Keith Hirsch’s CD Resource

Lately, I have been entering a new post here on a monthly basis.  The last post was entered below on October 29th, so one would expect a new post at the end of November.  That was my original plan, and I was going to post a rare Christmas CD in keeping with the holiday season.  Well, I am here early because I have a rare disc that I feel is worthy of being highlighted here but does not fit the holiday theme.  I also did not want to until after the holidays to share it, so here it goes.  Where did the one-month rule come from anyway?

The subject of today’s post is the very rare Japanese pressing of Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon for the U.S. market.  I found this disc at a used CD shop recently.  Prior to finding the Japanese pressing, I thought that it might have existed, but I had never seen one.  Of course, I was shocked when I saw it staring at me in the bins.  I would love to know just how many copies were pressed.

The catalog number for Bark at the Moon is ZK 38987, and it was issued on the CBS Associated label.  The back cover of the booklet and the back insert have a copyright statement that begins with “Disc manufactured in Japan…”  This is why I had always assumed that the Japanese pressing existed.  Common U.S. pressings are found with a back insert modified with “Now Made In The U.S.A.” stamped next to the barcode.  The Japanese pressing lacks this stamp on the back insert.  The same observation was highlighted in the July 27, 2008 post below showing the Japan-for-U.S. pressing of Janis Joplin Pearl.

Shown here is the Bark at the Moon CD and the back insert.

The original Japanese CBS/Sony pressing of Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon (CBS Associated, catalog number ZK 38987).  Note that the disc states “MANUFACTURED IN JAPAN” along the perimeter at the bottom.  There is no text stamped on the clear plastic ring, and the matrix code is “DIDP-20044 41″.

The back insert accompanying the original Japanese CBS/Sony pressing of Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon (CBS Associated, catalog number ZK 38987).  Note that it does not bear the “Now Made In The U.S.A.” stamp in the white space next to the barcode.

Part 2 in this series of Phonogram label entries covered the RSO and Polydor labels. This post was entered below on August 30, 2008.

With this third installment of Phonogram label designs, we arrive at Mercury.  Mercury titles pressed in West Germany were issued with two primary designs in the 1980s.  The original, which is only found on select early titles, is referred to as the “green-arrow” design.  Only Mercury titles with catalog numbers of the form 800 xxx-2 are found with this design.  As one might expect, these green-arrow discs are quite rare.

The green-arrow design was replaced very early on by the more familiar “atomic” design.  Many more titles were issued as West German pressings with the atomic design than with the green-arrow design.  In fact, Mercury used the atomic design for its original U.S. pressings in the late ’80s as well.  For the most part, West German and U.S. pressings with the atomic design are quite common.

Shown below are West German pressings of Rush Moving Pictures with the green-arrow and atomic label designs.

West German pressing of Rush Moving Pictures (Mercury, catalog number 800 048-2). This disc bears the original Mercury “green-arrow” label design.  As is typical for early West German pressings of Phonogram titles, the disc has “MADE IN W-GERMANY” printed in small text.  The matrix code is “800048 2 01″.  This disc is very rare.

West German pressing of Rush Moving Pictures (Mercury, catalog number 800 048-2). This disc bears the later Mercury “atomic” label design.  As is typical for later West German pressings of Phonogram titles, the disc has “MADE IN W.GERMANY BY POLYGRAM” printed along the perimeter.  The matrix code is “800 048-2 03″.  This disc is considerably more common than the above green-arrow pressing.

One of the most popular post-Tijuana Brass Herb Alpert albums is his 1982 effort, Fandango.  This Latin American-flavored collection features smooth sounds and includes the hit single “Route 101″.  Although Fandango is regarded as one of Alpert’s best albums ever, it, like many of his solo works, has been out of print for years.  There are just two legitimate issues on CD, both from the 1980s — the U.S. issue with catalog number CD-3731 and the Japanese issue with catalog number D18Y4122.*  Given their rarity, these early CDs are in great demand among CD collectors and fans of Herb Alpert alike.

