On the 200th-anniversary blog post, plus Collecting log: recent miscellaneous purchases under COVID-19 (2022)

This year-end post marks the 200th entry I've written about my collection and started knowledge sharing in the last seven years plus four months. It might be crazy to think about what I've done: sticking around a single foreign artist peaking decades ago and blogging 200 times exclusively about his collector's items in a non-native language from the Far East island of Asia. Initially, the blog was a way to relax, forget work, stop worrying about things, and refresh my mind. I also intended to use the blog as a collecting log and memorandum to what I think and notice of the collectibles I obtained over the years (and that's why I call my blog "log"). However, doing blog things has become more than those. It is a pure joy to communicate with fellow collectors and fans worldwide. I'm very grateful to all of you for visiting, reading, and commenting. Fortunately, I have never received any negative or demotivating comments or feedback on what I wrote in this blog, which I really appreciate.

Should I open a used record shop?  These are all U.S.-pressed copies of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TWON LP (Columbia JC 35318) I have used to conduct a comprehensive survey to decipher unusual dead-wax matrix inscriptions, such as PK, PMI, PMN, PN, PV, and PPP (see a series of blog articles here). All are cheap-second hand, though.

Recalling back to the past posts after the previous anniversary (#100 post; 05/21/2017), the most remarkable to me is a series of efforts to decode trail-off matrix numbers of the six unusual early U.S. editions of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN LP, which are distinguished by unique dead-wax inscriptions, such as PK, PMI, PMN, PN, PV, and PPP (latest updated on 08/22/2022). This has made me re-realize how to enjoy a variety of vinyl-pressing variants of the same album (see the image above). 

According to the label and booklet printings, the two alternate takes differ in
running length (5' 43" versus 5' 35"). I have confirmed that each track plays
as indicated. Thus, the Brazilian vinyl track is longer than the Japanese CD
version (cf., The standard take clocks 5' 03"). Note that the Brazilian vinyl was
released in 1982, three years before the Japanese CD came out. It has been
pointed out that the Japanese CD runs slightly faster. Considering these, I
guess the version on the Brazilian vinyl represents the correct playing time
of this famous alternate take.

What comes up next in my mind is the unexpected finding of the Brazilian vinyl copies of NEBRASKA featuring the alternative take of My Father's House with the synthesizer coda (05/22/2019, 07/13/2019, 07/22/2019, and 03/31/2021). Commercially, the extended version of this track had long been believed to be available only on Japanese CD issues (up to the third pressing with the catalog number SRCS 7860 released in 1995). So, the Latin American LP was a total surprise to me when I played a copy of it for the first time (see the image right). Later, someone added this information to the Notes section to the relevant Discogs entry (BTW, I have received only one "I knew that" response since I posted this). I also enjoyed writing detailed reports on digging out not-commonly-known releases, such as the Compatible eXpansion (CX)-encoded, noise-reduced edition of BORN TO RUN LP (09/30/2021 and 10/08/2021; see also one of the images below).

Here are some statistics. Below are the top 10 most accessed posts for the entire period (September 8, 2014, to December 26, 2022), excluding the three index pages.

1. BORN TO RUN US pressing LP variants: Album credit variations (#79 post: July 29, 2016)
2. Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS (#14: October 24, 2014)
3. BORN TO RUN US pressing LP variants: the script cover (#26: January 25, 2015)
4. BORN TO RUN US pressing LP variants: Clarifying pressing plant-specific matrix number suffixes 1A, 1B, and 1C (#100: May 21, 2017)
5. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Pinckneyville pressing (Pressing Plant owned by MCA Records) (#95: March 18, 2017)
6. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Hauppauge pressing (Pressing Plant run by Keel Mfg. Corp.) (#101:  June 30, 2017)
7. Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: THIS GUNS FOR HIRE 5LP box (#67: April 23, 2016)
8. Collecting log: LAST AMERICAN HERO FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J., Japanese custom promotion-only compilation LP (#52: September 19, 2015)
9. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN US LP variations: Gloversville pressing (Pressing Plant owned by MCA Records) (#105: July 29, 2017)
10. Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: "E" TICKET (#11: October 12, 2014)

The 2022 miscellaneous purchase #1: I was able to find another
CX-encoded LP copy (Columbia JC 33795; the second in my
possession). This special edition is rather tough to find here
because it constitutes only a small fraction of the U.S. copies
of BORN TO RUN LP (see 09/30/2021 and 10/08/2021).

