Vinyl pressings
by Yellowjackets · 1983
Mirage À Trois was first pressed on vinyl in 1983. Every vinyl pressing is listed below with its label, catalog number and runout codes, so you can tell an original from a reissue.
15 pressings came out in 1983, the album's first year, in 8 countries. Compare the label and catalog number on your copy, then the codes etched or stamped in the runout groove (the dead wax around the label): they are the surest sign of an early pressing.
[stamped] R/S Alsdorf 923813-1 A [etched) RMERunout side A
[stamped] R/S Alsdorf 923813-1 B [etched,) RMERunout side B
1-23813-A JW2 #1A side runout
1-23813-B JW1 #1B side runout
1-23813-A WW3—◁A Side Runout Etched
1-23813-B WW1—◁B Side Runout Etched
1-23813-A-SH3 [Allied ‘ɑ’ logo] B-17701-SH3 SLM △3597 1-2A side runout
1-23813-B-SH4 [Allied ‘ɑ’ logo] B-17702-SH4 SLM △3597-X 1-1B side runout
1-23813-A SH4 = ɑ B-17701-SH4 SLM △3597 1-A Side Etched
1-23813-B SH4 = ɑ B-17702-SH4 SLM △3597-X 1-1B Side Etched
Not sure how to read the runout? See matrix numbers, runout and dead wax and how to tell a first pressing.
By decade, oldest first. Open a pressing for its full label, barcode and runout details.
15 vinyl pressings of Mirage À Trois are listed here, from 8 countries.
The earliest pressings are from 1983, in Netherlands, US, Europe, France and more. One of them is Warner Bros. Records 92-3813-1.
Check the catalog number on the label (first-year pressings use 92-3813-1, 9 23813-1, W1-23813, P-11244) and the codes etched in the runout groove, then compare them with the pressings listed above; for example, [stamped] R/S Alsdorf 923813-1 A [etched) RME and [stamped] R/S Alsdorf 923813-1 B [etched,) RME. Later reissues often keep the catalog number but change the label design or the runout codes.
It depends on which pressing you have and on the condition of the record and its sleeve. Early pressings from the album's home country in near mint condition are usually worth the most; common later reissues are worth far less. Scan your copy with VinylLens to see its value for every grade.
