Featured today is another rare Target CD that I obtained recently.  It is a color variation of the West German pressing of U2 War (Island, catalog number 90067-2).  One typically finds the early pressing with a distinctive green target and purple paint coating.  In fact, as the only Island title to be released as a Target, it is the only Target with this particular color combination (a rare U.S. Target pressing of Howard Jones Dream Into Action exists with a similar color combination).  Within the past year, however, a very rare variation of War was discovered in which the colors are, more or less, reversed.

This rare Target CD of War has a purple target and green paint coating.  As such, it looks like a Target CD on the WEA label, but the disc and inserts bear the Island logo.  In fact, the inserts with this rare pressing are identical to those found with the standard Target.  I call the rare pressing the “Reverse Target”, but this is a bit of a misnomer if you take a literal approach to these CDs.  This is because the shades of green differ.  On the standard pressing, the target is forest green, whereas on the rare pressing, the coating is a lighter green, perhaps seafoam green.  Putting minutiae aside, I will refer to the rare pressing as the Reverse Target pressing.

Shown below are both Target pressings of War.  Both discs bear the same matrix code — “7567 90067-2 2893 213 01”.  Since the Reverse Target bears the Island logo, I assume it is a pressing error.  On the other hand, it could be a test pressing, and WEA decided not to use this color combination for the Island label.  As with other Target color variations, this Reverse Target is very rare, and I only know of two other copies.

The standard West German Target pressing of U2 War (Island, catalog number 90067-2).  This is the only Target CD to have been issued with this particular green target/purple coating combination.

The rare West German “Reverse Target” pressing of U2 War (Island, catalog number 90067-2).  When compared to the standard Target pressing above, the colors on this disc are reversed.  This disc has the same color combination found on Target CDs issued on the WEA label.

This is the final installment of the Phonogram CD label series, which began in June of last year.  Below are links to the first five installments.

Part 1: Rocket
Part 2: RSO and Polydor
Part 3: Mercury
Part 4: Vertigo
Part 5: Casablanca

In this final installment, we turn our attention to the Charisma label.  In part five, it was noted that two of the three label designs for Casablana were also used for Charisma titles.  Those two designs are shown here.  The first is the “purple swirls”.  It resembles the “pink swirls” Casablanca design.  If one compares the two designs, it is noted that the swirl motifs are reversed (there are other subtle differences as well).  The purple-swirls design is shown below for an early West German pressing of Genesis …And Then There Were Three… (catalog number 800 059-2).  As you probably guessed if you have been following these Phonogram entries, this first Charisma design is very rare.

The second Charisma label is the “yellow and silver rays”, and it closely resembles the rays design used for Casablanca titles.  Charisma titles are more often found with this design then with the purple-swirls label.  The yellow-and-silver-rays design is shown below for Peter Gabriel “Security” (catalog number 800 091-2).

The first Charisma label design, shown for an early West German pressing of Genesis …And Then There Were Three… (Charisma, catalog number 800 059-2).  The disc shows the early “purple swirls” label design.  As is typical for the earliest design for a particular Phonogram label, the disc has “MADE IN W-GERMANY” printed in the interior portion of the label.  The matrix code is “800059 2 01”.  This design is similar to the “pink swirls” design used for the Casablanca label.

The second Charisma label design, shown for a West German pressing of Peter Gabriel “Security” (Charisma, catalog number 800 091-2).  The disc shows the “yellow and silver rays” label design, which was also used for the Casablanca label.  Note that the disc has “MADE IN W.GERMANY BY POLYGRAM” printed along the perimeter.  The matrix code is “800091 2 01”.

The latest addition to keithhirsch.com is a Glossary.  I don’t know why I didn’t come up with this sooner.  For those of you new to the site and/or new to CD collecting, I hope you will find the Glossary to be a useful resource.  Please note, however, that it is still under construction.  You may find the Glossary here.

A legend left us today.  Arguably the most talented and most influential pop music entertainer of the 20th century, Michael Jackson, died today.  He was 50.  Like everyone, I was in shock when I heard the news.  Some people followed today’s developments from the beginning, but by the time I heard anything, he was gone.

Michael Jackson was one of my favorite performers growing up.  He was larger than life when I was a teenager in the 1980s.  There was the roof-raising, moonwalking performance at Motown 25 in 1983.  There was the brilliant video for “Thriller”, which in the early days of MTV, was coupled with a “making of” documentary.  He could dance, he could sing, he could wow a crowd with his charisma.  He was a natural, a genius.

