Rocket from the Crypt
Paint as a Fragrance
Headhunter HED-003 LP/CD/Cassette, released February 1991 (U.S.)
Toy's Factory TFCK-88634 CD, released 1995 (Japan)
Rocket's debut album, released on Headhunter. There were several
editions of this record: the first two pressings were both on black
vinyl. You can recognize the actual first pressing by the sleeve,
trail-off wax matrix codes (see below), and vinyl. All of the later sleeves were
on a standard glossy cardboard, whereas the first pressing sleeve was on a
flat matte cardboard. Also, the Headhunter logo on the back was
different (see below). The first press vinyl is lighter than the
later ones, and actually appears as semi-translucent brown when held up to
the light. All of the pressings were made from the same masters, but
earlier versions have extra codes etched into the stamper.
-
First pressing: Translucent black vinyl, matte cardboard sleeve with old Headhunter logo.
Matrix codes: HED - 003 - A kdisc JG 29542 L-36999 and HED - 003 - B kdisc JG 29543 L-36999X - Second pressing: Black vinyl, glossy cardboard sleeve, standard Headhunter logo.
The second pressing inserts were clearly copied from the first
pressing inserts, and as a result, the black ink in them shows up as a little more grey than on the earlier versions.
I am pretty sure there were many pressings with this description - it stayed in print for a long time.
Matrix codes: HED - 003 - A kdisc JG 29763 L-36999 and HED - 003 - B kdisc JG 29764 L-36999X (Note: The 29763 and 29764 are upside-down.) - There was then a solid yellow vinyl
pressing, but that one came much later on (late-'90s). The yellow version had a gold "Limited
Edition Color Vinyl" sticker on the front of the sleeve (on the outer
plastic). The yellow one is generally more expensive than the black one because
people love their colored vinyl.
Matrix codes: HED - 003 - A kdisc JG L-36999 and HED - 003 - B kdisc JG L-36999X - Starting in 2011, a brown marble copy surfaced. I contacted Cargo Music at that point, and they told me
they were re-pressing this record whenever it ran out, "usually in a different colour wax". Hm. That seemed to hold true,
as several others appeared in subsequent years: purple marble was next, followed by grey marble, olive green marble, and mint green marble.
There were also some mixes of colors, which just complicated things further. I've seen a brown one that was mixed with grey, and the olive green
one below was also clearly mixed with grey (it's possible this is actually brown mixed with grey, but it looks liek a unique green base color).
All of the above are fairly tough to find, but the green varieties seem to be more scarce than the others.
Cargo seemed to stop re-pressing it around 2013 or 2014.
Matrix codes: HED - 003 - A kdisc JG L-36999 and HED - 003 - B kdisc JG L-36999X
| Version | Value ($) | Scarcity | Price Trending |
|---|---|---|---|
| HED-003 1st Press Black w/ insert | 15-25 | 5 | Stable |
| HED-003 2nd Press Black w/ insert | 12-15 | 3 | Stable |
| HED-003 Yellow Marble | 15-20 | 5 | Down |
| HED-003 3rd Press Black | 12-15 | 3 | Stable |
| HED-003 Brown Marble | 25-30 | 6 | Stable |
| HED-003 Purple Marble | 20-25 | 6 | Stable |
| HED-003 Grey Marble | 25-35 | 7 | Stable |
| HED-003 Olive Green Marble | 30-40 | 8 | ? |
| HED-003 Mint Green Marble | 30-40 | 8 | ? |
 Insert |
 1st Headhunter Logo |
 2nd Headhunter Logo |
 Test Pressing |
 Black |
 Yellow |
 Brown Marble |
 Purple Marble |
 Grey Marble |
 Olive Green Marble |
 Mint Green Marble |
| Test Pressing | Black vinyl, RTI labels with typewritten info |
|---|
This page was last updated on December 29, 2019.
