Bob Dylan in Japan 1 His Exclusive Japanese Album Releases Bob Dylan Vol. 2 – exclusive release from CBS Japan, 1966, with cover of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan but no songs from that album! This chapter details the many Bob Dylan album releases that are exclusive to Japan. The albums listed here are by Bob Dylan, although there are also very many various artists compilations exclusive to Japan, particularly promotional-only albums released by CBS/Sony or Sony Music Japan. All Bob’s Japanese vinyl albums are very collectable because of their high quality packaging and pressing. All Japanese albums on vinyl or CD come with a paper “obi” (“obi” is the Japanese name for the distinctive wide sash worn by geishas and other women in Japanese traditional dress) with text in Japanese and other information such as price (including sales tax after 1989), release date and withdrawal date. Japanese year numbers up to 1984 are confusing to Westerners as Wil Gielen explained to me in 2008 about a 1965 Japanese promo LP: The white labels have a very small date (40-12) hand-stamped on each side - the “40” is the Japanese year "Showa 40" (40th year of the reign of the Emperor Showa - Hirohito) which corresponds to 1965 in the Western calendar. The "12" on the label is for December. It's interesting that even now Japan uses its own system for calendar years, and each ends when the Emperor dies, and starts again when the new Emperor is announced. The current Emperor was crowned in 1988 and so that was "Year Zero" for his era (the Heisei era), and now we are in year "Heisei 20" (2008). This is used on newspapers, official documents, application forms, birthdays etc (but not on CD release dates) more often than our Western 2008 year. It's very confusing for non-Japanese, because you need also to know the era and the year to identify the correct year." For example, a 1977 Japanese release dated "52-12-31" meant 31 Dec 1977 as 1977 was Showa Era Year 52 and a 1979 Japanese release was dated "54-1-12", Showa Era 54, so the date was 12 Jan 1979. The year date codes used on Japanese LP and CD releases from 1984 up to Aug 1991 were clarified by Sheiji Murata. The code is in the form "Y-MM-DD", where "Y" is a letter from the name "NIHON RECORD KYOUKAI" (Japan Records Association). The sequence is N-I-H-O-(N)-R-E-C-(O)-(R)-D: "N"=1984, "I"=1985, "H"=1986, "O"=1987, "R"=1988, "E"=1989, "C"=1990, "D"=1991 (up to Aug). Therefore on the re-release of Before The Flood the code "H-11-1" means "1 Nov 1986", on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, "O-8-26" means 28 Aug 1987, on Highway 61 Revisited "C-6-1" means 1 Jun 1990, etc. After 1991 Japanese releases used Western year numbers. Japan introduced sales tax in 1989. Before that an obi showed one price only and the CBS/Sony catalogue number indicated the price, e.g. "25DP" meant ¥2,500. After the introduction of sales tax the obi showed both the price before and including tax and new systems of catalogue numbers were used. The 1960s The first 1960s releases in Japan came from CBS before the company was bought by Sony in 1968. All but one of Bob’s albums before then were released in Japan in a different format from that of other worldwide releases! "Bob Dylan!" - stereo vinyl compilation LP, CBS YS-537-C (Japan), Dec 1965: This release, in the "College Folk Series" and Bob's first in Japan, uses the Times They Are A-Changin' sleeve but has no songs from that album! There was a red/white paper obi with price ¥2,000. A copy still with an obi is today very hard to find. Track 1 on side 1 is Like A Rolling Stone. For the tracklistings of this and every other album in this article, see my “Searching for a Gem” web-site. "Bob Dylan Vol. 2" - stereo vinyl compilation LP, CBS YS-585-C (Japan), Mar 1966: This release, also in the CBS Japan "College Folk Series", uses the sleeve of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan this time, but like the 1965 Bob Dylan! CBS Japan release which used the sleeve of The Times They Are A-Changin' has no songs from that album! It again has a red and white obi with price ¥2,000 and a pink card insert. A copy that still has its obi is today very hard to find. "Bob Dylan Vol. 3" - stereo vinyl LP, CBS YS-611-C (Japan), May 1966: This release with an exclusive anachronistic sleeve, is the regular 1962 Bob Dylan album with the tracks reordered! Again, to find it with its original obi is very difficult, so the copy illustrated is extremely rare. "Bob Dylan!