Featured here is the Japanese issue of Fandango.  It was released in the late ’80s, and the disc was pressed by CBS/Sony.  Shown below are pictures of the album cover, disc, and back insert.

* The term “legitimate” is used to distinguish these A&M issues from the bootleg of Fandango (and other Herb Alpert albums) issued in Brazil on the Omega Records label.  These Omega discs are unauthorized issues and are merely CD-Rs with low-quality inserts.

The cover for Herb Alpert’s 1982 album, Fandango. 

The Japanese issue of Herb Alpert Fandango (A&M, catalog number D18Y4122).  The disc was pressed by CBS/Sony.  It has “CSR” stamped on the plastic ring, and the matrix code is “D18Y-4122 2″.

The back insert for the Japanese issue of Herb Alpert Fandango (A&M, catalog number D18Y4122).  The catalog number appears in the bottom left corner.

Part 1 in this series of Phonogram label entries covered the Rocket label. This post was entered below on June 29, 2008.

In the second installment of Phonogram CD label designs, we cover the RSO and Polydor labels.  They are combined into one entry due to their similarity.  The first CDs on these record labels have an orange paint coating with black text.  Many RSO and Polydor titles with this design bear the earliest catalog numbers for these labels, which are of the format 800 xxx-2.  That said, some titles with higher catalog numbers do exist with the orange paint design.

The orange paint coating was quickly replaced with a more common design having no paint coating.  For these discs, the RSO or Polydor logo is produced in black and orange, and the surrounding text is black.  RSO and Polydor titles that were released on CD after the orange paint coating had been abandoned were only released with the second design.

Shown below are pictures of RSO and Polydor CDs with both label designs.  Discs with the orange paint coating command a premium since they represent the initial releases and because they are generally very rare.

West German pressing of Eric Clapton 461 Ocean Boulevard (RSO, catalog number 811 697-2). This disc bears the original RSO label design with the orange paint coating.  This pressing is particularly noteworth in that it contains just 10 tracks, omitting “Better Make It Through Today”.  The matrix code is “811 697-2 01″.

West German pressing of Eric Clapton 461 Ocean Boulevard (RSO, catalog number 811 697-2). This disc bears the second and more common RSO label design with no paint coating. This version has 11 tracks, with “Better Make It Through Today” added as track two.  “Give Me Strength”, which appears as track two on the orange-paint disc above, is track 11 on this disc. The matrix code is “811 697-2 02″.

West German pressing of ABBA Super Trouper (Polydor, catalog number 800 023-2). This disc bears the original Polydor label design with the orange paint coating.  This is a particulary early issue by virture of the catalog number (of the form 800 xxx-2) and the simple designation “Made in West Germany”, with no reference to the Polygram plant.  The disc was actually pressed at the Polygram plant.  The matrix code is “800023 2 01″.

West German pressing of ABBA Super Trouper (Polydor, catalog number 800 023-2). This disc bears the second and more common Polydor label design with no paint coating. Note that this disc states “Made in W. Germany by PolyGram” at 3 o’clock.  The matrix code is “800 023-2 03″.

The subject of this entry is a very rare disc that took me years to acquire.  I had never seen a copy available for sale or even a picture of one before actually obtaining it.  It’s the original Japanese pressing of Janis Joplin Pearl for the U.S. market.  The disc was released on the Columbia label under catalog number CK 30322 and was pressed in Japan by CBS/Sony.

If you locate a common U.S. pressing of Pearl with catalog number CK 30322, you will note that the copyright statement on the back insert and back cover of the booklet begins with “Disc manufactured in Japan by CBS/Sony, Tokyo, Japan.”  To account for the switch in manufacturing from Japan to the U.S., the back insert with U.S. pressings was modified with a stamp next to the barcode reading “Now Made In The U.S.A.”  In finding what seems like hundreds of U.S. pressings in used CD shops over the years, I took note of these statements on the inserts and figured that a Japanese pressing had to exist.

