Collecting log: 40 years after the BORN IN THE U.S.A. Japan tour — nostalgic old bootlegs and miscellaneous vinyl/CD collectibles related to the official album (Part 4 of 4)

"Originally scheduled for exclusive release in Japan on September 22, 1999, the second wave of the first 'mini-LP' cardboard sleeve CD reissue series — including BORN IN THE U.S.A. — was ultimately canceled." The above photos show what I consider rare Japanese collectibles for this album: a withdrawn sample CD and an advance cassette tape placed on either the advance pressing (left) or the sample LP (right) — the cassette and both LPs date back to original 1984 release. A small white tracklist sheet included with the sample LP set contains a misspelling of "BLUCE" in the artist name column.

What comes to mind when you think of Japanese collectibles of this best-selling album? For me, they include the advance promotion-only LP and its cassette version (see 07/18/2015), as well as the withdrawn CD (Sony Music Entertainment SRCS 8984) from the second batch of Japan-exclusive paper sleeve reissues planned for fall 1999, which is believed to have been canceled at the request of Springsteen Inc. (see the last paragraph of 09/10/2016). Sample copies are also of interest to collectors. However, compared to white label promo LPs phased out in the late 1970s for CBS/Sony releases, these are less sought-after, differing from commercial copies only by a "SAMPLE" imprint (in kanji on the label of vinyl discs or as-is on the inner ring of CDs), and a rectangular sample sticker affixed to the back cover.

Not only is the sample LP — featuring a sample sticker on the rear sleeve — hard to come by, but a sealed regular copy, with the front side facing up in the photo, is also difficult to find now. The Japanese text on the hype sticker translates to "Deluxe Edition Vinyl." The dead-wax information on Side A of the sample disc includes the matrix number "2A," the stamper code "1 A 2," and the CBS/Sony (CS) stamp accompanied by the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) symbol 〄.

Nevertheless, two "sample" vinyl albums released in the 1980s remain highly collectibles: one for the LIVE/1975–85 box set (CBS/Sony 75AP 3300–04; see 11/23/2020) and the other for the Mastersound edition of BORN IN THE U.S.A. (CBS/Sony 30AP 2878). Their appeal lies purely in their exceptional rarity, similar to the sample copy of the Brilliant Disguise one-sided single reissue (CBS/Sony 04SP 1075; see 05/15/2024). In fact, sample copies of these three vinyl titles are extremely hard to find even here in Japan, likely due to the multi-disc format of the release (e.g., a 5-LP box) or their nature as non-standard reissues (low-budget or audiophile editions).

In Japan, from 1984 to 1994, the release year of vinyl records and CDs 
was indicated on the sleeve by a single-letter alphabet code based on a 
simple system established by the Recording Industry Association of 
Japan (RIAJ). Here, the letter "N" stands for 1984, showing that the 
Mastersound edition was released on July 21, 1984 — one month after 
the original album release date. Another example is "O-10-21" for 
TUNNEL OF LOVE (CBS/Sony 28AP 3410), where "O" denotes the 
year 1987; thus, the LP was released in Japan on October 21, 1987.

The CBS/Sony Mastersound series in Japan was marketed as a line of high-quality audiophile pressings, employing one of the four approaches for each LP: digital recording, digital mastering, half-speed mastering, or direct disk cutting (see 09/30/2019). Like many other international pop/rock titles in the series, BORN IN THE U.S.A. was digitally mastered from analog tapes for vinyl pressing — likely not from first-generation analog masters (which were probably not available in Japan) — using early digital technology. As a result, audiophiles (not me) have often pointed out the analog/digital trade-offs of the 1980s and expressed skepticism about any real improvement in sound quality.

In 2014 — already more than a decade ago — this album was finally remastered using a new analog-to-digital tape transfer process called Plangent. Then, in September 2024, it was reissued in Sony Japan's Blu-spec CD2 format and repackaged as part of the 40th Anniversary Japan Edition (Sony Music Japan SICP 31728–31). For reasons briefly noted earlier (see the postscript of 05/15/2024), I have refrained from purchasing recent official releases and reissues that offer no truly new material, such as BEST OF ... and ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE, and this deluxe but pricey set was no exception. That said, over half a year after its release, I came across a sample copy and decided to pick it up — it was available for two-thirds less than the retail price so that I couldn't resist.

