Collecting log: a plain white test pressing for TUNNEL OF LOVE U.K. limited edition picture-disc LP (Part 2 of 2)

It was January 2003 when I got what was advertised as a "test" pressing for the picture-disc edition of this album at $29.00 from an eBay seller in Bethpage, New York (disc's images shown previously in the following posts on 03/01/2015 and 01/01/2020). It came in a plain white sleeve but not in a clear plastic bag used for the regular picture disc. This pressing is indistinguishable from my copy of the commercial version in almost all aspects but the plain white appearance.

The commercially available picture disc (upper) and its plain-white test pressing (lower) share the same dead-wax inscriptions and stamps on each playing side (left, Side One; right, Side Two).

The width of each track and dead-wax area is the same as that of the official release, and both have a black rim around the disc edge. Crucially, all the dead-wax matrix inscriptions (Side One, hand-etched; Side Two, mostly machine-stamped) are identical for each side between the two discs, indicating that the "test" pressing was made from the same stampers that pressed the standard picture disc (at least my copy). Thus, there's no logical reason to suspect this "test" record to be a fake or counterfeited product.

     Side One:  AL-40999-#-1B     G7     MASTERDISK-DMM     C     01+460270+6+#A
     Side Two:  LI-B-III     DMM A C-01-460 270-20-B
            (oblique, hand-etched; straight; stamped; #, scratched out)

There is a DMM hand-etching or machine-stamp on each side, meaning that this album is mastered by direct metal mastering.
 

Even though the matrix inscriptions are identical, the two picture records exhibit different patterning of stamper rings. Although not precisely measured, the commercial disc has two inner circles with about 32- and 63-mm diameters, whereas the smaller one is only visible on the test pressing (Side One is shown).

Still, there is one noticeable difference in the center circle space, where a paper label is normally glued on a conventional LP. Whether a regular or picture disc, a vinyl record usually has one or two circles stamped on that region, called pressing rings or stamper rings, which are left when stampers press the vinyl blob or biscuit. The number and size (diameter) of such circles often differ depending on the die, the part of the pressing machine that holds a pair of stampers. As you can see from the image immediately above, the commercial picture disc has two clear stamper rings with 32- and 63-mm diameters. On the other hand, a single 32-mm ring is only visible on the "test" pressing. A simple interpretation of this inconsistency is that the commercial and "test" pressings in my possession were NOT pressed by the same machine (unless the die was exchanged; I don't know the details of pressing machines, though). Then, were these discs manufactured at the same pressing plant?

The U.K. test pressing for THE RIVER, released in 1980, has two
  stamper rings on each plain-white label of the double discs. This  
is also the same for the NEBRASKA test disc (see the post on
09/28/2016, though not pictured clearly).

In the 1970s, the CBS U.K. pressing plant was located in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire County, South East, England, and moved in 1980 to the new plant in Aylesbury in the same county. A great blog, vinyldiscovery, written by an American record collector, surveyed and listed the summary of the relationship between record manufacturers and stamper ring in the latest post (04/13/2021; a must-read if interested in the topic). According to this extensive list, vinyl discs pressed at the Aston Clinton plant had two stamper rings (with 32- and 63-mm diameters) on each record label (for example, BORN TO RUN LP; see the post on 09/26/2020). Although the Aylesbury plant gets no mention in the list, it is very likely that the Aston Clinton facilities, including the pressing machine creating such a double ring, were transferred to and reinstalled for operation at the newly launched Aylesbury factory. 

In fact, the same double-stamper ring commonly occurred on the labels of the original U.K. pressings of Springsteen's albums released in the 1980s (the label images of THE RIVER, NEBRASKA, and BORN IN THE U.S.A. are shown in the previous posts on 01/01/2020, 09/28/2016, and 09/29/2019, respectively). Although I don't own the conventional U.K. pressing of the TUNNEL LP, the same ring profile was easily confirmed on the label images available online. So, I guess that these studio-recording albums, including the commercial TUNNEL picture disc, were manufactured at the Aylesbury plant. Still, it remains unknown where the "test" pressing originated, based on the stamper ring.

— Back to Part 1.

