Collecting log: Further digging of NO NUKES collectibles and a nothing-to-rave-about but unexpected finding (Part 4 of 4)

The "Promotion copy not for sale 2" videotape, given away for free to those who purchased a TRACKS 4-CD box when it was out in Sweden in November 1998, contained eight live footage clips, of which five were unreleased or available only as promos back then. The remaining three were from THE MUSE CONCERT / NO NUKES (shown is a Japanese low-budget edition released in the 1990s) and VIDEO ANTHOLOGY /1978–88 videos.

The final part of this subject picks up one more compilation item, which is unusual in this blog: a VHS cassette containing NO NUKES material. Of course, I'm not talking about old used videotape copies of the commercially released soundtrack movie with the three live performances (The River, Thunder Road, and the edited Quarter To Three), which are still available in the second-hand market at a cheap expense. I obtained this generic, mediocre-looking cassette videotape in 1999, nearly a quarter century ago. Although its relation to NO NUKES is weak, containing only one clip, I thought this is a good opportunity to write down this video in the blog, as it was certainly rare back then (and still is now), and hard collectors had (have) sought it out for that reason. 

The index of a December/1998 issue of LuckyTown Digest
reporting a new promo videotape from SONY Sweden
(all e-mail addresses made unreadable).

I remember this VHS cassette was first reported in December 1998 on LuckyTown Digest, an internet mailing list for fans and collectors of the "Boss," which was quite useful, enjoyable, and active almost daily between the mid-1990s and early 2000s (The old-timers should miss it!). The contributor was someone in Sweden (his name is not divulged here) who reported this unheard promo in brief with the essential information, such as movie-clip listing, under the subject title New Sony promo video tape (?). Subsequently, the Winter 1998 issue of Backstreets magazine (#61; published in 1999) mentioned it in the On Disc column, starting with "For some lucky fans in Sweden, Tracks was packaged with a promotional video containing eight clips, some rare or unreleased ..."

How many copies still survive?

More specifically, according to the Swedish collector above, approximately 400 copies were given away free as a bonus exclusively to customers who purchased the TRACKS 4-CD box at two record stores. The video came in a plain, light-brown paper case, which was too simple and cheap. It was labeled "Promotion copy not for sale 2" on the spine of the video cassette, with no mention of Springsteen and no descriptions or symbols indicating that it was an official Sony or CBS/Columbia label product. So, he was seriously worried that many CD-box buyers would throw away this complimentary videotape into a trash bin or utilize it as a blank tape to dub over something else since it must not have been a valued item or anything special, at least for ordinary fans and bandwagon purchasers. In his post on the mailing list, he wrote beseechingly, "If there's a God in heaven, please stop them!"

The encoding format of the video was European PAL, so to view the clips on the tape, I first had to find an audio/video vendor who could convert it to NTSC format compatible with Japanese equipment. It contains the following eight clips:

• Born To Run / Badlands / Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) / Prove It All Night (live in Phoenix, July 8, 1978)
• The River (from THE MUSE CONCERT / NO NUKES video)
• Glory Days (live in Stockholm, June 15, 1992)
• Hungry Heart (from Berlin 1995 promotional video)
• Born To Run (the full-band version from VIDEO ANTHOLOGY /1978–88)

Let me briefly review, content-wise, why this VHS cassette was rare and highly sought after. Although there were tons of underground releases in circulation bootlegging the professionally shot Phoenix 1978 footage, four of the five clips, except Rosalita, had never been officially available until THE PROMISE: THE DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN Story 3CD/3DVD (SONY Japan SIPC 2971-6) was issued in 2010. Long before THE PROMISE box, Rosalita was viewable on VIDEO ANTHOLOGY / 1978–88 (CBS/SONY 42ZP 122) in 1989. However, the released version was edited to eliminate the introduction of band members during the interlude. 

On the other hand, the Swedish promo video contained the complete version with the full band intros, putting together three more unreleased Phoenix clips back then, although the complete Rosalita and the guitar introduction part of Prove It All Night were broadcast over the airwaves on television, such as MTV programs first in 1984 and BBC's documentary "Glory Days" in 1987, respectively. The only missing clip was The Promised Land, for whatever reason. So, at least up to 2010, this VHS tape was the best official collection of the Phoenix '78 performances to own.

