Last post we looked at how to go about identifying an unusual Australian pressing of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This type of id task comes up all the time when collecting Beatle and solo discs. Exactly which pressing do I have, and what are the key things to look out for?

One of the big collectables with a range of variations is original pressings of Paul McCartney’s CHOBA B CCCP. So it was great to have sent to us this week a handy article describing the basics of identifying the key differences to look out for with this LP. It is penned by our mate, Andrey Lukanin:

As we know, the 1st and 2nd editions of the album СНОВА В СССР have the same
catalogue and main matrix numbers. This led to Soviet Melodiya pressing plant employees getting confused about these editions. So a good deal of so-called “hybrid” albums went on sale – with the records having different covers/labels/vinyl.

Due to this same confusion with catalogue/matrix numbers, various plants released a
number of mispressed editions too. These came with with 12 tracks (instead of 11 or 13) and such records are a great rarity. Their sleeves and labels could look the same as any other pressing, but the number of tracks on the actual disc is different. That’s why it is very important to always check the number of tracks on each side of the vinyl itself. If they add up to 12 tracks it is very rare and collectable.

Aside from the rare 12 track version, the most common variations out there are the 11 track and 13 track variations.

To purchase a truly complete 1st pressing (11 tracks) or truly complete 2nd pressing (13 tracks), you need to check these three main components of the album: 1) the sleeve, 2) the labels, and 3) the number of tracks on the vinyl itself.

How to do this quickly and accurately:
1) Sleeve, front side (without looking at the back side: which could be yellow or white):
1st edition – MPL logo is in the upper right corner
2nd edition – MPL logo is in the lower right corner

2) Labels (without reading/counting song titles):
1st edition – tracklist is in Russian
2nd edition – tracklist is in English

3) Number of tracks:
1st edition – the total number of tracks on both sides of the vinyl should be 11
2nd edition – the total number of tracks on both sides of the vinyl should be 13

There is another way as well – and that’s to examine the endings of the full matrix numbers on the vinyl, but this is not very convenient.

So, those who already own this Soviet-made album in their collection have a reason
to check their copy.

Interestingly, in 2014 the Melodiya company celebrated its 50th anniversary. On the company’s website, a poll among music lovers was launched in advance: what records would they like Melodiya to re-release in limited quantities in honor of its anniversary? СНОВА В СССР appeared in the list of winners. But for some reason, like many other records from the list, the album has never been officially re-issued by Melodiya.

Andrey Lukanin

See also: Why Are There Two Versions of CHOBA B CCCP?; Another Variation of McCartney’s Choba B CCCP; Label Variations Part 3 – Versions of McCartney’s Choba B CCCP.