirit In The Night - Growin' Up/Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (US Columbia AE7 1088) is one of the toughest early promo records to find.
*From the description in Blinded By The Light (P. Humphries & C. Hunt, 1985, Plexus, London).

The year 1995 is when eBay was
founded on September.

To mention but a few examples, this EP was auctioned in 1995 (23 years ago!) with a minimum bid of US $250 as part of the 6th annual summer warehouse sale on the Backstreets Records (BTW, the auction is termed "50 GREATEST HITS BACKSTREETS AUCTION: The Don Rasmussen, Phil Ceccola, and John Flynn Collections"). The same auction also offered a U.S. stock copy of Blinded By The Light/Angel  7" (US Columbia 4-45805) and its legendary picture sleeve (sleeve only, no record) at $500 and $175 minimum bids, respectively. So, you can roughly estimate the relative collecting value of this EP back then. In the 2000's, it was ranked at the 14th (valued £700 in mint condition) among the Top 40 Worldwide Springsteen Rarities, an featured article published in the number 329 issue (November 2006) of the Record Collector magazine. Finally, using the catalog number as keyword, a quick database search on popsike.com showed three results of recent eBay auctions, with the final prices of US $1,126 (September 2014), $1,000 (January 2015), and $720 (March 2016).

Probably, only another "AE7"-prefixed record to be found on Springsteen's U.S. 7" catalog is Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (live) (same track on the other side; US Columbia AE7 1332) released in 1981 for promotion of IN HARMONY 2, a charity album by various artists (US Columbia AL 37641).

The main reason why this mediocre-looking 7" disc is among the most highly sought-after 7" is straightforwardly simple: its scarcity just like the cases of regular stock single release copies for Blinded By The Light and Spirit In The Night/For You (US Columbia 4-45864). As Springsteen himself reminisces in his recent autobiography, back then, he received little support from the Columbia Records for the promotion of his second album, THE WILD, THE INNOCENT & THE E STREET SHUFFLE (US Columbia KC 32432), with no single-cut releases commercially (Aside from the conflict between Springsteen camp and the company, a logical reason for this was that every song on the album is lengthy with the shortest clocking in at nearly 4.5 min, which was not suitable for radio airplay).

Machine-typed matrix numbers on Sides 1 (upper) and 2 (lower).
Columbia's prefix "ZSM" refers to 7" EP stereo 33⅓ rpm.

Such an uncooperative stance of the company towards him was also reflected in this white label 7". Although the exact pressing number is unknown, the circulating copy number seems to be quite small even as promo. It's certainly rarer than the white-label promo mono/stereo version for the aforementioned two single cuts from the debut album, or any of the three Playback 7" EP series featuring Springsteen's track (disc alone; a complete set including a custom sleeve, a relevant booklet, and a questionnaire card, all packed in an original mailing envelope, is equally hard to find, too). Moreover, the only song (i.e. Rosalita) taken from the then new album was probably not regarded as the main track of this promo release because it is not featured on the front side (Side 1) but put away onto the flip side.

Semi-translucency verifies that styrene is
the material used for making a given 7" disc,
provided that it is a U.S. Columbia release.

In addition to the scarce copy number, the unique disc format also makes it highly collectible. It is an EP that plays at 33⅓ rpm and contains more than two tracks exclusive to Springsteen's, which is rare in his 7" discography. Other similar official records I can think of are impossibly rare, two Bolivia-only releases of 4-track EPs, each consisting of BORN IN THE U.S.A. (CBS 10445) or TUNNEL OF LOVE (CBS 10522) excerpts, as well as a South African-only LIVE/1975-85 4-track EP (CBS SSC 6011). Back in early years of collecting, I was once offered a copy at a cost around $100, which I declined for the reason I don't exactly remember. Probably because it was still big bucks for a university student, and because early in my collecting career, I was far more getting into bootlegs than official records. Later, I obtained a copy at a similar expense that was a little bit worn as shown here, even though still playable with no skipping on my turntable. Finally, for your information, like most of the regular 7" discs from the U.S. Columbia labels, this EP is not a vinyl pressing but a styrene-molded disc (i.e. It is translucent red when held against strong light; Check a series of blog posts starting from here for vinyl vs. styrene topics). So, be cautious that overplayed copies must have many scratches/scuffs and sound really bad!