The penultimate clip, Hungry Heart, is taken from the VHS cassette tape included in the Germany-only Berlin '95 limited edition promotional box (no catalog number), well-known among collectors for the corrugated cardboard sleeve. The accompanying booklet in my copy is written in English, which is rarer than the German-text version, according to the Lost In The Flood collector's website. My purchase records show that I placed the order for this promo box on the 10th of November 1995 from a U.K.-based retailer, which probably explains why mine contained the English booklet. Although I'm not sure, the English variant might also be distinguished from the German edition by the difference in the sticker pasted on the clear slim case for the maxi CD single included in the package (Columbia 662315 2). My copy carries a white rounded square sticker on the CD case. As far as I've seen, however, the German set holds the same CD-EP with a true circle sticker in black (see the inset on the lower-right corner of the center image).

Still, the rarity on the video cassette is Glory Days' premiere performance from the HUMAN TOUCH & LUCKY TOWN 1992–1993 Tour launched in Sweden. To my knowledge, this clear pro-shot footage has not thus far been officially available in any other release, although truncated and viewable only from the middle of the performance. I have not watched the video for long, as I no longer own VHS players. However, suppose (though fairly confident) I remember correctly and no errors were associated with the PAL-to-NTSC conversion. In that case, the featured clip is not the full performance as opposed to the report on the Brucebase Wiki (1992-06-15, Recording section). 

The remaining three clips were all previously released commercially or promotionally, including The River from the NO NUKES film. The Brucebase Wiki seems uncertain about the source of this clip on the promo video, describing it as follows: "The performance of 'The River' (or from the next day) was included on a rare, promotion-only 'freebie' VHS tape given away to customers purchasing the Tracks box set in select Swedish record stores in November 1998" (1979-09-21, Recording section; Note the underline made by this blogger). For this, I'm 100% sure the video features the first-ever live performance from the first-night stage on September 21, 1979, not from the next night.

— Back to  Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.

Collecting log: Further digging of NO NUKES collectibles and a nothing-to-rave-about but unexpected finding (Part 3 of 4)

These four multi-vinyl radio show programs were released in the 1980s and exclusively featured Springsteen (two from Westwood One and United Station Programming radio networks each). Devil With The Blue Dress Medley (a.k.a. Detroit Medley) from NO NUKES, 1979, was included in all but A CONVERSATION WITH BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (far left).

In the 1980s, Sringsteen's two live performances from the NO NUKES soundtrack LP (Asylum ML-801; see, for example, 05/04/2019) had often been featured in non-commercial vinyl pressings in the U.S., among which notable were radio show-program discs. Of the two tracks, Devil With The Blue Dress Medley (better known as Detroit Medley among fans) was the obvious choice over Stay with special guests Jackson Browne and Rosemary Butler, included in some Westwood One (WWO) radio network releases, such as a various artists compilation THE ROCK YERAS — PORTRAIT OF AN ERA: HOUR 44* and an exclusive featured program BORN IN THE USA SPECIAL* 3LP, released in 1981 and 1985, respectively. WWO already distributed A CONVERSATION WITH BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (BSS 85-1), another 3-LP exclusive program similar to BITUSA SPECIAL, first in 1984 and again in 1985; however, neither Detroit Medley nor Stay was included. Meanwhile, the United Station Programming (USP) Network distributed two multi-record sets for radio airplay, both of which also contained Detroit Medley: one in November 1987, shortly after the release of TUNNEL OF LOVE (Columbia C 40999) and the other in June 1988, during the European tour for the album promotion.   *No number assigned.

So called Detroit Medley from the NO NUKES soundtrack album is found on each label side of wax shown in these images except for A CONVERSATION WITH ..., which does not feature this live track. The label design significantly differs between the two radio programs from WWO (left two), while that of the two USP sets is similar to each other (right two). All eight sides of USP's RADIO SPECIAL labels have a typo, "Weekend of June 1987," in which the broadcasted year is wrong and correctly "1988."

