Collecting log: AS REQUESTED AROUND THE WORLD U.S. promotion-only compilation album with great cover artwork (Part 3 of 4)

SIDE 1 (THE RIVER sampler side) has at least
three variations in the matrix numbers.

Promotion-only releases are one of the major targets for collecting and hunting vinyl and compact discs. In the true sense, AS REQUESTED AROUND THE WORLD (Columbia AS 978) marks the first U.S. custom-made promotion-only LP concerning the artwork design of the album sleeve and track-list configuration, both of which are exclusively unique to this release. One might think that the BORN TO RUN script cover (Columbia no number) and the picture disc edition of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (Columbia JC 35318) represent the earlier examples in this release category. To me, however, these two vinyl rarities can be viewed rather as variants to respective regular releases because of identical track configuration and basically the same cover artwork design, although the former came as not a promo but the advanced disc (test pressing) in a special press-kit package which was sent out to reviewers and record executives rather than to radio stations for airplay.

A pair of one-sided acetates were cut at Capitol Records in Hollywood,
CA, on the 6th of July, 1981, during his 6-night stand at Brendan
Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ. From the Backstreets Records
Warehouse Catalog no. 44 including Auction Catalog Spring 1997
entitled 57 Channels Of Auction Gems.

Despite being the completely custom-promo product issued way back in 1981, the copies of this title are still easily available and much less expensive than the above two, indicating that a relatively large number have circulated in the second-hand and collectors' market. So, as I wrote in the last blog, I was just curious about whether there were variations in vinyl pressings or not, and if so, how many available. The four copies in my current possession (numbered 1 to 4 temporarily) are grouped into two pressings, based on the dead-wax matrix inscriptions, and listed below (italics, hand-etched; upright font, machine-stamped). Here I attempt to crack these matrix codes (a sort of fun for me).

Copies #1 and #2

• SIDE 1:   1S    XSM-168620 1D F1     0     SX     MASTERED BY CAPITOL    A     KP
• SIDE 2:   1S    XSM-168621 2D F8     0     SX     MASTERED BY CAPITOL    B     KP

Never seen any Springsteen's releases with SX hand-etchings
except for this promo LP. Upper, SIDE 1; lower, SIDE 2.

1. Here we see some familiar matrix code and stamp, KP and MASTERED BY CAPITOL, which are common to the early U.S. copies of THE RIVER LP (Columbia PC2 36854), and the two single releases, Hungry Heart (Columbia 11-11391) and Fade Away (Columbia 11-11431). So, although not credited anywhere on the record, this promo LP was also mastered by Ken Perry at Capitol Records where for cutting master lacquers, he generally used the Neumann VMS-66 lathe (denoted as "F") at Tower Mastering in Hollywood, California. This explains the meanings of  F1 and F8 hand-etchings which are the 1st and 8th lacquers cut from the "F" lathe, respectively.
2. Columbia Records' matrix numbers, XSM-168620 and XSM-1168621, might also refer to the mastering job numbers with the prefix XSM which at least refers to stereo recordings (cf. XLP for mono). The two numbers are followed by the first suffixes 1D and 2D which, according to Columbia's rules, indicate that the lacquer for SIDE 1 was the "D" cutting made from a first master tape (1D ) while a second master tape was employed to cut the "D" lacquer for SIDE 2 (2D ). This suggests the existence of other lacquers "A" to "C" for each side of this LP (see below). 
3. As well-known, scratchy 1S (sometimes 2S or just S ) is ordinarily found on the trail-off area of vinyl records manufactured at Columbia's Pressing Plant in Santa Maria. "S" of SX also signifies Santa Maria, and the two-letter code with "X" probably means that the stamper was initially used at this Californian plant and then planned to be used by another Columbia's plant. If this is indeed the case, the second letter "X" is followed by a single letter code for such a plant to give a three-letter code like SXT (see below). 
4. Single letters, A and B, simply designate stamper editions used, but I don't know what "0" stamps mean.
5. To summarize my guess, the master lacquer discs for these pressings were cut at Tower Mastering, Capitol Records in Hollywood, and sent out to Columbia Records' Santa Maria factory for metal plating and further manufacturing to complete album production. 

