My First Vinyl Bootlegs (continued)

As told in the last blog, 34 years ago, I obtained the following titles as my first bootleg records.

• THE JERSEY DEVIL: Ragamuffin Gunner (2LP, TMQ 5468)
• YOU CAN TRUST YOUR CAR TO THE MAN WHO WEARS THE STAR (2LP, TAKRL 24903)
• DON'T LOOK BACK: Collectors Item 1974-1980 (LP, PUD 104)

I well remember that I wouldn't try to listen to these records for a while after the very first play. This was simply because the sound quality was intolerant for me who was a novice to these underground products. Once getting accustomed to bootleg sound, however, I became absorbed in these live recordings (especially those performed with radically different arrangements such as Incident, Tenth Avenue, and For You, and stunning covers of I Want You and Up On The Roof). Moreover, I became gradually interested in the amateurish appearance of printed or slick covers (as a non-US resident, I had long wondered the album title and front sleeve drawing of YOU CAN TRUST ... until I obtained the relevant information on the Texaco company through internet search).

Cheapest homemade labels I have ever seen: from left to right, Side 4 of THE JERSEY DEVIL, Side 4 of YOU CAN
TRUST ... and SIde 1 of  DON'T LOOK BACK. The original labels are shown below for comparison.

However, it didn't take long before I knew that, like official releases, bootleg LPs were often subjected to a second or further round of pressing or fell victim to other bootleggers for repackaging or copying. It didn't also take longer for a beginner collector to realize that, unfortunately, these LP copies represented a typical example of such crummy reproduction. Blinded By The Light (P. Humphries & C. Hunt,1985) was and even nowadays is a useful guidebook for vinyl bootlegs released up to early 1985. Although overall sloppy production of the sleeves and record labels (as pictured above) strongly suggested, the information provided by this book helped much identifying these releases as piracy pressings (I got to know the original title of this version of THE JERSEY DEVIL, namely HOT COALS FROM FIERY FURNACE, from this book).

A highly priced used copy of the original HOT COALS FROM ... advertised as "ultra rare."
From a mail-order catalog of a Japanese bootleg dealer around 1986.

Obviously, as I already got into unofficial releases, this led me to seek out the original pressing for each title (so, my collecting career began with vinyl bootlegs rather than official rare pressings). Before the internet era, however, it was very difficult for non-US residents to locate where original bootlegs were available, especially those for the older two (HOT COALS and YOU CAN TRUST) because they were produced in West Coast back in early 1976. Besides, they had been repressed and piracy-copied over and over since their first appearance. Even if luckily I found an original copy in a domestic record shop, generally I had to pay a lot of money (see an example above). So, it was after many years that I finally obtained these two classic vinyl bootlegs in their original form.
— To be continued.

My First Vinyl Bootlegs

Still keeping my first purchases in 1981, although these
are not original but mediocre pirated copies

It was a summer midnight in 1981. When I was listening to my favorite AM radio program, the female DJ suddenly and briefly introduced information from an anonymous listener reporting Springsteen's bootlegs that were right in stock at a major import record shop in my habitation area. Although I never had the experience of listening to any bootleg records back then, I already knew about such famous titles as 'E' TICKET and FIRE ON THE FINGERTIPS through media articles featuring the lawsuit against the Californian bootleggers. As I owned all the official album releases (up to THE RIVER) at that point, this information was enough to stimulate my ever-growing interest in these underground releases.

So that weekend, I went to the shop and asked the shopkeeper what bootleg titles were available. While explaining to me that some box sets were already sold out, he showed me three remaining titles that came in the crudest LP sleeves I had ever seen. Nevertheless, I bought them all without hesitation because, whatever they were, I had decided to do so since I heard of these bootlegs on the radio. This was how it all started. I still keep these vinyl LPs even though I have not listened to them for decades, and I know they are worthless pirate copies.
— To be continued.

BORN IN THE U.S.A. Japanese test pressing LP w/ flyers (and advanced promo cassette tape)

Despite the fair condition, this test press sold extremely well
(from actual auction)

Auction watching continues. Regularly checking Yahoo! Japan auction for rare Springsteen collectibles, I saw another case of high competition that has ended early this week (July 13) with the incredible final bid of over $500. The auctioned item was a test pressing copy of Japanese BORN IN THE U.S.A. LP (CBS/SONY 28AP 2850) in a white plain cover with the small custom sticker. The total bid volume was 29 from six competitors (again I was just watching, not joining the auction). Interestingly, at least two bidders seem to have joined the auction of the custom promo-only THE "LIVE" cassette tape which was mentioned on the last blog (July 12).

Playing my favorite sequence of
No Surrender / Bobby Jean / I'm Goin' Down

According to the Lost In The Flood collector's website, this record is "super rare," and admittedly rarer than the aforementioned promotional THE "LIVE" cassette tape. However, I had never predicted this outcome because, as you can see, there are lots of stains and blots on the white LP sleeve that could be evaluated in good condition, at best (if it were just plain white, it could be replaced but there is a custom sticker on it). Even worse, the auctioned copy was not a complete set as it did not come with anything but the vinyl disc, which certainly decreases the value of this particular copy; the test pressing LP should contain at least three papers: stapled two sheets of xerox copies of the Japanese liner note (the same as the one available in the regular LP copies), a two-sided brown/black flyer advertising the album, and a one-sided red/yellow/black sheet announcing the lead-off 7" single Dancing In The Dark (CBS/SONY 07SP 810) from the album. Although not sure, the lyric sheet might have been included as well (which is not found in my set). The matrix numbers of the test pressing are identical to those of the sample copies and regular first pressing.

The custom sticker on the white plain sleeve is also used for the advanced promo cassette package, the fact which would explain at least in part why the sticker size is rather small (so that it fits a generic cassette case).