Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: 'E' TICKET, its very limited first edition, also known as the advanced release (Part 2 of 3)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).

As far as I've seen, the well-known black-and-white sleeve generally contained
a vinyl disc with yellowish Ruthless Rhyme labels more often than the cream-
colored version found with the advanced pressing. I believe Ruthless Rhyme
preceded hörweite stereophonie labels.

It's been almost 30 years since the serially numbered advanced edition of this legendary studio-outtake LP joined my bootleg collection. During this long period, neither had I happened to come across nor been able to locate any other copies in the same or a similar guise at collector's shops on-site and online or on auctions online, except for an apparent fake (see 10/19/2014). Then, as a total surprise, suddenly and recently, another copy came up at an eBay auction last March, as briefly reported in the previous post (06/01/2024). Conveniently, the seller in New York uploaded several photos of the sleeve and disc on the auction site. So, immediately, I was able to compare the seller's copy with one of my possessions (copy number #21).

The side-A matrix number was somehow visible on the vinyl disc image of the
auctioned copy (left, courtesy of HiFi Dojo), so I cut out and enlarged that part.
Although the low-resolution picture (lower right), the auctioned disc carried the
same hand-etching, ESB-75-002-A, as my copy (upper right).

Firstly, each vinyl disc carries cream Ruthless Rhythm labels (the B-side of which is the reversed image, as you know), neither the yellowish version nor hörweite stereophonie labels, which were used for generally known picture sleeve edition featuring a famous DARKNESS-era shot on the front. The exact dead-wax information of the auctioned copy was not available. Still, the side-A matrix number, a handwritten "ESB-75-002-A," was somehow confirmed from one of the pictures the seller uploaded on the auction site. So, the auctioned copy is most probably identical to my own, bearing the characteristics of the early pressing of this classic bootleg. 

The rear sleeve of the auctioned copy (left; courtesy of HiFi Dojo)
and mine (right) are smeared with ink, probably because these
sleeves were piled while the stamped ink on the front was left
half-dried (see also 10/17/2014).

Secondly, the album sleeves of the two copies are generic plain white, as shown in the images above and on the right. Unfortunately, the auctioned copy was never in fine condition, with more stains and blots than mine, especially on the front side. However, both are the same as those frequently used for many cheap-looking, slick-cover U.S. bootlegs, mainly manufactured on the West Coast in the 1970s. 

In fact, among the first five titles in the history of Springsteen bootleg (see 08/11/2016), the three from the West Coast were released in a generic plain white sleeve with a slick insert. In contrast, the other two purportedly produced by the East Coast bootleggers were not (i.e., printed black and white single cover or color gatefold sleeve). The subsequently released West Coast bootlegs continued this traditional cheap style (see 10/22/2022 and 05/10/2018) and the only exception I can think of among the 1970s releases is BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 78. An infamous Californian bootlegger, Andrea Waters (much better known as Vicky Vinyl), was sued in 1979 by Springsteen and CBS Records for manufacturing and distributing four bootlegs, including "E" TICKET, but she denied having made this one (briefly reported on 10/12/2014). Whoever produced "E" TICKET, almost certainly, this bootleg also came from the West Coast.

Were the images made by a handcrafted stamp
or a handmade stencil sheet? Another trifling
question concerns an empty, small, incomplete
rectangular frame: Would the bootleggers have
intended to write something also in that space?
The upper image is courtesy of HiFi Dojo.

Thirdly, the amateurish stamp on the front sleeve is one of the crucial factors in determining whether or not these were manufactured by the same bootleggers. Unfortunately, the auctioned copy was poorly stamped, resulting in a considerably blurred and dirty image. In addition, the plain white sleeve has developed lots of blots and stains. However, the text in a larger rectangular frame is read as "BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 'E' TICKET," which can be confidently judged to be the same as the handmade stamp on my copies. It is of note that, although it might have been tentative, the initial title was 'E' TICKET, neither "E" TICKET, the finalized title using double quotations instead of single, nor E TICKET, without quotation marks often carelessly used by record sellers and collectors.

The rectangular stamp frame on the sleeve of the auctioned copy is missing only the left-side line, while my two copies, besides the left-side line, lack the bottom of the frame line without leaving any trace. Furthermore, stamped lines and letters are quite thin, as if they were drawn by a pen rather than stamped. Although trivial, these observations have led me to have a small doubt if these really are stamped images; instead, a handmade stencil sheet or plate, or something like that, might have been used for these to indicate the title and the performer on a plain white sleeve with a vinyl disc inside. I'm not an expert on these things, so I'm just guessing.

— Continued to Part 3 / Back to Part 1.