| Main Pressing plants Pennyroyal Tea Test pressings Collection |
| Pennyroyal Tea 7" promo NIRVPRO-3 fake | |||||||
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In March 2004 this Pennyroyal Tea 7" promo first appeared on eBay.com. It is however an unofficial release, a fake. To discuss this item, we must picture the following scenario: The item has full artwork as a single, and if we assume it was real, the retail issue would be just like this promo, just the promotional text on the back would be removed. Or, better said, the promos would have the promotional text added to them. It would not be a unique promo, it would be made out after the retail issue, whith only that extra text. That means that they are almost completely similar, and most likely pressed at the same time, which again means that they would have the same set of matrix codes. This scenario with this being real and an existing retail issue is necessary to understand why this is a fake. This item, presented as it is, would probably not be a promo-only release. The fact that this would be a variation of the retail issue, explains why it has the UPC/ barcode. They simply just didn't edit it out. The first thing which strikes you is the catalog number, NIRVPRO-3. For a German 7", that is impossible. Similar codes (NIRVPRO, NIRPRO) can be found on UK CD releases (note that it doesn't appear on any 7" releases). I would guess the makers of this fake tried to be smart, but using a UK CD promo prefix (which isn't really a set prefix) isn't very smart, if you ask me. German 7" releases have the prefix GES, followed by five numbers. As this promo would be like the retail issue, this promo would also have prefix GES. And even if this was to be a promo only release (with all that artwork, that is very unlikely), it would not have a NIRVPRO prefix. That's just silly. Also, there doesn't seem to be any other German 7" promos. I think this release is made after the old rumours, which can be found other places on my site. Then comes the record company. The sleeve has a Geffen image, and the 7" has a DGC image. Now, it is not uncommon for many items to have both listed. Many times the artwork for the sleeve is cloned from releases in other countries, and as of that, the company image may be wrong. However, the label on the 7" is often unique, since they are very easy to make. They would have the correct company image. According to that, the correct company should be DGC. Now, this is wrong for several reasons. DGC released all German vinyl before Heart-Shaped Box, but from that and on, it has been Geffen. So this should be Geffen, and no matter what, Germany is most often the first country to make the artwork, which means that errors like this wouldn't happen. It would have either DGC/ DGC or Geffen/ Geffen. The artwork isn't perfect. The vinyl labels appear to be OK, except for the crappy DGC logo. The front artwork looks way too dark. German artwork tends to be very good. This is way darker than the CD release. The back also appears to be a bit dark, and perhaps of a bit poor quality. Keep in mind that I base this on scans on eBay, and the way the images have been scanned could also affect the brightness of the images. Still, this looks way too dark. Also note the "compact disc digital audio" logo on the back, right next to the Geffen logo. Should't be there, obviously. Then comes the matrix codes. Except for the limited edition red Heart-Shaped Box 7" (GES19191), the german 7" records appear to be pressed by a plant with strict regulations when it comes to matrix codes. Mostly pressing plant numbers, and they don't include the catalog number at all. Search my site or nirvanadiscography.com for examples. Simply put, I strongly doubt this matrix set would exist. The UPC code is also very wrong. The first five digits in a UPC code (which is a special case of EAN/UCC-13 (GTIN), which means Global Trade Item Number, and it's purpose is to identify the product by laser when sold - the digits generate a special set of bars and spaces known as the barcode) is supposed to identify the company, which would be Geffen/DGC. Their five first digits should be 72064, for Germany. This item, as you can see, does not have the correct digits, and cannot have been made by Geffen/DGC. The seller claimed several copies were found in New Zealand. Just a few, but still many collected on one place. These may have been made somewhere in South East Asia or Australia/ New Zealand. In conclusion, this record is definitely a fake because of the catalog number, matrix codes, record company error, the dark artwork, CDDA logo, and the UPC code.
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 1. Front  2. Back  3. Side A  4. Side B Thanks to Andy Conway (images 1-4). | |||||||
| Main Pressing plants Pennyroyal Tea Test pressings Collection |