The first of the two USP releases was a triple-disc set with 32 songs entitled BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND STORY* (hereafter called BAND STORY), hosted by the legendary Ed Sciaky from Philly's WMMR and scheduled to air on the weekend of November 25 (Wed.) to 29 (Sun.), 1987. The second USP program, THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND RADIO SPECIAL* (abbreviated as RADIO SPECIAL onwards), came as a quadruple LP including 41 tracks, presented by Dave Charity and slated for radio broadcast on the weekend of June 24 (Fri.) to 26 (Sun.), 1988. The two programs were similar in content and largely overlapped with material, mostly from the albums up to TUNNEL OF LOVE in almost chronological order, with interviews of the man and his band members, mainly Clarence Clemons, and several other related artists such as J. Browne, inserted between tracks.  *No number assigned.

Part of cue sheets listing the Detroit Medley - Stay segment on the two USP radio
programs, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND STORY (upper)
and THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND RADIO SPECIAL 
(lower). Note that Stay is J. Browne's original recording, not taken from 
NO NUKES, though not indicated explicitly.

Both radio shows carried the same 2-track segment of Detroit Medley - Stay, starting with a short interview of Steve Van Zandt at the beginning and inserting that of J. Browne between the two (although the RADIO SPECIAL 4-LP additionally included the interview with Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs after Stay). Curiously, the two tracks were reversed in order compared to the sequence on NO NUKES. Why? That's probably because Stay in these radio shows was not taken from NO NUKES but from Browne's original album RUNNING ON EMPTY (Asylum 6E-113). So, Springsteen and the band do not play on the track. In addition to this, the BAND STORY 3-LP contained three more tracks where Springsteen was not featured mainly or not at all (Blinded By The Light covered by Manfred Mann's Earthband, This Little Girl by Gary U.S. Bonds, and You're A Friend Of Mine by the Big Man & J. Browne). Two tracks were brought into RADIO SPECIAL further, besides the four mentioned above (Sun City by the Artists United Against Apartheid and Light Of Day performed by the Barbusters).

Circus Song (live) on the USP 1988 radio program (shown is part of the front
page of the cue sheets). Including this first-ever Springsteen's official live
release makes this radio special rarer and more attractive than other radio
shows and similar compilation releases.

From my point of view, these radio show sets are very appealing and highly collectible for (1) their content volume, (2) numerous interviews spread over multiple discs, and (3) custom-designed sleeves (cf., Like the WWO releases above, radio show discs usually came without or in plain generic sleeves). Of the two, the RADIO SPECIAL 4-LP is especially interesting, as the first track to appear on the program is Circus Song (live), an early version of Wild Billy's Circus Story on the second album, taken from the performance during "A Week To Remember" concerts organized and promoted by Columbia Records, at Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, on May 1, 1973.

"A Week To Remember" was seven consecutive night concerts held in Los Angeles between April 29 and May 5, 1973. It was sponsored and organized by Columbia Records to promote the label's 23 artists, including Springsteen. His performance on May 1 (Tues.) was reviewed in 425 words in the accompanying booklet (Play:Back Issue 25). Interestingly, none of his original song titles except Spirit In The Night were correctly named or mentioned, probably because his set consisted mainly of the then-unreleased material, such as Cirus Song, Tokyo, and Thundercrack (Tokyo is still not officially available in any form). The following short description is given to the performance of Circus Song: "The carnival song with accordion and Gary on tuba was next [to Spirit in The Night], and it warmed the crowd considerably." I own four copies of this 4-track 7" EP whose matrix number is either ZSM158458-1B or -1D (shown here) on SIDE ONE, whereas all discs share the same number, ZSM158459-1B, on SIDE TWO.

