Collecting log: a plain white test pressing for TUNNEL OF LOVE U.K. limited edition picture-disc LP (Part 1 of 2)

The lineup for the officially released U.K. picture disc vinyl pressings. If my memory is correct, the last known picture disc to be manufactured is The Ghost Of Tom Joad / Straight Time (live) EP (Columbia 663031 7), released in 1996 (bottom, second from the left). Sadly, my copy of the flag-shaped I'm On Fire / Born In The U.S.A. (CBS WA 6342) has fully developed discoloration (middle row, far right), although Dancing In The Dark / Pink Cadillac (CBS WA 4436) shows no such symptoms (bottom, far right). 

A picture disc rarity continues. The last blog (2021/04/20) introduced a test pressing for an old picture-LP bootleg from the early 1980s (courtesy of the fellow collector from Italy). Here's an example of such a rare pressing for an official picture record from the late 1980s. As you collectors know, all the official picture discs of Springsteen in the album and 12"/7" single formats, including shaped discs, were released from the CBS U.K. Records label, except for the U.S.-issued DARKNESS promo LP. Note that in the mid to late 1980s, several picture discs featuring Springsteen's interviews also floated around the market, mostly originating in the U.K. These picture discs might not technically be illegal, but certainly, grey-area products since they were neither issued from the CBS label nor authorized by Springsteen (i.e., Interviews are not necessarily protected by copyright laws).

Examples of unofficial "Interview" picture discs released in the
second half of the 1980s. Back then, I couldn't help but purchase
these collector's items even though I knew I wouldn't listen to them.

When starting to circulate in the late 1990s or early 2000s, test pressings were much less common for picture discs, with the information being scarce. They were often called "mysterious" discs, making collectors suspected of authenticity. Nowadays, however, you can easily find these "test pressing" copies through the net search. Their typical appearance is plain white with a black outer rim, which does not mean that they are made of white vinyl. As illustrated in the last post, the rim's color represents the color of the vinyl blob or biscuit used as a core or basis of the disc (that is not directly pressed by stampers). Thus, what looks like white vinyl is plain white papers inside a disc that sandwich the black vinyl, further layered on each side with a clear thin film that is pressed by stampers. As explained above, the manufacturing processes exactly follow the laid down procedure of making picture discs, which differs from standard vinyl pressing. So, I think it should still be called so.

The TUNNEL OF LOVE commercial picture disc and plain test pressing. Despite the different looking, it becomes clear that the two discs are the same pressing based on the number of tracks and each width (shown are Side One).

Released in 1987, TUNNEL OF LOVE (CBS 460270 0) corresponds to the second of the four picture LP editions from the U.K. (The others include BORN IN THE U.S.A., HUMAN TOUCH, and LUCKY TOWN). According to my collecting log, I bought a copy of the TUNNEL picture disc for 2,800 JPY (approximately $22 back then) at the usual import record shop in December 1987, while the regular U.S. pressings were already obtained for 1,680 JPY that October. In contrast, I had to order the BORN IN THE U.S.A. picture LP from an overseas dealer as I was not able to locate the copy here when it was released in 1985, suggesting the larger number of pressing for the former picture.

— To be continued to Part 2.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: RESTLESS NIGHTS ー THE RIVER outtakes LP ー original picture-disc and later black-vinyl editions (Part 3 of 3)

It's always nice to hear from "The Boss" collectors around the world. Soon after I posted Part 1 on this topic, I received a private message/response to the blog post from a fellow collector in Italy. We enjoyed communicating with each other, and he provided me with interesting information on this particular bootleg. Although I don't write about what I don't own in my blog, I thought that what he showed me would interest collectors visiting here, especially fans of old vinyl-bootleg stuff (i.e., This bootleg subject was originally going to be two parts, not three). So, here they go.

Do you think this is a test pressing for the studio-outtake bootleg LP released decades ago? I guess YES. Note that the two lower photos are not of the picture LP but the paper sheets that are to be set inside the picture disc. The clear disc seems to be slightly discolored like my picture disc (see 03/27/2021). The dead-wax inscriptions (WILI A on Side One) look double due to an optical effect of the transparent disc. Photos provided by courtesy of a fellow collector in Italy.

First, the clear vinyl edition, as shown above. The dead-wax matrix numbers are WILI A / WIL 2 (Note that I consistently express hand-etched matrix inscriptions in the oblique throughout the blog posts), but one might read the Side One hand-etching to be WIL/ A ("WILI A" versus "WIL/ A" when compared in the normal font). Anyway, these inscriptions on the clear wax are identical to those of the early, picture-disc edition. Quite interestingly, the disc is accompanied by two 12" round-paper sheets printing what exactly appears on both sides of the picture disc. I think most collectors would agree that this particular copy is likely to be a test press for the picture disc.

   How to make a picture disc. A blob of vinyl (PVC) is placed   
    between two picture sheets which are sandwiched by thin    
films of PE or PVC for pressing. Though I'm not sure, this
setting probably has to be done manually, explaining why
picture discs are generally more expensive than standard
discs. PE, polyethylene; PVC, polyvinyl chloride.