Collecting log: a plain white test pressing for TUNNEL OF LOVE U.K. limited edition picture-disc LP (Part 1 of 2)

The lineup for the officially released U.K. picture disc vinyl pressings. If my memory is correct, the last known picture disc to be manufactured is The Ghost Of Tom Joad / Straight Time (live) EP (Columbia 663031 7), released in 1996 (bottom, second from the left). Sadly, my copy of the flag-shaped I'm On Fire / Born In The U.S.A. (CBS WA 6342) has fully developed discoloration (middle row, far right), although Dancing In The Dark / Pink Cadillac (CBS WA 4436) shows no such symptoms (bottom, far right). 

A picture disc rarity continues. The last blog (2021/04/20) introduced a test pressing for an old picture-LP bootleg from the early 1980s (courtesy of the fellow collector from Italy). Here's an example of such a rare pressing for an official picture record from the late 1980s. As you collectors know, all the official picture discs of Springsteen in the album and 12"/7" single formats, including shaped discs, were released from the CBS U.K. Records label, except for the U.S.-issued DARKNESS promo LP. Note that in the mid to late 1980s, several picture discs featuring Springsteen's interviews also floated around the market, mostly originating in the U.K. These picture discs might not technically be illegal, but certainly, grey-area products since they were neither issued from the CBS label nor authorized by Springsteen (i.e., Interviews are not necessarily protected by copyright laws).

Examples of unofficial "Interview" picture discs released in the
second half of the 1980s. Back then, I couldn't help but purchase
these collector's items even though I knew I wouldn't listen to them.

When starting to circulate in the late 1990s or early 2000s, test pressings were much less common for picture discs, with the information being scarce. They were often called "mysterious" discs, making collectors suspected of authenticity. Nowadays, however, you can easily find these "test pressing" copies through the net search. Their typical appearance is plain white with a black outer rim, which does not mean that they are made of white vinyl. As illustrated in the last post, the rim's color represents the color of the vinyl blob or biscuit used as a core or basis of the disc (that is not directly pressed by stampers). Thus, what looks like white vinyl is plain white papers inside a disc that sandwich the black vinyl, further layered on each side with a clear thin film that is pressed by stampers. As explained above, the manufacturing processes exactly follow the laid down procedure of making picture discs, which differs from standard vinyl pressing. So, I think it should still be called so.

The TUNNEL OF LOVE commercial picture disc and plain test pressing. Despite the different looking, it becomes clear that the two discs are the same pressing based on the number of tracks and each width (shown are Side One).

Released in 1987, TUNNEL OF LOVE (CBS 460270 0) corresponds to the second of the four picture LP editions from the U.K. (The others include BORN IN THE U.S.A., HUMAN TOUCH, and LUCKY TOWN). According to my collecting log, I bought a copy of the TUNNEL picture disc for 2,800 JPY (approximately $22 back then) at the usual import record shop in December 1987, while the regular U.S. pressings were already obtained for 1,680 JPY that October. In contrast, I had to order the BORN IN THE U.S.A. picture LP from an overseas dealer as I was not able to locate the copy here when it was released in 1985, suggesting the larger number of pressing for the former picture.

— To be continued to Part 2.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: RESTLESS NIGHTS ー THE RIVER outtakes LP ー original picture-disc and later black-vinyl editions (Part 3 of 3)

It's always nice to hear from "The Boss" collectors around the world. Soon after I posted Part 1 on this topic, I received a private message/response to the blog post from a fellow collector in Italy. We enjoyed communicating with each other, and he provided me with interesting information on this particular bootleg. Although I don't write about what I don't own in my blog, I thought that what he showed me would interest collectors visiting here, especially fans of old vinyl-bootleg stuff (i.e., This bootleg subject was originally going to be two parts, not three). So, here they go.

Do you think this is a test pressing for the studio-outtake bootleg LP released decades ago? I guess YES. Note that the two lower photos are not of the picture LP but the paper sheets that are to be set inside the picture disc. The clear disc seems to be slightly discolored like my picture disc (see 03/27/2021). The dead-wax inscriptions (WILI A on Side One) look double due to an optical effect of the transparent disc. Photos provided by courtesy of a fellow collector in Italy.

