Folder 121
Japan
Japan, Special Edition. Toshiba EMI's deluxe package - obi, bonus 7", 16-page photo book, B2 poster - and clean labels rule out the promo twin sharing this catalogue number.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Run-out photographed, both sides, across a dozen frames, plus the bonus 7". Side one reads EMC-3512-A, side two EMC-3512-B - both etched strings fully legible, matching Discogs' recorded label/runout text for 2348161 exactly. Beside each, a separate stamped digit group is visible - fragments including 1, S, 2 and 9 near each side's runout - consistent in shape with Discogs' fuller recorded variant (EMC-3512-A 1S2 G C-9 / EMC-3512-B 1S2 2) but not resolved here as one continuous string, so it corroborates rather than independently confirms. The bonus 7" "On Their Own Words" (blue vinyl) reads BRP-1012-A / BRP-1012-B in the run-out, with 1S legible on side A - matching Discogs' recorded BRP-1012-A 1S G 6-9 / BRP-1012-B 1S 1 7 in root though not in every trailing character.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 2348161. Green: in my collection (10 of 10). Red: missing.
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side A label) | EMC 3512A — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side B label) | EMC 3512B — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side A runout variant 1) | EMC-3512-A — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side B runout variant 1) | EMC-3512-B — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side A runout variant 2) | EMC-3512-A 1S2 G C-9 — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side B runout variant 2) | EMC-3512-B 1S2 2 — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side A Label of 7") | BRP-1012-A — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side B Label of 7") | BRP-1012-B — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side A runout of 7") | BRP-1012-A 1S G 6-9 — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Side B runout of 7") | BRP-1012-B 1S 1 7 — this copy |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 18 of them
Obi, front panel: S33-1003 · ¥3,300
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Obi: アイアン・メイデン / サムホエア・イン・タイム - artist and title in katakana
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Obi, yellow diamond panel: bonus-item announcement listing the B2 poster, 16-page colour photo book, bonus single and newsletter
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Obi, foot: cross-reference codes ☞ZR28-1400 (cassette) and EMS-91184 CD/CP32-5158 (the non-bonus LP and CD), STEREO
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Obi credits: 解説=伊藤政則 (liner notes) · 対訳=渡辺 淳 (translation)
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Rear cover, barcode sticker: S33-1003 over T4988 006 60488 9
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Rear cover, beneath the sticker: 東芝EMI株式会社 · MADE IN JAPAN · S33-1003
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Rear cover, small stamp beside the barcode block, partially legible: ··9·29
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Rear cover: tracklist SIDE 1. CAUGHT SOMEWHERE IN TIME · WASTED YEARS · … HEAVEN CAN WAIT / SIDE 2. THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER · STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND · DEJA-VU · ALEXANDER THE GREAT, and PRODUCED, ENGINEERED AND MIXED BY MARTIN BIRCH
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Front gatefold artwork, printed directly on it (not a sticker): 東芝EMI株式会社 · S33-1003 · MADE IN JAPAN
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Label, side one: SIDE 1, STEREO 33⅓ RPM, the JASRAC oval
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Label, side two: green/yellow tracklist text (…OF THE…RUNNER, …STRANGE LAND) and the producer/publisher credit block ending …(Holdings) Ltd
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Both labels: no 見本(非売品) overprint and no 9/29発売 print anywhere on either label - the promo copy of this catalogue number carries both, on both discs
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Bonus 7" label, side A: IRON MAIDEN / ON THEIR OWN WORDS / MONO / BRP-1012 / (BRP-1012-A) / 非売品
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Bonus 7" picture sleeve: yellow/black, IRON MAIDEN — ON THEIR OWN WORDS, all five band members credited, 完全対訳付 (complete translation included), catalogue BRP-1012
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4-page lyric/credit insert: Japanese liner notes and lyric transcriptions, catalogue numbers EMS-91184 / S33-1003 printed along the edge
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16-page large-format colour photo book: tour stage photography, an "Off Shots" candid section, and individual member portraits captioned by name
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B2-size fold-out poster: the five band members on a beach, IRON MAIDEN / SOMEWHERE IN TIME, © 1986 IRON MAIDEN (HOLDINGS) LTD
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The photographs
IMG_2387.jpg1 of 56READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Gatefold sleeve - single spread artwork, the manufacturer block (
東芝EMI株式会社 S33-1003 MADE IN JAPAN) printed directly on the artwork itself rather than on a sticker. - Obi strip - present, full Special Edition wording intact.
- Rear-cover barcode sticker -
S33-1003/T4988 006 60488 9, over the printed Toshiba EMI / Made in Japan block. - Labels - the standard international artwork (text side / eye-in-sand side), unmarked by any promotional overprint.
