Thoughts on My Father's House on NEBRASKA LP (Update 1/3): The alternate take with synth coda on regular vinyl pressing!!!

Still, I'm not certain if what I report here is totally NEW information to you, readers and visitors of this blog, since I believe many, if not all, of you are knowledgeable collectors of his music. At least for me, however, this probably is the biggest surprise in this decade, and one of the most exciting findings in my career as a vinyl collector of Springsteen's records. As you know, an alternate take of My Father's House, notable for its extended instrumental coda, happened to be pressed on regular CD in Japan due to mishandling of the recording between the U.S. Columbia Records and CBS/SONY Japan. It was when his sixth album NEBRASKA was for the first time reissued in the then cutting-edge music medium in 1985 domestically and for export to the U.S. and Europe. Thus, it is a general consensus that no vinyl copies of this album, which is originally released worldwide in 1982, exist that contain the alternate version of this song.

You can't know if the track is an alternate take, as far as you simply watch the grooves.
You need to play and give a listen to it. —  Shown is an erroneous U.S. copy of NEBRASKA
with a blank label on Side 2, pressed at the Columbia Records factory in Carrollton, GA,
according to the matrix number information on the dead wax space.
(Note that this copy has nothing to do with the one here I'm talking about)

Meanwhile, it has long been known that the album's acetates and early test pressing vinyls include this long version in place of the common take. Moreover, there have been vinyl LP copies in circulation from several countries, which contain a typographical error on the B-side label listing as if the alternate take were on the disc [i.e., the wrong track length (5' 43") is printed on the label instead of the correct one (5' 03")]. Nearly three years ago, I wrote and summarized this subject, which has been posted here as four sequential blog articles (from Part 1 to Part 4), followed by an addendum a year after these posts (All posts are assembled here). Since then, I had never thought that I would write about this topic once again.

And it was about a month ago when I did some leftover work at home listening to this acoustic album for a serene night. Right after the penultimate track on Side 2 was supposed to finish playing, to my total surprise, I heard the quiet synthesizer coda leaching out from my audio speakers. It was a very unusual and startled moment because I knew I was not listening to the CD or digital audio files, but was playing an old, analog disc of an import LP which I purchased recently in my efforts to collect those misprints. Needless to say, I adjusted the volume level up and repeated playing the last part of this track by lifting up and down the tone arm again and again on my manual turntable, to confirm whether what I heard was indeed real or I was just hallucinating. Every time I tried, that synth coda came out discreetly through the speakers with some light surface noise and clicking.  
Yes, there it was — I found the alternate version of My Father's House on a commercially available regular LP pressing.
— To be continued.

Collecting log: Devil With The Blue Dress Medley (live) from NO NUKES 1979 (a.k.a. the MUSE concert), a U.S. custom promotion-only 12" disc released as the 100-numbered 33⅓-speed limited edition (Part 4 of 4)

Released late in 1979 (or early in 1980?), the U.S.-only 12-inch 45 rpm single of Devil With The Blue Dress Medley (Asylum AS 11442) is the first ever analog disc in this form for promotion-only use, and the second ever among his entire catalog of this large-format single of gramophone record, following the Holland-only regular issue of Rosalita (CBS 12.7753). Despite the exclusive contract with Columbia Records, this live recording of his staple encore performance is licensed under Elektra/Asylum Records, which makes it his first non-Columbia release. The vinyl disc, backed with Jackson Browne's Before The Deluge (probably the best choice of non-Springsteen performances from the album NO NUKES), comes in a white die-cut sleeve with a custom-designed sticker pasted on the front. Any of these could be a good reason to add this promo vinyl, albeit rather common, to your collection. However, what makes it really a stand-out collectible is the presence of the alternate, extremely rare 33⅓ rpm edition limited to 100 numbered copies, as already mentioned on Part 1 on the subject.

Obtained a long time ago from a Californian retail shop at US $16.50,
way cheap according to the current market pricing.

It has been long said that this particular vinyl edition was specially pressed at the request of David Geffen, the President of Asylum Records back then, who distributed these limited pressings to friends of him. I heard of (or read) this background tale sometime in the 1990s. Strangely, however, I cannot recall from where I got this information. Moreover, I have not been able to find any official source that documents this. Although I guess that the most probable source might be the Backstreets Records, so far I fail to locate any pieces of evidence to support the possibility in their publication, catalogs, flyers, or my archived e-mails from this fanzine site. As another probable source, I could mention LuckyTown Digest, the fan-based Springsteen mailing list (operating back in the late 1990s to early 2000s), but I'm totally not sure. Does anyone have any clue or lead on this?