A future collectible? This is just a sample copy with no promotional or advertising flyers. All four discs bear an orange-inked "SAMPLE - LOANED" imprint on the inner ring. However, no "SAMPLE" stickers are affixed to the gatefold sleeve or to any of the other printed materials included in the set.

My copies are standard editions. Notice that since 1995, the RIAJ's 
release year format has been replaced with a last two-digit year code 
(e.g., "01" for 2001). The international release date of the original 
edition is shown in parentheses as (98-11-10). A circled "Y" denotes 
Western music (cf. "L" for Japanese).

As with the aforementioned LIVE 5-LP box, sample copies of multi-CD sets are also rarer than those of single or double-disc titles. For example, in February 2022, such a copy of the resized TRACKS quadruple-CD box (Sony SICP 52–55), which was exclusively reissued in Japan in late 2001, drew 25 cumulative bids in a local online auction and ultimately sold for 41,500 JPY (approximately $360 at the time). I followed the auction and was surprised by the final result, which far exceeded my expectations, although even standard copies of this compact edition have become scarce in recent years, and rarer than the original long box version (Sony SRCS 8801–04).

The 2024 red vinyl set and the 1984 Mastersound edition feature a 
similar obi design. On the back of the 2024 gatefold sleeve, the 
original release date is incorrectly listed in parentheses as 
"June 9, 1984" — the correct date is June 4.

Lastly, a few words on the “strictly limited” Japanese vinyl edition (Sony Music Japan SIJP-178) of the album — a repackaging of the European import colored vinyl — which was released on July 24, 2024, two months earlier than the aforementioned 40th Anniversary Deluxe CD. Although advertised as remastered, playback on a turntable reveals significantly less output gain than the original U.S. and Japanese pressings. I’m not an audiophile, but even to my ears, the result was underwhelming —  though perhaps my expectations were too high. That said, this outcome was not entirely unexpected: the audio wasn’t remastered with vinyl’s analog nuances and physical constraints in mind. Instead, it likely reused digital remasters tailored for CD and streaming, leading to lower volume and a compressed dynamic range.

The difference in cutting level is evident between the remastered 2024 vinyl (top) and the original 1984 Japanese pressing (bottom). For details, see the original article (linked here). Image courtesy of, and used with permission from, MagicVinylDigital.net.

For those interested in sound quality and technical details, I highly recommend the article “Bruce Springsteen – Born In The U.S.A. – Review – (Test: Japanese vinyl, 2024 remastered, CD and streaming) Should you buy remastered vinyl records?,” featured in Magic of Analog, Vinyl, Digital and Spatial Sound — a thoroughly insightful and worthwhile read.

— Back to Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.

Collecting log: 40 years after the BORN IN THE U.S.A. Japan tour — nostalgic old bootlegs and miscellaneous vinyl/CD collectibles related to the official album (Part 3 of 4)

Released in numerous countries worldwide, BORN IN THE U.S.A. remains one of the most commercially successful albums in music history. While I have not conducted a thorough survey, its widespread distribution and chart success suggest that the album was officially released in over 40 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, South America, and select parts of Africa and the Arab world.

As with Japanese releases, Mexican editions frequently featured 
altered sleeve designs and modified or added text, resulting in several 
collectible variants. A notable example is the gatefold edition of THE 
RIVER (CBS LP2S-103; see 06/18/2016), which displays lyrics on the 
inner panels rather than on a separate two-fold insert. Official colored 
vinyl pressings from the 1980s are also rare and highly collectible (see 
01/27/2020). The LP shown above (CBS CLS-5808) presents the 
Spanish tracklist and additional text along the bottom of the rear sleeve.

However, when collectible variants of this album — both regular and promotional editions — began to surface from various countries and became available to collectors in the mid-to-late 1980s, I was too engrossed in the flood of bootleg releases from the 1984–85 world tour, particularly those from Europe, to pay serious attention to the official releases. Consequently, many of the official vinyl records in my possession — some of which have been already showcased on this blog — were therefore acquired later, once the internet’s global rise made worldwide communication and transactions far more accessible. Anyway, here are a few of miscellaneous official collectibles of his mega hit album, as I hinted earlier.