There will never be another performer to single-handedly captivate an audience like Michael Jackson.  He will be missed.

The latest disc to be featured here is an unusual Target CD that I found recently at a book/media sale for just $4.  It is a West German Target pressing of Linda Ronstadt Greatest Hits that was issued for the Columbia House Music Club.  This disc is likely among the earliest to be issued through Columbia House, and I assume it is quite rare.

The disc is on the Asylum label and bears catalog number E2-106.   The E2 prefix is typical of a Columbia House release, and the ‘E’ stands for Elektra, the parent label of Asylum.  This catalog number is derived from the one used for the retail release, which is 106-2. 

Pictures of the disc and back insert for the Columbia House issue are shown below.  The disc is very similar to the retail West German Target pressing.  A key difference is the catalog number, as already mentioned.  Additionally, the Columbia House disc lacks the “GEMA” symbol beneath the CD format logo at 3 o’clock.  The Columbia House issue has “MADE IN WEST GERMANY BY POLYGRAM” printed along the perimeter of the disc, but it also has “MADE IN W. GERMANY BY PDO” stamped on the play side near the center hole.  Thus, it was pressed at the West German PDO plant (Philips-DuPont Optical).

The back insert lacks a barcode, which is typical of early Columbia House releases.  It was printed in the U.S.  It has “Manufactured by Columbia House Under License” printed along the bottom edge.

This is the third unusual Target pressing of Linda Ronstadt Greatest Hits that I have obtained.  The other two are a West German pressing bearing catalog number 64106-2 instead of the common 106-2 and a U.S. PDO pressing with catalog number 106-2.  Both of these are early retail issues.  There also exists a U.S. Target pressing for Columbia House with catalog number E2-106.

The West German Target CD of Linda Ronstadt Greatest Hits for the Columbia House Music Club (Asylum, catalog number E2-106).  The disc has “MADE IN WEST GERMANY BY POLYGRAM” printed along the perimeter and “MADE IN W. GERMANY BY PDO” stamped on the play side near the center hole, thus indicating that it was pressed at the PDO plant.  The matrix code is “7559 64106-2 2893 039 02 #”.

The back insert for the West German Target CD of Linda Ronstadt Greatest Hits for the Columbia House Music Club (Asylum, catalog number E2-106).  As indicated, it was printed in the U.S.  Note the text “Manufactured by Columbia House Under License” along the bottom edge.  There is no barcode, as is common for early Columbia House issues.

Part 4 in this series of Phonogram label entries covered the Vertigo label. This post was entered below on January 31, 2009.

After a three-month hiatus, I thought it was high time to continue with the Phonogram series of label variations.  Featured here is the Casablanca label.  This label is particularly interesting, as it offers collectors three distinct and eye-appealing designs among West German pressings.  The earliest design is the “pink swirls”, for lack of a better description.  As is typical for other Phonogram labels, this design was utilized for only a select grouping of the earliest Casablanca titles, and discs with this design are very rare.

The second design is the “yellow, black, and silver swirls”.  While discs with this design are more common than those with the pink swirls, they are still relatively rare.  Some Casablanca titles were first issued with this design.  The third and final design, and by far the most common of the three, is the “yellow and silver rays”.  Many Casablanca titles were first issued with this design.

The three label designs are shown below for West German pressings of Donna Summer Walk Away: Collector’s Edition, The Best of 1977-1980 (catalog number 810 011-2).  The matrix code for all three discs is “810011 2 01”.

Note: Two of the three designs highighted here were also used by Phonogram for certain titles on its Charisma label.  The earliest design is the “purple swirls”, which is the pink swirls design featured here with a color change and a few other subtle differences.  The second design is the yellow and silver rays.  The Charisma label will be the subject of a future post.  Stay tuned!

The first label design for a West German pressing of Donna Summer Walk Away: Collector’s Edition, The Best of 1977-1980 (Casablanca, catalog number 810 011-2).  The disc shows the early “pink swirls” label design.  As is typical for the earliest design for a particular Phonogram label, the disc has “MADE IN W-GERMANY” printed in the interior portion of the label.

The second label design for a West German pressing of Donna Summer Walk Away: Collector’s Edition, The Best of 1977-1980 (Casablanca, catalog number 810 011-2).  The disc shows the “yellow, black, and silver swirls” label design.  Note that the disc has “MADE IN W.GERMANY BY POLYGRAM” printed along the perimeter, which is typical of later designs for Phonogram titles.