There are no differences in label printings except for record turn speed. Take note that the combo name is typed as THE "E" STREET BAND. Jenny Take A Ride is a medley of C. C. Rider and Jenny Jenny although most bootlegs rather list these two songs separately or simply name the entire performance as Detroit Medley.
 

Comparison of the matrix numbers on Side A featuring Devil
With The Blue Dress Medley, between the 33⅓ rpm edition
(upper) and 45 rpm promotional disc (lower).

The two versions look identical. Then, aside from playing speed, what respects do they exactly differ from each other?  Consistently, every limited 33⅓ rpm edition I have checked through a quick internet search (5 copies plus mine) had two hand-written numbers which were made in the same manner (a given number / 100) with black marker: one just below the reddish brown sticker on the front sleeve and the other on the upper-right empty space on the record label of Side A (Springsteen's side). There are no more differences in the die-cut sleeve between the two versions. However, further differences are apparent in the details of the record labels. The label paper used for the limited edition seems somewhat to be of higher quality than that for the usual promo version. Its background color is not plain white but slightly cream toned, with sharper text printing and denser black fills on the label (see the pic above).

Different playing speed means that the two types of 12" singles were pressed from different stampers. So, what are inscribed on the dead wax space were also expected to differ between them. The followings are matrix numbers on each side of each disc:

 45 rpm edition
    Side A:  ASS-41442  A  AR   (45)    B-14707
    Side B:  ASS-11442-B  AR    ASS-41442-B  AR    (45)    B-14708

 33⅓ rpm edition
    Side A:  ASS-41442 A-1  AR    (33 1/3)    B-14709
    Side B:  ASS-41442 B-1  AR    (33)    B-14710

By the way, the Japanese version of the triple LP (Pioneer/Asylum
P-5186-8Y) comes with two additional folded inserts, one for the
translation of the excerpts from the booklet and the other for lyric
transcription for the album.

There are at least two interesting facts on these matrix codes. One is that the catalog number (AS-11442) is mistakenly hand-etched on all the four sides. Note that the corrected matrix number on Side B of the 45 rpm disc still contains an error "ASS". The other fact is the presence on all sides of the hand inscription "AR" which almost probably stands for Allied Record Company, a pressing plant/manufacturer in Los Angeles, California. If so, unlike NO NUKES triple LP from which both A- and B-side tracks are taken, these promotional 12" discs were not pressed at any of the three major Columbia Records' pressing plants (see Part 3 on the album's pressing plants). This "AR" code is also printed in the parenthesis below the catalog number on the record labels of both editions. Finally, I have no idea as to what the other matrix codes B-14707/8/9/10 refer to. The numbering may reflect the order of vinyl pressing and manufacture, though (45 rpm early, then 33⅓ rpm).

Now blogging on this subject is a bit longer than I initially thought. Back in high school days, this version of Devil With The Blue Dress Medley provided me with the very first listening experience of Springsteen's live performance, which was a sort of baptismal moment, to say exaggeratedly. The recent live archive release of NO NUKES 1979 concerts reminded me of this so much.

P.S.  Speaking of the official live archive download, I have noticed that the Backstreets.com, when reporting the NUGS release of the October 1975 show at the Roxy last year (December 7, 2018), featured on their web site the pictures of an old AIN'T NOBODY HERE ... vinyl bootleg in my possession, apparently taken from my blog page (May 5, 2018) without my permission!  Check the JASRAC sticker on the upper left corner of the shrink wrap. I'm not complaining about that, of course. Just thrilled to know that someone at the "authoritative" website probably read my blog articles.

Collecting log: Devil With The Blue Dress Medley (live) from NO NUKES 1979 (a.k.a. the MUSE concert), a U.S. custom promotion-only 12" disc released as the 100-numbered 33⅓-speed limited edition (Part 3 of 4)

Both test pressing and white label promotional copies for NO NUKES LP shown here were pressed at the Santa Maria pressing plant in California, as each side of vinyl has a hand-etched number/letter code (1S) that specifies where these discs were pressed. The pressing plant is also known from an abbreviated code CSM (Columbia Santa Maria) in a parenthesis that is found beneath the catalog number-side indication (ML-801-E) on the white label. According to Discogs, there are two more code variations, CP and CTH, referring to Columbia Pitman and Columbia Terre Haute, respectively. Thus, this soundtrack album (yes, this album is classified as the soundtrack for the NO NUKES documentary movie) was pressed at the three major Columbia Records' pressing plants even though it is an Elektra/Asylum release.
 

