One of the finest hardcore records ever was the Minor Threat – Out of Step LP. It is easily in my top 10 hardcore records of all time and has enjoyed regular play over here since I bought the record some 20 years ago (holy shit I’m getting old!). To this day it is a steady seller for Dischord Records and in fact is still in print on vinyl! Over the years, it got a couple of face lifts, and thus there was quite a few variations.
The first pressing had no stripe on the front cover, and a plain black cover. There was 3500 of these made and it sold very quickly.
It was then remastered for the second pressing. The back cover was changed to gray and it contained photos of the band members and the track listing. There was 5000 of these made.
The third pressing added a blue stripe and a price to the front cover, and on the back they removed the photos and just had a track list inside a box on a black background.
At this time there was also a UK pressing which had a red stripe, and the price in Pounds Sterling on the front cover,
as well as a German pressing with a green stripe, the price in DM, and the back cover had German song titles (with English translation right underneath them).
The fourth pressing had the same price as the third, but the stripe color was changed to blue-green.
Around December of 2007, it was pressed on gray/white vinyl. There was 2000 made
Finally, a good portion of the test pressings had a silk-screened sleeve. This is perhaps the most sought after Dischord collectible.
After the fourth pressing, the record kept getting re-pressed with the only difference being the price on the cover increased. After $3.50, it went up to $5, and then to whatever else they increased it to, I think 7 or 8 (perhaps both). You can still buy a current pressing today straight from Dischord Records, a label that has not shown any signs of giving up on vinyl, for which they should be commended.
UPDATE: Due to a couple of questions, I have added the additional information:
The first pressing labels look like this.
The first pressing insert was just an 8.5″x11″ sheet containing the lyrics and no photos.
The second, third, German, and UK pressings had yellow labels that look like this.
The second pressing insert started the “poster” style insert but was on flat, plain paper.
The third pressing (including the foreign pressings), and all subsequent pressings came with the same insert, but printed on glossy paper and is of much higher quality.
On the fourth pressing, the greenish ink on the lables are much brighter. I can only assume that the pressings that followed have them too but I don’t have any to reference.
So there you have it, the many flavors of one of the finest hardcore records of all time and a sure classic.
I love that album
i never realized that my copy is from the first pressing, thanx for posting this bit of history.
the music contained on this piece of vinyl has never stopped being great.
“i want to tell you a little story, ’cause it makes me warm inside…”
The first press did indeed sell out fast, too quickly for me to be able to find it for sure but I picked up the second pressing as soon as it hit the stores. This (you know, of COURSE) meant that getting the original mix (wobbly guitars on “Cashing In”, the whistling after “It Follows”, that little final guitar chord at the end of “Think Again”, etc) was an obsession of mine for a year or two. Well now that the CD version returns it to that initial mix (more or less; it certainly has more power though) it’s the second version that I prefer (“Go!” “Think you’ll be able to hear the two clicks?” “Yes, go!”). I’m an idiot.
Hey, don’t forget the little poster that came w/ it! Any variation there from pressing to pressing? I’m guessing that you’re the guy to ask.
Couple of questions. Are the labels on the second press yellow like they are on my red stripe £ 2.50? Also, my second press insert is 2 sided on paper, while my red stripe has both sides on one glossy fold out poster. My first press does not have an insert so I don’t know if it came with one or not or whether it is the same as the paper one that came in the 2nd. Thanks, jack
I’ll update this entry with some pix of the labels and inserts shortly. Those are all good questions and should be addressed.
Thanks for the update. I checked my 2nd press and I was wrong, my insert is the paper poster kind, not on 2 sides of the paper as stated. jack
hi
i just bought 4th pressing with green stripe with $3,50 price on it.
it includes an unused label for 2nd or 3rd pressing but there is no insert.
do you know maybe anything if it should be there ?
thanks
Every pressing including ones that you could still purchase now came with a lyric sheet. So whoever the previous owner of your copy was must have lost or kept it.
I`m selling my own copy, and now i finally got confirmed that my copy is the original.
Is there always pressed same text in the center of a-side:
The grass is always greener.
And also i remembered that there was a picture from the band. And the lyrics sleeve.
I´ve had lost the picture.
I know there is a casette version as well… Anybody know if that was only one run? thanks!
MXV,
Do you have a vinyl rip of the second version? That is version I had when it came out and only knew about until the Discography CD was released. I wondered why the yell at the end of Out of Step was truncated, and why the “think you’ll be able to hear the two clicks” was omitted as well.
This has been a pet peeve of mine for years – similar to the Circle Jerks Wild in the Streets re-mastering that Frontier records did to the original Faulty Products version.
I need a little help…I have what appears to be the 5th press. (turquoise stripe, $5.00) The weird thing is the sticker label on both sides of the record is the b-side sticker. Also “Cashing In” appears after “Out of Step” on the b-side but is not credited. Was wondering if this was a known defect. I bought this record from dischord around ’95.