Finally, I found the original Japanese pressing.  A picture of the disc is shown below.  Also shown below is the back insert, which as expected, lacks the “Now Made In The U.S.A.” stamp.  I am continually amazed by how rare some of the original Japan-for-U.S. pressings of CBS/Sony albums are.  When you consider that Sony co-invented the CD format with Philips, one might expect original Japanese pressings of CBS/Sony titles to be common.  Not so.

The original Japanese CBS/Sony pressing of Janis Joplin Pearl (Columbia, catalog number CK 30322). Although difficult to read in this picture, the statement “MANUFACTURED IN JAPAN” appears along the perimeter at the bottom.  The disc has “CSR COMPACT DISC” repeating in the clear plastic ring, and the matrix code is “DIDP-20041 41A5 +++++”.

The back insert accompanying the original Japanese CBS/Sony pressing of Janis Joplin Pearl (Columbia, catalog number CK 30322).  Note that it does not bear the “Now Made In The U.S.A.” stamp in the white space next to the barcode.

In the early days of the CD, the Phonogram family of labels included Polydor, RSO, Vertigo, Mercury, Rocket, and Casablanca, to name a few.  Original discs on these labels were pressed in West Germany and were afforded unique, and often attractive, label designs.  Of particular interest to the collector was that each label went through a redesign while having discs pressed in West Germany, sometimes more than one redesign.  This post starts a series that will show pictures of various collectable designs used for West German pressings of the Phonogram labels.  Here, we start with The Rocket Record Company, home to original European CD issues of several landmark Elton John albums.

A common design found for West German pressings on Rocket is the “train label”, which is shown below for the Elton John album 21 at 33.  This design was likely used until the late ’80s.  An earlier design, also shown below for 21 at 33, has a more basic design of blue text on a purple paint coating.  One last Rocket design is the “watermelon label”, shown for the early Elton John compilation Love Songs.  Not shown is a basic design for West German pressings on Rocket used in the late ’80s having just black text and no paint coating.

Many of the colorful label designs used by Phonogram are rare and highly sought after by collectors.  Please check back periodically for pictures of early discs from other Phonogram labels.  Posts on other early CD pressings may be interspersed, but in time, a collection of many Phonogram CDs will be shown here.

West German pressing of Elton John 21 at 33 (Rocket, catalog number 800 055-2). This disc bears the common, yet popular, “train label”. Although the disc says “MADE IN W.GERMANY BY POLYGRAM” along the perimeter, it has “MADE IN W.GERMANY BY PDO” stamped on the play side near the hole. The matrix code is “800055 2 03″.

West German pressing of Elton John 21 at 33 (Rocket, catalog number 800 055-2). This is an earlier and much rarer pressing than the “train” disc above.  The disc says “MADE IN W-GERMANY” at 2 o’clock and has no “MADE IN…” statement stamped on the play side near the hole, suggesting that it was pressed at the Polygram plant. The matrix code is “800055 2 03″.

West German pressing of Elton John Love Songs (Rocket, catalog number 811 312-2). This disc bears the rare and popular “watermelon label”.  The disc says “MADE IN W.GERMANY” along the perimeter and has no “MADE IN…” statement stamped on the play side near the hole, suggesting that it was pressed at the Polygram plant. The matrix code is “811 312-2 02″.  West German pressings of this Elton John compilation are more commonly found with the train label.

An oddity from the early days of the Compact Disc is a collection U.S. issues on the A&M label that bear an unusual Compact Disc format logo.  The origin of this logo is unknown, but since it is only seen on A&M titles, it could have been proposed and then used by A&M before a standard logo was adopted.  The unusual logo is shown below on a Japanese Denon pressing of Bryan Adams Cuts Like a Knife.

An early Japanese Denon pressing of Bryan Adams Cuts Like a Knife (A&M catalog number CD-4919).  Note the unusual Compact Disc format logo at 7 o’clock.

