Folder 273

Italy

MADE IN ITALY BY EMI ITALIANA SpA on the sleeve and MADE IN ITALY BY EMI ITALIANA SPA. on both label rims - a direct manufacturing statement, so the country is evidence rather than inference.

Catalogue: 54 7902581, 64 79 0258 1
Label: EMI
Released: 1989
Confidence: Likely
Why this grade
Italian EMI reissue with the later cream labels: the sleeve carries 64 beside a boxed 79 0258 1, both labels carry 54 beside a boxed 7902581, and the run-out reads 7902581 - A - 12-10-89 II IRON MAIDEN. Four Italian LPs on the master share this catalogue family. The run-out date rules out the 1988 original 4438864 (14-3-88 I). The three 1989 reissues all record the identical 12-10-89 II run-out on both sides, so the deadwax cannot separate them; Discogs tells them apart by the 54/64 code on the sleeve and on the label. 54 on the label rules out 4452190 (64 on both); 64 on the sleeve rules out 29216335 (54 on both); 703403 is described as exactly this pairing, 64 on the cover and 54 on the label. That leaves one candidate, but the only thing separating it from 29216335 is the sleeve code, and a sleeve can be swapped between copies, so the pairing corroborates rather than proves. 703403 also describes a generic white inner sleeve, and no photograph shows the inner, so that second check is still open. The owner's note gives the same run-out on both sides, 7902581 - B - 12-10-89 II IRON MAIDEN for side B; the photographs carry a complete side A reading and a second run of frames with no side letter in frame, so side B rests on the note, and it would not change the candidate set in any case. The version list is never complete, so an uncatalogued pressing can't be ruled out.
Reference: Discogs 703403
Median sale: DKK 142
Sale range: DKK 60-262
On sale now: None listed
Last sold: 15 June 2024

What the record says

Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.

A: 7902581 - A - 12-10-89 II IRON MAIDEN (read across IMG_6186, IMG_6187, IMG_6188, IMG_6193, IMG_6194, IMG_6195, IMG_6196; the A after the dash is faint). A second run of frames, IMG_6189 to IMG_6192, reads 2 - 10 - 89 I with the leading 1 barely raised and no side letter in frame, so whether it is side B or side A under different light is not settled by the photographs. B: not separately readable.

Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout

As Discogs records them for release 703403. Green: in my collection (2 of 2). Red: missing.

✓	Matrix / Runout (SIDE-A)	`7902581 - A - 12-10-89 II IRON MAIDEN` — copy 17, this copy
✓	Matrix / Runout (SIDE-B)	`7902581 - B - 12-10-89 II IRON MAIDEN` — copy 17

Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 9 of them

Rear sleeve top right: barcode 0 77779 02581 7 above 64 and a boxed 79 0258 1

IMG_6175.jpeg, IMG_6174.jpeg

Rear sleeve bottom left: boxed EMI logo and MADE IN ITALY BY EMI ITALIANA SpA

IMG_6176.jpeg, IMG_6174.jpeg

Rear sleeve bottom right: (P) 1988 Original Sound Recordings made by EMI Records Ltd / (C) 1988 Iron Maiden (Holdings) Ltd.; tracklist across the top, Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Martin Birch.

IMG_6174.jpeg

Side A label, cream with red rim text: STEREO, 54 beside a boxed 7902581, A, S.I.A.E. in a box, tracks 1-4 Moonchild to The Evil That Men Do, All titles published by Zomba Music Pulbishers Ltd. (sic), red EMI box at the foot, rim text RISERVATI TUTTI I DIRITTI DEL PRODUTTORE FONOGRAFICO ... MADE IN ITALY BY EMI ITALIANA SPA.

IMG_6178.jpeg, IMG_6179.jpeg

Side A label, top: a round red ink stamp over the rim text, partly legible with ROMA on its ring and a 7 inside, beside IRON MAIDEN / SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON

IMG_6180.jpeg, IMG_6178.jpeg

Side B label, same cream design: STEREO, 54 beside a boxed 7902581, B, S.I.A.E., tracks 1-4 Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son to Only The Good Die Young, (P) 1988 Original sound recordings made by EMI Records Ltd.

