THE RIVER Gate-fold sleeve 2LP: South African and Zimbabwean records

A few additional notes on the South African pressing and its relation to the possible Zimbabwean release. 

Postulated company logo and name on the rear sleeves
that might identify country of manufacture
(right top, South African; right bottom, Zimbabwean)

On the South African LP: Neither label nor sleeve indicates as to where the record is pressed. However, there is a logo character on the sleeve that seems to identify the South African pressings of vinyl records. On the bottom right-hand corner of the back sleeve is a blue-colored logo "interpak", possibly referring to the name of a printing service company in that country (not confirmed, but Google search suggested so), although the meaning of the accompanied number ("110") is totally unknown. To support this, the logo is also found on the rear sleeves of the South African LP pressings of various Pink Floyd albums that are released from the CBS label (this info is taken from here).

Seller's compliments?

On the Zimbabwean LP: To the best of my knowledge, there has been no solid evidence for the official release of Springsteen records in Zimbabwe. Nevertheless, on the previous post on Sep. 20, I mentioned the possibility of the gate-fold LP release from Zimbabwe as I've seen what was advertised as the copy auctioned off on eBay (only once, though). Although I am still not sure whether the double sleeve LP (or even the official release) really exists, I do own the single sleeve issue that was obtained from a Zimbabwean seller [By the way, in the postal package of the record, this seller enclosed a 10 billion bill of Zimbabwean dollars (10,000,000,000 ZWD) which, of course, has been devalued and worthless due to hyperinflation that hit this country during 2008-2009].

The catalog number (CBS AGP 87/88) is the same as the South African's. The sleeve is apparently made from recycle board, which according to the seller, is the norm for African records. Mostly due to this customary practice, African sleeves have never been as glossy as other sleeves and are more prone to wear. Interestingly, the seller also noted that many of African records from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Rhodesia, are currently being recycled and made into handbags and other goods, which makes these LP pressings even rarer.

The labels of Disc 2/Side 4 of the South African (left) and
Zimbabwean (right) records. Shown in the bottom is the
misprinted second track on the Zimbabwean LP label.

Overall, the record label and sleeve are very similar to, but distinct from, those of the South African copy, suggesting that this is not a cheap recycle of the leftover stock from the neighboring country. Based on the matrix number and inscription, the vinyl discs seem not to have been pressed there but were probably imported (or diverted?) from South Africa. Alternatively, the LP might have been manufactured in South Africa for export to Zimbabwe. These scenarios are not unlikely taking into consideration that the two African states have at least geographically close relationship. Below are some details of what I observed with the Zimbabwean LP in comparison to the South African release.

1. Both Zimbabwean and South African discs adopt the sunburst CBS label on which "Gramophone Records" is mentioned. However, as shown in the picture, the label design and description noticeably differ each other. 
2. The matrix numbers are identical on Side 1 (PAL 36855 SAF F27) and Side 4 (PAL 36856 SAF F30) between these two African releases, and differ only slightly on Side 2 and Side 3 (for both the sides: South African, PAL 36856 SAF F27; Zimbabwean, PAL 36856 SAF F26).
3. The rear sleeve design of the Zimbabwean LP is the same as that of the South African release except for the following two points: (1) The track list is printed on the upper left corner; (2) The "interpak" logo is not found on the bottom right corner. Instead, a white small square sticker is pasted saying "Belmont Printers" (see the picture above), which seems to be a Zimbabwean company according to the Google search. No idea about what a large "4A" means.
4. Like the South African issue, the Zimbabwean release has two printing errors: one being the same as the South African's rear sleeve misprint credit ("Garry Talent") while the other a different typo on the Side 4 label, erroneously listing the second track as "The Price You Can Pay" (another example of this song being misprinted is found on the record label of the Brazilian LP that says "The Price You Play").

Rear sleeve of the Zimbabwean LP with track listing (left)
and that of the South African (right) without it.

Though looking similar, as noted above, the record labels and sleeve of the Zimbabwean album (the single sleeve in my possession) are appreciably distinguishable from those of the South African. From these facts and observations, I think that the single sleeve release is confirmatory but the double jacket release remains to be documented. At present, I cannot deny the possibility that the South African copy was recycled for making the Zimbabwean version of the double sleeve LP.

From the following posts, I am planning to write about classic vinyl bootlegs from my collection. Topics on the official releases including THE RIVER and others will return sometime in future.

THE RIVER Gate-fold sleeve 2LP: the South African release

With respect to album artwork and design, the South African pressing (CBS AGP 87/88) of THE RIVER album shows some differences from the other double jacket version such as Hong Kong and Israeli issues, and ordinary single pocket releases like the US and UK albums. The following summarize what I have spotted that are unique to this release.

