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 The above photos show what I consider rare Japanese collectibles for this album: a withdrawn sample CD and an advance cassette tape placed on either the advance pressing (left) or the sample LP (right) — the cassette and both LPs date back to original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 For me, they include the advance promotion-only LP and its cassette version (see 07/18/2015), as well as the withdrawn CD (Sony Music Entertainment SRCS 8984) from the second batch of Japan-exclusive paper sleeve reissues planned for fall 1999, which is believed to have been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. Another 
example (not shown) 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, expressing skepticism about whether these premium reissues truly offered an 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 set. 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 and dynamic range is clear 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.

— Continued to Addendum / 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.

Collecting log: The first-ever CBS/Sony promotion-only compilation disc to feature Springsteen in Japan

Since this Springsteen track from THE RIVER was never released as
a single in the U.S., it is marked as "Hit-Bound"—a term generally
used in the music industry for songs with strong hit potential that
have not yet officially entered the main music charts. The bottom
image was from the rear sleeve.

While I'm not particularly enthusiastic about collecting various artists' compilation releases, I find it hard to pass up vinyl albums that feature the Boss—especially those intended for promotional use only and released before BORN IN THE U.S.A. The other day, I came across one of these LPs at a local used record store—an old copy released over 40 years ago from CBS/Sony's monthly compilation series ALL AMERICAN TOP 100, which ran from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Although I was aware of this promo disc (previously mentioned on 09/19/2015 and 09/17/2017), I had never had the chance to dig it up in-store or find it in an online auction. So, I grabbed this relative rarity just for one coin (= 500 JPY).

The Japanese 7" single, issued on March 21, 1981, is highly collectible
not only for its unique Side-A selection but also for its sample copies,
which are the last known white-label promo vinyl disc pressed in
Japan for Springsteen's releases.

The copy I found (CBS/Sony XAAP 90022) was Volume 34, the May 1981 issue, which included one Springsteen track, I Wanna Marry You—known as a Japan-exclusive 7" single from THE RIVER (CBS/Sony 07SP 525). The decision to release Fade Away (Columbia 11-11431; see 07/18/2016 and 09/17/2017) as the second single in the U.S. was somewhat odd and unexpected, leading to alternate choices in Europe (i.e., Sherry Darling) and Japan. As a result, this slower pop ballad was also selected for two other noteworthy Japan-only promotional releases: ultra-scarce Killer Tracks From The River 12" EP (CBS/Sony XDAP 93030; see 09/19/2017) and gorgeous gate-folded CBS/SONY POPULAR BEST 9 LP (CBS/Sony XDAP 93031-2; see 09/17/2017).

Left: The first and second compilation albums (YALC-49 and -54) that include Springsteen were housed in a very thin, generic company sleeve the CBS/Sony Records used back then. As usual for promotion-only releases, no OBI is included.
Center: The company sleeve specifically for this promo-only series bears a field for entering the issuing date (expressed in the Japanese Imperial year and month) and a "For In-Store Use Only" notification, both printed in sky blue on one side of the sleeve (upper). However, neither of these appears on the other side (lower).
Right: These two compilations dedicate one side to international artists and the other to domestic performers. Here, the label for the latter is shown on the second compilation (YALC-54). The first and last songs listed became nationwide hits in Japan nearly half a century ago (when I was an elementary school boy)—so popular that I can still sing both!

That brings me to a minor but intriguing question—what CBS/Sony compilation album was the first to feature a Springsteen track? As all you collectors know, the first Springsteen LP released in Japan was THE WILD, THE INNOCENT & THE E STREET SHUFFLE (CBS/Sony SOPL-239; see 04/26/2015, 04/29/2015, and 11/12/2020), which came out in March 1974. However, the first 7" single release didn't arrive until November 1975: the title track from BORN TO RUN (CBS/Sony SOPB 334; see 01/28/2024 and 02/03/2024). Accordingly, the first-ever compilation album to include a Springsteen track was issued around that time, bearing the catalog number YALC-49. The album title was provided only in Japanese, roughly translating to POWERFUL HIGHLIGHT EDITION: For In-Store Use Only.

International artists and track titles are exclusively written in Japanese on the Side-A label on both compilation albums. The years 50 and 51, which are printed on the labels and precede respective months [November (=11) and March (=3)],  represent the Japanese Imperial year (= Showa 50 and 51). The Showa era corresponds to the reign of Emperor Showa (Hirohito), which lasted from 1926 to 1989. Thus, "50 [followed by a Kanji character meaning 'year'] 11 [three Kanji characters for 'month' and 'new releases']" refers to "November 1975 New Reelases," and "51 [a Kanji] 3 [Kanjis]" refers to "March 1976 New Releases." The middle image was from a recent Japanese 2CD/2DVD set released in October, 2023 (Sony Records Int'l  SICP 31655~8).

