Collecting log: THE "LIVE" 1975-1985 and THE LEGEND COMES ALIVE, Japanese 5-LP box and custom promotion-only compilation LP w/ info sheets (Part 4 of 4)

Among the three advanced promotion-only LP records CBS/SONY Japan released in the 1980s (upper row), the LIVE/1975-85 sampler (center) was treated distinctively from the other two, with the impressive sleeve artwork that is comparable to those of the standard first-pressing issues (lower row).

Undoubtedly, the collecting value of THE LEGEND COMES ALIVE Japanese compilation LP primarily lies in its superb sleeve artwork. The appearance of its front cover is in marked contrast to those of the advanced promotion-only LP editions (in a plain white sleeve with one or two unique stickers; see the picture above) for BORN IN THE U.S.A. and TUNNEL OF LOVE that immediately precede and follow the LIVE box, respectively. Some may wonder how CBS/SONY was able to issue such a Japan-exclusive, custom-color sleeve featuring his gorgeous portrait, especially considering the unusually urgent release to the domestic market to rival the imports such as those from the U.S. The answer is found in the blog written by the aforementioned ex-company staff (see Part Two), if you can read and understand Japanese (I refrain from disclosing it in my blog for a potentially sensitive reason). And finally, I close this topic with my memory when I got the first bootleg of the LIVE-box outtakes.

The images show both sides of the rear CD sleeve with the short linernotes for the first LIVE-box outtake bootleg.
As usual for bootlegs, there are errors on the song titles and recording locations.

"According to the linernotes these recordings were taken directly from the mastertapes. These tracks were considered to be included on the Live-box, again according to the linernotes. These two statements and the question whether this could be true, could easily lead to long deliberations. However, the only way we have to somehow verify these claims is to listen to the CD. We can safely say that these are indeed live-recordings that were professionally mixed in a studio. These are not your common soundboard, radio or audience recordings..."
Excerpted from WANTED magazine issue 1, p.22, December 1997 (by Jan Rodenrijs).

WANTED, first published in book style and then magazine format from 
the mid-1990s to the early-2000s, was a quite useful and excellent guide
devoted exclusively to Springsteen bootleg CD. The first issue of the
magazine (Dec. 1997) rates the double-CD bootleg for LIVE-box outtakes
9.5 and 9 out of 10 for the sound and collecting value, respectively,
with detailed information including the excerpts cited above.

It was ten years after the release of the LIVE box, and it was not the vinyl-bootleg era anymore. In 1996, the supposed LIVE outtakes were for the first time bootlegged on factory-pressed CD, which I got to know via LuckyTown Digest, a fan-based Springsteen mailing and discussion group on the internet, operating back in the mid 1990s to early 2000s. I obtained a copy of this quite intriguing release early in 1997 through a then familiar bootleg retailer in Spain who had provided me with every new release from Crystal Cat Records, E Street Records, or other European labels. 

It was a double CD called 85-75 THE OUTTAKES (Catch 22 Records) with a total of 20 tracks from Passaic, NJ (09/21/1978), San Francisco, CA (12/16/1978; erroneously listed as 12/15), Uniondale, NY (12/29/1980), East Rutherford, NJ (08/19/1984 and 08/22/1985), and Los Angeles, CA (09/30/1985). Interestingly, half of the bootlegged tracks were overlapped with those on the box set, although from different dates or locations, suggesting that these live takes were strong candidates that could have otherwise been chosen for the official release. Springsteen would not have decided yet which tour version should be on the record up to a certain point [Because The Night from '78 or '80, Hungry Heart from '80 or '85, and Two Hearts from '81 or '85 (either with Miami Steve), to mention a few examples].

A typical pirate copy of the LIVE-box
outtake bootleg CD pressed in Japan
(not in my possession)

Despite the flippant title and rather sloppy packaging, the bootleg sounded outstanding (as an underground release), as cited above from the first magazine issue of WANTED, a very useful and detailed bootleg CD guide of Springsteen [Note that the Backstreets magazine #55 (Spring 1997) also highly rated this title in the bootleg column]. Furthermore, the second disc included lengthy performances that did not make on the album (i.e., Jungleland and Twist & Shout/Do You Love Me). So, I used to listen to it repeatedly way back when. By the way, the WANTED magazine issue also reports that the folks behind this bootleg were arrested soon after the release, explaining why the original pressing was hard to find, especially in Japan, until other bootleggers started to copy and press pirated editions a few years later. 

In fact, nobody in my known collectors and bootleg retailers knew about this bootleg when it was already available on the European market. So, I guess I was probably the first (if not, one of the very first) who was luckily able to receive and listen to this CD here in the Far East. I remember whomever I told about it desperately asked me to copy it (which I did) or disclose the overseas bootleg supplier who sent me the copy (which I didn't, because he needed to select reliable customers carefully so as not to take unnecessary risks). I wonder if that Spanish guy is still active in his business or already retired, as I have stopped collecting bootleg CDs for long since the Reunion era (1999-2000).