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: THERE AIN'T NOBODY HERE FROM BILLBOARD TONIGHT original black vinyl pressing (Part 3 of 3)

"The demand for a live Springsteen album would continue to build as long as Springsteen resisted providing official evidence of his take on a rock & roll revivalist meeting. Lou Cohan's double-set from Springsteen's Roxy show certainly had a lot more chops to it than the relatively tame 'wall of sound' beneath which Springsteen buried Born to Run. He had also proved a point about the potential demand for bootlegs of a 'rookie' seventies rock star like Springsteen. Ken, to his credit, had his antennae on, responding with his own version of the Roxy broadcast followed by his own testament to Springsteen at-his-peak, You Can Trust Your Car."
(Cited from BOOTLEG: The Secret History Of The Other Recording Industry, Clinton Heyin, 1996, St. Martin's Griffin, NY)

My first copy is still shrink wrapped. Early pressing of SODD releases came with
World Records labels in white background (an inverted black background 
 version is also known to exist).

As described in the citation above, and as almost all of you know, the broadcast live from the October show at the Roxy in 1975 was captured in another underground release FLAT TOP AND PIN DROP (Singer's Original Double Disk, SODD 006), put out by Ken Douglas who is, needles to say, one of the most famous early bootleggers. After shutting down the legendary Trade Mark of Quality in 1973, he set up The Amazing Kornyphone Record Label, the operation of which was supplemented with several other bootleg labels he also launched around that time and thereafter. SODD is one of such multiple bootleg labels run by his hands, and as its name indicates, he usually used this label for releasing double-LP titles, including another Springsteen's classic (SODD 001: briefly mentioned here) mentioned in the above quote and Rolling Stones' NASTY MUSIC (SODD 012), one of the most widely known bootlegs in the late 1970s.

A long-lasting misinformation with regard to FLAT TOP AND PIN DROP in literature and online databases is that this bootleg is a copy of THERE AIN'T NOBODY HERE FROM BILLBOARD TONIGHT. As far as I know, all the guide books of Springsteen's bootleg (some of which are shown here) give the same erroneous note for this SODD release. Almost obviously, such an error has originated from an early description as found in the bootleg section of the Blinded By The Light book (P. Humphries & C. Hunt, 1985, Plexus, London), or maybe from Hot Wacks (any issues of which I have never owned or read; so I don't know whether this reference book reports so or not). Although there are several key facts indicating that these two bootlegs are indeed independent pressings, I just explain two such examples. 

The scanned image shows part of bootleg retailer's catalog I
received in April 1992. For old bootleg titles, it was still a strong
seller’s market at that time. As seen, a used copy of FLAT TOP
AND PIN DROP was sold, along with the excellent Swedish
2 x 12” EP bootleg The Boss Hits The Sixties, for 19,800 Yen
which are roughly equivalent to US $150 according to the 
exchange rate as of that time. Back then, I wondered about 
who would buy it at such an extraordinary high price.

One is the difference in sound quality which is noticeably better to my ear on FLAT TOP ... with more high-end presence and dynamics. Another is the fact that Pretty Flamingo, the final track on Side 1 of both releases, is incomplete (cut off before the performance ends) on THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... whereas FLAT TOP ... contains the full performance of this cover song. I think these two points alone provide substantial evidence to support that FLAT TOP ... is NOT a copy product of the previously available bootleg. Then, why has this misinformation been widespread without correction? THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... is one of the oldest Brucelegs, and it includes MC's introduction to the concert at the beginning of Side 1. On the other hand, FLAT TOP ... is the second release of this broadcast live but does not contain such an opening talk on the record, starting off the show opener Thunder Road immediately. Copying or bootlegging a bootleg often results in missing a track partially or entirely (or this happens on more than one track). These might have caused prejudice that THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... is an easy target for other bootleggers to make instant copies of a potentially good-sale product in collectors' market.