The above Bryan Adams disc is the only actual disc I have located bearing this format logo.  Otherwise, the logo is found printed on the cover of accompanying booklets.  However, the logo is covered with a sticker bearing the standard format logo.  This suggests that the booklets were printed before a standard was adopted but went to market after the standard was adopted.  Rather than discard the booklets, A&M simply modified them with a sticker.  I have found Japanese pressings of Bryan Adams Cuts Like a Knife, Joe Jackson Night and Day, Quincy Jones The Dude, and The Police Synchronicity with booklets bearing the unusual logo on the cover and a sticker covering it.  If one holds the booklet cover up to light, the unusual logo can be seen behind the sticker.

Generally, Japanese Matsushita pressings are found with the booklets described above.  In the case of Night and Day and The Dude, the Matsushita pressings have red text as opposed to the black text commonly found on early A&M CDs.  Shown below are pictures of two covers bearing the standard Compact Disc format logo stickers and a Japanese Matsushita pressing of Joe Jackson Night and Day.

The booklet from an early Japanese Matsushita pressing of Bryan Adams Cuts Like a Knife (A&M catalog number CD-4919).  The Compact Disc format logo in the bottom left corner is printed on a white sticker affixed to the cover.  Underneath the sticker and printed on the cover is the unusual logo shown on the Cuts Like a Knife disc above.  Another distinguishing feature of this cover is “BRYAN ADAMS” printed in the background.  Later U.S. pressings and some early Japanese pressings are found without this background “branding”.

The booklet from select Japanese pressings of The Police Synchronicity (A&M catalog number CD-3735).  As with the Bryan Adams cover above, the Compact Disc format logo in the bottom left corner is printed on a white sticker affixed to the cover.  Underneath the sticker and printed on the cover is the unusual logo shown on the Cuts Like a Knife disc above.  This booklet is commonly found with a Japanese Mathsushita pressing, but I have also found it with a Japanese CBS/Sony pressing. 

An early Japanese Matsushita pressing of Joe Jackson Night and Day (A&M catalog number CD-4906).  The booklet accompanying this rare pressing has a Compact Disc format logo sticker like the Bryan Adams and Police booklets shown above.  The red text on this disc is a distinguishing feature of this pressing.  Japanese CBS/Sony and Denon pressings, a West German Polygram pressing, and later U.S. pressings of Night and Day all bear black text.

An entry here on March 9, 2008 focused on the world’s first CD single, Dire Straits “Brothers in Arms”.  Not long after the release of that CD single, in 1986 to be specific, CD singles started appearing in the U.S.  One of the first CD singles issued in the U.S., and sometimes claimed to be the first, was a promotional issue from A&M of The Police “Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86″.  The single was issued to promote the 1986 remix of the hit song that was included on the first compilation of The Police entitled Every Breath You Take — The Singles.  The catalog number for this single is CD-17435.

This single was issued in a cardboard digipak and is, therefore, also one of the earliest CDs to be issued in a digipak.  Shown below are pictures of the disc as well as the front and back of the digipak.  The disc was pressed in the U.S. by Laservideo and bears a design akin to a white-label promotional 45 RPM record.  Note that the disc is labeled “For Promotion Not For Sale”.  This disc is very rare.

The early U.S. CD single of The Police “Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86″ (A&M, catalog number CD-17435).  The design on the disc bears resemblance to a white-label promotional 45 RPM record.  Note that it says “For Promotion Not For Sale” beneath the A&M logo at 3 o’clock.  The copyright date on the disc is 1986.

The front of the cardboard digipak for the U.S. CD single of The Police “Don’t Stand So Close to Me ’86″.  Shown is what appears to be a white-label promotional 45 RPM record for the song.

The back of the cardboard digipak for the U.S. CD single of The Police “Don’t Stand So Close to Me ’86″. Shown is the play side of a CD.  Although difficult to see in the picture, this particular disc has “Made in USA – Digital Audio Disc Corp.” stamped on the plastic ring, indicative of an early DADC plant pressing.  The CD single shown above was pressed by Laservideo.