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| The ninth copy in my collection and the first acquisition since 2001 (19 years ago!). On the left is a recent 4-LP box (Rox Vox / RV4LP1002) from Europe, which remains unopened. Is this box sourced from the Crystal Cat CD? |
It's been two years and eight months since Springsteen finally started sharing a wealth of live concert recordings from his vault collection (the first release on November 14, 2017). Putting aside technical issues of sound production such as audio mixing, as a relative old-timer craving for nostalgia, I feel I'm almost fortunate enough to own several essential live performances at his peak between the late 1970s and early 1980s. These include four of the five FM-radio broadcasts from the legendary 1978
DARKNESS tour, two-
MUSE charity appearance in
New York City 1979, two of the three lengthy concerts to close down 1980 in
Nassau, and the final show each from the summer 1981 and 1984 multi-night homecoming stands in
New Jersey. In my memory, these concerts had been bootlegged on vinyl by the 1980s, or CD until early in the 1990s, with the exception of the 1981
N.J. show.
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In 1985 when the BORN IN THE U.S.A. world tour was on-going, a major
weekly comic magazine in Japan featured Springsteen in a full-color 4-
page article. The scanned image shows the bulk part of the final page
with the album discography introducing not only the seven official
releases, but also three bootleg titles, including the classic triple-LP
box. Note that this comic magazine again featured Springsteen in
special articles in 1987 and 1992 (see 05/17/2015 and 06/05/2017).
So, I guess there must have been a BIG fan among the Editorial Staff
(remember it was a comic, not a music magazine!).
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My most anticipated live archive release was, without doubt, last September's release of the
Passaic 09/19/1978 broadcast concert (and now eagerly wishing for
Atlanta 09/30/1978). This show is wide-spread known as the source of the infamous classic bootleg
PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE that, as I reminisced before (
11/03/2015), made me addicted to Springsteen's bootlegs. Despite this, strangely enough, I have thus far listened to this official release (as digital HD-ALAC files) much fewer times than I initially thought. Maybe that's because it's not a physical format (I love playing vinyl, and to a lesser extent, CD). Perhaps I'm too familiar and comfortable with the bootlegged version due to the over-listening for the decades since 1981. Or because of my personal preference of
Jimmy Iovine's mix on the original broadcast recording (I think, for example,
Danny's organ solo during
Prove It All Night should have been more upfront in the officially released version). Anyway, I can't explain explicitly why, but I admit that I have certainly become quite attached to that old vinyl bootleg for utterly long.
Last week, I saw a copy of the serially numbered box here and just couldn't resist obtaining it for the first time in
nineteen years(!) since the last purchase in 2001 (through
eBay, according to the purchase log). This one corresponds to the
ninth added to my collection and
96th entry to
the summary table for this particular bootleg, which I have kept updating by incorporating information kindly provided by fellow collectors and available on online auctions (the older versions are available on
12/13/2015 and
05/03/2017). Originally, this was undertaken to characterize the early and late pressings concerning the record labels (
generic yellow or custom
Slipped Disc), slick insert color (
white,
light cream, or
pale blue), and the way of serial numbering on the insert cover, since there were variations in these aspects from one copy to another (and I believe that this purpose has been fulfilled). Now that the summary table became a long list, I separated it into two charts, which list serially numbered copies from lower to higher, just like I did previously.
Here is the first list that comprises up to around
#2000 (total 42 copies).
And the second table that lists those numbered
#2000s and above (total 54 copies).
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An example of a copy with a hand-written number
(claimed to be #26 by the seller) found on eBay.
Note that the slick insert and record labels are typical of
reissue or pirate copies (not in my possession). |
A few notes on the tables updated here:
- Copies with a hand-written number exist and circulate, but are excluded from the lists. This is because in almost all (if not all) cases present or previous owners must have numbered by themselves in the small empty box on the slick insert.
- In some cases, it wasn't easy to distinguish insert color between white and light cream, especially from fair and poor images available online, although the difference from pale blue is much more recognizable. So, the current listing may not be accurate in this respect.
This update firmly confirms the previous observations on the relationship between serial numbers and record labels, making clear what the original format was:
- The early numbered pressings come with yellow generic labels with a serial number stamped on a small white sticker pasted on the slick insert (19 copies: #032 to #1051, except #119, #198, #598, #613, and #830).
- The late numbered pressings carry the custom Slipped Disc label on each wax, and a serial number is stamped directly on the insert (43 copies: #3948 to #5995, except #01667, #2311, #02381, #02724, #3006, and #3555).
- Either label is featured on the copies with intermediate numbers. In all cases, however, serial numbers are stamped on the insert (22 copies: #1089 to #3840, except #5739).
By the way, "
Slipped Disc," the name of the bootleg label, was taken from a real record store located in the Panorama City district of
Los Angeles. The story as to how that happened is told
here (
"Steely Dan – BENT OVER BACKWARDS: Origins of a Bootleg") in
The Amazing Kornyfone Label blog. A very interesting reading.
Finally, the next time when I come across another numbered copy (not online but in-store), I don't know if I could resist purchasing it (that would be the tenth if added to my collection).