First, the clear vinyl edition, as shown above. The dead-wax matrix numbers are WILI A / WIL 2 (Note that I consistently express hand-etched matrix inscriptions in the oblique throughout the blog posts), but one might read the Side One hand-etching to be WIL/ A ("WILI A" versus "WIL/ A" when compared in the normal font). Anyway, these inscriptions on the clear wax are identical to those of the early, picture-disc edition. Quite interestingly, the disc is accompanied by two 12" round-paper sheets printing what exactly appears on both sides of the picture disc. I think most collectors would agree that this particular copy is likely to be a test press for the picture disc.

   How to make a picture disc. A blob of vinyl (PVC) is placed   
    between two picture sheets which are sandwiched by thin    
films of PE or PVC for pressing. Though I'm not sure, this
setting probably has to be done manually, explaining why
picture discs are generally more expensive than standard
discs. PE, polyethylene; PVC, polyvinyl chloride.

One more (shown below) is a copy of the picture disc with a black rim, although I've seen that the transparent edge is more common with many copies in circulation, including mine (recently, however, I saw the black-rim version sold at an online auction here). At a glimpse, I thought it was an unevenly discolored copy. Still, it was actually pressed with a black vinyl blob that was sandwiched between the two picture-paper sheets. As illustrated in the right figure, most of the vinyl part (black colored, in this case) is covered by picture sheets with only its peripheral visible. The dead-wax hand-etchings are WIL-1 and WIL-2 on Sides One and Two, respectively, which match exactly those of the late black-vinyl edition but not the early picture-disc edition (see the last post on 2021/04/17).

The black-rim pressing, another variant. The dead-wax code (WIL-1) shown is for Side One ("other side").
Photos provided by courtesy of the same collector as above.

Having been informed of the above two pressings I don't own, I put my thoughts together on this nice bootleg, as follows.

• The early edition appeared in late 1983 or early 1984, with the dead-wax matrix numbers WILI A (or WIL/ A) / WIL 2. Clear vinyl was used to press the picture disc, which explains why the rim of the disc is transparent and why the presumed test pressing is of clear vinyl. As far as I know, no black-vinyl version exists for this early edition.
• The late edition was perhaps out one or a few years after the release of the original picture disc (that's what I've seen). Both picture and standard discs were pressed on black vinyl, and that's why the picture disc had a black rim. These discs were not made using original stampers because the matrix numbers are different (WIL-1 / WIL-2 ) and because probably the master tapes also differ (for example, the difference in the last part of Held Up Without A Gun is apparent).
• Based on the hand-etched inscription on the dead-wax space, the same bootlegger(s) presumably produced both early and late editions. 

It's always fun for me to delve into old vinyl bootlegs, especially when valuable and useful information is provided just like this time. Finally, I thank the fellow collector for sharing information on his one-of-a-kind collection.

— Back to Part 1 or Part 2.

 

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: RESTLESS NIGHTS ー THE RIVER outtakes LP ー original picture-disc and later black-vinyl editions (Part 2 of 3)

Weeping peach (Prunus persica cv. Genpei-shidare)
blossoming in my small garden.

Springs has come, and it's really nice to see that beautiful flowers blossom here and there. In Japan, the fiscal year begins on April 1st. So, everything must be refreshed and restarted now. However, the situation around COVID-19 has not been improved. Even worse, we are now severely facing the fourth wave reinforced by the spread of the U.K.-variant virus (N501Y) with a high transmissibility mutation. I just can't believe that the Government still insists on holding the Tokyo Olympic/Paralympic Games as planned after less than 100 days from now, despite almost all Japanese people still being unvaccinated (i.e., those vaccinated so far account for only 0.76% of the national population, as of April 5th). Although this has nothing to do with the blog, I can't help mentioning the current unusual situation, wondering how we look to you living outside Japan.  

The early picture-disc and late picture-sleeve/black vinyl editions. The latter is listed on a bootleg catalog I received from a domestic dealer around 1986 or 1987 (far left). The Lynn Goldsmith's shot used for this bootleg officially appears on the front cover of the collection of her photographs called SPRINGSTEEN (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1984). The Japanese edition (Eichi Publishing Inc., Tokyo, 1986) employs a different cover photo, and the bootleg's image is found as the smaller B & W image on the rear of the back cover (lower right). It also includes a glossy color print directly from a negative (upper right).

The rear sleeve of the black-vinyl version faithfully reproduces the backside of the
picture disc. Then, how do we know "this side" and "other side" with the plain white
labels on the black wax?