- Vinyl - black, both sides.
- 4-page lyric/credit insert, 16-page colour photo book, and B2 fold-out poster - the three large Special Edition inserts, all present.
- Bonus 7" "On Their Own Words" - blue vinyl, mono, in its own yellow/black picture sleeve, labels marked
非売品(standard for this bonus item regardless of which LP edition it ships with). - An unrelated
Aurex-branded mail-in record-coupon sticker (レコード券) affixed to the sleeve edge - a retailer/manufacturer promotion, not one of the Special Edition's own listed items. - Two later, 2006-dated Japanese concert flyers (Michael Schenker Group and Deep Purple tour handbills) found tucked inside the gatefold - photographed as part of this folder but twenty years too late to be original packaging; recorded for completeness, not as evidence of the pressing.
What distinguishes this pressing
- Catalogue pairing
S33-1003+BRP-1012. Only two releases under master 19132 carry both numbers together, and both are Japanese Special Editions. - Clean labels. Discogs' notes for the promo sharing this catalogue pair (11310949) describe a
見本(非売品)overprint and a9/29発売date printed on BOTH discs' labels. Neither appears here, on either the LP or the bonus 7". - Barcode
T4988 006 60488 9, matching 2348161's own recorded barcode digit for digit. - Label plate text
EMC-3512-A/EMC-3512-B, matching 2348161's recorded label/runout text exactly. - The full Special Edition item set physically present - obi, 4-page insert, 16-page photo book, B2 poster, bonus 7" with its own sleeve - consistent with the promo release's own notes describing what ships under this catalogue family (the promo and stereo editions share the same bonus items; only the label markings and sleeve type separate them).
Eight tracks, two sides, and the recording credits
Side A
- A1Caught Somewhere In Time
- A2Wasted Years
- A3Sea Of Madness
- A4Heaven Can Wait
Side B
- B1The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
- B2Stranger In A Strange Land
- B3Deja-Vu
- B4Alexander The Great
Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar, guitar synthesizer · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, guitar synthesizer · Steve Harris - bass, bass synth · Nicko McBrain - drums.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound. Bass, bass synth and drums recorded at Compass Point Studios, Nassau; guitars, vocals and guitar synth recorded at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum; mixed at Electric Lady Studios, New York. Sleeve illustration by Derek Riggs; sleeve concept by Derek Riggs and Rod Smallwood. Inner sleeve photograph by Aaron Rapoport. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 1701390, the UK original, and apply to the recording rather than to this pressing. The producer, publisher and copyright lines are independently corroborated by this copy's own label, quoted above.
Condition, from the photographs
A photograph cannot grade a record - this is a description of what is visible, not a grade.
- Sleeve: general handling wear with some edge and corner softening; no splits or seam separation visible in these shots.
- Vinyl: light surface marks and handling sheen catch the light. No visible deep scratches, warping or edge damage in these photographs. The labels are clean and unmarked.
Nothing on this page comes from playing the record. No Goldmine grade is claimed for it, or any other. I have no record of where this copy came from.
What is settled, and what is not
Confirmed. Japan and the catalogue pair S33-1003 / BRP-1012 are certain from the obi, the barcode sticker, and the bonus disc's own labels. Two releases in the fetched version list carry that exact pairing, and one mark separates them:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 2348161 - Stereo, Special Edition | Matches. Recorded label text EMC 3512A / EMC 3512B and barcode T4988006604889 match this copy exactly. Its identifiers carry no promotional marking. |
| 11310949 - Promo, Special Edition | Ruled out on the labels. Discogs: "the labels on both discs have 見本(非売品) … as well as the release date 9/29発売 … printed on them", and "Comes in a wider opening(wide mouth)sleeve with a numbered 見本品 sticker on the back". Neither the promo overprint nor the wide-mouth sleeve's numbered sticker is present on this copy. |
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs. The version list is incomplete by construction, so a single surviving candidate is a best match, not a proof of uniqueness.
Open, and worth stating plainly. The small date stamp beside the rear-cover barcode (··9·29) is only partially legible - the leading character is not resolved - so it corroborates rather than independently confirms the 9/29 release date the promo release's own notes separately document for this catalogue family. The runout's trailing stamped digits (1S2 and neighbours) are likewise not resolved as one continuous string on either side. Neither gap affects the grade: the catalogue pairing, the barcode, the label plate text and the absence of the promo's own defining overprint already fully separate this copy from the only other candidate sharing its numbers. What would close the open items is a single raking-light frame carrying each side's full run-out end to end, rather than the fragments caught here.