Collecting and comparing different copies of the same album can sometimes uncover interesting facts about how vinyl records were made. Take DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, for instance — early U.S. pressings were produced by eight different plants, among which six were operated by companies other than Columbia Records (see 08/20/2022 for the latest overview). Research like this also helps uncover the identities of uncredited mastering engineers who actually cut the master disc — especially for U.S. reissues and vinyl discs manufactured outside the U.S., where the originally credited engineer usually had no involvement. Examples include U.S. repressings for DARKNESS and THE RIVER, mastered by Chet Bennett (see 05/05/2022 and 12/22/2019), as well as U.K. original pressings of THE RIVER, NEBRASKA, and BORN IN THE U.S.A. by Tim Young (01/01/2020 and 01/05/2020).

A black-stickered U.S. reissue, credited as "Mastered by: Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk" on the custom inner sleeve, was actually cut by Chet Bennett, as revealed by his first name hand-etched in the deadwax (indicated by arrows). Although different master cuts often result in variations in deadwax spacing, the width of Bennett's cutting coincides with that of the Maestro's early pressing on both Sides One and Two (matrix numbers 3A and 2A, respectively: see 08/14/2019; Note that Ludwig also recut the master for a reissue: see 10/10/2020).

While the original U.S. pressing of BORN IN THE U.S.A. was cut by mastering legend Robert "Bob" Ludwig, the copy shown above — the latest addition to my  U.S. pressing collection — is another one mastered by C. Bennett. 

SIDE ONE:    <chet + AD>  PAL 38653    G3S    D G1
SIDE TWO:    <chet + AD>  BL 38653      G2Z    E G1        Straight = stamped; oblique = hand-etched.

As noted earlier, Bennett handled several repressings of Springsteen titles during his time at CBS/Columbia Records in the 1980s. I didn’t know who had mastered this budget reissue with the black hype sticker when I found it online, but I picked it up anyway to check the matrix information — after all, it cost just one coin (500 JPY ≈ 3.47 USD).

Alternate sleeve design also explains why collectors often seek multiple copies of a given title. Here are a few examples of my choices from my collection:

The top horizontal image shows the spine of the custom West German Vivitar sleeve, which bears no information about the artist’s name, album title, or catalog number. The disc is a red-label Holland pressing for the regular reissue. Although not pictured, the standard lyric sheet and inner sleeve are included.

• West-German "Vivtar" promotional reissue (CBS 86304): Released in the former West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) to mark the 50th anniversary of Vivitar Corp., U.S.-based photographic equipment company founded by German immigrants — this edition comes in the custom, promotion-only picture sleeve that makes it a genuine oddity. Yet the altered—or more precisely, replaced—sleeve scarcely identifies the record as a Springsteen release. Even if the cover image loosely relates to the lyrics of Glory Days, it doesn’t mention him or his music anywhere, not in German text on the back, nor on the spine, which reads “50 Jahre VIVITAR – die Weltmarke für Bildaufzeichnung ©1988 Hanimex (Deutschland) GmbH” [50 Years of VIVITAR – the global brand for image recording ©1988 Hanimex (Germany) GmbH]. Aside from the album title logo, there’s no reference to Springsteen at all. While undeniably rare, the release holds little appeal for me as a collector.

The former East Germany released not only the LP but also the cassette. On some copies of the cassette release (catalog number 056 222), the number is misprinted as "0 56 222" on the inlay card, although the correct version, matching the number printed at the top right of the rear LP sleeve, also exists.

• East-German issue (AMIGA 8 56 222): Issued in what was then former East Germany (German Democratic Republic), likely in 1986 or later according to the Discogs description, this version retains the original front cover design. However, about two-thirds of the back cover is filled with liner notes in German, adding a somewhat quirky charm. The layout is complemented by an appropriate photo of Springsteen, taken from the inner sleeve of the standard release. Incidentally, I studied German as my second foreign language during my undergraduate years — roughly four decades ago — but sadly, I’ve forgotten most of it, so I couldn’t make out the text on the back sleeve on my own.

With the Argentine release, the "Disco Para Demostracion..." promo indication appears not only on the front sleeve, but also the record labels. Interestingly, only half of the Spanish-translated song titles — Side One, Tracks 1, 2, and 6; Side Two, Tracks 2 to 4 — match exactly with those on Mexican LP (see top image). The remaining titles differ slightly (e.g., Side Two, Track 5 — possibly a misspelling?) or significantly (Side Two, Tracks 1 and 6). The track-length listings also don’t match exactly between the two releases.