Back to the subject. As I wrote in the last blog (03/27/2021), RESTLESS NIGHTS has provided my first real listening experience to unreleased/outtake tracks from THE RIVER. So, for me, these bootlegged takes were the definitive version of each track. Ｗhen Loose Ends, my favorite from the bootleg, was finally released in TRACKS in 1998, I remember I was rather disappointed by the official version that unpredictably featured more keyboard. At the first listening to the official track, I thought the bootleg version was much better in the mix (with more guitars), even with a defect of sound dropout near the end of Clarence's sax solo (you know what I'm talking about if you listened over and over to the vinyl-bootlegged version). Fortunately, the official quality THE TIES THAT BIND bootleg CD already circulated, though.

When the high tide of vinyl bootleg continued to come mainly from Europe after the BORN IN THE U.S.A. tour ended, I found the black vinyl edition of this title in the color sleeve whose image was identical to the picture disc. Back then, I thought it was just a reissue to which I felt barely attracted, as I was satisfied with the picture disc. Then, nearly three years ago, I saw a copy of this on a domestic auction and bought it just because it was way cheap without competitors and because it would become a good companion for the picture disc. Having checked the dead-wax matrix numbers as always, I found that my long assumption was incorrect; I mean, based on the hand-etched characters, the black-vinyl version was not a repressed copy but an independent pressing.

The same bootlegger probably hand-inscribed the dead-wax markings, as inferred
from the characteristic "W " writing. Shown are Side One.

Picture disc edition

• Side One:  WILI A
• Side Two:  WIL 2

Black vinyl edition

• Side One:  WIL-1
• Side Two:  WIL-2

Besides the differences in the matrix inscription, Bruce's voice can be heard on the black-vinyl edition right after performing Held Up Without A Gun, which is originally not included in the picture disc track. Oh man, I had not known these facts for twenty to thirty years since around the mid or late 1980s!

— To be continued to Part 3 / back to Part 1.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: RESTLESS NIGHTS ー THE RIVER outtakes LP ー original picture-disc and later black-vinyl editions (Part 1 of 3)

This cool-looking picture disc was one of the most extensively played vinyl studio
bootlegs on my turntables, until the release of the TRACKS 4-CD box set in 1998
that contained six of the nine RIVER outtakes on the bootleg.

It's always fun for vinyl collectors like me just to look into unique artworks and descriptions found on bootleg LP sleeves, including slick insert covers. Vinyl picture-disc records are more enjoyable, since this fascinating format is better suited for the display by framing and hanging on the wall. In fact, there were already several bootlegs in this format out there when there was still only one official picture disc (for the DARKNESS promo) and before the flood of vinyl Brucelegs, including various colored and picture discs, during and the post BORN IN THE U.S.A. era. However, I used to avoid purchasing the picture-disc edition of vinyl bootlegs, especially when regular black-vinyl counterparts were also available.This was because I primarily collected bootlegs to appreciate live or unreleased recordings that were otherwise unavailable from the official sources. For this purpose, cassette tape trading could have been an alternative means, but to my knowledge, it had not been well organized and developed in Japan compared with the situation in the U.S. So, I thought it was not a wise choice to select picture discs that generally sounded worse with more surface noise. Besides, many of these picture discs were reissues or pirated copies for existing bootlegs and often issued only one disc even if previously released as a multi-disc set. 

The left two images were taken by myself back in February 2001, upon the request of Mr. John G. Leach, the founder of the original Brucebase database (http://www.brucebase.btinternet.co.uk; URL not working anymore). Back then, I was running a website exhibiting my collection. He looked through my site and sent me an e-mail message asking for high-resolution image files for some bootleg titles. Such JPEG files contained the above two left images, which were later displayed in the studio boots section, called The Studio Bruceleg File, of the website. For comparison, I took similar photos of the current disc on this occasion for the first time in 20 years (right two). Then, sadly, I found that the clear parts did show the symptom of discoloration, the disastrous phenomenon frequently observed with picture discs, notably shaped ones manufactured in the 1980s in the U.K. My bad, I had long forgotten that the disc remained in a PVC bag still with the price sticker! Check the previous post (12/23/2016) for the ugly discolored examples of Springsteen's official picture discs.