As already mentioned briefly (see 04/23/2023), the tracklist for this compilation appears only on the record labels and is written entirely in Japanese. The only identifiable information is the catalog number of the single (printed as "SOPB-334 A"), which makes it difficult for foreign collectors who are unfamiliar with Japanese to recognize that this otherwise unremarkable LP features Springsteen on Side A / Track 4. Born To Run was also featured on two subsequent promo-only compilations: POPULAR "BEST 101" Volume 1 (CBS/Sony YAPC 77; see 12/17/2016) and ROCK BEST 100 (CBS/Sony YAPC 105), released in 1976 and 1978, respectively. However, the track was truncated on both records and significantly shortened (POPULAR, 1 min 13 sec; ROCK, 2 min 57 sec). By contrast, the 1975 sampler disc contained the full-length recording (4 min 30 sec) despite cramming ten tracks, including this one, onto Side A (see the image left immediately above)

Following the release of POWERFUL HIGHLIGHT EDITION in late 1975, another promotion-only compilation featuring Born to Run (though just over one-minute fragment), POPULAR "BEST 101" Volume 1 was out in 1976 (shown at the lower left of the left image). Once again, the track listing appears only in Japanese on the rear sleeve and record labels (middle and right, respectively, indicated by green lines). Springsteen's inclusion is evident only inside the accompanying booklet (shown in the upper half of the left image), which briefly introduces him and his third album, along with relevant pictures (see 12/17/2016).

The second single, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (CBS/Sony SOPB-350), was selected for inclusion in the March 1976 issue of the promo-only compilation series (CBS/Sony YALC-54), appearing as Side A/Track 9 (no edits, even though this side also tightly packed ten tracks). Just for your information, below are the tracklists for the two compilations, selecting international artists and groups from CBS/Sony and Epic/Sony labels (Side A only, as Side B is devoted exclusively to domestic pop and folk singers; see the right image of the third photo from the top):

ROCK BEST 100, a 1978-year issue and
probably the third promo-only compilation
containing BORN TO RUN (albeit a three-
minute truncated version), finally lists its
original English title in a small print on the
white label and back sleeve. The green-
colored front sleeve is found in one of
the images immediately above.

YALC-49 (released on November 1975)

1. My Teenage Heart  Bay City Rollers
2. Take Good Care Of Yourself  The Three Degrees
3. Gone At Last  Paul Simon & Phoebe Snow
4. Born To Run  Bruce Springsteen
5. Hello Mary Lou  Lougins ＆ Messina
6. Rock N' Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)    Mac Davis
7. Do It Any Way You Wanna  People's Choice
8. Brazil  The Ritchie Family
9. 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (Blow Your Whistle)  Gary Toms Empire
10. I Only Have Eyes For You  Art Garfunkel

YALC-54 (released on March 1976)

1. Ginza Red Oui Oui  Dave
2. Africano  Earth, Wind & Fire
3. Sing A Song  Earth, Wind & Fire
4. Soul Sacrifice  Santana
5. Black Magic Woman  Santana
6.  Samba Pa Ti  Santana
7.  Give And Take  Santana
8.  Chicago Bus Stop (Ooh, I Love It)  The Salsoul Orchestra
9. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out  Bruce Springsteen
10. Saturday Night  Bay City Rollers

As of the day this blog post was published, neither of these albums had been cataloged in the Discogs database.

Collecting log: My Lucky Day (when I happened to get a rare sample record)

In Japan, Brilliant Disguise, the first single off the album TUNNEL OF LOVE in 1987, was released twice commercially as a 7" format: one as a standard two-track disc (backed w/ Lucky Man) and another as a low-budget, one-track reissue (CBS SONY 07SP 1070 and 04SP 1075, respectively). To boost the sale of these singles and the album, CBS/SONY distributed three promo/sample 7" counterparts (the same catalog numbers as aforementioned and XDSP 93096). Two of them have become highly sought-after collectibles, one solely for its rarity (center; this post) and another not only for its scarcity but also for the unique promotion-only sleeve design (left; see also 11/20/2016).

No, no, this rather short post is not about a track commercially released online as the second single from WORKING ON A DREAM, an album released in 2009 with mixed reviews (BTW, I own only a few collectibles from this album). Since the demise of the Coronavirus pandemic, I have been able to visit a few second-hand record stores in my local area regularly (about once every month). Obviously, net auctions and online shopping were not enough to enjoy hunting vinyl records and satisfy my interest and inquiring mind as a collector. What was lacking was an exciting and exceptional moment to visit a store onsite, pick up a vinyl record, and, luckily, find an unexpected bargain at a low price.