When I spotted this acoustic live recording on this radio show in the early 1990s, it was a small but exciting moment for me since Circus Song was only found on Columbia Records' promotion-only Play:Back EP issued in June 1973, very early in his career (Columbia AS 52; for the Play:Back series, see 02/23/2021 and 03/01/2021). Since then, it had never been available on any form of his commercial releases until the release of the BORN TO RUN 30th-anniversary edition box in 2005 (i.e., the live footage was captured on DVD). Thus, this live track has not yet been available commercially in audio-only form since its first official release in 1973, half a century ago! Note that, although unconfirmed, the audio recording of Circus Song might have been featured on one or a few other radio show releases, too. 

— Continued to Part 4 / Back to Part 1 or Part 2.

Collecting log: Further digging of NO NUKES collectibles and a nothing-to-rave-about but unexpected finding (Part 2 of 4)

Why do I consider this promo double-LP rarity of a West Coast music
icon to be also a collector's item of our favorite East Coast rocker?
Insets show the close-up spine images of the gatefold sleeve.
On the lower right is a triple-CD bootleg capturing the first night at
the Christic Institute Solo Acoustic Concerts in 1990, still one of the
CD bootlegs I play frequently. J. Browne's part is also brilliant.

So, what was an unexpected finding with a NO NUKES-associated collectible, even though that was certainly not something great? Because of the long and intimate relationship with Springsteen, though never serious, I've also been interested in the music of Jackson Browne. A good example is the live rendition of Before The Deluge, the B-side of the custom promotion-only 12-inch featured in the last blog (11/18/2023), which is stunning. All that said, until very recently, I didn't own any of his vinyl and CD releases, except for an early Italian triple-CD bootleg called SPRINGSTEEN, RAITT AND BROWNE (Templar TCD 16), released in 1991 and representing the first of the two-night stand at the Chrisitic Institute Benefit Concerts in Los Angeles (November 16, 1990). As you know, Springsteen's sets from these solo acoustic concerts have been available via nugs' official LIVE download. However, I still prefer the bootleg recordings to the official sound because the bootleg captures the audience's reactions and responses very nicely, making me always feel like I am there. In comparison, there is generally less audience and crowd sound on nugs' releases, which explains why I'm not too fond of their mixing and resulting sound.

The inspiring Before The Deluge (live), the B-side of
Devil With The Blue Dress Medley, also plays at 33⅓
rpm but not 45 rpm on the limited 100-numbered 12"
promotional record from the NO NUKES soundtrack.
BTW, do you know what "A010784" means, which is
stamped on the left of the spindle hole?

Then, it was a recent online auction where my eye was caught by a greatest-hit type, two-LP compilation containing his masterpieces, such as The Pretender and Late For The Sky. It was a good idea for me to acquire it to appreciate his representative works (and indeed, I won the copy for less than 5,000 JPY against six competitors with 18 cumulative bids). However, I had no idea whether this double album in a gatefold sleeve was official or bootleg, as I scarcely knew (and still little know) about his official and underground discography. Having checked the relevant entry on the Discogs database soon before the auction ended, I learned that this 22-track collection, entitled THROUGH THE YEARS '72–'86 (Warner Pioneer PS-284), was a custom promotion-only vinyl pressing unique to Japan and issued in 1986 for promoting the then-latest album LIVES IN THE BALANCE. As easily guessed from Discogs' sale statistics, it is a famous and major Japanese promo item for J. Browne collectors and enthusiasts all over the world (e.g., a copy has been sold in the Discogs marketplace with a median price of 14,852 JPY).

The inner side of the gatefold depicts the chronological relationship of
J. Browne with his music associates, including Springsteen, which is
credited as "Researched and drawn by HIDEYO ITOH. ©March 1986"
(hence, the image is intentionally blurred and unreadable).

What is amazing about this release is the inner side of the gatefold sleeve, which illustrates the detailed family history of J.B. and his music associates, starting from 1961 to 1986, by taking up the entire two-facing space (a great work by music critic Hideyo Itoh). It's like The E Street Band Family Tree originally published in Number 25 (Vol. 7, #1, Summer 1988) of the Backstreets magazine, which was later reprinted in other publications and also bootlegged in the thick booklet of Steel Mill - LIVE AT THE MATRIX (GDR MAIL 1), an early bootleg CD (see 06/10/2018; see also the Discogs entry). 