• Argentine promotional release (CBS 20.534): The Argentine sleeve features a distinctive promotional marking “Disco Para Demostracion Venta Prohibida” (Demonstration Record – Sale Prohibited) printed diagonally in the top left corner, and the back deviates from the standard design — it’s printed in monochrome and also includes song titles in Spanish. My pick of the three.

Next, and finally, come a few Japanese items — though they are far less noteworthy or interesting than the advanced promotion-only release I introduced years ago (see 07/18/2015).

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

Collecting log: 40 years after the BORN IN THE U.S.A. Japan tour — nostalgic old bootlegs and miscellaneous vinyl/CD collectibles related to the official album (Part 2 of 4)

The B5-size flyers were most likely distributed at or near the
Tokyo and Kyoto concert venues as well. English translations
of the Japanese text and descriptions provided by this blogger.

One more trivial recollection concerning bootlegs: I remember that on April 23, the final date of the Japan leg in 1985, a young guy was handing out what looked like flyers as I walked down from Osakajōkōen Station (Osaka Castle Park Station) — the nearest stop on the JR Osaka Loop Line — toward the concert venue, Osaka Castle Hall. Out of curiosity, I took one, which turned out to be a pre-order form for a then-unknown three-disc bootleg titled BORN IN THE AMERICA, slated for release on May 20, according to the description. Initially, I expected this new release to feature live recordings of Springsteen's first-ever concert(s) in Japan. However, I quickly realized the flyer explicitly stated “LIVE IN U.S.A. 1984,” although it provided no further details, such as the date, venue, or tracklist.

The flyer also gave ordering instructions, asking buyers to send 6,800 JPY (about US $27 at the time, roughly $80 in 2025) via registered mail to a listed address — a collector’s shop called Universal Records Inc., located in Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo, long regarded as the mecca of bootlegs in Japan. Delivery was free until April 30, after which an additional 800 JPY shipping fee applied. Living in Kyoto back then, I had no way of knowing whether the shop actually existed, so I naturally refrained from placing an order. After all, this was 40 years ago — no email, no internet, no social networking apps, and calling Tokyo was very expensive!

Images are taken from the relevant Discogs entry (here), as my own copy has been in storage at my parents' house for years. Mine is also shrink-wrapped but lacks the small silver sticker that reads "Special Limited Red, Blue, white wax [sic]."

Nevertheless, by mid-July, I found the bootleg in stock at one of my regular stores — JEUGIA's Shin-Kyogoku Sanjo branch in Kyoto — pressed on red, white, and blue vinyl, just as the flyer had advertised. The foldout insert sleeve carried no recording date or venue, and bootleg guides often noted the source as unknown (e.g., Last Ride In A Pink Cadillac; see 04/23/2016 for this booklet) or listed it incorrectly from Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherfold, N.J., August 1984 (e.g., Wanted Vol. 1 by Jan Rodenrijs [1994]; see 12/08/2020 for this excellent guidebook; and the original entry in the Discogs database here).

Last Ride In Pink Cadillac (authors unknown, circa 1986), included in
the gorgeous 6-LP bootleg box set GRANDE FINALE, is a concise
discography that exclusively lists and reviews Born in the U.S.A. tour
bootlegs — 97 titles in total, not including GRANDE FINALE itself.
Numbers in parentheses indicate sound quality ratings on a scale
from 12 to 21, with higher numbers representing better quality. For
example, THIS GUNS FOR HIRE (5LP), sourced from an excellent
audience recording, is rated 19, while the dubious honor of receiving
the lowest rating (12 to 13) goes to LEEDS 85 (4LP).

However, for a young Bruceleg junkie, it wasn't difficult to deduce from the tracklist that this triple-vinyl set was essentially a reissue of the double LP BORN IN THE U.S.A. LIVE Vol. 1. 21-7-84 Montreol [sic], combined with excerpts — mainly encore performances — from the four-record set BORN IN CINCINNATI. Both titles had already circulated locally here before the Japan leg of the tour began, and I had acquired both by then: LIVE Vol. 1, on March 19, 1985; CINCINNATI, on December 15, 1984. The bootleggers simply reconstituted these two sources to present the set as if it were from a single concert recording. Moreover, the mediocre and uninspired album title, along with the sleeve design based on the Star-Spangled motif, was largely borrowed from the latter, one of the earliest and, in my opinion, worst bootlegs from this long-stretched 1984-85 world tour. According to the inaugural issue of Wanted, mentioned above, BORN IN THE AMERICA (reportedly limited to 300 copies) and LIVE Vol.1 are of Japanese origin — yes, both have stamped, not hand-etched, matrix numbers in their dead wax, at least.