"2024-04-04 (April 4, 2024; see the receipt)" was my lucky day.
The only distinguishing marker between promo and stock copies
of this rarity is a "Sample disc" indication in Kanji above the right-
side company logo on the SIDE A label. No Japanese words that
refer to "Promotion only" or "Not for sale" are printed on the label
and grocery bag-style sleeve.

This happened last month when I went to one of the regular stops (the same used record store mentioned previously; see 02/23/2020). Just then, the store was selling a bunch of 7" singles and EPs at a discount. Among hundreds of domestic and imported discs, I dug out two "regular release-looking" copies of Brilliant Disguise one-sided single (CBS/SONY 04SP 1075), known as a Japan-only low-budget 7" release with no B-side track. Both were sold for one coin [i.e., 500 Japanese Yen (JPY)], which equaled three bucks and a little more and cost 100 JPY higher than the retail price (400 JPY) when originally released in 1987 (cf., the standard two-sided single with Lucky Man was sold for 700 JPY). I owned only one copy of this relatively limited edition, so there was no reason to miss the opportunity to get the two in fairly nice condition at a bargain price.

Sample and regular discs share the same
matrix number machine-stamped on
SIDE A (04S0-1075A1).

Then, to my surprise, one of them was found to be a sample copy, which was only recognized by a small, boxed three-letter Kanji character printed on the A-side label (the B-side is blank). The store staff probably was unaware of this or forgot to indicate it on the price tag because tons of 7" singles were for sale back then. As I already mentioned almost nine years ago (07/12/2015), this one-sided single has significantly enhanced its value in the collector's market solely because of its extreme rarity but nothing else, like the other two sample releases [i.e., sample copies for LIVE/1975-85 5-LP box (CBS/SONY 75AP 3300-3304; see 11/23/2020) and those for the BORN IN THE U.S.A. Master Sound reissue (CBS/SONY 30AP 2878)]. Just to mention a couple of examples (according to my previous post and Popsike; here), eBay sold it for $360 in 2015 with seven bids and even fetched $620 in 2022 with 22 bids! Simply unbelievable.

Many Japanese sample 7" copies have leaked from radio
stations. Such copies are generally stamped on their sleeves
to indicate some date (e.g., the airplay date), the location of
a radio station, or both. The pictured example reads "October
19, 1987, Osaka," where the year is shown in the Japanese
Calendar as "(Showa) 62." The release date of this single in
Japan was October 10, 1987.

Certainly, the above three examples are seldom seen in the market even here and are considered to have been pressed in quite limited quantity compared to many other sample releases. However, they are generally not my prime collecting targets since there are no substantial differences from regular issues. In my view, these samples are like U.S. promo album copies in the 1980s (except those for THE RIVER; see 11/23/2016), which were, in fact, nothing but stock copies with a gold promo stamp on the rear sleeve. Just so you know, CBS/SONY released an advanced promo 7" for this first single cut from TUNNEL OF LOVE with a completely different cover artwork (CBS/SONY XDSP 93096; shown in the top image of this post), which truly deserves a top collectible among many Japanese promo pressings (for details, see 11/20/2016).

I have stopped adding new vinyl
releases to my collection after I
bought a copy of the double white
LP of GREATEST HITS (Sony
Records Int'l SIJP-1081/2), the
first Japanese vinyl pressing in 36
years since TUNNEL OF LOVE
in 1987.

Having said that, honestly, I can't deny that I'm feeling happy with the unexpected outcome of this purchase. The case was like winning the lottery, as I had no idea it was an extremely rare sample copy before purchasing it. While my collecting career has had several "lucky days" in the past (for instance, see 01/30/2020 and 05/14/2022), I'm greedy and eagerly await the next unexpected finding, which brings a unique joy and reminds me of the thrill of vinyl hunting.

P.S. By the way, I have some feelings about the recent compilation and cover albums pressed on a variety of colored vinyl, which have become a commonplace standard when it comes to releasing vinyl titles. I find them rather boring and uninspired, mainly because of the lack of new material. In addition, they are not so rare but not cheap (not even considering the recent Yen depreciation here). Surely, collecting them all in different colors is fun. Still, I can't help but think selling these kinds of duplicates is too much of a money-grabbing scheme, so I have refrained from buying any of the latest vinyl releases (and am just disappointed to know that the BORN IN THE U.S.A. 40th Anniversary Edition is slated for release as a single LP without any unreleased tracks and concert footage).