So, while looking over the inside of the gatefold, I was playing and listening to DISC ONE. Then, all of a sudden, I heard the familiar live sound right after Running On Empty, the penultimate track on SIDE TWO. The last song on this side was Stay, a doo-wop oldie of 1960, as printed on the white label and the tracklist on the rear gatefold sleeve. However, it was not the cover version available on RUNNING ON EMPTY, his 5th album released in 1977, but taken from the NO NUKES soundtrack (Asylum P-5186~8Y), performed by Springsteen and the E Street Band with the guest appearance of J. Browne and Rosemary Butler!

As the record labels indicate, Stay included in the Japanese custom promo 2LP (left; Disc 1/Side 2) clocks in at 4 min 14 sec, the same track length as those on the promo (center) and regular (right) Japanese issues of the NO NUKES triple LP (Disc 3/Side 5). On the custom black label (left), there are two three-letter Japanese Kanji characters, which mean "Not For Sale" and  "Sample Disc" on the left and right sides of the spindle hole, respectively.

J. Browne's original cover version
of Stay on RUNNING ON EMPTY
(Asylum P-10446Y; Japanese copy),
the last track on Side 2, is 3 min 28
sec in length (the label image taken
from the relevant Discogs page).

Contrary to NO NUKES LP, "Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band" are not credited on the record-disc label or gatefold sleeve of this Japan-only promo compilation. Their contribution to the track can only be known in the rear sleeve that shortly describes, "2-5 from album MUSE Concert Live/No Nukes" (where "2-5" refers to SIDE 2-TRACK 5 and the album title MUSE ... is written in Japanese katakana characters; see the images below). So, probably, the fact that Stay in this compilation is not culled from J.B.'s original album remains largely unknown even to collectors of Browne, Springsteen, or both, except those who actually own a copy of the promo rarity. Enthusiastic J.B. collectors might also notice this from the track length indicated on the label and sleeve (4 min 14 sec, whereas J. Browne's original album version is shorter and plays for 3 min 28 sec). Anyway, as far as I checked, the Discogs page and other websites introducing this compilation do not tell or mention anything about the source of the track, which would mislead as if it were taken from Browne's original album.

The fact that Stay is taken from the NO NUKES soundtrack album but not from RUNNING ON EMPTY, J. Browne's 5th original album, can also be known from the rear side of the gatefold sleeve.

When I obtained this J.B. collectible, I thought it was just a good buy as a non-Springsteen item to add to my collection and nothing else. I even thought I would let it go shortly to earn cash for other Springsteen collectibles. However, having found and recognized the above fact I reported here, albeit not so exciting, I now regard it as a Springsteen collectible and thus can no longer part with it.

— Continued to Part 3 / Back to Part 1.

Collecting log: Further digging of NO NUKES collectibles and a nothing-to-rave-about but unexpected finding (Part 1 of 4)

What is the serial number of a new addition (right) to my collection? The "90/100" copy was obtained a few decades
ago (see 05/12/2019). The numbered edition of this rarely-surfaced promotional 12-inch disc, released in late 1979
or early 1980, has long been one of my all-time favorite vinyl collectibles.

First of all, I want to tell you about the current situation of this blog, especially those who have wondered why this site has not been updated for more than half a year. The answer is simple and not serious: although finally infected with COVID-19 four months ago, I'm fine and healthy. However, I just couldn't (and still hardly) have time for my favored things, including sharing information about vinyl and CD collectibles of my favorite artist, for I've been extremely busy with my job since the last post (yes, even though it's just a blog thing, I need to set aside time to do that). Anyway, I thank all of you who cared about the blog's situation and sent me such messages. Even though I had no time to blog, I enjoyed communications and deep discussions with fellow collectors, especially in the U.S. and Europe, on official rare collectible discs and old vinyl bootlegs.