RESTLESS NIGHTS was the first vinyl picture disc I added to my bootleg collection. That was back in early August 1984 before the first bootleg of the then-ongoing North American tour appeared in the collector's market. Only one copy was available at the usual import record shop (called JEUGIA in Kyoto, Japan) and I bought it at the expense of 4,000 JPY that was the same amount as the fixed retail price for the Japanese THE RIVER 2LP (CBS/SONY Japan 40AP1960). Even though a single disc, pricey setting was a rather norm for bootleg imports back then, especially for Springsteen's special editions. According to The Bruce Springsteen Bootleg Guide Vol. 1 (Tony Montana, 1985, Montana Production Inc., p. 37; see the top image on this page), this picture bootleg was made in Italy, although I didn't and still don't know any background information about this release.

If I'm not mistaken, RESTLESS NIGHTS was the first bootleg album full of THE RIVER outtake/unreleased tracks (though, exactly saying, it contained two tracks already released on the B-side of the official singles and one DARKNESS outtake). 

• SIDE 1: Be True / Rickie Wants A Man Of Her Own / Cindy / Roulette / Restless Nights
• SIDE 2: Loose Ends / Take'em As They Come / You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) / Held Up Without A Gun / The Way

Production-wise, this European bootleg is excellent with picture labels, pressed on
colored vinyl, and comes in a printed inner sleeve (on both sides) that was rarely
accompanied by bootleg releases.

However, this picture LP was not the first bootleg that featured the album's outtakes. I believe that the first bootlegged track from the album's recording sessions was Roulette, which was already found in both ROULETTE and DON'T LOOK BACK, the two U.S. single-LP bootlegs from the very early 1980s. Following was yet another single LP called BY THE RIVER that came out from Europe, devoting one side to four unreleased tracks (Take'em, Cindy, Loose Ends, and Rickie) in addition to Roulette and the other to miscellaneous live recordings. Subsequently, two more unreleased tunes, Restless Nights and You Can Look (a rockabilly take), were included among the four tracks on a double 7" set entitled The River That Talks coming in a nice gate-fold sleeve. I also bought a triple-colored-vinyl box called "LUTHER" around the same time as RESTLESS NIGHTS, containing some of THE RIVER outtakes, including Roulette again. Note that the famous SON YOU MAY KISS THE BRIDE bootleg LP came a few years later than these releases.

Because I was not so enthusiastic about hunting 7" records,
my copy of this great Scorpio's release is neither numbered
on the rear sleeve nor colored on vinyls.

When I obtained this picture disc, I still didn't own either the European LP or the double 7" single mentioned above. So, six of the nine tracks left off the 5th album were completely new listen to me (namely, excluding Be True, Roulette, and Held Up). Admitting myself as a big THE RIVER fan, I really got into this bootleg to fulfill my need and personal curiosity until the arrival of new tour bootlegs here late that year (BTW, the first 1984-tour bootleg I found and obtained was a shitty sounding BORN IN CINCINNATI ; see 06/06/2015). This made it one of the most extensively played among my collection of both official and underground releases.
— To be continued to Part 2.

Collecting log: The best acquisition in 2016

Big box arrived here from upstate New York. Inset shows the eBay
sticker probably for global shipping (overlaid on which is the semi-
transparent lilac-colored label of the domestic delivery service).

Now we're coming to the end of the year, it's time to look over the best acquisition in 2016. It's a volume purchase won on eBay this spring with a cumulative bid of 12, which resulted in the final amounts just exceeding 80 bucks. The amounts were happily way less than what I had expected to pay, but as always, the shipping cost too much from East Coast of the US (slightly more than the half of the final bid). Speaking of the shipping option, as many non-US buyers already pointed out, I am also quite discontented with eBay Global Shipping Program because it charges additional costs that probably results from handling, custom/import duty (pre-paid is mandatory; Note that the zero rate is usually applied for importing vinyl discs here, unless an item is quite expensive or highly valued) and the US domestic delivery from seller's address to the Global Shipping Center. In this particular case, tracking information revealed that the box parcel was originally picked up somewhere in upstate New York, then transferred to Jersey City, New Jersey, then to Cincinnati, Ohio, and finally delivered to the Global Shipping Center located in Erlanger, Kentucky. It was found to cost extra 10 bucks (or more) and take 4 days for the parcel box to be ready for international shipping. Why wasn't the parcel allowed to be exported simply from the international airport in Jamaica, New York, as it was originally posted in the same State? For international buyers, this service is totally unnecessary; a seller can ship an item to an overseas buyer directly, which would not only save shipping and additional fees, but also shorten delivery time. So, the first thing I do now when I join an auction offered by someone in the US is to request the seller not to use the program and ask for another shipping option.

