SP12 Soundgarden
Screaming Life
Sub Pop SP12 LP, released October 1987 (U.S.)
Sub Pop SP1065 2xLP, released November 2013 (U.S.)
What to do with this one...the first several Sub Pop releases all have their grand places in history. This was Soundgarden's debut EP. There are many colors to account for here. The first pressing is still the big one: 500 on orange vinyl (some discographies say 600). There were several subsequent pressings due to the popularity of the album, and they were on many colors due to Erika Records' involvement. To complicate the situation, there were also several important sleeve variations. Alright, let's get to it. Here's what Matt Mona (of KA-CHUNK Records, who provided many of the images) and I have pieced together:
1. 1st pressing: 500-600 on orange vinyl. Black & white sleeve, "Screaming Life" in orange print on the spine.
2. Black vinyl, black & white sleeve, "Screaming Life" in orange print on the spine.
3. Black vinyl, sepia tone sleeve, no bar code, "Screaming Life" in red print on the spine.
4. Erika pressings...known colors: I have seen blue marble (these vary in amount of marbling and darkness of the blue color), red, purple marble, pink marble, and mint green marble, which is by far the rarest of the bunch. This one was unconfirmed for a long time before a collector got ahold of a copy. Right. Sepia tone sleeve, small bar code on the upper left of the back of the sleeve.
5. Black vinyl, black & white sleeve, "Screaming Life" in red print on the spine, bar code on the bottom right of the back of the sleeve, www.subpop.com on the bottom of the sleeve.
6. 2013 re-press: This is a double LP re-press (the second LP is a re-press of the Fopp EP). The limited Loser Edition of this pressing has a clear blue Screaming Life record and a clear vinyl Fopp EP. The regular edition has both discs on black.
All original color copies are somewhat rare, while the black ones are not. The blue, purple, and red versions all appear with similar frequency. The mint green one is a really tough find - easily the hardest of this batch. The pink marble is fairly close behind.
7. Finally (so far), in 2018, Newbury Comics released a special version of the double LP re-press. This one was limited to 400 copies, and both discs were on blue and black swirl vinyl.
Now...pricing. The orange one has been absolutely all over the place in the past few years. If you get lucky, you can still get one for around $100. It has gone for up to $600. There has been zero consistency from one sale to the next. The mint green one has come down a bit in price, but I have only seen it sold once in the past three years. The pink marble one has gotten fairly expensive, while the other early colors have stabilized.
| Version | Value ($) | Scarcity | Price Trending |
|---|---|---|---|
| SP12 Orange | 175-250 | 5 | Volatile |
| SP12 Black (b/w sleeve, no bar code) | 30-50 | 2 | Stable |
| SP12 Black (sepia sleeve, no bar code) | 20-30 | 1 | Stable |
| SP12 Blue Marble | 30-50 | 4 | Stable |
| SP12 Purple Marble | 50-60 | 6 | Stable |
| SP12 Red | 30-50 | 5 | Stable |
| SP12 Pink Marble | 65-85 | 7 | Stable |
| SP12 Mint Green Marble | 75-130 | 9 | Volatile |
| SP12 Black (w/ bar code) | 10-12 | 1 | Stable |
| SP1065 2013 2xLP Re-press (1 x Blue/1 x Clear) | 25-35 | 3 | Stable |
| SP1065 2013 2xLP Re-press (Black) | 12-15 | 1 | Stable |
| SP1065 2018 2xLP Re-press (Blue/Black Swirl) | 35-45 | 6 | Stable |
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| Credits | Matt Mona (KA-CHUNK Records): All images except black vinyl, mint green vinyl, and sepia sleeve. |
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This page was last updated on October 29, 2019.