Copies #3 and #4 (whose matrix numbers are identical to the current listing on Discogs)

• SIDE 1:   1S    XSM-168620 1B F2     0     MASTERED BY CAPITOL    B1     KP   SXT 
• SIDE 2:   1S    XSM-168621 2D F8     0     SX     MASTERED BY CAPITOL    B     KP

Left, No credits are given on the rear sleeve for who mastered this and where. Middle, Ken Perry's signature.
Right, SIDE 1 matrix number (upper) and inscriptions (lower) indicating that the metal plate was processed at
Santa Maria plant and the vinyl disc was pressed at Terre Haute plant.
 

1. These pressings differ two points in the SIDE 1 matrix codes from the above. One is the matrix number suffixes, 1B and F2, which are, as described above, specific to Columbia Records and Capitol Records, respectively. These codes mean that the lacquer for this side was made from a first master tape and assigned the "B" cutting which corresponds to the second lacquer cut on Neumann VMS-66. 
2. The three-letter code SXT probably indicates that the stamper was made and first used at the Santa Maria plant (as denoted by "S" ) and then sent out to another Columbia's pressing plant in Terre Haute (symbolized as "T" ), Indiana, for re-use there. In summer 1981 when this album was under the manufacturing process, CBS Inc. already decided the closure of Santa Maria plant (and shuttered in early December). This supports the interpretation of the SXT code.
3. So, for these copies, the lacquers were cut at Capitol Records, metal mothers and stampers were made at Columbia Records' Santa Maria, and the vinyl disc was pressed at Terre Haute. My first copy, which I purchased in the East of the U.S. a long time ago, is one of the two mentioned here.

Copies not in my possession
     By web searching, I found another pressing that carries yet another different combination of the
     matrix number suffixes for the two record companies:

• SIDE 1:   1S    XSM-168620 1C F3     0     SX     MASTERED BY CAPITOL    A     KP
• SIDE 2:   1S    XSM-168621 2B F6     0     SX     MASTERED BY CAPITOL    B     KP

     Based on the matrix information, the manufacturing history of this pressing is the same as that
     of Copies #1 and #2 (i.e. mastered at Capitol and pressed at Columbia's Santa Maria).

This short survey revealed that: (1) this steadily collectible, promo-only LP was mastered at Capitol Records and manufactured at Columbia Records; (2) hence, the matrix inscriptions consist of the mixture of codes from the two record companies; and (3) there are at least three different pressings based on the SIDE 1 matrix inscriptions, each bearing 1B-, 1C-, or 1D-cutting number. It remains unclear (to me) whether the 1A-cutting pressing has been available or not. Likewise, whether 2A- and 2C-cuttings exist or not for SIDE 2.
— To be continued to Part 4 / back to Part 1 or Part 2.

Collecting log: AS REQUESTED AROUND THE WORLD U.S. promotion-only compilation album with great cover artwork (Part 2 of 4)

From the Summer 1998 Backstreets
Records Warehouse Catalog.

Back in the early 1980s when I started collecting, it was impossible to find promotion-only releases from legitimate sources, whether domestic or imported (CBS/SONY or Columbia Records), at local record stores in my hometown and nearby areas. So, to me, mail order was the only practical option to obtain these official rare collectibles (it was way before we used the internet!). I remember that a copy of this promo LP was generally sold around between $40 and $60 (plus international postage) when ordered from the U.S. dealers. On the other hand, once imported into Japan, it usually fetched prices over $100 when becoming available at the collectors' market. As I wrote in the last post (05/10/2020), I got my first copy on my occasion to stay in the U.S. a few decades ago.