Anyway, I usually avoid volume purchases because of the high absolute cost of international shipping, especially from the US. Another reason is to prevent the accumulation of mediocre collectibles that I don't need in duplicates, or vinyl titles that I am totally not interested in, such as those nothing to do with the Man himself that are often put together in a volume package. However, I could not resist placing the winning bid for this mixed bag.

Photo taken by the seller and shown on the actual auction page. Top: CBS MASTERSOUND HIGHLIGHTS promo-only US copy (still sealed); Second row from left: DARKNESS promo-only US picture disc (still sealed), THE RIVER regular US copy with a blank red label on Side 3, and Tunnel Of Love UK 12" single folded poster sleeve edition; Third row from left: DON'T LOOK BACK single bootleg LP, WEMBLEY STADIUM 4LP bootleg capturing the "4th of July" performance in London 1985, and the BORN TO RUN Armed Forces Radio and Television Service edition; and the bottom row from left: Cover Me UK 12” regular single second edition, THE JERSEY DEVIL bootleg reissue, and THE HEAVYWEIGHTS promo-only US double LP.

This auction lot contained 10 vinyl titles that were exclusive to Springsteen and disaggregated into eight LP and two 12-inch discs or seven official (4 promo and 3 regular) and three bootleg records, counting a total of 15 discs. It's a jumble of wheat and tares, but I did spot an extreme rarity included therein when I, for the very first time, saw this auctioned lot online. That was a vinyl LP pressing from the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) featuring tracks from BORN TO RUN on one side exclusively. I think this record alone is worth the winning bid of the auction.

The label design for AFRTS has frequently been changed over the 
years. This "large eye" logo represents a typical one for the mid-
1970's pressings. P-15541 seems to be a playing side-specific code,
as the other side of the label prints a slightly different code P-15542.

AFRTS has provided popular radio and television programs to US military personnel, workers, and their families in countries where US military bases are operating but English-language broadcasts are not available. Vinyl LP pressings from AFRTS are generally rare, limited in quantity and often come with unique track listing and label designs, which explains why these records generate a lot of interest from vinyl collectors. According to Lost In The Flood collector's page, there exist at least two AFRTS LP releases of Springsteen, each containing 5 tracks from either BORN TO RUN or DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN on one side of the disc, coupled with songs from other artists on another side. The copy included in the auction lot has the catalog number RL13-6 and features the BORN TO RUN tracks (Thunder Road / Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out / Night / Born To Run / Meeting Across The River) on Side One while the other side is filled with excerpts from Eric Clapton's 1975 live album. The vinyl is housed in a plain black die-cut sleeve and carries the labels in a brown background with a large official AFRTS "Eye Logo" printed on both sides.

The other nine titles are as follows:

• THE HEAVYWEIGHTS: COLUMBIA RECORDS FALL 1975 (Columbia A2S 174): A US-only promotional 17-track compilation double LP featuring Born To Run as the first track of Side One. The two records carry white promotional labels and come in a custom gate-fold sleeve with a "DEMONSTRATION Not For Sale" gold stamp on the back cover. Released more than four decades ago, this one is not seen so often and the first entry in my collection.
  
  

  

  The modified artworks for the albums in which featured tracks appear are printed inside the gate-fold sleeve.
   

• CBS MASTERSOUND HIGHLIGHTS (Columbia AS 902): A single US sample LP for promoting CBS's audiophile pressing series released in 1981. Thunder Road is taken from the half-speed mastered edition of BORN TO RUN (Columbia HC 33795) and featured as the first track of Side One on this promotional copy. Housed in a custom gate-fold sleeve. Again, the first entry in my collection although I obtained many years ago the similar sample compilation LP issued in Holland (THE SOUND OF MUSIC ON MASTERSOUND; CBS SAMP 15) that also features the remastered version of Thunder Road. Still sealed.
  