Has JASRAC collected royalties by the use of
sound recording of this bootleg?

Finally, my second copy of THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... came with a small logo sticker of JASRAC, the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, that was pasted on shrink wrap of the upper left corner of the front sleeve. JASRAC is the largest artist copyright lobby in Japan, similar to American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The society administers copyrights of not only domestic music works, but also foreign ones. So, having this sticker means that JASRAC, without recognition that it was a bootleg, has issued licenses to play this recording for commercial purpose in Japan (and collected royalties, if available), on behalf of publishers and copyright owners. But in this case, for whom?  Certainly not for Springsteen or Columbia Records. Based on the sticker design, this copy was imported from the U.S. in the mid-to-late 1970's and after approval by JASRAC, it was sold "legitimately" here even though it was an illegal product. We see here occasionally this sticker on sleeves of contemporary vinyl bootlegs by other artists. It was, and probably still is, a customary practice for import vinyl/CD dealers to apply for license to their imported goods, often including bootlegs and grey-zone products, to JASRAC for legal sale here in the domestic market in Japan.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: THERE AIN'T NOBODY HERE FROM BILLBOARD TONIGHT original black vinyl pressing (Part 2 of 3)

Two copies in my possession alongside the Roxy '75 concert poster
(not real stuff, image taken from Brucebase). Also shown bottom 
are three early CD bootleg releases of the live broadcast. I don't 
own the Crystal Cat version because I have stopped collecting
bootleg CDs since free online distribution was available for 
 downloading electronic sound files in the late 1990s.

The year 1975 is not only remembered for Springsteen's national breakthrough hit with BORN TO RUN, but also saw the first appearance of his vinyl bootleg titles on collectors' market. Following a single live compilation album named THE JERSEY DEVIL (Hoffman Avenue Records, HAR 147), THERE AIN'T NOBODY HERE FROM BILLBOARD TONIGHT (HAR 160), a 2-LP set of the Roxy '75 broadcast from the same label, is generally said to be the second ever release of Springsteen's bootleg, although another double disc volume of the legendary Bottom Line concert (LIVE on Coral Records or LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE  8/15/75) is often mentioned as an alternative possibility. Irrespective of whether it came out secondarily or later, one thing clear is that THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... represents the first ever full-concert live bootleg of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band*. In my opinion, for this fact alone, it deserves to be called a classic Bruceleg.
*To be exact, the very last part of Pretty Flamingo is cut. On the other hand, neither of the Bottom Line bootlegs is complete in their recording, missing one song totally or editing a few tracks heavily (detailed here).

As the second Hoffman Avenue Records title, a noticeable upgrade from the first title THE JERSEY DEVIL is that all four sides of the double disc have the custom-designed record labels that look more skilled compared to the simple text-only, one-sided label of the previous release ("I always tried to put labels on the records," said Mr. Lou Cohan in his interview with the popular music writer Clinton Heylin in BOOTLEG: The Secret History Of The Other Recording Industry, 1996, St. Martin's Griffin, NY). The fold slick cover does not feature an amateurish cartoon drawing found on THE JERSEY DEVIL, but is lifted from the actual concert poster, which was a nice and appropriate idea in making a slick cover of a given live bootleg. The latest acquisition as mentioned on the previous blog post provided me with the second copy in my collection, and so as shown above, the Roxy poster shows up easily without removing shrink wrap from the sleeve of each copy.

Custom record labels of the first (HAR 147; left) and second (HAR 160; right) releases from Hoffman Avenue Records.