Several recent editions of Goldmine's price guide have kept listing a mint copy of this record at $50 (for example, Standard Catalog of American Records 1950-1990, 9th ed., Thompson, D., Krause Publications, 2016). According to eBay or the Discogs database, however, most copies in circulation have been purchasable at less than what the authority guidebook has suggested (although, of course, the actual values largely depend on the conditions of disc and cover). The relatively low actual market price means that the pressing number of this promo LP must have never been strictly limited, especially compared to other promo-only releases of that time like Japanese LAST AMERICAN HERO FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. (CBS/SONY YAPC 95; 09/19/2015 and 01/28/2017) and The Killer Tracks From The River (CBS/SONY XDAP 93030; 09/17/2017 and 09/19/2017). Indeed, the circulating copy number is much more like that of readily available promo releases such as Born In The U.S.A. 5-track sampler (Columbia AS 1957) or several editions of single LP excerpts from the LIVE/1975-85 box set that include the U.S. version (Columbia CAS 2543) and Japan-only THE "LIVE": THE LEGENDS COME ALIVE (CBS/SONY XDAP 93165; 12/04/2020). I had not been aware of this fact before the internet became widely used for web-based transactions, including net shopping and auction, and until I saw that several copies continuously turned up for sale online in the early 2000s.

In 1987, an issue of a popular weekly comic magazine published in Japan featured a 3-page full-color special article on Springsteen in commemoration of the premiere of Light Of Day, an American film of music drama for which he wrote the title song. Interestingly, a small section of the article entitled "The Premiere of the Premium Jackets" exhibited a showcase of his promo-only LP and 12" EP titles released in Japan and the U.S., from mega rare to relatively common, although LAST AMERICAN HERO ... is not included. According to the brief description, THE "LIVE" was initially priced at 50,000 Yen (more than $500 value) in the U.S. There are serious errors in the descriptions for The Killer Tracks and BITUSA sampler EPs. 
 

Not all 1980/81-era releases are mastered at Capitol.
My copy of Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Columbia
AS 1329), another promo-only 12" released in 1981,
does not bear dead-wax signatures characteristic to
Santa Maria pressing or THE RIVER-related releases.
Instead, it has a STERLING stamp on both sides.

Then, I just wondered how many different pressings of my favorite promo LP have been circulated. This could be known by examining and comparing the dead-wax matrix inscriptions of the existing copies. As shown in the last post, currently, I own four copies all of which carry a machine-pressed MASTERED BY CAPITOL stamp and a hand-etched KP inscription on each side, indicating that mastering was done at Capitol Records by Ken Perry, just like the early U.S. pressings of THE RIVER LP, two 7" singles therefrom, and promo-only Fade Away 12" disc, all issued in 1980-81 (see the following posts: 09/08/2014, 09/10/2014, 06/18/2016 and 12/23/2017). Each copy also has a 1S handwriting inscribed on both sides of dead wax, which signifies the Santa Maria-plant pressing (see 11/23/2016). In addition to these commonalities, I found small differences in the dead-wax matrix of the four copies that show the existence of different pressings of this promo-only LP.
— To be continued to Part 3 / back to Part 1.

Collecting log: AS REQUESTED AROUND THE WORLD U.S. promotion-only compilation album with great cover artwork (Part 1 of 4)

The outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has severely affected our lives and life, bringing this world to unforeseen stagnation. Frustratingly, the current epidemic situation in Japan shows no sign of improvement in controlling the virus, which seriously restricts our daily life. I believe many Japanese would agree that this is not only attributed to the disastrous delay in the Government's action against COVID-19 in favor of the now-postponed Tokyo Olympic/Paralympic Games and inbound tourism-supported domestic economy, but also due to the indisputable incompetence of our Prime Minister, as we often see in hereditary politicians.

During these stay-home days, I attempted to reorganize my vinyl collection and
found a total of four copies of my favorite record with the great sleeve (I had
thought that I had three). One copy came with a plain inner bag on which a
backstage pass was pasted for a French concert (Montpellier, April 24, 1981) 

During the past months, my most serious concern directly associated with COVID-19 had been my daughter, who stayed and studied in continental Europe for more than half a year via an exchange student program. Sadly against her will, (the Japanese side of) the university authorities forced her to cease her study abroad, with her ambition still unfulfilled, and urged her to fly back home right in the middle of global confusion and threat caused by COVID-19!  Because of this, I had had no motivation to write blog posts at all since the last one, at least until recently when I saw her safe return and the termination of the subsequent two-week quarantine period that was imposed on returnees from outside of the country.

