Collecting log: LAST AMERICAN HERO FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J., Japanese custom promotion-only compilation LP (reprise) — Information sheet originally included?

Never seen before this Japan-only extreme scarcity that is
accompanied with a 7-page info sheet from the company 
(CBS/SONY Japan)

Recently, this mega rare vinyl LP was up for a major Japanese auction site and the competition closed last weekend. The copy went to someone (not me!) who paid over $1,100 (129,500 JPY exactly) as a result of a cumulative total of 36 bids. It is interesting to note that this is the fourth copy of this custom promotion-only album auctioned off here that I saw less than a year ago. The first copy was put on auction last April in 2016 and the winning bid was 241,000 JPY with a cumulative total of 30 bids. The second one came out last June and was sold for 219,500 JPY, which involved total 58 bids. Late December last year, the third one was won for 193,000 JPY with total 44 bids. As far as I examined the images that were shown on the individual auction pages, these auctioned records were different, independent copies each other. I think this is quite a rare case that such an extreme scarcity suddenly emerged four times on the auction site within 10 months, taking into account the frequency by which it appeared on auction in the past and the limited copy number pressed back in 1978 (reportedly 100 copies, the unconfirmed number of which has been exported to the US; check the previous blog).

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.

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).

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

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

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

Collecting log: Secret Garden Dutch 12-inch Maxi single

During my recent official trip to Tokyo, I made a brief stop at a few branches of a famous chain store in Shinjuku that deals with a large number of used vinyl stocks for domestic and imported releases. Unfortunately, there were no exciting collectibles (to my standard) among some 50 or 60 Springsteen titles from all over the world. However, at least I did enjoy pretty much checking out what LP and single varieties were available, and consequently, I made several cheap and discounted purchases.

Two old promo-only "Not For Sale" compilation albums released in 1976 (YAPC 77) and 1987 (XDAP 93175) from CBS/SONY Japan include the truncated version of Born To Run and complete Brilliant Disguise, respectively. Shown left is the enlarged image of the short note for the Man and his 3rd LP featured in the accompanying booklet. Oddly, the 1976 compilation disc carries the regular labels back then, but not white ones, even though the catalog number begins with the custom promo-specific prefix "YAPC."