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

Three issues of the double-disc edition differ in the record label designs (hereafter referred to as Issues 1, 2, and 3, from left to right). I guess that Issue 1 (with weird illustrations on the labels) is the original pressing, and the other two are repressing.

Compared with the triple-vinyl box sets (see 07/26/2021), the double album version of THE GREAT WHITE BOSS has been more widely circulated since the early 1980s and is even nowadays relatively easy to find at second-hand shops. This concise edition was probably released originally between late 1979 and 1980 (or 1981), as its front sleeve features a stage shot from the second night (September 22, 1979) of the Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) Concerts For a Non-Nuclear Future (NO NUKES; 04/25/2019 and 11/12/2020). A documentation log of my collection records my first copy (Issue 2: see below) purchased at an import branch of the chain-music store called Jeugia in Sanjo Street, Kyoto City, November 1981.

The double-disc version of this bootleg includes Circus Song (live) from the official
source (the track list image taken from the rear sleeve). Note that the triple-disc
version (07/26/2021) contains only The E Street Shuffle on Side Two.

The track configuration is basically the same as the Bottom Line part of the 3-disc set that lacks Kitty's Back from the entire performance (Sides 1 to 4: early show broadcast on WNEW-FM radio). However, the 2-LP version additionally includes Circus Song (live) on Side 2, which is taken from the Columbia/Epic's Play:Back promo 7" EP released in 1973 (US Columbia AS 52; briefly mentioned on 02/23/2021). I guess, like me, many probably have heard for the first time this rare official live track through this vinyl bootleg (The same live recording of Circus Song is finally released in 2005 as a bonus DVD track in the BORN TO RUN 30th Anniversary Edition box). 

Record labels from three variants of the double-disc edition. Left: Issue 1, Sides One to Four (from left to right, upper to lower). Upper right: Issue 2, Sides One and Three (left and right, respectively). Lower right: Issue 3, Sides One and Four (left and right, respectively). For Issues 2 and 3, the label on the other side is the same as shown in each label image, but without rubber-stamped texts.

There are several variants in record labels for this title, roughly grouped into printed and blank ones. As far as I know, the former is further divided into two completely different designs. One label has no letters and words but features a weird black & white illustration on each side (mainly three figures and one creature from all four sides); I don't know whether these characters are original by the bootleggers or taken from somewhere. Hereafter, this release is called Issue 1. The other is the King Toot label in pale pink or moss green color, often used for U.S.-made copies of original vinyl bootlegs (which is referred to as Issue 2). For example, this bootleg label is also seen on a pirate copy of the original "E" TICKET in my possession (see 10/19/2014). Finally, the latter blank labels are mostly white, with a few color variations such as orange and yellow, and frequently rubber-stamped minimum information on the content (artist name, recording date, etc.). These blank-label releases are collectively designated as Issue 3.

A comparison of dead-wax matrix inscriptions revealed that all hand-etchings are identical among the three issues (shown are those inscribed on Side One).

The label variation suggests that one or two of these releases were piracy and copied from another. Is that true?  A bit surprisingly, all three bootlegs share identical matrix inscriptions on each side of the double disc, clearly indicating that the same set of stampers (or mothers) have been used for pressing the three variants (check the images immediately above showing Side 1 matrix inscriptions).

Disc 1 (Side 1 / 2):   SIDE1    GWHBS  /  SIDE2    GWHBS
Disc 2 (Side 3 / 4):   SIDE3    GWHBS  /  SIDE4    GWHBS
(All matrix codes are hand-etched)

Then, did these three issues appear on the collector's market simultaneously or almost around the same time?  Most probably no, as a few but significant differences are recognizable in the single-pocket back & white sleeve.

There are a few notable distinctions in the LP sleeve between Issues 1 and 2/3. Left, Album title lettering (upper, Issue 1; lower, Issue 3); Center, image quality (left, Issue 2; right, Issue 1); and Right, spine width (left, Issue 3; right, Issue 1).

Overall, Issue 1 exhibits noticeably better printing quality on the front sleeve than Issues 2 and 3. For example, the bootleg title in white letters on the bottom is much clearer and vivid against the background, and the featured stage shot image from NO NUKES has a higher resolution (BTW, I'm eagerly looking forward to the official release of this concert footage scheduled to be this fall). Moreover, the spine of Issue 1 is thicker (ca. 5 mm) enough to hold two vinyl discs, whereas the sleeve for the other two is substantially narrow, looking like for a single LP. So, I presume that the Issues 2/3 sleeve is a reproduction from Issue 1 and that these vinyl issues are probably repressing. Furthermore, I observe that these two postulated repressings, especially the King Toot issue, are somewhat inferior to Issue 1 concerning the quality of the vinyl discs. All these suggest that it is worth trying to dig out Issue 1 if interested in this bootleg.

My first copy still retains the price tag on the shrink wrap (3,500 JP
Yen = US $15.69 based on the exchange rate back in Nov. 1981). My
hand-writing memo on a piece of paper indicates when and where I
bought it (40 years ago!). The first Japanese edition of the Born To
Run biography is issued in 1982 (translated by Hiroaki Kobayashi,
CBS/SONY Publishing Inc.).

Checking back on my purchase log showed that the double-disc edition of this title was the seventh vinyl Bruceleg obtained in 1981, the year I started collecting these underground releases (see 08/14/2015). The immediate previous (sixth) bootleg added to my collection was the NASSAU box, one of the worst Brucelegs made from the poor sounding-audience recordings in the vinyl era that must have disappointed almost all collectors who purchased this 3-LP set from THE RIVER tour. So, I was really excited by the first listening to the Bottom Line concert in a very listenable FM-broadcast quality. I used to play this bootleg while reading Dave Marsh's Born To Run semi-authorized biography (Dell Publishing, 1981). That's because the book begins with the chapter titled "The E Street Shuffle," which introduces in details the legendary performance of the hot summer night in New York City.

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