BORN TO RUN US pressing LP variants: the short-lived, CX-encoded noise-reduction disc released in the early 1980s (Part 2 of 2)

Large round sticker glued on the
shrinkwrap on the front side of
CX-encoded LP sleeves.

When exactly was the CX version of BORN TO RUN released? According to Billboard magazine ("CBS Steps Up Push On CX LPs," Nov. 13, 1982), CBS Records had a plan to concentrate on the label's strong-selling artists and groups for CX alternates. Among those included were Meat Loaf, Claude Bolling, Boston, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Aerosmith, Johnny Cash, and Bruce Springsteen. Early next year, the magazine reported that a then-latest catalog listed 137 titles available ("CBS Stresses CX Commitment," Billboard, Jan. 29, 1983). Subsequently, around May 1983, the CX catalog was approaching the 200 mark, 30% of which were classical titles (although I do not know whether the listed number of CX titles was indeed manufactured or included the future releases yet not pressed). At the same time, ironically, the record company started to mull the abandonment of CX as a commercial disc configuration ("Doubt Cast On Future Of CX," Billboard, May 21, 1983) for the reasons shortly described in the last post (09/30/2021).

Compared to the gate-fold sleeve for the standard "JC"-prefixed release, my "CX" copy showed no noticeable difference except the gold promo stamp and small "CX" identification sticker on the rear face.

 

The spine also prints "JC" but not "CX." The promo stamp shows the
typical style of the U.S. Columbia Records in the era. Check similar
examples on THE RIVER (09/12/2014) and NEBRASKA (09/28/2016).

Although I have not seen any CX-related documents issued by Columbia/CBS Records that explicitly listed Springsteen titles, it is reasonable that his third album was reissued in the noise-reduction format between late 1982 and early 1983. The relevant Discogs entry concluded that it was 1982. My copy is housed in the gate-fold sleeve with the "JC"-prefixed catalog number (Columbia JC 33795), which is indistinguishable from the standard issue (classified as Release 7 in the blog post on 07/29/2016) unless you notice a small CX identification sticker on the rear. In addition, there is another large round red CX-logo sticker on the front if the sleeve remains shrink-wrapped, as shown in the recently featured Discogs entry (here; see also the top image). I do not know if the CX album originally included information sheets introducing the new technology, just like the Half-Speed Mastered (HSM) series that first attempted to improve the sound quality of this album. My used copy came with no insert sheets.

Matrix numbers printed on the
labels of the three U.S. audiophile
reissues in the early 1980s for
the mid-1970s masterpiece.

By contrast, the CX-encoded vinyl disc differs from the conventional "JC"-prefixed disc in the label descriptions and dead-wax matrix numbers. A small CX logo is found on the red labels on which a newly assigned matrix number is printed for each side (CXAL 533795 or CXBL 533795; cf. those for "JC" pressings are AL 33795 or BL 33795). The addition of "CX" in the two codes is obvious, but what does the leading digit "5" mean?  Before the CX discs, Columbia Records released the aforementioned HSM edition twice, originally in 1981 (HC 33795/HAL 33795) and then in 1982 for the reissue (HC 43795/HAL 43795). So, based on the release order, the three audiophile renditions out in the early 1980s might have been assigned the successive catalog/matrix numbers in the first digit position (i.e., 3, 4, and 5), although the HSM series are 5-digit numbers while the CX edition is a 6-digit.

A CX-encoded disc is easily recognized by the logo on the labels. In addition, the unique matrix number is printed right below the side indication on each label.

Disc's dead-wax space also carries the same matrix numbers, as found on the record labels, in machine-typed lettering. Interestingly, the first of a six-digit number ("5" of "533795") was absent originally, which was added by hand-etching on each side (see the pictures below).

• Side One:    p G o    CXAL533795-2A      COLUMBIA NY
• Side Two:    p G o    CXBL-533795-2B     COLUMBIA NY
                    (straight, stamped; oblique, hand-etched) 

The "COLUMBIA NY" stamp, frequently found on the label's vinyl discs pressed in the 1980s, signifies that the disc was mastered at recording and mastering studios owned by Columbia Records in New York City. Other matrix markings include another stamp, "p," which generally indicates that a given disc was pressed at the Pitman factory, NJ. However, a "G" is inscribed after "p," which refers to Columbia Records' another pressing plant in Carrollton, GA. My simple interpretation is that one plant was responsible for cutting the master disc while the other engaged in vinyl pressing — just speculation. I do not know what a small "o" stamp means, which is already present on the run-off space of an early vinyl pressing of the first album released in 1973 (see the post on 09/26/2015).

Matrix numbers and other dead-wax markings on Sides One (top)
and Two (middle). Note the hand-etched first digit "5," which was
missing in the original five-digit code stamped on each side. The
remaining machine stamp shown on the bottom is found on
both sides and indicates where the recordings were mastered.

Alright then, is the sound quality really improved on the CX disc?  Unfortunately, I do not own the decoder hardware. So, I cannot say anything about it as I have not experienced the expanded sound yet through the decoding system.

Columbia/CBS Records predicted that their new technology would become standard on the future LP releases, which in reality did not happen. Considering the unique encoding system and short-live span, we collectors can safely say that the "CX"-encoded edition of BORN TO RUN LP is a rare item among many vinyl collectibles. However, how rare is it? 

Neither the Blinded By The Light book (P. Humphries & C. Hunt, 1985, Plexus, London) nor early issues of the Backstreets magazine describe anything about the CX disc, as far as I have checked. A complete lack of information makes it quite difficult to estimate the number of pressing even roughly. This case is not unlike that of the "CBS Special Products" edition of THE RIVER (Columbia PC2 36854; see 12/23/2017), although the CX-encoded album is probably much rarer.

An example of CX samplers I own (Holland CBS SAMP 35). Although
several CX compilation promo-only albums are released in the U.S.
and Europe, I have never seen any of these featuring Springsteen's
tracks. The introduction to "CX" is printed on the rear side of the
custom sleeve in English (shown right), French, and German.

In addition, there is yet another factor that renders the estimation a little bit more complex. As already told, the "CX" gatefold sleeve is not easily distinguished from the regular "JC" sleeve manufactured from the late 1970s to the demise of the vinyl era in the 1990s. It appears that's why all the CX copies were differentiated by the two stickers on the sleeve mentioned earlier (one large on the front shrinkwrap and another small glued directly on the rear). However, most of the used copies in circulation are shrinkwrap-removed, eliminating the large sticker together. Remember that the sleeve is gatefold and unless the shrink is removed, the inner side is not viewable. This led me to assume that a certain fraction of the CX copies of BORN TO RUN LP may have been and still is circulating while unnoticed by sellers, buyers, or both. If so, the actual pressing number of the CX version in circulation would be more than what we could estimate from the collector's market.

To date, no other CX alternates of Springsteen's LPs have been confirmed to exist for commercial releases in the U.S. The "demo" version of THE RIVER disc, briefly mentioned in the last post (09/30/2021), will be reported here sometime in the future. It must be noted that many CX discs were also manufactured in Europe, mostly Holland-pressed with the catalog number prefix "CBS-CX." However, I do not know whether or not Springsteen's CX discs were pressed there, and at least, I have never seen his CX copies of European origin before. If you know something about this, please pass it along.

— Back to Part 1.