Jun 26, 2024

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: 'E' TICKET, its very limited first edition, also known as the advanced release (Part 2 of 5)
This article supplements and follows up on the previous posts on this bootleg in October 2014.

A copy with serial number #20 was recently auctioned on eBay (left). It looks very similar to mine numbered #21 (right) and #27 (not shown; the pictures on 10/12/2014 and 06/01/2024), which hold a special place in my vinyl Bruceleg collection. When I obtained the two copies from someone who resided in California nearly three decades ago, he explained these as an advanced pressing of this all-time classic bootleg of Springsteen. The left image is courtesy of and used with permission from HiFi Dojo (eBay seller).

Jun 1, 2024

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: 'E' TICKET, its very limited first edition, also known as the advanced release (Part 1 of 5)
This article supplements and follows up on the previous posts on this bootleg in October 2014.

The clipping of a Japanese magazine (wherein the reported title can be translated as "Bruce Springsteen ran out of patience against bootlegging") was probably taken from an October 1979 issue of an FM radio/music magazine (I'm not sure, as only the clipping has been kept with me).  Mostly based on the relevant articles from Billboard (July 29, 1979) and Rolling Stone (September 6, 1979), the Japanese magazine reports that Springsteen and his record company sued the bootleggers with distribution networks in California (i.e., Vicki Vinyl and her partners-in-crime, though their names were not given), mentioning this studio-outtake album as one of the four bootleg records they manufactured (see inset, which can be translated as follows: "Four bootleg albums of Springsteen were made, including the famous E TICKET," where "Four" refer to PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE, FIRE, and LIVE IN THE PROMISED LAND, besides this). I remember I felt somewhat strange that the anonymous writer of the report described "E" TICKET as "famous," given the magazine's wide target readership (covering all music categories, including classical music) and the issue's publication year (1979; Springsteen was not so popular and widely known in Japan until his smash hit of Hungry Heart in 1980). It must have been famous only among bootleg collectors...