Collecting log: Born To Run / Backstreets Japanese 7-inch single with an unusual inner company sleeve (Part 1 of 2)

The two most unique picture inserts among the Japanese commercial 7-inch releases (CBS/SONY SOPB 334 and 07SP 511; shown are promotional issues) were reproduced for the front and rear sleeves of the extremely rare custom promotion-only 5-inch CD EP (SONY XDCS 93176) to support the sale of the GREATST HITS album in 1995 (SONY SRCS 7631).

While not a serious 7-inch collector, I've occasionally picked up domestic and imported discs, both online and on-site nearby, if I found them rare, interesting, bizarre, or cheap (such blog posts are put together here). As for such 7-inch singles, whether vinyl pressing or styrene molding (see, for example, 05/14/2016 and 02/23/2020 if interested in this topic), sleeve artwork constitutes a major part of collectors' interest. In this respect, many Japanese 7-inch are collectible, mostly because of the unique graphic treatments on picture sleeves using the Japanese writing system consisting of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

A recent cheap purchase [The River / Ramrod Dutch pressing (CBS A 1356)] featuring
a unique front picture sleeve (not shown). Whenever I get a 7-inch import, the first thing
to do is to clean the paper sleeve bag using pencil erasers (though stains and blots are
generally impossible to remove).

Japanese singles are also uncommon to the world standard in adopting a paper insert rather than a paper bag for graphical representation. Including custom promotion-only releases, most of Springsteen's singles on the CBS/SONY label were manufactured this way from the first Born To Run (SOPB 334) in 1975 to the last One Step Up (05SP 3017) in 1988, except for the following: Hungry Heart (07SP 511, reissued in the U.S.-style sleeve with an insert of Japanese lyric translation/liner note, upon the recall of the first edition), the promotion-only Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (XDSP 93026, in the custom-designed paper bag), Glory Days (07SP 896, a tri-folded insert), I'm Goin' Down (10SP 914, cardboard gatefold sleeve with five postcards), and two issues of Brilliant Disguise (07SP 1070, a double-folded insert; 04SP 1075, the one-sided single in the grocery-style paper bag).

The Japanese descriptions (rectangled in red) on the top of the sleeve mean something
like, "A paranormal phenomenon!? The album was ranked tenth in its first appearance
on the chart. A star was born who determines the fate of the future of rock music."
BORN TO RUN debuted on the Billboard album chart at the 84th position on Sept. 13,
1975, so the "tenth" must have referred to the chart ranking in Japan, such as on the
Oricon chart.

However, what I want to talk about here is not these picture inserts or sleeves. Due to the picture inserts, Japanese 7-inch discs generally came in a company sleeve. The use of such generic sleeves might have reduced the cost of manufacturing custom paper sleeves, which were specific to each single release for graphic design. Then, were there varieties in CBS/SONY company sleeves for Springsteen single releases? This question was inspired by a recent online auction here I've seen, where the auctioned Born To Run single was NOT accompanied by the standard company sleeve.

CBS/SONY's inner company sleeves in the early to mid-1970s. One of my
Born To Run copies came in an EPIC/SONY sleeve (lower left), probably
replacing its original sleeve during circulation in the second-hand market.

Japanese copies of the Born To Run single, originally pressed in 1975, have been an all-time popular 7-inch collectible worldwide, owing to the following three features: the first-ever Japanese single cut, an eye-catching vivid green Japanese writing on the picture insert, and the exclusive coupling with Backstreets on the B-side. Charles R. Cross, the founder and original editor of the Backstreets magazine, wrote in his book Backstreets — Springsteen: The Man and His Music (1989, Harmony Books, New York) that Japan was also the only country with the sense to issue "Born to Run" backed with "Backstreets," the strongest double A-sided single since "La Bamba"/"Donna."

Generally, CBS/SONY's singles released in the mid-1970s, including Born To Run and Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (SOPB 350), came in the company sleeves with white type/logo in the ocean-blue background. Then, they were replaced by those with orange type/logo in the white background around 1977, and from Prove It All Night (06SP 232) in the case of Springsteen's 7-inch singles, which continued to be used till the end of the vinyl era in Japan in the late 1980s. Before the ocean-blue sleeves, the company had used moss-green sleeves in the early 1970s. In my collection, the white-label promotional pressing came in an ocean-blue sleeve, whereas the regular discs are housed in either ocean-blue or moss-green sleeves, with one particular exception (not the yellow EPIC/SONY sleeve shown in the image immediately above).

— Continued to Part 2.