Like many old vinyl bootleg records, this classic title had been reissued several times since its original release on November 1975 (according to Mr. Cohan). As detailed on the Killing Floor databse, these variations include versions that differ in vinyls (black or mono-/multi-colored), slick inserts (paper color and text description), labels (Hoffman Avenue Records, Impossible Records, Idle Mind Productions, Dragonfly Records and probably more), and package (single sleeve or box as a compilation release called BOX O' ROCKS together with the two other Hoffman Avenue Records titles). So, originally released on Hoffman Avenue Records, what form is the very first pressing with respect to vinyl and slick insert color?

An early flyer of Hoffman Avenue Records says, as of January 31, 1976, only four bootleg titles were available at their hands that included the first two Springsteen bootlegs. The description on THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... is as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Bruce Springsteen "The Roxy"- a double LP taped off the FM. Contains the entire show of one hour and 50 minutes!  Thunder Road/10th Ave. Freeze-Out/Spirit in the Night/Pretty Flamingo/She's the One/Born to Run/Sandy/Backstreets/Kitty's Back/Jungleland/Rosalita/Goin' Back/Detroit Medley.  Great covers and labels. $7.50 plus 50¢ postage. (According to Inflation Calculator on the DollarTimes website, $7.50 in 1976 had the same buying power as $33.31 in 2018)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The three other titles are: #1, THE JERSEY DEVIL (Springsteen); #3, S.N.A.C.K. (Bob Dylan, Neil Young and the Band); and #4, Basics in G Minor 4-track EP (Dylan).

THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... or THE ROXY: Which is the main title the bootlegger intended originally?
 

Note that the album title is called THE ROXY probably because it is typed boldly and stands out more on the slick sleeve. This was also probably because it explained the content more straightforwardly than the actual title (Springsteen's comment THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... is heard just before launching Spirit In The Night, the 3rd track on Side 1) that ironically referred to the concert the previous night (Oct. 16th, 1975) attended by media and industry guests who were invited by Columbia Records (Note that Springsteen was not informed of this). Vinyl color is not mentioned anywhere but the flyer adds emphasis to the labels as saying "WE CAN ONLY GUARANTEE LABELS ON THE FIRST 1000 ALBUMS WE SELL". I think this suggests that the vinyl color was black. If colored vinyl, this point must have been mentioned on the flyer because such a special treat would be a strong sales point and thus appeal to collectors.

Yet another flyer, which was issued later than the one mentioned above, lists more bootlegs such as their third Springsteen title HOT COALS FROM THE FIERY FURNACE (HAR 164; briefly mentioned previously here and there) and introduces again THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... as shown below:

Part of the Hoffman Avenue Records flyer included in my copy of their 3rd (and last original) release HOT COALS FROM THE  FIERY FURNACE. Note that the album title is still called THE ROXY and the catalog number (HAR 162) is erroneously typed.
The bootlegger seems to be proud of the poster sleeve. Although not shown, the flyer also says "THE COST OF ALL LPS IS $4 per DISC (DOUBLE LPs = 2 DISCS) PLUS 50¢ POSTAGE AND HANDLING FOR EVERY 2 LPs YOU ORDER (MINIMUM 50¢)", meaning a slight increase in the retail price.
 

Here the vinyl color is stressed as RED. Mr. Cohan told Heylin that he always tried to use colored vinyl when it was available at the pressing plant (referenced from the aforementioned BOOTLEG book). So, I think when the first two Springsteen bootlegs were pressed for the first time in 1975, colored vinyls were not available at the plant(s) he used (and that's why the early flyer does not tell anything about vinyl color). However, such vinyl variations were probably available when Mr. Cohan was ready for pressing the third Hoffman

Have you ever seen black vinyl copies for the first (orange slick
insert) and second (yellow one) pressings of the third Hoffman
Avenue Records release with the custom picture labels? A light
blue sheet is the flyer accompanied with the second pressing.