I could probably go on about these bootlegs, but I’ll stop here and turn to three collectibles from that official big-selling album — each a bit too minor or mundane for a standalone blog post, yet still worth mentioning.

— Continued to Part 3 / Back to Part 1.

Collecting log: 40 years after the BORN IN THE U.S.A. Japan tour — nostalgic old bootlegs and miscellaneous vinyl/CD collectibles related to the official album (Part 1 of 4)

The ticket was mailed to me in a registered envelope from the
Osaka office of Udo Artists Inc., the tour promotion and man-
agement agency. A clipping — likely from a newspaper, though
uncertain — with the headline “Grammy Winner Bruce’s First-
Ever Japan Tour Becomes a Reality” appears to predate the
addition of two concert dates, April 13 in Tokyo and April 23
in Osaka, as those dates are not mentioned in the article.

This past April in Japan brought something of a celebration on social media among Springsteen fans and collectors. As you might know, this year marks the 40th anniversary of his first—and one of only three, if the one-off Amnesty concert is included — tours to the Far East, promoting his seventh album, BORN IN THE U.S.A. (see 04/23/2015 and 01/27/2018 for Japan tour-related posts). I was a junior in college when I had the good fortune to see him perform on the second night (April 23) in Osaka, which was also the final show of the Japan leg — a performance often regarded as the best of the eight played here. By the way, you might wonder why I’m not talking about the Kyoto concert held four days earlier (April 19), especially since I’ve occasionally mentioned on this blog that I was born and raised in this ancient capital city. The reason is simple: I missed it due to a critical mix-up that left me without a ticket — still one of the most regrettable memories of my youth.

As noted in my old handwritten purchase log, I gave the two double-
LP sets from the first night in Osaka a low sound quality rating (C on
an A-to-C scale), likely because I had been overexposed to excellent
FM-sourced bootlegs from the 1978 tour, such as PIÈCE DE
RÉSISTANCE and LIVE IN THE PROMISED LAND. Note that the
4-LP gatefold edition is not listed here, as this version of the log is
relatively old, dating from the late 1980s, and predates its acquisition.

While I feel tempted to write something about the concert itself (see 04/23/2015), I’ll refrain — after all, it would likely turn into a dull, subjective personal account. Instead, as a collector, I’ll focus here on some of the miscellaneous vinyl and CD collectibles associated with this monster album that have not been featured before on this blog. They may not be especially rare or valuable, but they’re still worth noting. Before that, however, let me revisit my purchase log of bootleg records of the two Osaka gigs on April 22 and 23, 1985 (As far as I know, no vinyl bootlegs have ever been released for the Kyoto concert).

Left: All of the albums, except for the complete 4/22/1985 set (bottom right), were released in 1985, and every title was purchased at JEUGIA music stores in Kyoto city, as mentioned in the main text. Right: The clear LP bag holding the LP (SECOND DAY AT CASTLE HALL Vol. I, backside, which is nicely done) features a JEUGIA logo imprint, which is outlined with a dashed yellow line.

Although the tracklists on all eight sides are identical, as shown
in the image above for Side One, the dead-wax matrix numbers
differ between the two double-LP versions (top) and the quad LP
edition (bottom) of THE BOSS IN THE EAST.

As expected, vinyl bootlegs of the Osaka shows began to surface a couple of months later. The first to circulate were THE BOSS IN THE EAST Vol. I and II (TBS 22485 and 22486) — two double-disc sets capturing the first night (April 22), which still show up fairly often in online auctions here. Back in the summer of 1985, I found them for sale at a music store in Kyoto called JEUGIA (Karasuma-Shijo branch). However, I couldn’t afford to buy both at once — each set cost 5,000 JPY (about US $21 at the time, roughly $62 in today’s money, based on an online inflation calculator). So, I picked up Volume II first on July 10, mainly because it included Devil With The Blue Dress Medley performed exclusively on that night. It took four more weeks for a poor student to get Volume I — on August 6, according to my purchase log. 