Another example of a limited-numbered edition released lately:
Finally, the long-awaited GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N. J.
Mobile Fidelity (MoFi) U.S. imports are now available in Japan. My
reservation with Amazon Japan (made this January) was canceled
automatically months ago due to the significant delay in production.
Just three days ago (Nov. 15), I ordered a copy from another domestic
retailer, which was delivered today, surprisingly, at half of the U.S. retail
price (7,459 JPY including tax & shipping = $50). As another surprise,
despite the very late order, it came with a relatively low serial number.
Thank you Joshin for the great service!

During these quiet days, what did I play the most frequently? It was THE LEGENDARY 1979 NO NUKES CONCERTS [Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) SICP-6407~9]. Yes, I still stick around the audio and video of the CD/DVD box released two years ago (November 19, 2021) because I love watching and appreciating the incredible performances of this particular era of the man and his band. It's fun for me to compare the differences in songs performed on both nights (September 21 and 22, 1979). For comparison, all the songs played were once officially available in the Live Music Archives from nugs.net (although no longer available due to THE LEGEND release). Some of the other-night versions of THE LEGEND-featured tracks, such as The River (9/21, the first-ever performance), Thunder Road (9/22), and Stay (9/21, w/ Jackson Browne and Rosemary Butler but w/o Tom Petty), are also found in the old soundtrack album/VHS home video/laserdisc for the NO NUKES movie (premiered in 1980) and the recent soundtrack album to the motion picture BLINDED BY THE LIGHT (came out in 2019).

A promotional copy of the Japanese triple-record set (Asylum P-5186~8Y) came with white labels and a white "sample" sticker on the front of the gatefold sleeve (my copy is missing the obi). Note that the vinyl discs were manufactured by Warner-Pioneer Corporation in Japan. For the details of the U.S. white-label promo and test pressings, see 05/04/2019.

Moreover, the live footage has several funny or curious moments and scenes. For example, we can see flabbergasted-looking David Geffen, a billionaire businessman and the founder of Asylum Records (that released the abovementioned NO NUKES soundtrack), when Bruce ran up to a group of persons on the right-side stage, including Geffen, Jon Landau, John Hall, and a silver-haired tall man supposed to be Hall Manager, during Devil With The Blue Dress Medley just before making an emergency announcement to the audience. As another example, I've been wondering and still cannot figure out what Bruce is doing during the extended bridge between the medley and Rave On (for those interested in this, please visit the blog on 01/10/2022 and read the last paragraph and the comments).

Shown is a sample copy of the Japanese HDCD version of NO NUKES released in 1997 (EastWest Japan AMCY-2486-7). As you can see, a sample sticker is pasted over the barcodes printed on the lower left corner of the obi that covers the entire rear side with the track listing. Although it came with typical Japanese accessories, such as the obi and an additional black and white booklet in Japanese, the set was, in fact, a repackage of the U.S. import.

Speaking of David Geffen, how could we not talk about the custom 33⅓-rpm edition of the promotional 12-inch disc of Devil With The Blue Dress Medley (Asylum AS-11442), coupled with J. Browne's Before The Deluge? As covered on this blog previously (04/25/2019 and 05/12/2019), unlike the commonly circulating promo copies playable at 45 rpm, this seldom-seen collectible was serially numbered and limited to 100 copies, which were purportedly distributed to his friends and related parties (although I am still not able to locate the official source for this information).

Some of the official vinyl and CD titles of Springsteen have been
issued as limited and serially numbered editions, including the
recent MoFi one-step pressing of the debut album shown above.
In my opinion, however, these particular NO NUKES pressings
stand as historically the most important and valued collectibles
among those available in terms of the background, rarity, and
release format (i.e., promo, whereas all the other numbered
releases are, as far as I know, regular issues).

After putting out a series of blog articles on NO NUKES-related collectible vinyl records four years ago (04/25/2019, 04/27/2019, 05/04/2019, and 05/12/2019) and some more in recent years (11/12/2020 and 01/10/2022), my private collection was slightly expanded to include a few notable collectors' items. One is another copy of Devil 12-inch with a serial number of "29/100."  The first copy of this promo I obtained a few decades ago had a much later number ("90/100"; see 05/12/2019). However, based on the Arabic numeral-writing style, the same person apparently handwrote these limited numbers on the two copies, and very probably, the other copies in circulation and collectors' hands, as I already speculated (see 05/12/2019). 

