Collecting log: The Japanese original release of NEBRASKA LP. Was it really issued with a magnificent full-color poster? (Part 2 of 2)

A typical NEBRASKA ad in music
magazines in Japan came with a
catchphrase, "This is a personal
message to you from Bruce."

Among collectors, certain copies of Japan's original NEBRASKA LP (CBS/SONY 25AP 2440) have been highly sought-after because a collectors' bible, the Blinded By The Light book (P. Humphries & C. Hunt, 1985, Plexus, London), reports that the first 1000 copies were issued with a 24" x 36" color poster (exactly, A1 size: 23.4" x 33.1"). As explained in the previous post (09/18/2024), however, I have long been skeptical about this description.

Back when it was originally released in Japan in October 1982, many posters were not inserted into the LP sleeve but were handed in-store as a roll-up form to those who bought the album. Suppose there were poster-contained LP records in the order of a thousand copies instead of 100 or 10 copies only. If that were the truth, in my sense, we could have had many more chances to see or encounter such copies, at least here in Japan.

Collecting log: The Japanese original release of NEBRASKA LP. Was it really issued with a magnificent full-color poster? (Part 1 of 2)

Six-folded posters are available almost strictly as a set with the
album. In contrast, the rolled and unfolded posters (see the
image on 09/24/2017) generally circulate alone at auctions
and collectors' markets.

Japan is one of the great sources for vinyl and CD collectibles, not only for unique products of both regular and promotional releases but also for standard-issue variants (e.g., obi decoration and variation, graphic modification with Japanese characters, Japan-only booklets, etc.). However, there have been misunderstandings and insufficient information on some common and rare collectors' items. Let me start by mentioning a few notable instances that have already been featured in past blog posts. 

• The first vinyl edition of LIVE/1975-85 (CBS/SONY 75AP 3300-4) is often said to come out with a gold obi, so as the initial CD version (CBS/SONY 75DP 700-2) did, but the red is the first (see 11/23/2020). 
• It had long been unknown or unnoticed that the extremely rare, promotion-only Human Touch c/w Better Days 3" CD single (SONY XDEP 93043), also subtitled The Boss Is Back!!, was originally accompanied by a tri-fold insert with the twin album's info and lyrics, just because such insert is missing in most copies in circulation (see 05/19/2017).

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

"Another (fake)" advanced copy (upper)  differs from a
genuine copy (lower) in several respects.

Content-wise, the final post on the very first release of this classic bootleg focuses on a topic that may be rather unimportant or uninteresting to you: comparing it with another "ADVANCED PRESSING - E TICKET - COLLECTORS ITEM" that also came in a simple white cover with only the above title printed on it. For years, this release seemed (and still seems) to have caused confusion among bootleg collectors, which is still observed in online vinyl record databases and blog articles. An example is found in the relevant Discogs entry (see the image below) that describes it as being pressed in Germany and released in 1975!

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: 'E' TICKET, its very limited first edition, also known as the advanced release (Part 4 of 5)This article supplements and follows up on the previous posts on this bootleg in October 2014.

On June 23, 1979, the Billboard Issue reported a momentous event—the Largest Recording Seizure in Los Angeles ever: the confiscated bootlegs included "E" TICKET. However, the article (reported by Paul Grein) did not give the actual album title.

Arguably, "E" TICKET is one of the most famous and important releases in the history of Springsteen bootleg, emerging in the late 1970s and often pirated in the vinyl era. The sound quality is splendid as a bootleg, probably sourced from a demo cassette provided to a New York publisher in 1975 (see below). In addition, the bootleggers wisely avoided using a slick insert cover (the standard of bootleg back then) and borrowed a great outtake shot for DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (as you know, officially used for the front sleeve of the U.K. 12-inch single off THE RIVER; see 12/22/2019). So, the album sleeve was quite appealing, looking like an official product as if it followed DARKNESS, although the material was nothing related to this album. And don't forget that this release was one of those bootlegs that upset the man and the record company in 1979, leading to one of the most famous lawsuits against bootlegging in the history of the U.S. music industry.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: 'E' TICKET, its very limited first edition, also known as the advanced release (Part 3 of 5)This article supplements and follows up on the previous posts on this bootleg in October 2014.

"When vinyl records were ready, the sleeves were not.”
That was what I was told, explaining why these classic bootlegs
from the late 1970s existed in two forms: one simple and the
other looking like official products.

About thirty years ago, or in the mid-1990s, I obtained this renowned Bruceleg from the late 1970s in an unusual form—a bit inky, plain, simple sleeve—from someone in Southern California, where bootlegging activities were the most active in the 1970s. He told me that the very early pressings were not housed in that well-made, black-and white sleeve we know but came in a plain white cover on which the album title and artist name were stamped with a handwritten serial number. He continued this was because the vinyl discs were pressed before the sleeves were finished, so the first pressing did not have a printed sleeve. This also probably explains why LIVE IN THE PROMISED LAND was first issued as a triple-vinyl box with a numbered insert rather than the famous gatefold sleeve.