Probably a few years later, a pirated copy — not a reissue or repress — of the above sets appeared as a 4-LP gatefold sleeve edition (Dynafidelity 22487). It was issued under the same title with the subtitle THE COMPLETE 4/22/85 on the front and a claim of “LIMITED EDITION 300 SET/PIECES” on the rear sleeve. I ignored it when it first came out but eventually picked up a copy on September 27, 1991 — again at the Karasuma-Shijo branch. Note that the records play back slightly faster than the actual performance.

Two snapshots were taken abroad the Shinkansen bullet train and
at the Japan Railways (JR) station where it stopped — possibly
during the trip from Tokyo to Kyoto. Alternatively, could they have
been taken during a one-day round trip from Osaka to Hiroshima,
as he reportedly visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
on April 21?

Shortly after the original release of THE BOSS IN THE EAST, another JEUGIA branch — located at Shin-Kyogoku Sanjo and specializing in vinyl imports — began accepting reservations for a similar two-volume bootleg set covering the second night I attended, with a 1,000 JPY deposit. The price was the same as that of the first-night bootlegs. By the end of that summer, SECOND DAY AT CASTLE HALL Vol. I and II (TBS 23485 and 23486) became available, and August 30 turned out to be a truly joyful day — I had finally gotten what I’d been eagerly waiting for, something that would let me relive the excitement and emotion through the magic of bootlegging!

A few months later, yet another bootleg of this concert appeared: LAST NIGHT IN THE EAST, a triple-disc set that came with a cheaply made insert and two snapshots. Although it was pricey at 8,000 JPY, I managed to purchase it at the Karasuma-Shijo branch on November 18, 1985 — simply because I had been there and believed it was an independent pressing, not a pirate copy of SECOND DAY ... (which, as it turns out, it was). Most likely, a similar 3-LP set, LAST NIGHT IN JAPAN (which I don't own: see the Discogs entry here), was merely a reissue of this title, featuring a redesigned insert but omitting the photos.

The copy I received is hand-numbered as No. 9 of 100. The concert
date, "April 22," on the front and rear sleeves is incorrect, and the
booklet contains a misspelling, printing “reson” instead of “reason.”

Fourteen years later, in 1999, the first CD edition (Piggham 12–13) of the final night was finally released by Piggham Records — a European CD-R bootleg label whose titles were relatively rare in Japan at the time. I probably learned about this release through LuckyTown Digest, the well-known online Springsteen message/discussion board of the era, and placed an order with the Spanish retailer mentioned earlier (see 12/08/2020). It became one of the last bootleg CDs I added to my collection before I stopped collecting that kind of material.

— Continued to Part 2.

BORN TO RUN U.S. Pressing LP Variants: The late-1970s Scranton pressing by North American Music Industries, or simply NAMI (Part 2 of 2)

The hand-etched "PN" refers to a vinyl record pressed at NAMI in
Scranton, subcontracted by Pitman when the Columbia Records plant
suspended operations due to a labor strike in the spring of 1978.

Scranton or New American Music Industries (NAMI) pressings of the BORN TO RUN LP (Columbia PC 33795) were unique among the several U.S. editions with the "PC"-prefixed catalog number that were commercially released in the 1970s (see 07/29/2016). As shown in the Part One post (04/12/2025), these copies differ noticeably from those pressed at Columbia Records’ three plants — Pitman, Terre Haute, and Santa Maria — particularly in the size of the stamper ring on the labels and the presence of the dead-wax stamp (☖) symbolizing the U.S. Capitol Building, both the same as those found on Scranton pressings of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (JC 35318; see 3/21/2017 and 04/23/2022). The stamp likely reflects that Capitol Records had previously owned the Scranton plant before its takeover by NAMI in late 1973 (see Scott's comment from 03/18/2017). The plant continued operating until around 1980.

The deadwax information on my copy is listed below. I have also examined several Scranton pressings with clearly legible matrix numbers, using images sourced from online databases and auction listings. So far, all examined copies display identical matrix stamps and etchings.

SIDE ONE:   P AL 33795-1H              PN         ☖
SIDE TWO:   P BL 33795-1AA X        PN         ☖          Straight = stamped; oblique = hand-etched.

