Thoughts on My Father's House on NEBRASKA LP (Part 3 of 4)

Alternate take for Stolen Car first appeared on a bootleg LP in the
mid-1980s (although the bootleggers used to call it Son You May Kiss
 The Bride) and then was officially released on TRACKS in 1998. The
famous John Hammond audition tapes recorded in 1972 have also been
circulated on various bootlegs (for example, see here) and the
advanced promo 3-track CD-R (Gateway Mastering Studios, CD PRO)
for the 4-CD compilation box is the first official release featuring
the acoustic demo of Growin' Up.

During the past 43-year career of recording and touring, Springsteen has not only released an incredible number of his compositions, but also re-released many original songs in the form of acoustic demo, alternate mix, different arrangement or live rendition, on several compilation LP, EP or live albums. As far as studio recording goes on album format, if my memory is correct, it got all started in 1998 with the release of TRACKS 4-CD box (US Columbia CXK 69475) on which he purposely included for the first time alternate versions to some songs that are already made on the previously released original albums or the flip side of some 7" singles, such as Growin' Up, Stolen Car and Stand On It just to mention a few. In this respect, the long version of My Father's House, that is commercially available only on the CD version of NEBRASKA pressed in Japan between 1985 and 1995, is a unique exception among his alternate tracks because it was released accidentally or inadvertently, as shortly introduced in Part 1 of this series.

Thoughts on My Father's House on NEBRASKA LP (Part 2 of 4)

Backstreets Records Ad for set sale circa 1993, featuring
NEBRASKA acetate and test pressing discs, both with the
alternate version of My Father's House.

In Japan, the CD copies of NEBRASKA are pressed using differently mixed, two master tapes (i.e. impermissible narrow stereo mix used for the early copies and approved mono for the late ones). In addition to the mixing format, there are some more obvious differences between the two masters such as pitch, track length and sound volume. However, the most notable is that the early stereo-mixed copies, that was pressed from 1985 till 1995 in the Far East, contain a longer version of My Father's House with an extended and quiet keyboard coda. The last blog briefly introduces such CD issues for domestic and export markets and ends with the following question: Is there the possibility that the alternate take of My Father's House is featured on vinyl LP copies?

Before the commercial release of vinyl records, acetates and vinyl test pressing are created at the first and late steps in the vinyl manufacturing process, respectively. These rare and high-valued non-commercial discs have been circulated mostly for the US and UK releases of NEBRASKA LP. Shown images on the right are taken from the 1993 Holiday Catalog of Backstreets Records that advertises a copy each for the one-side (Side 2 only) acetate disc and the test pressing vinyl from the US, both described as featuring an alternate take of My Father's House.

Thoughts on My Father's House on NEBRASKA LP (Part 1 of 4)

Three European gate-fold releases of NEBRASKA LP (Left, Spanish; Center, Ex-Yugoslavian; Right, Dutch). In addition to the lyric-printed inner protective sleeve, the Spanish (white label promo) copy comes with additional paper sheets (far left), as shown previously here. Note that the gate-fold LP is also released in Portugal.
 

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: LIVE on Coral Records

LIVE on Coral Records: the first ever professionally looking Springsteen bootleg prompts CBS Records to file a suit against a record retailer in New York City to halt selling the copies in the summer of 1976.

Released in late 1975 or early 1976, LIVE on Coral Records (NR-909-2) was probably the most famous bootleg of Springsteen throughout the vinyl era. As already introduced in the last blog, this title captures one of the most important concerts in his career that is performed 41 years ago tonight and aired through radio broadcast on WNEW-FM in Manhattan, New York City. Unlike the contemporary Bruceleg releases back then, this double-disc release came out in an attractive gate-fold and full-color sleeve (outer sleeve only) with the custom black & silver labels. However, what makes its existence widely recognized to music fans and industry people is the fact that CBS Records, involving Springsteen and The Bottom Line club from where the bootlegged performance was aired, accused a City's record store of displaying and selling many copies of this underground artifact.

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE 8/15/75 (black & white sleeve)

Various vinyl bootleg releases of the legendary FM-broadcasted Bottom Line show in New York City on August 15, 1975.
I think most of these came out in the mid to late 1970s except for THE BOSS IS BACK in color sleeve (and possibly the double-LP version of THE GREAT WHITE BOSS with the NO NUKES stage shot on front).