The difference is obvious compared to the access ranking data at #100 post (05/21/2017). Although previously, bootleg articles occupied four positions of the top 5, the current results show only three entries, ranked 2nd, 7th, and 10th, among the top 10. Nevertheless, these three bootleg posts have kept high popularity for long among readers and visitors. The remaining seven are three posts each from the U.S.-pressed BORN TO RUN and DARKNESS variant series, plus that on the extreme promo-LP rarity from Japan. Notably, the three BORN TO RUN U.S.-pressing articles rank higher than the other four. Does this reflect that fellow collectors find these posts useful to identify a given U.S. copy of this all-time classic LP? If so, I'd gladly continue revising and updating the information.  

Focusing on the recent posts after #100, the results of the top 5 access ranking are as follows.

1. Same as the 6th ranking above (#101 post)
2. Same as the 9th ranking above (#105)
3. Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: BORN TO BE THE BOSS original black vinyl pressing (Part 1 of 2) (#158: August 8, 2020)
4. Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: FOLLOW THAT DREAM 3LP (Part 1 of 4) (#140: October 26, 2019)
5. Collecting log: BORN IN THE U.S.A. LP ー Matrix numbers of the earliest U.S. pressing and an error copy with off-centered labels (Part 5 of 5) (#139: September 30, 2019)

While the older posts get more access, vinyl-bootleg articles remain popular. Unpredicted was the 5th-ranked entry of the blog on the regular pressings of BORN IN THE U.S.A., one of the most mediocre collectibles among many others commercially available. Maybe some regular visitors use this page just as a bookmark to access this blog site?

The 2022 miscellaneous purchase #2: Probably, the best hunting
result this year, just obtained this month. The tri-folded insert
accompanied by the latest addition (third copy in my possession),
contrary to the other two, has no handwriting of the catalog
number for the regular copy of this 3-inch CD single released
in 1992 (SONY SRDS 8226; see 05/19/2017).

Country-based statistics showed that about one-third of the total access was from the U.S. Then, Japan, the U.K., Italy, and Russia followed. The further ranking was mostly occupied by continental European countries, except for Canada, in the following order: Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Austria, and the Netherlands. It is of interest to me that the access numbers from Japan and Russia were unexpectedly ranked high because neither country entered the top 10 in the previous survey (05/21/2017). I even wrote in the last post (12/03/2022) that the Japanese are an apparent minority among readers/visitors of this blog (based on the ultra-scarce  number of comments and PM I received), which turned out to be untrue. So, I must revise my perception.

The 2022 miscellaneous purchase #3: A promo-only double CD set 
from Japan called CBS/SONY HOT TRACKS COLLECTION 1988: Nov.
Dec. 1988 (XDDP 93021-2). This rare 32-track compilation features
Chimes Of Freedom (live) from Stockholm (Disc 2/Track 14) and
contains two inserts in a folded full-color cardboard sleeve.

As for this year's miscellaneous purchases that might call attention from collectors, check out three collectibles (LP, CD single, and CD album) as found on this page. Two (purchases #1 and #2) of these have already been described in detail in the past blog posts (09/30/2021 and  05/19/2017). The remaining #3 purchase is yet another promotion-only CD sampler from CBS/SONY Japan containing  one track from the Boss, just like those introduced in the previous "miscellaneous" series (11/12/2020 and 10/27/2021).

Finally, as mention at the beginning, this post is the last to conclude the blog in 2022. May the new year bring you peace, joy, and happiness.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: Suki on double vinyls! — YOU CAN TRUST YOUR CAR TO THE MAN WHO WEARS THE STAR from the mid-1970s and NEW YORK CITY SERENADE from the late-1980s (Part 5 of 5)

Doberman is one of the earliest known CD-R bootleg labels, releasing their first ever
Springsteen titles in 1996. Initially, their copies came with CD-R discs with no artwork,
just a hand-written catalog number. Accompanying inserts were stamped with a serial
number in blue. I obtained most of these CD/CD-R imports from Spanish retailers
in the mid-to-late 1990s (see 12/08/2020).

Great Dane (1989—1997), Scorpio (1989—), Crystal Cat (1992—), E Street (1993—1999), and so on. With the advent of underground CD labels, the 1990s were exciting years for bootleg collectors. We saw not only lots of new releases not bootlegged previously, but also reissue titles to appreciate classic concerts again, often in better quality or at least free of the clicks and pops inherent to vinyl. Towards the late 1990s, however, the circumstances changed. Bootleg CDs could be quite easily homemade using CD-R media for audio and an ink-jet printer for sleeve/label artwork. In addition, unofficial recordings, the sources of bootlegs, became available much faster and for free in non-physical format due to the expansion of the internet. For example, I remember live recordings from the late part of the reunion tour in 2000 were available online for download (mostly in mp3 format) within a few days after the shows. Since then, for me, bootlegs have neither been the same as before (i.e., vinyl and silver-CD releases) nor tasted as sweet as honey, and it's been no fun to collect them anymore. Consequently, I largely lost my interest in bootleg CDs and finally stopped collecting them in 2000 while Mr. Springsteen was still touring with the reunion band and bootleggers produced many CD titles from this tour and other sources.