IMG_6181.jpeg

Run-out groove, side A, stamped: 7902581 - A across the first three frames, then 12-10-89 II and IRON MAIDEN; the side-A label's A under the catalogue box is in frame at the top right of the last photograph

IMG_6186.jpeg, IMG_6187.jpeg, IMG_6188.jpeg, IMG_6193.jpeg, IMG_6194.jpeg, IMG_6195.jpeg, IMG_6196.jpeg

Run-out groove, second run of frames: - 2 - 10 - 89 I with the 1 of 12 barely raised, and nothing legible beside scratches in the first frame; no side letter in frame

IMG_6189.jpeg, IMG_6190.jpeg, IMG_6191.jpeg, IMG_6192.jpeg

Front sleeve: standard Derek Riggs artwork, no sticker or overprint

IMG_6173.jpeg

The photographs

IMG_6173.jpg1 of 19READ FROM

The object, and what marks it out

Sleeve, labels and inserts

Sleeve - single pocket, the standard artwork front and back, the back with a barcode block top right and the EMI Italiana print block bottom left. The inner sleeve, if there is one, is not photographed.
Labels - cream paper labels with black type and red rim text, the EMI box in red at the foot; this is the later Italian label design, not the 1988 original's.
Disc - black vinyl with a stamped run-out; the stamping is shallow and the leading 1 of the date barely shows under some light.
Condition - light ring wear and edge rubbing on the sleeve; the disc shows surface hairlines in the run-out area.

What distinguishes this pressing

MADE IN ITALY BY EMI ITALIANA SpA on the sleeve and MADE IN ITALY BY EMI ITALIANA SPA. on both label rims - a direct manufacturing statement, so the country is evidence rather than inference.
S.I.A.E. and the round red stamp - Italy's rights society, carried by every Italian release on this master, so it corroborates the territory and separates nothing within it.
Run-out 12-10-89 II - separates this from the 1988 original (14-3-88 I) but is shared verbatim by all three 1989 reissues, so it narrows to the reissue family and no further.
54 on the label, 64 on the sleeve - the one axis Discogs uses to split the three reissues, and this copy's pairing matches 703403 alone. The label code is fixed to the record; the sleeve code is not, so this is corroboration rather than confirmation.
Barcode 0 77779 02581 7 - carried across the Italian family and beyond; it corroborates the commercial release, never the pressing.

Eight tracks, two sides, and the recording credits

Side A

A1Moonchild
A2Infinite Dreams
A3Can I Play With Madness
A4The Evil That Men Do

Side B

B1Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
B2The Prophecy
B3The Clairvoyant
B4Only The Good Die Young

Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar, synth · Steve Harris - bass, string synth · Nicko McBrain - drums.

Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York. Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich. Sleeve illustration, concept and design by Derek Riggs (with Rod Smallwood). Inner-sleeve photograph by Ross Halfin. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.

Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 576952, 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

One candidate left, pinned by the label and sleeve codes together, and that is why it stops at Probable. The country is not in question: both the sleeve and the label rims say Made in Italy by EMI Italiana, and S.I.A.E. sits on both labels.

Within Italy the master holds four LPs on this catalogue family. The 1988 original, 4438864, has 14-3-88 I stamped in the run-out; this copy's run-out reads 12-10-89 II, which is the stamper all three 1989 reissues share, so the deadwax does its job and then runs out of things to say. Discogs separates the three by where the 54 and 64 codes sit: 4452190 has 64 on both cover and label, 29216335 has 54 on both, and 703403 has 64 on the cover with 54 on the label. This copy reads 64 beside the boxed 79 0258 1 on the sleeve and 54 beside the boxed 7902581 on both labels, which is 703403's own description.

It is not Confirmed because the record on its own, with 54 on the label, fits both 703403 and 29216335; only the sleeve decides between them, and a sleeve can come from another copy. 703403 also lists a generic white inner sleeve where 29216335 has a printed one, and no photograph shows the inner. A photograph of the inner sleeve would either corroborate the pairing or show a mismatched copy. The owner's note reads the run-out the same way on both sides, which agrees with every candidate and decides nothing here. The version list is never complete, so an uncatalogued pressing can't be excluded.