Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE 3LP box (Update 3, Part 1/2)

One of the two new additions came in an unusual hinged 
box, apparently a replacement for the original during its 
time in second-hand circulation.

Speaking of September, it’s impossible to talk about this month without bringing up the legendary 1978 FM broadcast performance (09/19/1978) — first released on the triple-vinyl bootleg PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE from the U.S. West Coast in the late 1970s, later reissued on CD bootlegs in Europe in the 1990s, and finally made officially available online in 2019 as part of the live archive series. Among all these versions, the vinyl bootleg — hardly in need of an introduction and legendary in its own right — still holds a special place for collectors, myself very much included. Since my last blog post on it five years ago (see 07/26/2020), I've added two more copies to my stash — I admit, I just can’t help myself. Thankfully, neither came anywhere near the steep prices these records commanded during the 1980s — when both Springsteen’s popularity and vinyl bootlegging were at their peak — or even in the 1990s; instead, they cost little more than skipping a couple of lunches.

Scanned images are taken from the last volume of a catalog provided by a Japanese vinyl-bootleg retailer I frequently used. If my memory serves me correctly, this B5-sized, 54-page stapled edition was issued in early January 1990. The image resolution of displayed album jackets is low, but twelve Brucelegs (#17–#20 and #23–#30) are still visible in the left image. By the way, the headline could be translated as “★★  Out-of-Print Bootlegs A to Z — Jacket Photo Corner  ★★,” although neither the albums nor the artists/groups are arranged alphabetically. As shown on the right, brief descriptions are provided for selected bootleg titles, including PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE (#29, indicated by green rounded boxes). An original numbered pressing was listed at ¥9,800, while an unnumbered reissue copy sold for ¥6,000 — roughly corresponding to US$68 and $42 based on the JPY–USD exchange rate 35 years ago, which was still something of a bargain, as these were sold at the final clearance prices.

Anyway, here’s an update to the listing of original numbered vinyl bootleg copies, which now totals 159 entries (compared with the previous survey, which documented 96 copies on 07/26/2020) — many thanks to everyone who provided information about their copy.

As before, the listing highlights the differences between early and late numbered issues: early copies carry yellow generic labels rather than Slipped Disc Records labels on the vinyl, with serial numbers stamped on a small plain sticker instead of directly on the slick insert (see 12/13/2015 and 07/26/2020 for label and numbering images). Yet I often encounter misleading descriptions, such as “This bootleg was originally released under Slipped Disc Records.” One new finding from this survey is that, in two cases, the same numbers (#150 and #650) appear to be shared by three independent copies (see the image below).

"Don’t trust the numbers on numbered 
boxed sets," someone in Southern 
California once told me when I acquired
a few records from his collection in the 
mid-1990s. Here’s an example: three 
copies share the same serial number 
(none in my possession).

By the way, I have been curious about how this bootleg was received by fans and collectors when it first began circulating in late 1978 or early 1979. It’s easy enough to imagine the excitement of anyone who managed to get hold of a copy and play it. What really interests me, however, is how it was actually covered in the print media at the time. Back then, there were no guide or reference books that comprehensively covered Springsteen bootlegs*, and it was not until the mid-1980s that such publications became available to collectors — for example, the bootleg file inclued in Blinded By The Light (P. Humphries & C. Hunt, 1985, Plexus, London) and a few other privately issued works, such as The Bruce Springsteen Bootleg Bible (Tony Montana, 1985, Montana Production, Inc., place of publication unknown).
*This may not be true for Hot Wacks issues from the late 1970s; however, I haven’t had the opportunity to read any of them.

In the next post, I will introduce two magazine articles that reported on this bootleg title — one briefly and the other in more detail — both published in early 1979. 

— Continued to Part 2.