The third label design for a West German pressing of Donna Summer Walk Away: Collector’s Edition, The Best of 1977-1980 (Casablanca, catalog number 810 011-2).  The disc shows the “yellow and silver rays” label design.  Note that the disc has “MADE IN W.GERMANY BY POLYGRAM” printed along the perimeter.  This particular disc also has “MADE IN W. GERMANY BY PDO” stamped on the label side near the center hole, indicating that the disc was pressed at the Philips-DuPont Optical plant.

I had previously posted in my Target CD Gallery here that Japanese pressings of Atlantic titles made for the U.S. market were only issued as Non-Target CDs.  As is evidenced by the CD featured here, I now know that this is untrue, and I have corrected my Gallery entry accordingly.  Shown here is a Japanese Target CD of Bette Midler No Frills, released in the U.S. by Atlantic under catalog number 7 80070-2.  The disc was pressed by Sanyo and has the expected “MANUFACTURED BY SANYO JAPAN” stamped in the mirror band.  As shown below, the disc has a rather ordinary black target design with no color coating (appropriate given the album title).  Sanyo pressed similar Target CDs of other WEA titles for the U.S. market.  Examples include Fleetwood Mac Rumours (Warner Bros., catalog number 3010-2) and The Doobie Brothers Minute by Minute (Warner Bros., catalog number 3193-2).

The back insert for the Midler Target CD says “Printed in Japan by Sanyo”.  It appears at this time that this is a very rare Target CD pressing.  In fact, this is the only copy I am currently aware of, and it remains the only Japan-for-U.S. Target CD I have come across on the Atlantic label.  There is also a Japanese Non-Target pressing of No Frills that was pressed by Sanyo.  The disc has the same layout as the Target CD except that the Target design is missing.  I saw a copy on eBay in late 2008 and have not seen another copy.

I only learned of this Target CD recently.  It is rare nowadays that I learn of a new Target CD, but I naturally wonder if other undiscovered rarities are out there.

The Japanese Target CD of Bette Midler No Frills (Atlantic, catalog number 7 80070-2).  The disc was pressed for the U.S. market and is the only such Japanese Target CD on the Atlantic label currently known.  It was pressed by Sanyo, as evidenced by “MANUFACTURED BY SANYO JAPAN” stamped in the mirror band.

The back insert for the Japanese Target CD of Bette Midler No Frills (Atlantic, catalog number 7 80070-2).  Note the text “Printed in Japan by Sanyo” at the end of the copyright paragraph in red.

The disc featured here I obtained recently and is a bit of an oddity. It is an early Japanese Matsushita pressing of Chicago Chicago 16. The disc is on the WEA label, not Warner Bros., which signifies that it was issued in Europe and possibly other foreign markets (i.e., outside the U.S.). This is supported by the fact that the disc and inserts feature the European catalog number, 299 235. One rarely sees Japanese pressings of WEA titles outside the U.S., and additionally, early Matsushita pressings of WEA titles are particularly uncommon.

The disc is shown below. The bright green text is another unusual feature of this early pressing. As stated above, the disc is an early Matsushita pressing. This is evident from the text stamped on the plastic ring — “MADE BY MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC IND.CO.LTD.”  The Technics logo is also stamped on the plastic ring, as Matsushita is the parent company to Technics.

As noted in the picture, the disc says “MADE IN JAPAN BY MATSUSHITA” along the perimeter at the bottom. Note the space between “JAPAN” and “BY” and, at 12 o’clock, the space between “RESERVED” and “UNAUTHORIZED”. These spaces indicate that WEA used a text template from a Target CD, as the spaces would be filled by perimeter target squares. One sees the same spaces on Japanese Non-Target Sanyo pressings of WEA titles for the U.S. market. These Sanyo pressings have black text. All in all, this Chicago disc bears a resemblance to those early Sanyo pressings.

The inserts with this disc were printed in Japan. The back insert says “Printed in Japan by Matsushita”.

The Japanese Matsushita pressing of Chicago Chicago 16 (WEA, catalog number 299 235).  The disc was issued in Europe and possibly other foreign markets.  Note that the U.S. catalog number, 23689-2, appears in small print beneath the European catalog number.  The disc has “MADE BY MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC IND.CO.LTD.” and the Technics logo stamped on the plastic ring.  The matrix code is “W A-23689” in a crude, “hand-written” font.