On the 200th-anniversary blog post, plus Collecting log: recent miscellaneous purchases under COVID-19 (2022)

This year-end post marks the 200th entry I've written about my collection and started knowledge sharing in the last seven years plus four months. It might be crazy to think about what I've done: sticking around a single foreign artist peaking decades ago and blogging 200 times exclusively about his collector's items in a non-native language from the Far East island of Asia. Initially, the blog was a way to relax, forget work, stop worrying about things, and refresh my mind. I also intended to use the blog as a collecting log and memorandum to what I think and notice of the collectibles I obtained over the years (and that's why I call my blog "log"). However, doing blog things has become more than those. It is a pure joy to communicate with fellow collectors and fans worldwide. I'm very grateful to all of you for visiting, reading, and commenting. Fortunately, I have never received any negative or demotivating comments or feedback on what I wrote in this blog, which I really appreciate.

Should I open a used record shop?  These are all U.S.-pressed copies of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TWON LP (Columbia JC 35318) I have used to conduct a comprehensive survey to decipher unusual dead-wax matrix inscriptions, such as PK, PMI, PMN, PN, PV, and PPP (see a series of blog articles here). All are cheap-second hand, though.

HUMAN TOUCH / LUCKY TOWN Japanese collectibles (not on vinyl): On the 25th anniversary of the twin album releases (concluded)

Part of my cassette collection. On the 5th from the right is 
the one I consider the most unique and rarest among these.

This is the final part on the Japanese Top 3 collectibles concerning HUMAN TOUCH and LUCKY TOWN, following two blogs reporting the second- and third-ranking items posted last May. In my personal view, top on the list is an item that may be questionable to some collectors for its authenticity. That is again a seldom seen cassette tape issued by Sony Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., for promotion of the twin album a few months after the release. The tape captures a broadcasted live from the Hollywood Center Studios, Los Angeles, on June 5th, 1992, collectively known as "Dress Rehearsal" for the upcoming 1992-1993 world tour. The recorded performance is nothing rarity as it was aired over FM radio across the USA, and consequently, has been widely available in some forms including various bootleg releases. The reason why I ranked it as number one is based on the fact that the aired performance (or part of it) has never been released in any official form in any country of the world except this one, provided that it is truly a genuine Sony product.

HUMAN TOUCH / LUCKY TOWN Japanese collectibles (not on vinyl): On the 25th anniversary of the twin album releases (continued)

The text-only sleeve is often used for advanced promo releases, especially in 
regions outside the U.S., like Japan, as any picture material is not available
or not allowed to be used when discs are ready for distribution. A combination
of two small Kanji characters in parenthesis means "planned" or "scheduled."

The second selection from what I consider the Top 3 Japanese rarities from HUMAN TOUCH and LUCKY TOWN is probably the rarest and most sought-after among all of Springsteen's 3" CDs. The Boss Is Back!!: Human Touch c/w Better Days (SONY XDEP 93043) is an advanced promotion-only single release for distribution to radio stations and music critics/reviewers before it was available for regular sale in Japan on March 19, 1992. For this reason, and owing to the unique, now defunct disc format and custom-designed black & red title sleeve, this CD has become highly demanded by collectors all over the world. 

HUMAN TOUCH / LUCKY TOWN Japanese collectibles (not on vinyl): On the 25th anniversary of the twin album releases

This year marks the 25th anniversary of HUMAN TOUCH and LUCKY TOWN, simultaneously released here in Japan on April 8th, 1992 (about a week behind the US release date). I remember that his new moves (recording without the E Street Band and touring with "the other" band) were highly criticized by many, especially those who saw themselves as old-guard and long-time fans. In this regard, I was rather in a minority because several of the performances they played during 1992-1993 were (and still are) my favorites, including uptempo rocking Atlantic City (as mentioned before), the 1992 version of If I Should Fall Behind performed in the original folk-rock arrangement, and the 1993 rendition of Lucky Town with the extended guitar outro. 

Collecting log: 57 Channels (And Nothin' On) US 12-inch Maxi single and Supplementary Note to BORN TO RUN US pressing LP variants: unusual red labels (JC 33795) on Sep 13, 2015

Do unusual red US Columbia labels without a yellow-rim indicate
the later regular pressing around early 1990's?

Another 12-inch vinyl I bought at cheap in my recent trip to Tokyo but not mentioned on the last blog was 57 Channels (And Nothin' On) - The Remixes (Columbia 44 74416) that is issued in the US back in 1992. This Maxi single contains three variants of the title track remixed by Little Steven, plus the non-album B-side Part Man, Part Monkey that is almost regularly played in 1988 during TUNNEL OF LOVE EXPRESS Tour. I remember I first listened to this tune in 1991 through a 3-CD bootleg called SPRINGSTEEN, RAITT AND BROWNE (TCD 16, Templar Records) that was managed to get by mail order to the now-defunct Great Dane Records, Milan, Italy (Templar was a sort of sub-label of Great Dane that distributed bootleg CDs under Templar labels). The bootleg captures the famous solo acoustic performance on November 16, 1990, which is now available as an official live archive release. I also experienced the live performance back in 1993, right in this noisy remix arrangement.