Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: THE GREAT WHITE BOSS — Making a comparison of the various editions (Part 2 of 3)

Original Hangman (left) and later Blockhead (right) editions in my possession.
As previously shown (07/22/2017), the former consists of two semi-transparent
blue LPs (the Bottom Line part) and one opaque lilac 12" EP (three live tracks
from New York City '73 and Boston '77), all sides of which carry Hangman labels. 

The triple-record box edition of THE GREAT WHITE BOSS is the third vinyl release that bootlegs the radio-broadcasted live at the Bottom Line in the summer of 1975. The track configuration of the first two discs (Sides 1 to 4; the Bottom Line part) is the same as that of a preceding LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE 8/15/75 but differs from that of Coral Records' LIVE. Thus, I'm not so sure, but I guess that this bootleg is a copy of one of the two predecessor releases, although obvious edits include fade-in/out and removing snippets of disk jockey's talks on some tracks. 

As noted shortly in the last post (07/21/2021), two very similar editions have circulated in the collectors' market. The original was released in the late 1970s and pressed on colored wax (white, red, dark blue, pale blue, purple, etc.) with a black and white Hangman drawing label or blank labels in various background colors (e.g., black, white, blue, grey, and so on). This means that the three discs did not necessarily come with the custom label in a given box, making it rather difficult to dig out a "perfect" copy with such a custom label on all six sides. Such variations concerning the label design and vinyl color are also true for the only known other Hangman's LP release PAID THE COST TO BE THE BOSS (see 12/10/2017 for some information and fellow collector's comments on this label and title).

I'm still wondering whether the hanged man's drawing is the original by the bootleggers 
or was stolen from somewhere (though I guess the latter is probably the case).

The other release on Blockhead Records appeared probably at the latest by the early 1980s, for which black vinyl discs were commonly available (although the limited copies seem to have carried colored discs). As far as I've seen, the Blockhead label operated exclusively to reissue famous or popular Springsteen's bootlegs such as THE JERSEY DEVIL (the first-ever Bruceleg released in 1975), FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS (one of the two legendary studio-outtake bootlegs from the early Bruceleg era), PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE, (need the explanation?), and THE JERSEY DEVIL LIVE - PALLADIUM 76 (a copy of PAID THE COST ... mentioned above). Thus, the Blockhead version are easily distinguished from the original by the differences in record labels and vinyl colors. Naturally, then, a collector's typical question is whether the Blockhead edition is a repressing or pirate copy of the Hangman's?  The relevant Discogs entries describe the respective matrix run-out codes as follows (Note that there are no indications as to whether these codes are machine-stamped or hand-etched):

• Hangman (link to Discogs):   ZD1-2A-B/BR1-2 
• Blockhead (link to Discogs):  ZD-2A/B 1A/B BR-1/2

As both are quite similar to each other, the information from Discogs might support that the Blockhead edition was repressed using Hangman's mothers or stampers.

Hangman (left) and Blockhead (right) use different stampers for vinyl pressing. Images compare the matrix code "ZD-1A" hand-etched on Disc 2/Side 3, and the inset shows the two-digit number "42" inscribed only on Hangman discs.

As exemplified in the image above, however, the direct comparison revealed that the matrix code on each side of the three discs is identical but differs in handwriting style and position between the two editions. Moreover, all three Hangman discs carry an additional hand-inscribed number "42" on each side's dead-wax space, which is not present on any Blockhead discs. The exact matrix codes of the Hangman discs are listed below:

Disc 1 (Side 1 / 2):  ZD-2A      42  / ZD-2B      42 
Disc 2 (Side 3 / 4):  ZD-1A      42  / ZD-1B      42
Disc 3 (Side 5 / 6):  BR-2        42  / BR-1        42    (12" EP played at 45 rpm)

[All matrix codes are hand-etched; the two-digit number 42 is absent on Blockhead discs]

Crucially, Hangman's Disc 3 is a 12-inch 45-rpm EP, whereas Blockhead's EP is played at 33⅓ rpm. All these disc-associated characteristics conclude that the Blockhead box is not a repressing but a pirate copy of the original Hangman set.

Comparison of the box packages. Upper: Hangman's cover image (right) is more detailed than Blockhead's picture (left). Lower: The Hangman box (right) is shallower than the Blockhead box (left). The depth measures 12 and 17 mm for the former and latter boxes, respectively.

Finally, I still occasionally encounter sealed copies of this box set when conducting web-store searches or checking online auctions. Then, how can we know which edition corresponds to a given copy without opening the package?  As always, the printing quality of the insert cover is a good measure to distinguish the original from its pirate copies. As shown immediately above, the Blockhead image looks more contrasted black and white, resulting in the loss of details. Another clue lies in the box depth. My Hangman copy came in a visually thinner black box than the Blockhead copy. I don't know if this is a definitive measure, though.

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