/Vol. 4" - stereo vinyl LP, CBS YS-641-C (Japan), Jul 1966: This release, again with an exclusive anachronistic sleeve, is the regular 1964 The Times They Are A-Changin' album! It again had a red/white obi. Rainy Day Women 12 & 35: Bob Dylan/Vol. 5" - stereo vinyl LP, CBS YS-672-C (Japan), Sep 1966: This release, with an exclusive sleeve, is actually the first part of Blonde On Blonde. As far as I know it used the 1966 US mix. The second part below was not released in Japan until Mar 1967. I don’t have a picture of this album with its obi. "The Bob Dylan Story" - stereo vinyl 2LP set, CBS YS-696~7-C (Japan), Nov 1966: This incredibly rare double album compilation, in an exclusive gatefold sleeve, was actually released in Japan between the two parts of Blonde On Blonde! It has a red paper band obi with black and white text and price ¥3,800. To find a copy these days with the obi is almost impossible! The records are numbered "YS-696-C" and "YS-697-C" and are titled The Bob Dylan Story - 1 and The Bob Dylan Story - 2. Bob’s two non-album singles Positively 4th Street and Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? are included on Side 4. "Blonde On Blonde: Bob Dylan! Vol. 6" - stereo vinyl LP, CBS YS-748-C (Japan), Mar 1967: This release, again with an exclusive sleeve, is the belated second part of Blonde On Blonde. As far as I know it again used the 1966 US mix. I again don’t have a picture of this album with its obi. The last Dylan album to be released in Japan before CBS was taken over by Sony in 1968 was John Wesley Harding (CBS YS-948-C) in Jun 1968. This was the only CBS Dylan album to be released in Japan in the same format as other worldwide releases. "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" - stereo vinyl compilation LP, CBS/Sony SONX 60044 (Japan), late 1969, re-released 1975: This 1969 compilation was the second Dylan album to be released by CBS/Sony, after Nashville Skyline (CBS/Sony SONP 50095) in Jun 1969. It has the same front sleeve as the 1967 US Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits release, but a different rear sleeve and track list. It has a gatefold sleeve with the song lyrics in Japanese inside. Love Minus Zero/No Limit on Side 1 is mistitled as "Outlaw Blues/No Limit" on the record label. The song title is listed correctly on the rear sleeve, but the record actually plays Outlaw Blues! I don’t have a picture of the 1969 release with its obi. It has a 12" LP-sized booklet with the Milton Glaser poster on the front and a discography including 1968's John Wesley Harding on the back. The 1975 reissue comes in the same sleeve and Love Minus Zero/No Limit is now listed correctly on the Side 1 label. It also plays correctly on the record itself! The 1975 release has an orange/white top obi with black text and price either ¥2,100 or ¥2,300. It again has the 12" LP-sized booklet. The1970s "Gift Pack ’70 Series: Bob Dylan"- deluxe 2LP boxed set, CBS/Sony SOPB 55117~18 (Japan), Nov 1970: This is the first of a large number of exclusive compilations released by CBS/Sony in Japan, most as boxed sets, all with unique packaging and extras! There is an unusual corner obi which is glued to the inner lid of the hinged box (so it can’t go missing), the rear of which is plain white. This is Vol. 9 in the first “Gift Pack” Series released in Nov 1970 to commemorate the second anniversary of CBS/Sony in Japan. It is a numbered, limited edition, two-record box set released with a booklet and colour poster. The number is printed on the unique corner obi. The booklet has twelve pages and the large poster on thick paper is the Milton Glaser picture given away with copies of the US 1967 Greatest Hits compilation. Side 3 includes Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands (mistitled as "Lowland" on the sleeve and misspelled as "Lawland" on the record label) - this is the only place this song appears on a Dylan album other than on Blonde On Blonde and the 2015 6CD or 18CD editions of The Bootleg Series Vol. 12 – Bob Dylan 1965-1966: The Cutting Edge! "Gift Pack ’71 Series: Bob Dylan" - deluxe 2LP boxed set, CBS/Sony SOPB 55153~54 (Japan), Nov 1971: This limited release was Vol.