  
  
• DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN [Columbia (no catalog number listed)]: A US-only promotional picture disc LP. No explanation is needed for this official classic collectible. Counterfeits have been reported to circulate for years although thus far I have never seen or encountered such copies. This copy (the third copy in my possession) is still shrink-wrapped and remains unopened but the lyric sheet is visible inside the die-cut sleeve through the spindle hall, which warrants the authenticity (since the counterfeits are said not to include it). This sealed copy alone may also be valued equivalent to the winning bid amounts.
  
  
• THE RIVER (Columbia PC2 36854): A US commercial 2-LP copy pressed at the Pitman pressing plant, New Jersey, according to the dead wax matrix information. At first I regraded it as a mere red-labeled Columbia regular copy. However, what turned out to be was that the Side 3 label was blank only with the yellow peripheral rim of Columbia Records. An unexpected but welcome addition.
  
  

  

  The matrix number PAL-36856 is assigned to Side 3 of this US-pressed, my favorite double album. The matrix code on the right that is unreadable in this picture is the machine-typed MASTERED BY CAPITOL stamp.
   

• Cover Me (Undercover Mix) / Cover Me (Dub) / Shut Out The Light // Dancing In The Dark (Dub) / Jersey Girl (live) (CBS QTA 4662): A remix version 12" single commercially released in the UK in 1985. Certainly the least collectible among those included in this lot.
  
  
• Tunnel Of Love // Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (live) / Two For The Road (CBS 651295 8): Another UK 12" single released in 1988. This one is a folded poster sleeve edition. Still mediocre though.
  
  

  

  The famous matrix inscriptions on the dead wax of THE JERSEY
  DEVIL pressed from the original stampers: HAR147 on both sides
  with THIS SIDE FOR CHAR on Side 1 and THIS SIDE FOR CAROL
  on Side 2, probably dedicated this record to wives of the
  bootlegger and his friend/partner (not in bootlegging). Note 
  that the original copies have a custom silver label on Side 1 
  only (Side 2 label is white blank).
  

• THE JERSEY DEVIL (Hoffman Avenue Records HAR147): A classic bootleg LP honored to be the first ever Springsteen bootleg or Bruceleg originally released in Fall 1975. This copy is a Dragonfly Records reissue but pressed from the original stampers as confirmed by the dead wax information (see the picture on the right).
  
  
• DON'T LOOK BACK: Bruce Springsteen Collectors Items 1974-1980 (PUD Records PUD P 4234): A single bootleg of random, yet interesting collection of studio outtakes and rare live performance. This bootleg has been mentioned on this blog. Check here for the details. This copy is the fifth(!) in my collection but happily, no duplication of the sleeve color (this time dense blue) and pressed from the original plates.
  
  
• WEMBLEY STADIUM (Spacematic Records 198-50704): A Swedish 4-LP capturing the famous Fourth of July 1985 concert in London. One of the best BORN IN THE U.S.A. tour bootleg in the vinyl era, notably for the sound quality and the show itself with Little Steven as a guest appearance for this special occasion. The bootleg column on the Backstreets magazine (#16, Spring 1986 issue) selects it as No. 1 among Top 10 Bruceleg titles released since the beginning of the tour in 1984 (the column is entitled Live album recap and written by Danny Martins). Unfortunately, this copy is missing the accompanying bonus 7" single.

Obviously, the US seller was not an expert on vinyl collectibles generally, and particularly on Springsteen items, but rather selling whatever could be sold, as far as I overviewed his/her auctioned items that ranged from antiques to electronics, designer apparel, accessories, and more. I guess this lot might be consigned to the auction by a hard collector in East Coast, for the reason we of course don't know, to this utility eBay seller. Summing up, I am really satisfied with this volume purchase that puts together various collector-oriented vinyl releases of both official and unofficial items, with at least two legitimate records of high collecting value. Thus, this volume lot of auction is easily placed as the Top acquisition this year. Best wishes for good health and happy hunting in the coming year!

Collecting log: Cover Me UK shaped picture disc single

A bi-color sticker on the PVC bag holding the picture
disc. Note that not all copies come with stickers.