Avenue Records title in February 1976 (and I guess he has used them instead of black vinyl). To support this, I have never seen black vinyl copies of the early pressings for HOT COALS FROM THE FIERY FURNACE (with the custom picture labels; shown here). If this is true, colored vinyl versions of THE JERSEY DEVIL and THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... were probably pressed (as repressing) around the time when the initial, colored edition of HOT COALS ... was pressed. As far as I've seen, black vinyl copies of THERE AIN'T NOBODY ... is always coupled with the white slick insert. So, I am almost certain that the Roxy '75 bootleg was originally black vinyls and came out with the white slick insert.
— To be continued.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: THERE AIN'T NOBODY HERE FROM BILLBOARD TONIGHT original black vinyl pressing (Part 1 of 3)

I love old, amateurish, slick/insert covers!

One of the fun things to collect bootlegs is to be able to enjoy a wide variety of cover sleeves irrespective of whatever they look like (excellent, mediocre or awful). Although professionally manufactured color sleeves of 1980's bootlegs are attractive, I rather have a preference for slick or insert covers when it comes to vinyl bootlegs. It's because, along with rubber-stamped covers, that's the way these stuff came out originally. In other words, the amateurish appearance of many of slick covers represents what vinyl bootlegs were supposed to be in the first place. Thankfully, these days second-hand vinyl bootlegs are available at much cheaper than they used to be in the 1970's through 1980's when the bootleg industry was at the height of its prosperity (for one example of such a purchase, see a past blog post here).

No one but me was interested in this classic boot?

Last month, I obtained an original, pristine copy of THERE AIN'T NOBODY HERE FROM BILLBOARD TONIGHT also known simply as THE ROXY, a double LP released 43 years ago on Hoffman Avenue Records. It was sold on Yahoo! JAPAN auction in original shrink-wrapped condition. The opening bid was 500 Yen (approximately US $4.66 according to the current exchange rate) and I won the auction without competition. Though luckily, this was somewhat an unexpected result, which made me feel as if there were no serious vinyl Bruceleg collectors out here but me!

Two famous deadwax inscriptions BRUCE I WANT YOUR BILLBOARD! on Side 1 and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN — V. V. on Side 4. The other sides have two hand-etched dedications THIS SIDE FOR MELINDA (Side 2) and THIS SIDE FOR JEAN & MARK (Side 3).
 

Vicky Vinyl is credited, together with Eagle Eye,
as the bootleg producers (also shown here).

Although for most part of the blog readers I don't think this classic title needs thorough introduction, it is purportedly the second ever Springsteen bootleg capturing the early show that was broadcast live by KWEST-FM from the Roxy Theater, Hollywood, CA on October 17, 1975. It was the Summer/1987 issue (#21) of the Backstreets magazine from which I first obtained substantial information on this bootleg (Remember we didn't have internet at that time and in my case, such information was available only from literature). As I already mentioned in the previous blog post, an anonymous reader called Eagle Eye (whose identity is almost certainly Mr. Lou Cohan who made the bootleg) left quite critical comments on an article about a history of Bruceleg that was featured on the previous issue (#20). His criticism mainly argued against the release order of pioneering Brucelegs, what exactly Vicky Vinyl was involved in the album production, and how she felt about Springsteen. Following is a partial transcription of his description after explaining THE JERSEY DEVIL (for which a short note here) as the first ever Springsteen bootleg:

The second Springsteen bootleg was "There Ain’t Nobody Here From Billboard, Tonight," also on Hoffman Avenue Records. It was pressed in November of 1975 and Vicky Vinyl's only input was having "Catch me if you can" scratched into vinyl on one side of the sides and putting up half the money for the initial pressing. She never admired Bruce. She couldn’t stand him before he and CBS busted her, so you can imagine how she feels about today.

If what is written is true, it is interesting that the bootleg production has completed in rather a short time (it took only about one month after the original broadcast date?). As you might already know, you can also refer to this post on THE AMAZING KORNYFONE LABEL blog which is more informative although there she was reported to put up 1/4 rather than 1/2 of the money for the album production. The TAKRL blog post also reports that this bootleg is supposedly the third, but not the second, to have appeared on collectors' market following the famous Coral Records version of LIVE. This point is still controversial and there is yet another view (for example, see Hobbes's comment here).
— To be continued.