Report on the Nov. 24th 1979 issue of the Billboard magazine 
as to the forthcoming MUSE concert live LP. Inset is the album
advertisement on the back cover of the Dec. 15th issue. Note that
Billboard has put the magazine issues into the public domain by
releasing them to Google Books and The Internet Archive.

Later in the month*, a more pressing circumstance came up. The MUSE concerts were being released, as a double disc live album; pressured by Jackson Browne, Bruce mixed the song they had sung together, a version of the Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs' hit "Stay," in only a few days. Then it was decided that in order to better represent all of the artists who had appeared, it was necessary to make the album a three-record set. But if there was more than enough obvious material for two records, it was harder to fill up a third. 
*October 1979.
Excerpted from Born To Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, Dave Marsh, 1981, Dell Publishing Company.

The executive notes the quick turnaround required to get the album out before Christmas has not only tested the skills of his staff, but of the artists involved, many of whom mixed and selected the cuts they wanted. "We're dealing with a group of artists who don't exactly operate at rapid speed," Smith** wryly. 
**Joe Smith, the then Elektra/Asylum chairman.
Excerpted from the 11/24/1979 issue of the Billborad magazine.

Red/blue writings on one of the white covers of the test pressing 
were apparently made by the U.S. seller (retailer) but not at the
pressing plant. The promotional copy (far left) is distinguished 
from the regular release by the front sleeve red/white sticker
and white labels on each wax.

As quoted above, and with the commercial release slated for early December (of the live performance recorded late September of the same year), the manufacturing schedule for NO NUKES album (US Asylum ML 801) was so tight that its production was hard-pressed to keep up with the plan. The test pressing in my possession came with the photocopy of the rear sleeve design and fact sheets listing track information, indicating that it is close to or almost a finalized form of the regular release. It is apparent from the labels and dead-wax matrix inscription that the vinyl discs were pressed at the Columbia Records' Santa Maria plant. The matrix numbers on each side are as follows:
 

Comparison of the matrix numbers on Side 6 between test pressing
(upper) and white label promo (lower) copies. In addition to Santa
Maria's specific code 1S on the left of each picture, another code
CSM for this pressing plant is inscribed on the right.

    Side 1:  1S    ML-801-A-16  (RE) 
    Side 2:  1S    ML-801  B-17  RE  CSM
    Side 3:  1S    ML-801-C-  CSM
    Side 4:  1S    ML-801-D  CSM
    Side 5:  1S    ML 801  E-1  CSM
    Side 6:  1S    ML-801- F-15-  (RE)  CSM

What caught my attention was the huge difference in the master cutting number between Sides 1/2/6 and 3/4/5 as indicated by the matrix number suffix. Although I own only several test pressings of Springsteen titles such as GREETINGS ... and BORN TO RUN, I have never seen such high cutting numbers as those around 15 to 17 for test pressing. Then, the question arises as to who are on these playing sides?  An interesting fact is that these sides feature Jackson Browne (on Side 2), Graham Nash (on Side 2 as solo and Side 6 as Crosby, Stills & Nash), and Bonnie Raitt (on Side 1) as main performers, and that these artists are the core members of MUSE and credited as producers of the album. So, I guess that using their position in album production, they repeated mastering and cutting of lacquer masters that included their performance thoroughly until they were satisfied with the outcome.

Comparison of the matrix numbers on Side 5, which contains
Springsteen's two live tracks, between test pressing (upper)
and white label promo (lower) copies. In contrast to the
frequently found "1S" code, I have never seen any vinyl copies 
of Springsteen with the code "CSM" among those pressed at
the Santa Maria factory (i.e., from GREETINGS... to THE RIVER).

On the other hand, this important process for vinyl production was carried out in much less time for the other sides including Side 5 with Springsteen's contribution, probably only once when test pressing was made (as indicated by E-1), and only a few cuttings in the end, according to the matrix numbers found on the white label promo discs, as listed below. 
 
    Side 1:  1S    ML-801-A-16  (RE) 
    Side 2:  1S    ML-801  B-16  RE  CSM
    Side 3:  1S    ML-801-C-1  CSM
    Side 4:  1S    ML-801-D4  CSM
    Side 5:  1S    ML 801  E-3  CSM
    Side 6:  1S    ML-801- F-17-  (RE)  CSM

Although the cutting numbers are different (i.e., E-1 versus E-3), I cannot recognize any difference in the sound of Springsteen's tracks between test pressing and white label promo copies.
— To be continued.