Then, who did that? If the aforementioned unconfirmed information is true, I guess David Geffen is most likely. To examine this idea, I have searched for images of his hand-drawn numerals online, but thus far, I have only found his signatures and nothing else. Can someone help verify this?

— Continued to Part 2.

Collecting log: CBS/SONY's bizarre 12" DISCO sampler with Springsteen's track

Probably, nobody would think of a Springsteen track on the shown sampler. The front sleeve is misleading since any artists and groups indicated are not featured on this promo compilation disc (check the tracklist on the right). The catalog number (YAPN 23) is not found anywhere on the sleeve (including the spine), and the tracklist is like a promotional flyer, printed on a separate sheet and taped on the plain yellow rear sleeve. So, I guess this color-illustrated sleeve was not specific to this particular pressing but commonly used for the "Super Disco Sound" series (i.e., this issue is Volume 19).

Released in November 1975 (or Showa 50 in the Japanese
calendar), this promo-only compilation from CBS/SONY
represents the first known example that contains
Springsteen's track. However, unless you understand the
Japanese language, Born To Run (Track 4) is only identified
by the catalog number of the domestic 7-inch single
"SOPB334." Among the others featured on this side are
Bay City Rollers, Paul Simon & Phoebe Snow, Loggins
& Messina, and Art Garfunkel.

Another promotional sampler from CBS/SONY (Japan) continues. Until the end of the vinyl era in Japan in the late 1980s, the company had released many samplers of various artist compilations, mostly in LP formats. Springsteen's recordings occasionally appeared in these samplers that generally included one of the single cuts from the albums released between 1975 and 1987, with a few exceptions containing two or more tracks, such as ALL AMERICAN TOP 100 Vol. 33 (CBS/SONY XAAP 90022) and CBS/SONY POPULAR BEST 9 (CBS/SONY XDAP 93031-2) (see 09/17/2017).

If my memory serves correctly, Born To Run was the first Springsteen track that appeared on such a Japanese promo-only compilation LP released in November 1975 (no English title given; CBS/SONY YALC-49; see the label image right), and Brilliant Disguise was the last found on AMERICAN HIT TUNES Vol. 16 (CBS/SONY XDAP 93175, October 1987; see 12/17/2016). I have never pursued these samplers seriously, as I'm not primarily interested in compilations and don't think most of these are highly collectible. However, I recently discovered an unusual sampler featuring one Springsteen track, which might intrigue those collecting Japanese vinyl pressings.

Upper: As marked "45," this LP-sized disc is played at 45 rpm.
Oddly, the labels do not list the source album from which each
track is culled (e.g., Badlands from DARKNESS ON THE EDGE
OF TOWN). Lower: As usual for CBS/SONY pressings, the dead-
wax matrix numbers are stamped; however, no "JIS" acronym
(〄) stamp is found on either side.

It's called Volume 19 of Super Disco Sampler (CBS/SONY YAPN 23), released in August 1978. Based on the title, this promotional compilation is supposed to gather the then-new singles (placed on SIDE A) and the candidates (on SIDE B) slated for release that summer from the disco and soul/funk music categories of the label. However, strangely enough, it includes Springsteen's Badlands (CBS/SONY 06SP 256, released September 27, 1978), the then-forthcoming second single from DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (CBS/SONY 25AP 1000). Yes, Badlands is on a disco sampler!

How has this happened? Although the sleeve and labels clearly state "CBS/SONY," this sampler mainly features a group and artists under the license of EPIC/SONY (i.e., Hollywood, Cathy Lee, Teddy Pendergrass, and George Duke; see 03/25/2023 for the relationship between the two labels). Possibly, CBS/SONY somehow wanted to boost the sale of the dark-toned DARKNESS album, which, contrary to the expectations of the record company, turned out not to be a sequel to the enthusiastic BORN TO RUN three years ago (check 09/19/2015 and 03/05/2016 for how hard Mr. Ryo Okada, who was in charge of Springsteen at CBS/SONY, made every effort to promote DARKNESS).

