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

Speaking of white-label promos, this repacked special edition of the first three LPs is probably the only known box set for which white-label vinyl records were pressed for promotion. Released in Australia late in 1979 or early 1980 (CBS S3BP220504) and ranked 12th in the Top 40 Worldwide Bruce Springsteen Rarities featured on RECORD COLLECTOR No.329 (November 2006). The regular box was also released in New Zealand (CBS S3BP220504) and the U.K (CBS 66353; see the image on 01/01/2020).

Record collectors are fond of things that differ from a norm, standard, or vast majority. A typical example of such collectibles is white-label promos (WLPs), denoting special vinyl discs pressed predominantly in the 1960s and 1970s, specifically manufactured for promotional purposes and given to radio stations, critics, journalists, and others associated with the music industry (here, I'm talking about LP, but not 7 inches). White color, though not exclusively, was adopted to distinguish these non-retail records easily from regular or stock copies. One of the rarest and most sought-after WLP titles of Springsteen's back catalog, among many others, is the promotional version of the Australian box set containing the first three albums (CBS S3BP220504; see the image on the top).

However, CBS/SONY in Japan and Columbia Records in the U.S. discontinued this customary practice and stopped releasing promotional records with white labels for LP format in 1980 and 1981, respectively. So, Springsteen's last album for which WLPs exist is DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN for the Japanese pressing (CBS/SONY 25AP1000; see the image on 03/05/2016) and THE RIVER for the U.S. release (Columbia PC2 36854; see 11/23/2016). Although I am not so sure, other countries continuously employing WLPs were Australia (up to THE RIVER) and Spain (up to BORN IN THE U.S.A.; yellow labels for LIVE/1975-85 sampler and TUNNEL OF LOVE).

I have in my collection two "sample" label variants on SIDE A of DISC ONE of the Japanese edition of THE RIVER LP (CBS/SONY 40AP 1960-1). A boxed "sample" in three Japanese Kanji characters is printed on the label (center) or stamped (left) on a stock label (right).

As a result, in the case of U.S. Columbia Records, promotional LP copies have become undistinguished from their regular releases since NEBRASKA (Columbia TC 38358/QC 38358), except for a gold promo stamp on the rear sleeve (see the image on 09/28/2016). Discontinued use of WLPs has caused collectors like me to lose interest in collecting promotional vinyl albums unless they are promo-only custom releases, such as my favorite, AS REQUESTED AROUND THE WORLD (Columbia AS 978), released in 1981 (see four consecutive posts from 05/10/2020 to 06/06/2020). Compared with standard LP issues, promo counterparts from CBS/SONY Japan differed only in printing a small "Sample" indication on the regular red labels. Even though the difference is trivial, some Japanese promo/sample copies have been highly demanded (and overpriced, in my opinion) in collector's market just because of their scarcity and nothing else (for example, see the third paragraph on 07/12/2015).

I found in my collection three different "sample" stickers on the rear sleeve of Japanese LP releases (NEBRASKA, BORN IN THE U.S.A., LIVE/1975-85, and TUNNEL OF LOVE) and some 12-inch singles from these albums. The sticker on the left is the earliest found on NEBRASKA LP without warning on copyright protection, followed by the center and right ones. There are slight changes in the warning expression between the two stickers. The center sticker (older) says, "Subletting and transferring the use of the leased property to a third person are strictly forbidden," which becomes slightly milder on the right, like "Please refrain from subletting and transferring ..."

Since the release of NEBRASKA (CBS/SONY 25AP 2440) in 1982, besides the label printing (see the image on 06/06/2015), Japanese sample copies were also indicated by a white sticker pasted on the rear of the LP sleeves (usually on the bottom left; see the images above and also other examples on 09/30/2019 and 11/23/2020). This continued until TUNNEL OF LOVE (CBS/SONY 28AP 3410), Springsteen's last vinyl album pressed in Japan [although for the first time since 1987, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. will release domestically pressed Springsteen's vinyl album, GREATEST HITS (reissue), in the spring of 2023]. Then, a question arises if there were Japanese sample copies of THE RIVER LP with a sample/promo sticker?

— Continued to Part 3 /Back to Part 1.