Before the internet age, The E Street Shuffle: Springsteen & The E Street Band in Performance 1972-1988 (Heylin, C., Gee, S., Labour of Love Productions, U.K.), a 162-page softcover book published in 1989, was an indispensable reference for all known live recordings of the man and his band from inception to the end of 1988. Not to confuse with Heylin's other book of the same title published in 2012 (Constable & Robinson, U.K.), although the subtitle differ from this one (i.e., The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band).

"Come back, Suki!" the bootlegger (you know who he is) speaks
out for fans and collectors. Shown is the rear side of the folded
slick inserts of HOT COALS FROM THE FIERY FURNACE, released
early in 1976 by Hoffman Avenue Records (HAR).

That being said, by the year 2000, I obtained two more CD and CD-R titles (THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE and FLESH AND FANTASY, respectively) and one downloaded online for free as electronic files (NEW YORK CITY SERENADE) that featured Suki Lahav, in addition to the two Main Point CD releases mentioned in the previous post (10/28/2022). I also had a circulating videotape copy for the Widener Field House show in Chester, PA, on February 6, 1975, although it did not cover the entire concert. Not counting the VHS tape, at that point (more than two decades ago!), I was able to appreciate the following four fascinating performances that never happened again (as Suki left back for Israel and has not come back to the U.S.):

1) October 19, 1974 / Memorial Chapel Concert Hall, Schenectady, NY

• Vinyl: NEW YORK CITY SERENADE (2LP, Exodus Records, ER-002; picture disc edition)
  
• CD: NEW YORK CITY SERENADE (Scorpio, 00-C-046 -A/B; downloaded as mp3 files online for free in 2000).

2) October 29, 1974 / Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA

• CD-R: FLESH AND FANTASY (Doberman, 125/126; an early numbered copy)

3) February 5, 1975 / Main Point, Bryn Mar, PA

• Vinyl: YOU CAN TRUST YOUR CAR TO THE MAN WHO WEARS THE STAR (Singer's Original Double Disks, SODD 001)
• CD: THE SAINT, THE INCIDENT & THE MAIN POINT SHUFFLE (Great Dane, GDR CD 9012)
• CD: YOU CAN TRUST YOUR CAR TO THE MAN WHO WEARS THE STAR (Labour Of Love, Love 022/023)

4) February 23, 1975 / Westbury Music Fair, Westbury, NY

• CD: THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE (Parrot, no number) 

Having listened to the concerts documented in these bootleg CDs, one may notice an interesting fact: Suki was never introduced to the audience whole through these shows, even though the then-two new faces, Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg, were done so together with the other band members during Rosalita. Probably, Springsteen considered her as a guest musician rather than a band member and kept her mysterious and intriguing to the audience.

My Best One: A Bootleg Record Of Bruce Springsteen: that's what
the boxed sentence means. I was surprised when I found my favorite
bootleg featured in a major music magazine in the early 1980s.

Finally, here is a random fact about the original vinyl edition of YOU CAN TRUST YOUR CAR ... that might interest Japanese fans and collectors (an apparent minority among readers/visitors of this blog). Although made in the underground, this bootleg album appeared in one of the 1980 issues of FM Fan, a major Japanese biweekly FM magazine published by Kyodo News (first published in 1966 and ceased publication in December 2001). In a certain period, the magazine issues introduced renowned domestic disc jockeys in a series of the section "The DJ My Musical Mind," where a selected figure showed his or her best choice of record as "My Best One." In that issue, Hiroshi Morinaga (1950—), the featured disc jockey (though his main occupation is a writer/editor), unusually picked up the bootleg with the following comments (in Japanese, of course; translated by this blogger):

"This vinyl record was a gift from Shigeru Izumiya*. It sounds as if being right at the center of the concert hall — spectacular, which you cannot experience with any other ordinary live recording. I listen to the cassette-dubbed copy while riding my motorcycle, which makes me really excited mentally and physically. It's my treasure."
*Japanese folk/rock singer, writer, actor, director, and comic artist (1948—).

Incredible, 42 years ago, he spoke the above words about an unofficial release in a major music publication here in Japan. Yet, as far as I know, among all the DJ personalities featured, he was the only one who chose a bootleg for "My Best One" instead of any legitimate release.

— Back to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, or Part 4.