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 The above photos show what I consider rare Japanese collectibles for this album: a withdrawn sample CD and an advance cassette tape placed on either the advance pressing (left) or the sample LP (right) — the cassette and both LPs date back to original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 For me, they include the advance promotion-only LP and its cassette version (see 07/18/2015), as well as the withdrawn CD (Sony Music Entertainment SRCS 8984) from the second batch of Japan-exclusive paper sleeve reissues planned for fall 1999, which is believed to have been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.