Folder 293

Mexico

Catalogue number CLEM-1520 -- the only cassette row in the version list carrying it; the Mexican LP and its promo are SLEM- 1520, one letter apart, and ruled out by format.

Catalogue: CLEM-1520
Label: EMI
Released: 1988
Confidence: Likely
Why this grade
catalogue number CLEM-1520, read at native resolution off the J-card front, the J-card rear and both shell faces, is the only cassette row in the master's version list that normalises to that string, and the only Mexican cassette row at all; the two other 1520 rows are the Mexican LP and its promo (SLEM- 1520), ruled out by format. HECHO EN MEXICO on the J-card front and Fabricado y Distribuido en Mexico por FONOVISA-MELODY, S.A. DE C.V. on both the J-card and the side 2 shell establish the country directly. Probable rather than Confirmed because, with one candidate surviving, nothing on the object separates it from an uncatalogued Mexican run of the same number -- a cassette carries no run-out, and no release-specific code beyond the catalogue number was found. The owner's note CLEM-1520 matches what the photographs show and decided nothing on its own.
Reference: Discogs 10095635
Median sale: DKK 167 (one recorded sale)
Sale range: DKK 167
On sale now: 2, from DKK 376
Last sold: 29 August 2024

What the record says

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

Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 6 of them

J-card front panel: IRON MAIDEN logo, CLEM-1520 above a boxed EMI logo, a boxed HECHO EN MEXICO top right, and the SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON title lettering along the bottom; the spine panel reads CLEM-1520 and IRON MAIDEN sideways

IMG_6724.jpeg

J-card rear/flap panel, Spanish tracklist: IRON MAIDEN / "SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON", boxed EMI, CLEM-1520 on the edge, LADO A 1. HIJO DE LA LUNA -MOONCHILD- 2. SUEÑOS INFINITOS -INFINITE DREAMS- 3. TOCANDO CON LOCURA -CAN I PLAY WIHT MADNESS- 4. EL MAL QUE LOS HOMBRES HACEN -THE EVIL THAT MEN DO- / LADO B 1. SEPTIMO HIJO DE UN SEPTIMO HIJO 2. LA PROFECIA 3. EL CLARIVIDENTE 4. SOLO EL BUENO MUERE JOVEN (the WIHT misprint is as printed)

IMG_6725.jpeg

J-card inner panel at native resolution: CLEM-1520 top right, LADO A / LADO B tracklist with timings 5:39 6:09 3:31 4:33 and 9:52 5:06 4:27 4:41, writer credits in brackets (Harrys misprint for The Clairvoyant), then TODAS LAS MELODIAS SON DE LAS EDITORAS / ALL SONGS PUBLISHED BY ZAMBA MUSIC PUBLISHING LTD / PRODUCIDO Y MEZCLADO POR MARTIN BIRCH / (P) 1988 SONIDO ORIGINAL GRABADO EN EMI RECORDS LTD.; a DOLBY HX PROFESSIONAL box printed sideways beside the Recomendación strip

IMG_6726.jpeg

J-card legal column at native resolution: MUY IMPORTANTE: Este cassette es una obra intelectual ... (C) 1988 EMI RECORDS, LTD. ... Fabricado y Distribuido en Mexico por FONOVISA MELODY, S.A. DE C.V. Av. Ejercito Nacional 579-2o. piso, Colonia Granada-Polanco, C.P. 11520 Mexico, D.F. Tels. 254-44-33 y 211-01-77 Exts. 315/322/323/325

IMG_6727.jpeg, IMG_6728.jpeg

Shell side 1, white shell with black print: Spanish/English side A tracklist, boxed EMI logo, large 1, CLEM-1520 at the right edge, IRON MAIDEN "SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON" and EL IMPORTE PAGADO POR ESTE FONOGRAMA NO AUTORIZA SU EJECUCION PUBLICA CON FINES DE LUCRO.; a 100/50/0 tape scale moulded under the window

IMG_6729.jpeg

Shell side 2: side B tracklist, boxed EMI, large 2, CLEM-1520 (last digit smudged in print), and Fabricado y Distribuido en México por: FONOVISA-MELODY, S.A. DE C.V. Av. Ejercito Nacional 579-2o. piso, Colonia Granada-Polanco, C.P. 11520 México, D.F., Tels.: 254-44-33 y 211-01-77 Exts.: 315/322/323/325

IMG_6730.jpeg

The photographs

IMG_6724.jpg1 of 7READ FROM

The object, and what marks it out

Sleeve, labels and inserts

White printed shell, black text, in a clear case -- the J-card is a single long fold-out with the Spanish tracklist, a sideways Recomendación strip, and a column of Mexican copyright law text; the paper is browned and creased at the folds.
The J-card is printed on thin uncoated stock with the front artwork showing wear along the edges; no barcode anywhere on the J-card or the shell.
Cassettes have no run-out or deadwax equivalent, so nothing beyond the printed strings can be read off this copy.
Both shell faces carry the full tracklist in Spanish with the English title after each, and side 2's shell repeats the Fonovisa-Melody address printed on the J-card.

What distinguishes this pressing

Catalogue number CLEM-1520 -- the only cassette row in the version list carrying it; the Mexican LP and its promo are SLEM- 1520, one letter apart, and ruled out by format.
HECHO EN MEXICO boxed on the front, plus the explicit Fabricado y Distribuido en Mexico por FONOVISA-MELODY, S.A. DE C.V. statement on the J-card and the side 2 shell -- the country is stated directly rather than inferred from a rights society.
Spanish-language tracklist with the English titles in dashes, and the TOCANDO CON LOCURA -CAN I PLAY WIHT MADNESS- misprint on the rear panel -- a print quirk worth comparing against Discogs's scans of release 10095635 if a second Mexican run ever turns up.
DOLBY HX PROFESSIONAL box on the J-card inner panel, and (P) 1988 / (C) 1988 EMI RECORDS, LTD. -- consistent with the 1988 date on the candidate row.

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.

Case/inlay: general handling wear with some edge and corner softening; no cracks or splits visible in these shots.
Shell: light surface marks and handling wear are visible. No visible warping, tape spillage or shell damage in these photographs.

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

Probable is the honest ceiling here: the catalogue number and country are both read cleanly and match one cassette row, but a cassette has no run-out and this one carries no plant or printer code that would separate it from an uncatalogued later Mexican run. A verification fetch of release 10095635 comparing its tracklist, credit lines and any shell notes against the strings above would corroborate it; nothing on the object could promote it further.