Collecting log: My Lucky Day (when I happened to get a rare sample record)

In Japan, Brilliant Disguise, the first single off the album TUNNEL OF LOVE in 1987, was released twice commercially as a 7" format: one as a standard two-track disc (backed w/ Lucky Man) and another as a low-budget, one-track reissue (CBS SONY 07SP 1070 and 04SP 1075, respectively). To boost the sale of these singles and the album, CBS/SONY distributed three promo/sample 7" counterparts (the same catalog numbers as aforementioned and XDSP 93096). Two of them have become highly sought-after collectibles, one solely for its rarity (center; this post) and another not only for its scarcity but also for the unique promotion-only sleeve design (left; see also 11/20/2016).

No, no, this rather short post is not about a track commercially released online as the second single from WORKING ON A DREAM, an album released in 2009 with mixed reviews (BTW, I own only a few collectibles from this album). Since the demise of the Coronavirus pandemic, I have been able to visit a few second-hand record stores in my local area regularly (about once every month). Obviously, net auctions and online shopping were not enough to enjoy hunting vinyl records and satisfy my interest and inquiring mind as a collector. What was lacking was an exciting and exceptional moment to visit a store onsite, pick up a vinyl record, and, luckily, find an unexpected bargain at a low price.

"2024-04-04 (April 4, 2024; see the receipt)" was my lucky day.
The only distinguishing marker between promo and stock copies
of this rarity is a "Sample disc" indication in Kanji above the right-
side company logo on the SIDE A label. No Japanese words that
refer to "Promotion only" or "Not for sale" are printed on the label
and grocery bag-style sleeve.

This happened last month when I went to one of the regular stops (the same used record store mentioned previously; see 02/23/2020). Just then, the store was selling a bunch of 7" singles and EPs at a discount. Among hundreds of domestic and imported discs, I dug out two "regular release-looking" copies of Brilliant Disguise one-sided single (CBS/SONY 04SP 1075), known as a Japan-only low-budget 7" release with no B-side track. Both were sold for one coin [i.e., 500 Japanese Yen (JPY)], which equaled three bucks and a little more and cost 100 JPY higher than the retail price (400 JPY) when originally released in 1987 (cf., the standard two-sided single with Lucky Man was sold for 700 JPY). I owned only one copy of this relatively limited edition, so there was no reason to miss the opportunity to get the two in fairly nice condition at a bargain price.

Sample and regular discs share the same
matrix number machine-stamped on
SIDE A (04S0-1075A1).

Then, to my surprise, one of them was found to be a sample copy, which was only recognized by a small, boxed three-letter Kanji character printed on the A-side label (the B-side is blank). The store staff probably was unaware of this or forgot to indicate it on the price tag because tons of 7" singles were for sale back then. As I already mentioned almost nine years ago (07/12/2015), this one-sided single has significantly enhanced its value in the collector's market solely because of its extreme rarity but nothing else, like the other two sample releases [i.e., sample copies for LIVE/1975-85 5-LP box (CBS/SONY 75AP 3300-3304; see 11/23/2020) and those for the BORN IN THE U.S.A. Master Sound reissue (CBS/SONY 30AP 2878)]. Just to mention a couple of examples (according to my previous post and Popsike; here), eBay sold it for $360 in 2015 with seven bids and even fetched $620 in 2022 with 22 bids! Simply unbelievable.

Many Japanese sample 7" copies have leaked from radio
stations. Such copies are generally stamped on their sleeves
to indicate some date (e.g., the airplay date), the location of
a radio station, or both. The pictured example reads "October
19, 1987, Osaka," where the year is shown in the Japanese
Calendar as "(Showa) 62." The release date of this single in
Japan was October 10, 1987.

Certainly, the above three examples are seldom seen in the market even here and are considered to have been pressed in quite limited quantity compared to many other sample releases. However, they are generally not my prime collecting targets since there are no substantial differences from regular issues. In my view, these samples are like U.S. promo album copies in the 1980s (except those for THE RIVER; see 11/23/2016), which were, in fact, nothing but stock copies with a gold promo stamp on the rear sleeve. Just so you know, CBS/SONY released an advanced promo 7" for this first single cut from TUNNEL OF LOVE with a completely different cover artwork (CBS/SONY XDSP 93096; shown in the top image of this post), which truly deserves a top collectible among many Japanese promo pressings (for details, see 11/20/2016).

I have stopped adding new vinyl
releases to my collection after I
bought a copy of the double white
LP of GREATEST HITS (Sony
Records Int'l SIJP-1081/2), the
first Japanese vinyl pressing in 36
years since TUNNEL OF LOVE
in 1987.

Having said that, honestly, I can't deny that I'm feeling happy with the unexpected outcome of this purchase. The case was like winning the lottery, as I had no idea it was an extremely rare sample copy before purchasing it. While my collecting career has had several "lucky days" in the past (for instance, see 01/30/2020 and 05/14/2022), I'm greedy and eagerly await the next unexpected finding, which brings a unique joy and reminds me of the thrill of vinyl hunting.

P.S. By the way, I have some feelings about the recent compilation and cover albums pressed on a variety of colored vinyl, which have become a commonplace standard when it comes to releasing vinyl titles. I find them rather boring and uninspired, mainly because of the lack of new material. In addition, they are not so rare but not cheap (not even considering the recent Yen depreciation here). Surely, collecting them all in different colors is fun. Still, I can't help but think selling these kinds of duplicates is too much of a money-grabbing scheme, so I have refrained from buying any of the latest vinyl releases (and am just disappointed to know that the BORN IN THE U.S.A. 40th Anniversary Edition is slated for release as a single LP without any unreleased tracks and concert footage).