The disc was cut at 45 rpm instead of 33 rpm, so this 6-track sampler is a 12-inch EP rather than a compilation LP. I don't know any other examples where the studio recording of Badlands is played at 45 rpm on this vinyl format. Neither featured on the Lost In The Flood collector's page nor registered thus far on the Discogs database.

Collecting log: THE RIVER Japanese 2LP samplers with a promo-only sticker and a concert-report flyer (Part 3 of 3)

Three variants are differentiated from each other
by colors and label names.

Except for a few album/single releases*, it is still not so difficult to find Japanese sample copies for standard vinyl pressings from the 1980s, and those for THE RIVER (CBS/SONY 40AP 1960-1) are no exception. However, as far as I've seen, the stickered sample copies for this double album are hard to come by. 

* I can think of the following three: LIVE/1975-85 (CBS/SONY 75AP 3300-3304; see 11/23/2020), BORN IN THE U.S.A. Master Sound (CBS/SONY 30AP 2878), and Brilliant Disguise one-side single (CBS/SONY 04SP 1075).

Between 1979 and 1980, CBS/SONY and EPIC/SONY (a division of the CBS/SONY Inc. group handling non-Columbia Records artists) issued sample copies with colored stickers, which were very likely in limited quantities, as only a small fraction carry the sticker among those in circulation. These stickers say "strongly recommended disc" in large Japanese words of Kanji and Katakana combination, with either label name beneath it (pink, CBS/SONY; red and yellow, EPIC/SONY; see the images on the left). So, they are not non-official stickers made and put by wholesalers, dealers, or retailers. Many of these stickers are pasted with a small round or tack label on which the domestic release date (month/day) is hand-written.

The stickers are directly pasted over the sleeves, with small labels notifying
the release dates (11/1 for the album and 11/21 for the single; see the insets).
Note that CBS/SONY still used white labels for sample 7" singles until 1981,
although up to 1979 for album releases.

Concerning Springsteen releases, I have never seen any other sample albums and singles with these stickers but THE RIVER and the first single, Hungry Heart (CBS/SONY 07SP 511). I own only one copy each in my collection, and as shown on the right, both are the first edition with the original vertical obi or withdrawn color sleeve. Although sample discs have been released for the second/third album pressings with different obis and the 7" single with the corrected black and white "phone booth" sleeve, most probably, no stickered versions exist for these reissued and corrected copies. A small quantity of the sample copies for the second single, I Wanna Marry You (CBS/SONY 07SP 525), could also have been released with the sticker. However, I have thus far not seen such sample copies.

Left: the stickered sample copy. Red-stamped on the tri-folded Japanese liner-note/lyric sheet is the release date (55.11.1), where the year is shown in the Japanese Imperial format (or the traditional Japanese calendar: Showa 55 = 1980 A.D.).
Right: one of the non-stickered sample releases in my collection. See 02/11/2023 for details of the L.A. concert report (pictured top right).

Note the blank image for Springsteen's single-
cut release "NOW PRINTING" (released in
Japan on November 21st, 1980).

The stickered version is rare, even among the sample copies for the album's first pressings. As shown immediately above, my stickered copy includes only a 3-page info sheet for the press release as promotional material. As I already explained (see the last paragraph on 02/11/2023), the stickered copy most probably represents the earliest form of the sample (i.e., pre-release sample copy) for this double album. 

In contrast, a non-stickered copy comes with a short tour report on October/November 1980's Los Angeles concerts (see 02/11/2023) and a flyer advertising the albums released by the label's "Big Three" late in 1980 (Barbra Streisand, Springsteen, and Earth, Wind & Fire; see the image on the right). As you notice, the sleeve image for the first single, Hungry Heart, is not shown on the flyer. Maybe, CBS/SONY's production division was still waiting for approval from the U.S. Columbia Records or Springsteen's management to apply another image for the picture sleeve insert? Just my guess.

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