Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: THE DEMO TAPES original U.K. release limited to 500 numbered copies (Part 2 of 3)

Though it isn't as nice a package as the Swedish lps*, we also really like a new boot called The Demo Tapes. This is a repress of a European boot and the material is just fantastic. The songs are very early demos, pre-Hammond tapes**, and the songs rank with the best Bruce has ever written. If you like the early acoustic stuff, you'll love this record. The album is reasonable and is easily found.

—Excerpted from the On Vinyl column entitled More new bootlegs than you can imagine, Backstreets, no. 3 (1982).
*Referring to the two Swedish bootlegs, FOLLOW THAT DREAM and TEARDROPS ON THE CITY.
**Not pre- but post-Hammond demos, mostly recorded between May and August, 1972 (cf., The so-called "John Hammond Demo Session" occured on May 3, 1972).

The red label bears a stamped "MADE IN USA." As is now widely known, any version of this bootleg pressed in the U.S. — identified by "LIMITED EDITION OF 1000" on the front sleeve — is merely a pirate clone of the original U.K. release. This copy (matrix numbers
BSD-A / BSD-B) is likely the earliest U.S. pressing.

The first copy I obtained July 1982 was a relatively thick black vinyl (158 g) with blank red labels (though stamped on one side) and hand-etched matrix numbers: BSD-A and BSD-B on SIDES ONE and TWO, respectively. It came in a black & white sleeve with "LIMITED EDITION OF 1000" printed diagonally on the bottom right corner, but lacking any stamped or handwritten numbering. However, according to Blinded By The Light (P. Humphries & C. Hunt, Plexus, London) — the bible to Springsteen collectors published a few years later in 1985 — this bootleg was numbered and described as follows (transcribed from p. 138):

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: THE DEMO TAPES original U.K. release limited to 500 numbered copies (Part 1 of 3)

Of the four classic vinyl bootlegs of Springsteen studio outtakes — The Demo Tapes, Fire On the Fingertips, E Ticket and Son You May Kiss The Bride— all save E Ticket* have been issued on CD (in Fire On the Fingertips’ case, as the equally splendid Forgotten Songs).

—Quoted from: Clinton Heylin (2013) E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, p. 315, Penguin Group (USA) Inc., New York [the underline made by this blogger].

Four classic vinyl Brucelegs featuring studio recordings — as defined in Heylin's E Street Shuffle book (2013) — were concisely reviewed long ago in the collectors' bible Blinded By The Light (1985), except for SON YOU MAY KISS THE BRIDE, the last of the four to be released in the mid-1980s (though I don't exactly recall whether it appeared during or after the 1985 leg of the BORN IN THE U.S.A. tour).

*Oddly, Heylin regards "E" TICKET as an exception — perhaps because this vinyl bootleg has never been released on CD in its original form. However, the excellent BORN IN THE STUDIO CD from the early 1990s already included all its tracks along with additional recordings (see 06/01/2024).

No, no, I’m not going to talk about Bruceleg CD releases. The above is how Clinton Heylin, a notable British writer on Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, describes these four unofficial vinyl albums in his book, where he subjectively selects 21 bootleg CD recordings of studio sessions. He compiled this discography as a bootleg CD enthusiast, reasoning that a bootleg CD is likely to exist somewhat longer than some of the website links which afford fans the opportunity to download these precious, unauthorized moments (as cited above).

Thoughts on My Father's House on NEBRASKA LP: Update – 2nd – to The alternate take with synth coda on regular vinyl pressing!!!

Recently, Japanese sample copies appear 
to be distributed without a sample sticker 
on the sleeve (see 6/14/2025 for another 
example), making them impossible to 
identify without opening the package.

This year has been exceptionally good for Springsteen fans and collectors, with abundant new material released. That said, I have not purchased the extraordinarily expensive TRACKS II, but instead obtained only a sample CD copy of the excerpted edition, LOST AND FOUND: Selections From The Lost Albums (Sony Records Int'l SICP 31774), though I did listen to the full tracks online. Frankly, I find the package unnecessarily luxurious — if I want a book, I will buy a book, but not such an overpriced CD (or vinyl)/book set (in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever even looked through the one that came with THE TIES THAT BIND: The River Collection). I can’t help but wish Springsteen would focus more on the music itself. For me, the absolute standout is the upcoming release of NEBRASKA ’82 — and honestly, ELECTRIC NEBRASKA on its own would be enough for me. By the way, why does the title even include ’82 ? Surely everyone knows that the album was originally released in 1982.

The two company codes printed on the record labels and sleeve — catalog numbers and C.G.C. numbers (enclosed in green rectangles) — serve as essential indicators for determining whether a vinyl copy pressed in Brazil represents an original release or a reissue, and for identifying its release year when multiple issues exist. As shown, all four of my copies are identical with respect to both numbers (CBS 138.641; C.G.C. 43.203.520/0002-95). 

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

As I mentioned in my previous blog post (09/04/2025), I’ll introduce two articles here that reported on this classic bootleg, published in early and mid-1979 — likely shortly after it began circulating in the collector's market (the authors appear to be unidentified).

The last issue (March 1979) takes a look at 
the state of the bootleg industry.

The first appeared in Bomp!, a U.S. music magazine based in Burbank, north of downtown Los Angeles, California, that ran from 1971 to 1979. In its March 1979 issue (No. 21, the final issue), there is an article titled SPECIAL REPORT: BOOTLEGGERS — Rock Robin Hoods or Commie Threat? which includes an interview with an anonymous bootlegger along with reviews of recent bootleg releases (pp. 22–23). The bootlegger, described in the article as “one of the kingpins of this secret industry,” admitted to regularly releasing three or four albums a month and maintaining a catalog of nearly 100 past titles, considering themself one of the “Majors” in the underground record business. In the interview, the bootlegger also mentions Springsteen once, when asked why “today’s bootlegs seem to be so much more nicely packaged than those white jacket with paper insert things of a few years ago,” even though the question refers not specifically to Springsteen’s bootlegs but to others, such as Beatles or Stones titles:

(excerpted) Personally I feel the risks involved make the bucks more than well-earned — but also as an opportunity to make a mark in history with some really fine albums that we, the fans, and even the artists, can be proud of. There are in fact many artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith, who have openly encouraged bootleggers.*

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 Nugs 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 cheap lunches.