Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: 'E' TICKET, its very limited first edition, also known as the advanced release (Part 2 of 5)This article supplements and follows up on the previous posts on this bootleg in October 2014.

A copy with serial number #20 was recently auctioned on eBay (left). It looks very similar to mine numbered #21 (right) and #27 (not shown; the pictures on 10/12/2014 and 06/01/2024), which hold a special place in my vinyl Bruceleg collection. When I obtained the two copies from someone who resided in California nearly three decades ago, he explained these as an advanced pressing of this all-time classic bootleg of Springsteen. The left image is courtesy of and used with permission from HiFi Dojo (eBay seller).

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: 'E' TICKET, its very limited first edition, also known as the advanced release (Part 1 of 5)This article supplements and follows up on the previous posts on this bootleg in October 2014.

The clipping of a Japanese magazine (wherein the reported title can be translated as "Bruce Springsteen ran out of patience against bootlegging") was probably taken from an October 1979 issue of an FM radio/music magazine (I'm not sure, as only the clipping has been kept with me).  Mostly based on the relevant articles from Billboard (July 29, 1979) and Rolling Stone (September 6, 1979), the Japanese magazine reports that Springsteen and his record company sued the bootleggers with distribution networks in California (i.e., Vicki Vinyl and her partners-in-crime, though their names were not given), mentioning this studio-outtake album as one of the four bootleg records they manufactured (see inset, which can be translated as follows: "Four bootleg albums of Springsteen were made, including the famous E TICKET," where "Four" refer to PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE, FIRE, and LIVE IN THE PROMISED LAND, besides this). I remember I felt somewhat strange that the anonymous writer of the report described "E" TICKET as "famous," given the magazine's wide target readership (covering all music categories, including classical music) and the issue's publication year (1979; Springsteen was not so popular and widely known in Japan until his smash hit of Hungry Heart in 1980). It must have been famous only among bootleg collectors...

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).

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: ALL THOSE YEARS — unofficial but the first retrospective release of a supectacular 10-LP box collection (Part 3 of 3)

One of the ten white label test pressing discs of the
ultimate Bruceleg. Shown is Side Two of Disc One,
as indicated by the matrix number "SR 112," hand-
marked on the plain label and engraved on the vinyl
deadwax (not in my possession). Photos provided
courtesy of hrubesh.

 

"As the man behind many older bootlegs, including All Those Years, one has to be impressed with the sincerity and integrity of Mr. Dane* as a bootlegger."
(unsigned article,1989) Bootleg Compact Discs: An exclusive investigation into illegal CDs. Backstreets Magazine, Number 29, excerpted from p. 16.
*Pseudonym for an anonymous member of the Italian Great Dane Records label who was interviewed by the magazine for the article when he participated at the Austin Record Convention, Texas, in the Spring of 1989. Needless to say, the label purportedly released the first known Bruceleg CD (i.e., YOU MEAN SO MUCH TO ME) early that year.

"Great Dane consists of a group of collectors. We select artists using our 'heart', [and] we select our production considering three things: popularity of the artist, quality of available tapes and the sales potential. There's nothing original in this, except that we consider Europe as our market."
Clinton Heylin (1995) Chapter 17. It was less than twenty years ago ... In: Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry, excerpted from p. 310, St. Martin's Press (New York).

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: ALL THOSE YEARS — unofficial but the first retrospective release of a supectacular 10-LP box collection (Part 2 of 3)

"You certainly love Bruce Springsteen and his music. That's sure because only true lovers can buy a ten record set; this album has been made for guys like you. So we can avoid talking about how great he is, and how good his songs are: we both know. Here we want to introduce to you these records, that, of course, are the results of a deep passion and lengthy work. They contain recordings from twelve years of Springsteen's career, trying to cover every tour he has made."
Quoted from the preface of the booklet included in ALL THOSE YEARS.

As I wrote in the last blog (02/23/2024), my financial status as a university student did not allow me to purchase this magnificent release when I first saw it was out in 1984.  Undoubtedly, a 10-LP bootleg was a surprising and impressive release in its volume alone, and the concept every hard-core collector can share was well-represented by the accompanying 20-page booklet. To be honest, however, I did not become engrossed in this box too much initially because of the extraordinarily high price and because I much preferred live bootlegs of a whole or nearly complete single concert (just like the Official Live Archive series) to those of compilations from various locations. The latter reason also mainly explains why I wouldn't say I liked the official live retrospective box released in 1986 (see 11/21/2019).