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: A repressing with an erroneous lyric sheet

The custom Zippo lighter used as a paper weight is serially numbered
(#026/200) and distributed for promoting the Hungry Heart Berlin '95
single in France. Though not shown, it comes in a black plastic holder.

Based on the dead-wax matrix information, US-pressing copies of the vinyl DARKNESS album are roughly classified into two groups, one with and another without a machine-stamped TML marking (either TML-M or TML-S), a proof for the early pressing issues that were mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab, Inc., Los Angeles, California. So, any vinyl copies lacking this stamp on both Sides 1 and 2 are instantly excluded from the list of my "variation" analysis on the U.S. version of this classic album (A series on this subject starts here).

Having checked such out-of-list copies in my collection, I found an interesting printing error on the lyric insert sheet that is included in an old copy. As shown here, one side of the sheet is upside down compared to the other side. Although I have owned the copy for a long time, until very recently, I was not aware of this error mainly because it's a reissue to which I usually don't pay particular attention. Wrote this just as a quick note for the record.

This one is certainly a later pressing (though no barcodes on the rear sleeve), as it comes with the thin inner sleeve with the lesser-quality image. In addition, the record label has a triangle-in-circle symbol on the left of the center hole (Side 1 only). This symbol is generally seen with the Columbia LP, 12-inch and CD releases issued in 1980s to 1990s. Interestingly, what the symbol means has been still in debate (for example, see here on this blog, or here for lengthy discussion on Steve Hoffman Music Forums since 2006).

The hand-etched matrix numbers read P <JXMP> AL35318 G2H on Side 1 (shown above) and P <J-MP> BL-35318 G1F on Side 2. Neither TML-M nor TML-S is stamped on each side. This one is a New Jersey's Pitman pressing.

Collecting log: Dead End Street, an Israeli soundtrack 12" one-sided EP

The vinyl format of 12-inch single/EP came into popularity in the 1970s for commercial releases. The first-ever Springsteen's commercial title in this format was Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), backed with Racing In The Street and Night (CBS 12.7753), that was issued relatively late, back in 1979 in Holland. When 7-inch singles were cut from the albums in the 1980s, almost without exceptions (with the exception of single releases from NEBRASKA), 12-inch counterparts were simultaneously released as either or both of regular and promotional discs.

The 12-inch vinyl came in a matt-surfaced sleeve. The replica sleeve has circulated for long on collector's market, and reportedly, has rather glossy surface without a red promo sticker on the rear. By the way, could someone translate loads of Hebrew writings on the rear sleeve?
 

Upper: A red promo notification sticker is pasted on the
rear sleeve with both Hebrew and English writings. Lower:
The same sticker is also used for other Israeli releases.
Shown is a copy of the GREETINGS ... LP (CBS 32210)
(photo taken from Springsteenrecords).

I remember every time I saw at a record store such a new 12-inch release from BORN IN THE U.S.A. that was manufactured in and imported from the US or Europe, I used to buy a copy, for to do so was the fastest way to get a rare non-album track that was otherwise not available on standard album releases (Back then, I valued 12-inch more than 7-inch simply because the former contains extra tracks and theoretically provides better sound quality). Around in 1985, however, I learned that such purchase often resulted in waste of money because those "rare" tracks appeared again on later releases, or 12-inch vinyl discs were repacked for resale. The greediest case I recall was the UK release of The Born In The U.S.A. 12" Single Collection (CBS BRUCE 1) that put together the four already released 12-inch vinyls, even though it came in a nice-looking box that contained the then-latest 7-inch single (I'm Goin' Down/Janey Don't You Lose Heart) and a fold-out poster as bonus. Since then, for mainly this reason, 12-inch vinyls have not been my primary collecting format although I do pick them up when I see a rarity or a good deal, especially for European releases in the mid-1990s (see here for 12-inch related blogs).

Spine printing (the catalog number, tittle and artist name) is also used as a proof of a genuine copy and as a measure to distinguish it from a replica sleeve.