Another disc with the matrix number 1H on SIDE ONE was pressed
at Pitman, as indicated by a faint "P" stamp preceding the number. It
came in the penultimate "PC" sleeve (see 07/29/2016), which features
the single-lined producers' credit on the rear (not shown) and bears
the price code X698 (denoting a $6.98 retail price) on the bottom of
the spine. The last known "PC" sleeve used for the Scranton pressing
eliminated this code (see 04/12/2025). The gold stamp indicates that
the record was discounted by Columbia for sale at U.S. military bases.

The matrix numbers 1H /1AA confirm that this is a later release, as the earliest pressings from Columbia's three plants carried matrix numbers 1A /1A for Pitman, 1B /1B for Terre Haute, and 1C /1C for Santa Maria (see 05/21/2017). Additional hand-etchings include "PN," the pressing plant-specific code previously interpreted as "Pitman-subcontracted NAMI" (see 11/17/2018 and 08/20/2022), whereas the meaning of the "X" that immediately follows the SIDE TWO matrix number remains unknown to me. 

Note that "1H" is not exclusive to Scranton pressings. The same stamped matrix number appears on SIDE ONE of a Pitman copy in my possession (see images at right). However, SIDE TWO of this copy bears "1L," and neither side includes the matrix stamps or hand-etched markings typically associated with NAMI's Scranton plant, as described above.

SIDE ONE:   p   P AL 33795-1H
SIDE TWO:   p   P BL 33795-1L       The preceding "p" stamp is the hallmark of Columbia's Pitman-plant pressing.

At a glance, Scranton pressings of this masterpiece can be distinguished from standard Columbia-plant pressings (Pitman, in this case) by two key criteria: the stamper ring size on the labels and the width of the trail-off (deadwax) area. Matrix numbers for each side are listed in parentheses following the pressing plant name (oblique, hand-etched; straight, stamped). The pronounced differences in deadwax spacing — particularly on SIDE ONE — may affect the sound quality of this side, especially the final track, Backstreets.

Different matrix numbers, stamps, and etchings indicate different master cutting during vinyl record production, which often leads to variations in the width of the deadwax area on vinyl discs. You can find examples of such deadwax metric variations in my blog posts — for instance: 05/05/2022 for DARKNESS U.S. discs; 01/01/2020 for THE RIVER U.K. copies; 09/29/2019, 09/30/2019, and 10/10/2020 for various BORN IN THE U.S.A. pressings; and 11/14/2014 for a classic bootleg. In this respect, the Scranton pressings show notable differences compared to the earliest Columbia pressings: interestingly, the deadwax space is substantially narrower on SIDE ONE but wider on SIDE TWO — a detail that has drawn the attention of audiophiles (not me, though).

One of my early Pitman pressings, used in the deadwax-space
comparison above, came in a gatefold sleeve with the infamous
"John" misspelling, where the correction sticker was hilariously
misapplied in a conspicuously wrong spot.

The most likely reason the Scranton factory owned by NAMI became involved in manufacturing BORN TO RUN was that Columbia Records’ Pitman plant — the primary facility for pressing and distributing their products, particularly for the East Coast market — was temporarily shut down due to strikes during a labor dispute from April 2 to May 17, 1978 (see 3/18/2017). Among Springsteen’s albums, DARKNESS was the most seriously affected by this labor issue. This long-awaited release — his first in three years, following BORN TO RUN and the settlement of the lawsuit against his former manager — was originally scheduled for late May to coincide with the album-promotion tour that began on May 23.

As a result, early copies of the DARKNESS LP were pressed not only at Columbia's Santa Maria and Terre Haute plants but also at six atypical facilities located in Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York — all owned by companies other than Columbia Records, including NAMI's Scranton plant (for summary posts, see 04/23/2022 and 08/20/2022). Popular back-catalog titles from the Columbia label — BORN TO RUN, in Springsteen’s case — were likely repressed at these non-Columbia plants for a time in 1978 until Pitman resumed normal operations. 

However, I have so far confirmed such pressings only from Scranton, which probably reflects a prioritization of the new album’s production over that of the older one. If you come across the third album copies — or first and second, too — from any of these unusual pressing plants, such as Pinckneyville and Lakewood factories (then run by MCR Records and Peter Pan Records, respectively), please let me know.

— Back to Part 1.