Love at first sight with the album
cover art nearly four decades ago.
The scanned image is part of an
article from an early 1982 issue
of a major FM magazine published
in Japan. Note that it was rare
that a general magazine featured 
a non-commercial, promotion-only
release of a particular artist.

Then getting back to the blog. Let me resume it with one of my all-time favorite official records, though not being as super rare or ultra collectible as those picked up in the recent posts (01/30/2020 and 02/12/2020). AS REQUESTED AROUND THE WORLD (Columbia AS 978) is a U.S. promotional compilation LP that is out in September 1981 as a commemorative release for completion of THE RIVER '80/'81 tour. While this promo record serves as a sampler from the fifth album, it is also Springsteen's second-ever "Greatest Hits"-type LP, following an extremely rare Japanese LAST AMERICAN HERO FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. (CBS/Sony YAPC 95) released in 1978 (09/19/2015 and 01/28/2017). Over and above that, what has made it a steady collectible is its breathtaking live shot on the front artwork, previously used on the "A Night For The Vietnam Veteran" concert poster. Simply, the best official album cover, in my opinion (and I guess many would agree).

It was back in early 1982 when I got to know the existence of this promo LP. Back then, FM radio played a much more important role than now as a free music source (especially to poor young students), although there were only a few domestic stations in Japan, such as FM-NHK (nationwide) and FM-Tokyo/Osaka (local). So, I used to read major FM-radio magazines that were published here bi-weekly, checking out airplay lists available for my favorite radio programs. These magazine issues also featured regular reviews on new releases on record/tapes and music events like concerts and special articles on various topics related to music, musicians, audio equipments, and so on. A February (?) 1982 issue from such a magazine called "Shukan FM" ("Weekly FM" in English) contained a unique article where 10 critical predictions were made on the rock music scene that year.

As shown on the left, it was Springsteen that was covered on the top of these predictions, with the headline: Will Bruce Springsteen, the last big name, come to Japan in '82?  This was not a groundless idea since according to Dave Marsh's Born To Run (Dell Publishing, 1981), Japan was considered as a tour location for THE RIVER ("The tour that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band began in the fall of 1980 took them across America more than once, east to west and, in midwinter, north to south. Later, it would take them to Europe and Japan and Australia, and back home to New Jersey."). Based on the interviews with two key industry persons at CBS/SONY Records and Udo Artists Inc. (the then and still leading company for tour organization/promotion in Japan), the article reasonably came to a negative conclusion on the possibility (and the prediction, of course, turned out to be wrong). Interestingly, Mr. Ryo Okada of CBS/SONY (who was back then in the charge of Springsteen and mentioned thrice in this blog: 09/19/2015, 03/05/2016 and 09/19/2017) confidently predicted that the next release (following THE RIVER ) would be a double or triple live album because, according to him, Springsteen recorded every concert of the 1980/1981 tour (note: he might mean "every concert he attended", though not clear from his interview). 

I found my first copy that was displayed on the wall, together with
other promo records such as the Fade Away 3-track 12" vinyl, of a
local second-hand store in the East Coast of the U.S. The copy was
bought for $35 as hand-written on the price tag sticker that is still
attached on the clear outer bag.

And as you see right under the headline in the above image, the magazine article featured a small picture of the official record sleeve I had never seen before. This was how I got to know of this promo LP. Mr. Okada must have provided the magazine publisher with the album information since it was a non-commercial foreign release. I remember I was so impressed by the cover art that I was desperate in knowing more and getting deeper into the details of the release. Unfortunately, no fundamental information, such as the issuing country and catalog number, was provided on the short description beneath the album cover that only wrote something like "Promotion-only album where Bruce's talent is fully appreciated, including hit songs like Born To Run, Badlands, The River, and Hungry Heart." So, hoping to receive the information from CBS/SONY Records, together with a self-addressed stamped return postcard, I sent letters of inquiry to the headquarters office in Tokyo only to get no replies (it was a pre-internet era). Maybe the office staff were embarrassed by sudden inquiries from a local boy since the CBS/SONY label had nothing to do with the promo record issued from the U.S. Columbia label. Anyway, it was some years later that I got my first copy, not here but abroad, as shortly described for the picture right above.
— To be continued to Part 2.