The gate-fold sleeves of THE RIVER released in Hong
Kong (top), Israel (middle) and South Africa (bottom)

1. Aside from the outer front sleeve, all the other three sides of outer and inner gate-fold sleeve are noticeably blue-tinted (see the previous post on Sep. 20 for the inside gate-fold image). 
2. The spine is uniquely white whereas that of all the other releases is colored blue. 
3. The Gothic font used on the jacket is apparently different from that of the other releases. 
4. The outer rear sleeve, which normally features the track listing in almost all the other releases, instead displays the album credits that are otherwise found on the fold-out lyric insert. This coincides with the observation that the South African set probably does not include the lyric sheet originally. The album tracks are printed inside the gate-fold sleeve. So, the track information is not available unless the double jacket is opened. It is noted that there is a variant issue with the track information on the outer rear sleeve. This issue is pasted on the rear with a white sticker (10 x 14 cm) listing the song titles for the individual sides.  
5. Curiously, the labels and sleeve make no direct reference to country of manufacture. According to the labels on each wax, this release is "MARKETED AND DISTRIBUTED BY GRAMOPHONE RECORDS CO. (PTY.) LTD."
6. There are at least two misprinting errors in this release. Side 1 label lists the second track as "Sherre Darling." The rear sleeve credits "Garry Talent" as bass player. 

Left: Different rear sleeve display (left, South African; right, Hong Kong). Upper right: Spines of the South African (upper) and Hong Kong (lower) sleeves. Lower right: The South African releases with (left) and without (right) a sticker listing track information.

Found on the run-off groove wax on each side are nothing special, carrying machine-stamped "MASTERED BY CAPITOL" and "KP" inscription which are common to most vinyl pressings of this double LP, in addition to hand-etched matrix numbers with the possible South African-specific code "SAF" (for example, "PAL 36855 SAF F27" on Side 1 matrix). The catalog number (AGP87/88) that is printed on the labels and sleeve is not stamped or etched on the dead wax area.

Left: Different font used for listing Side 1 tracks printed on the left upper corner of the inner
gate-fold sleeve (left: Hong Kong; Right, South African). Right: "SHERRE" misprint on Side 1 label.

Most vinyl records in South Africa were presumably pressed in a small run, because targeted consumers were limited to certain classes of people there. Although this South African pressing looks pale a little compared to the Hong Kong double jacket release in terms of product quality (no lyric sheet, thinner sleeve paper, etc.), in my opinion, the above-mentioned facts and observations certainly make it rare and worthwhile from a collecting viewpoint.

THE RIVER Gate-fold sleeve 2LP: the Hong Kong release (continued)

Machine-stamped matrix number on Side A of Disc 1 of Hong 
Kong (upper) and Japanese (lower) releases

As described in the last post, I had suspected for long the authenticity of THE RIVER Hong Kong release and even considered it as the piracy product cannibalizing the Japanese records. In fact, the Hong Kong vinyl discs are almost NOT distinguishable from the Japanese ones. For instance, shown right is the matrix number stamped on Side A of Disc 1 that looks identical between the two releases. The same is also true for the other three sides of double LP, which most likely signifies the Japanese origin of these Hong Kong vinyls.

If the Hong Kong release is genuine, how could this be explained? I recently read an interview article with an Ex-executive of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), who joined at the foundation of the company in 1968 and has retired in 2002. Early in his career, he worked at the CBS/Sony Hong Kong Office and reminisced in the interview about back then. According to him, since the establishment of the joint venture (i.e., CBS/Sony Records Inc.) between Sony Inc. (Japan) and Columbia Broadcasting System Inc. (current CBS Inc., USA), it had been the Japan side that held marketing right in the Far East countries including Hong Kong. So, the staff at the Hong Kong Office had to arrange the import of vinyl records pressed in Japan, but not anywhere else, for albums that were to be released there by this music label. From his interview, it is evident that there were no CBS/Sony vinyl records, at least back then, that had been pressed in Hong Kong, and therefore it's no wonder that the vinyl records of the Hong Kong set have Japanese origin.

Then to look for a proof for this, I have made close re-examination of the dead wax matrix codes, and found a small signature implying that these Hong Kong discs are indeed Japan-pressing for export. Industrial products made in Japan, including vinyl records, are often marked "JIS", a three letter acronym that stands for "Japanese Industrial Standards." JIS logo has long been used as a mark affixed to products that are produced at the government-authorized factories in Japan following the standards. This logo is found on the dead wax of Sides A and C of Discs 1 and 2, respectively, of both Hong Kong and Japanese releases (Note: Machine-stamped JIS mark on these vinyl records is the old one that had been used until September 2008 and differs slightly in style from the currently used symbol).

Hand-scratched "JIS" mark on the dead wax of Side A, Disc 1 of the
Hong Kong vinyl (left) and the intact mark on the Japanese disc (right).

What is interesting, comparing Hong Kong and Japanese discs, is that JIS marks are crossed out by a double line on both Discs 1 and 2 from the Hong Kong set while the symbols remain intact on the Japanese vinyls. The following are what I guess to interpret this: (1) CBS/Sony Japan has made at least two master or mother plates for pressing this double album, from which one was used to press the vinyl records for export to Hong Kong; (2) For international export, a JIS symbol on a virgin master or mother plate must be scratched out before being used for vinyl pressing, because the pressed records were to be released commercially as Hong Kong products. I do not know other examples where Japan-pressed vinyl records of Springsteen are officially used for the release in countries other than Japan. Whether or not my speculation sounds likely, there is no reason now for me to be suspicious about the Hong Kong release any further.