Before the flood of 12-inch releases that are largely ignored, there were a few real collector's gems out there. The best-known example is Killer Tracks From The River (CBS/SONY XDAP 93030), the Japanese promotion-only 12-inch disc released in 1981. However, in terms of pure rarity (and peculiarity), I would rather take Kvish L'Lo Motzah (CBS DJ 428) in a Hebrew title, better known as Dead End Street, a 12-inch soundtrack to the 1982 Israeli movie with the same title. Readers of this blog do not require a thorough explanation for this mega collectible (If necessary, visit the Lost In The Flood collector's site or the Killing Floor database). It is in a unique vinyl format (one-sided 3-track EP), features an unusual track (Jungleland) for single/EP cut, and most probably represents the only soundtrack release containing Springsteen's original recordings exclusively.

Contrary to the information available on collector's sites, the matrix number on the playing side is 
not hand-etched but machine-stamped as "DJ428A Q". In addition, there is a hand-written symbol
that looks like "C1". Do these mean that mine is a bogus copy?

However, what is most interesting on this vinyl is how it came to be released. It is well known that Suki Lahav played the definitive role in that. Needless to say, Suki was a female violinist of the E Street Band back in 1974-1975, also contributing as a backing vocalist to studio recording and live performances. She disclosed the background story concisely and clearly, when she had an interview by the Backstreets Magazine, which is featured on the 16th issue (published spring 1986), as part of a continuous series of interviews with former E Streeters such as Vini Lopez and Ernest "Boom" Carter. Asked if she's been in touch with Springsteen since her departure from the band and homecoming to Israel, she answered as follows:

• About four years back, a film producer friend of mine wanted to use three of Bruce's songs for an Israeli film of his. He had trouble getting the okay from CBS. So I called Bruce up on the phone. It took a few days to find him at home but in the end he answered.
• He was really pleased to hear from me and right away said that there's no problem in using these songs ("Jungleland," "Hungry Heart" and "Point Blank"). He was really nice about it. CBS made a promotional disc of that film with those three songs on it. I heard it's become quite a collector's item being that they only had thirty printed.

The plain label on the blank side has some Hebrew writings. The blue-inked memo on a white square sheet
was provided by the seller for the translation to English. Luie (Louis) Lahav is the ex-husband of Suki and
worked as the sound engineer on Springsteen's first two albums.

In this interview, what caught my attention is the copy number of the vinyl disc. She mentioned only 30 copies made. This number is way smaller than 100 copies reported in other sources such as Lost In The Flood.  In spring 1997, the Backstreets Records put on sale a copy via auction with minimum bids of US $800, with the following descriptions:

• Less than ten of these items have ever been known to come into collector's hands. 
• The original run must have been less than 100.

Whether Suki's information is accurate or not remains unknown, and to my knowledge, there are no other sources of information regarding the pressing number of this 12-inch. As far as I've seen, Dead End Street appeared on collector's markets, including online auction, with much less frequency when compared to the aforementioned Killer Tracks From The River. So, in my sense, what she told seems realistic, or close to real, even though she was not a staff member of CBS Records or involved in the vinyl production.

I have no idea whether the accompanying inner bag is an
original or replaced one.

Finally, a few notes on my copy. I obtained it through eBay around in 2000 from a second-hand record shop in Tel Aviv, Israel. Back in the early years, it was rather rare that eBay auctions resulted in outrage high prices that have generally seen in the recent 10 years or so for extremely rare collectables like this one. So, it won't be possible these days to purchase a copy at the same expense (probably costing the double, at least). Notably, there is a big difference from what is being said about the matrix number on the run-off groove area of the playing side. According to the relevant information currently available on internet, "DJ 428A" is hand-etched on the dead wax. As pictured above, however, it is machine-stamped on my vinyl copy and exactly to be "DJ 428A Q". Unless mine is a fake copy, such uncertainness or errors as to copy number and dead wax information rather reflects how difficult to obtain accurate information on this peculiar release, hence its degree of rarity.