BORN TO RUN U.S. Pressing LP Variants: The late-1970s Scranton pressing by North American Music Industries, or simply NAMI (Part 1 of 2)

Scranton/NAMI pressings are characterized
by a unique symbol stamped in the trail-off 
space of the record. Although often described
as a stylized anvil, a comment on a relevant
post on this blog (see 03/18/2017) claims it
was modeled after the U.S. Capitol Building,
as the pressing plant was owned by Capitol
Records before NAMI.

When it comes to vinyl LPs — especially those from Springsteen's early years in the 1970s and 1980s — I've always gravitated toward U.S. pressings over Japanese or European ones. My preference is pretty straightforward: he is, after all, a quintessentially American artist, and the U.S. pressings feel the most authentic to me. 

Back in 2016, I took a shot at organizing and classifying the various U.S. versions of this timeless masterpiece based on the album track listings and production credits printed on the rear side of the gatefold sleeve (see 07/29/2016). A year later, in 2017, I delved deeper into how matrix numbers and dead-wax markings relate to the earliest U.S. pressings from Columbia Records' three plants — located in Santa Maria, CA; Terre Haute, IN; and Pitman, NJ — which were in operation during the 1970s. This effort might have helped fellow collectors identify individual vinyl copies and shed further light on pressing variations (see 05/21/2017). These two posts have remained among the most-read entries on this blog. Still, as any collector knows, an effort like this is never truly finished. There's always more to uncover, and the work goes on.

A recent example is the addition of the Compatible eXpansion (CX)-encoded LP (Columbia JC 33795), which was claimed to significantly suppress vinyl surface noise (see 09/30/2021 and 10/08/2021). This short-lived and somewhat controversial pressing was released in late 1982 or early 1983, following the Half-Speed Mastered series (HC 33795 for the original and HC 43795 for the reissue), which were far more widely recognized as an audiophile-oriented edition, in contrast to the mostly unnoticed and overlooked CX-encoded pressing. In this post, I introduce an earlier issue bearing the original catalog number PC 33795, although several variations with this code have been known — particularly in the rear sleeve text descriptions, as explained previously (07/29/2016).

The Scranton/NAMI pressings are easily identified by their intermediate-sized stamper
rings (Ø = 1.5" = 38 mm), distinguishing them from Columbia's Santa Maria, Terre
Haute, and Pitman pressings (for a comparison of stamper rings, see 04/23/2022).

As far as I’ve seen, almost all U.S. copies of the BORN TO RUN LP manufactured during the 1970s with the catalog number PC 33795 were pressed at one of Columbia’s three plants mentioned above. However, there is a notable exception, identifiable by a smaller stamper ring on the labels compared to Columbia’s, along with distinctive dead-wax stamps and hand-etchings on the vinyl disc. This pressing was produced at the Scranton factory operated by North American Music Industries also called NAMI, in northeastern Pennsylvania (for more on NAMI, see the DARKNESS series posts from 3/21/2017 and 04/23/2022). I’ve been aware of this particular pressing for quite some time, but didn’t write about it earlier due to my long-standing policy: “I don’t write about what I don’t own.”

As far as I've seen, Scranton/NAMI pressings came in the last version
of the "PC"-code sleeve, which features a separate production credit
on the title track and a single-line producers' credit at the bottom for
the remaining seven tracks. This version removed the price code
(X698) beneath “COLUMBIA STEREO” on the spine. Note that all
known "PC"-code sleeves lack the barcode imprint found on the
subsequent "JC"-code sleeve used for the reissues (for rear sleeve
variations, see 07/29/2016).

Although NAMI's involvement was temporal, Scranton pressings of BORN TO RUN aren't too difficult to track down at a reasonable price, as they occasionally turn up in eBay auctions — provided you carefully check the labels on the auctioned discs to distinguish them from the numerous copies pressed at Columbia's three main plants. However, because the pressing plant was not a regular Columbia Records plant and was located in the Eastern United States, finding a copy here in Japan has proven somewhat challenging, with lower chances of import compared to pressings from Santa Maria — whose relative proximity to Japan may have made exports more common — and from Pitman, likely due to that plant’s mass production. I acquired mine from an eBay seller in Philadelphia for less than $10. However, the international shipping cost was more than twice that amount — an increasingly significant burden and economic concern for vinyl collectors here, especially given the weak Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar.

— Continued to Part 2.