This is the final of the three consecutive collecting logs on “cheap buy” in my recent trip to Tokyo. Yet another I picked up there was Cover Me/Jersey Girl (live) (CBS WA 4662), one of the three shaped picture disc singles from the album BORN IN THE U.S.A. that were commercially available in England. This limited edition is the second release out around September or October 1984 (the receipt of the imported first copy I obtained dated 11th October, 1984), following the pink caddy-shaped picture disc of Dancing In The Dark/Pink Cadillac (CBS WA 4436) and followed by the US flag-shaped I'm On Fire/Born In The U.S.A. (CBS WA 6342). The original pressing has a printing error on the rear side, listing both incorrect playing speed (45 rpm) which is blacked out and the correct speed (33 ⅓ rpm) underneath it. The re-releases correct this error (see the picture below).

The B-side Jersey Girl (live) is shorter and truncated when
compared to the originally released version on the regular 7"
single, even though the running time is indicated as 6 min
15 sec (that is another misprint on this disc).

Shaped into a cut-out figure of the "jumping in the air" pose which is shot by Annie Leibovitz, it was in fact a cool collector's item that had never been seen before. The disc itself is 5 inches in diameter with his arm, leg, and guitar extending beyond the edge, which comes in a clear thick polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bag, together with an unfolded cardboard paper for a display plinth (that is exclusive to this and not available to the other two shaped picture discs). The Backstreets magazine (number 12, Winter 1985) reports it as "the coolest item released in the last few months" and that "it had limited distribution and was not imported into the US in quantity, keeping the collectible prices very high". Therefore, it was probably the most sought-after among the three picture disc releases, and one of the most popular collectibles in the mid-1980s when the album and the supporting 1984-85 world tour generated a furor around the globe.

From left to right: The original misprint pressing, the latest acquisition (showing the least discoloration among the three); and the first purchase back in October 1984 still with the price tag of 1,300 JPY on the upper left corner of the PVC bag (the receipt is also shown).

However, the praise stops here: As you already know, many circulating copies suffer from the ugly "tea-staining," the phenomenon that picture discs get discolored into brown, obviously due to some kinds of chemical reaction that

The rear side of the discs and unfolded cardboard papers
(from left to right; the same sequence as above)

occur inside the clear parts of the disc. This really unfavorable chemical event is fairly common to shaped picture discs pressed and manufactured mainly in the 1980s for various artists. Unfortunately, these Springsteen's releases represent one of the most frequently cited examples of the tea-stain development, although this does not affect playing at all. It seems that the Cove Me picture single is the most seriously affected by the phenomenon whereas the Pink Cadillac-shaped disc is the least. I own one copy each of the other two picture disc singles, and in fact, the caddy-shaped disc still maintains its intact appearance totally free of the stain while the flag-shaped one has discolored to a "tea stain" effect almost fully.

The misprinted and corrected running speed printed on the
rear side of the original and re-released copies. Inset shows
an enlarged image to visualize the hidden error (modified 
partly to reveal the misprint by enhancing transparency)

Before this purchase, I owned two copies for this particular shaped picture disc. Unexceptionally, they already developed discoloration years ago seriously and mildly. As shown above pictures, one copy has almost gone that ugly browned while the other also started showing noticeable signs of tea staining. When I first noticed the symptom, I could not simply believe it because since the purchase, these copies had been properly stored in dark under sealed conditions, avoiding high humidity and temperature fluctuations. This unpleasant situation, and a relatively cheap pricing (864 JPY including consumption tax), led me to getting the third disc on this occasion, as the on-sale copy looked still in very good condition.

The strange parts for this deterioration of clear vinyl are that (1) not all copies have this problem and as shown here, the extent of brownish discoloration significantly differs among circulating copies; and (2) when it happens, it happens gradually or rather suddenly no matter how the care is paid for. The real cause still seems to remain obscure but there are several candidates for causal factors that are (i) inherent to clear vinyl material (e.g., chemical composition), (ii) process-associated (e.g., overcook or pressed inappropriately at too hot temperatures), and (iii) storage environment or condition (light, temperatures, relative humidity, oxygen penetration, and volatile and/or adherent chemicals from a PVC bag). Although not sure, I think that tea staining could result from certain unwanted reactions between chemical components and oxygen contaminated, which would further accelerate under inadequate manufacturing conditions such as overcooking. Environmental factors could, if any, have only minor effects because the proper storage seems little effective on preventing the development of the phenomenon (as is the case of my collection shown here). So far, I have never seen any report or article on effective ways of suppressing the progression of discoloration on these shaped picture disc singles.