One more (shown below) is a copy of the picture disc with a black rim, although I've seen that the transparent edge is more common with many copies in circulation, including mine (recently, however, I saw the black-rim version sold at an online auction here). At a glimpse, I thought it was an unevenly discolored copy. Still, it was actually pressed with a black vinyl blob that was sandwiched between the two picture-paper sheets. As illustrated in the right figure, most of the vinyl part (black colored, in this case) is covered by picture sheets with only its peripheral visible. The dead-wax hand-etchings are WIL-1 and WIL-2 on Sides One and Two, respectively, which match exactly those of the late black-vinyl edition but not the early picture-disc edition (see the last post on 2021/04/17).

The black-rim pressing, another variant. The dead-wax code (WIL-1) shown is for Side One ("other side").
Photos provided by courtesy of the same collector as above.

Having been informed of the above two pressings I don't own, I put my thoughts together on this nice bootleg, as follows.

• The early edition appeared in late 1983 or early 1984, with the dead-wax matrix numbers WILI A (or WIL/ A) / WIL 2. Clear vinyl was used to press the picture disc, which explains why the rim of the disc is transparent and why the presumed test pressing is of clear vinyl. As far as I know, no black-vinyl version exists for this early edition.
• The late edition was perhaps out one or a few years after the release of the original picture disc (that's what I've seen). Both picture and standard discs were pressed on black vinyl, and that's why the picture disc had a black rim. These discs were not made using original stampers because the matrix numbers are different (WIL-1 / WIL-2 ) and because probably the master tapes also differ (for example, the difference in the last part of Held Up Without A Gun is apparent).
• Based on the hand-etched inscription on the dead-wax space, the same bootlegger(s) presumably produced both early and late editions. 

It's always fun for me to delve into old vinyl bootlegs, especially when valuable and useful information is provided just like this time. Finally, I thank the fellow collector for sharing information on his one-of-a-kind collection.

— Back to Part 1 or Part 2.

 

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: RESTLESS NIGHTS ー THE RIVER outtakes LP ー original picture-disc and later black-vinyl editions (Part 2 of 3)

Weeping peach (Prunus persica cv. Genpei-shidare)
blossoming in my small garden.

Springs has come, and it's really nice to see that beautiful flowers blossom here and there. In Japan, the fiscal year begins on April 1st. So, everything must be refreshed and restarted now. However, the situation around COVID-19 has not been improved. Even worse, we are now severely facing the fourth wave reinforced by the spread of the U.K.-variant virus (N501Y) with a high transmissibility mutation. I just can't believe that the Government still insists on holding the Tokyo Olympic/Paralympic Games as planned after less than 100 days from now, despite almost all Japanese people still being unvaccinated (i.e., those vaccinated so far account for only 0.76% of the national population, as of April 5th). Although this has nothing to do with the blog, I can't help mentioning the current unusual situation, wondering how we look to you living outside Japan.  

The early picture-disc and late picture-sleeve/black vinyl editions. The latter is listed on a bootleg catalog I received from a domestic dealer around 1986 or 1987 (far left). The Lynn Goldsmith's shot used for this bootleg officially appears on the front cover of the collection of her photographs called SPRINGSTEEN (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1984). The Japanese edition (Eichi Publishing Inc., Tokyo, 1986) employs a different cover photo, and the bootleg's image is found as the smaller B & W image on the rear of the back cover (lower right). It also includes a glossy color print directly from a negative (upper right).

The rear sleeve of the black-vinyl version faithfully reproduces the backside of the
picture disc. Then, how do we know "this side" and "other side" with the plain white
labels on the black wax?

Back to the subject. As I wrote in the last blog (03/27/2021), RESTLESS NIGHTS has provided my first real listening experience to unreleased/outtake tracks from THE RIVER. So, for me, these bootlegged takes were the definitive version of each track. Ｗhen Loose Ends, my favorite from the bootleg, was finally released in TRACKS in 1998, I remember I was rather disappointed by the official version that unpredictably featured more keyboard. At the first listening to the official track, I thought the bootleg version was much better in the mix (with more guitars), even with a defect of sound dropout near the end of Clarence's sax solo (you know what I'm talking about if you listened over and over to the vinyl-bootlegged version). Fortunately, the official quality THE TIES THAT BIND bootleg CD already circulated, though.

When the high tide of vinyl bootleg continued to come mainly from Europe after the BORN IN THE U.S.A. tour ended, I found the black vinyl edition of this title in the color sleeve whose image was identical to the picture disc. Back then, I thought it was just a reissue to which I felt barely attracted, as I was satisfied with the picture disc. Then, nearly three years ago, I saw a copy of this on a domestic auction and bought it just because it was way cheap without competitors and because it would become a good companion for the picture disc. Having checked the dead-wax matrix numbers as always, I found that my long assumption was incorrect; I mean, based on the hand-etched characters, the black-vinyl version was not a repressed copy but an independent pressing.

The same bootlegger probably hand-inscribed the dead-wax markings, as inferred
from the characteristic "W " writing. Shown are Side One.

Picture disc edition

• Side One:  WILI A
• Side Two:  WIL 2

Black vinyl edition

• Side One:  WIL-1
• Side Two:  WIL-2

Besides the differences in the matrix inscription, Bruce's voice can be heard on the black-vinyl edition right after performing Held Up Without A Gun, which is originally not included in the picture disc track. Oh man, I had not known these facts for twenty to thirty years since around the mid or late 1980s!

— To be continued to Part 3 / back to Part 1.