HERO AND HEROINE - VERSIONS
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US vinyl
Other vinyl
Cassette and 8-Track
Back to main Hero And Heroine page
UK VINYL
UK release
Vinyl album: AMLH 63607 (A&M, UK, 1974). Single sleeve, with fairly stiff quality paper inner sleeve with lyrics. The first Strawbs album to be released initially on the new silver label. A&M logo on front cover, bottom right has the UK catalogue number and an asterisk, which links to the note on the back cover about the logo a trade mark of A&M Records Ltd. Back cover features the "white tie and tails" promo shot, and has the UK New Kings Road address for A&M.
The back of the sleeve carries the following verse:
While storm clouds gathered high above
The Heroine he grew to love
Turned slowly to a snow white dove
And spread her wings to fly
Crushed and broken in the end
Hero watched his soul ascend
Knowing that he was condemned
To sail all alone to die....
This is definitely the original release - I bought as soon as it was available - the first of many! (I had more than one copy, as I kept having to take it back - the first pressing had a "weak wall" between the grooves on the title track at a particularly loud passage, which on my record player caused a jump.)
Front and back of sleeve
Autographed copy
This signed album, which was gifted to me, was almost certainly autographed, along with several others, at Strawbs gig in April 1989 at the Bonnington Theatre, Arnold Leisure Centre, Nottingham. The underlying printing quality of the sleeve is poor, with the various colours used in four colour printing not correctly registered.
Inner sleeve
Labels
UK reissue
The album was released at a later date with variant labels, which exactly match the style of By Choice, so I'm guessing later on in 1974 or early 1975.
Reissue labels
US VINYL
US releases
Vinyl album: SP 3607 (A&M, US, 1974).US silver labels were introduced in late 1973. The previous four brown label albums had differing labels, with quite different typography, depending where they were pressed, including matching promos, but all the releases of Hero and subsequent albums varied far less in terms of label typography, with more of a consistent house style as far as typography and text goes. That said, there are some differences in layout.
Monarch pressing labels
3 titles above, 3 titles below spindle hole.
Variant, Monarch pressing labels (*)
4 titles above, 2 titles below spindle hole. Side 2 more space between catalogue number and pubblishing details.
Pitman pressing labels
3 titles above, 3 titles below spindle hole. More space between "STRAWBS" and first track. Album name set lower, so A&M logo nearly off bottom of label.
Terre Haute pressing labels
3 titles above, 3 titles below spindle hole. Less space between "Out In The Cold" and "Round And Round"
US promo
Vinyl album: SP 3607 (A&M, US, 1974). Promo in my collection, not certain which pressing plant.
Monarch promo labels
Some promos came in a cover where the words "PROMOTION NOT FOR SALE" have been die cut into the front cover rather than having a promo sticker. Hard to scan, but see photo below.
Pitman/Terre Haute promos ???
Not known whether these two pressing plants created promo copies as well as full releases. (There were two or three promos for other Strawbs releaes and Hudson Ford releases of the period.)
US "club" release
Vinyl album: R104480 (A&M, US, 1974).This was listed on Discogs as a US "club" edition. Album cover same as the normal US release (US cat number on spine and front), but bottom left of back cover the "R" club release number appears. Labels are different typography to normal US release. My copy arrived without lyrics inner or insert, not certain whether there would have been one, quite likely there was.
Known "R" Strawbs releases:
There also seems to have been a combined A&M/club release on 8-track - see below.
Back cover
Labels
US "CRC" club release
Vinyl album: (A&M, US, 1974). Labels have CRC on each side (overprinted or bespoke labels?). The back cover is stickererd with a CRC label. No lyric sleeve or insert in my copy.
Back cover
Labels
US licensed "Longines" brown label release
Vinyl album: SWAO 95667 (A&M/Longines, US, 1974).Listed on Discogs. Brown label has the text "Manufactured by Longines Symphonette, Symphonette Square, New Rochelle, New York. Underlicensed from Capitol Inc".
For more info on The Longines Symphonette Society, which was a specialist record "club" outlet or club, see https://www.discogs.com/label/56767-Longines-Symphonette-Society. They mostly concentrated on classical and easy listening stuff in multi-album box sets, mainly from the Longines Symphonette orchestra with which they were associated. However, they appear to have started widening their net just before their demise in 1974: included in the Discogs listing are A&M releases Carpenters' Greatest Hits, Rick Wakeman's Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, Humble Pie Thunderbox and (on A&M in the US) Cat Stevens' Buddha And The Chocolate Box, as well as New York Dolls' Too Much Too Soon - along long way from their roots.
Back cover
Labels
US licensed "Longines" silver label release
Vinyl album: SWAO 95667 (A&M/Longines, US, 1974).I thought I was buying the release above - but this came instead. Outer cover has same text. Silver labels instead of brown, so proably a reissue of the earlier brown label version. Missing the text set out above for the brown release, otherwise identical typography. No lyric inner/insert in my copy.
Back cover
Labels
CANADA VINYL
Canadian first release
Vinyl album: SP 3607 (A&M, Canada, 1974). No lyrics inner sleeve, instead a 2 side insert, otherwise pretty much identical to the UK inner sleeve apart from the addition of US/Canadian publishing ownership after each song. Silver labels
My copy was bought in a second hand record shop in Toronto in 2004 when I was on tour with the newly reforfmed Hero & Heroine line-up, and I got them all to sign it.
Back of sleeve
Labels
Canadian reissues
Two variants, not known for sure which was earlier, but variant 0 (zero) probably earliest as it has similar typography to first release, though it has bi-lingual label copy which tended to be used later on. Variant 1 probably earlier than variant 2. But frankly,. I'm guessing .....
Variant 0 silver reissue (*)
Vinyl album: SP 3607 (A&M, Canada, mid-late 1970s?). Similar typography to original.
Variant 1 silver reissue and promo
Vinyl album: SP 3607 (A&M, Canada, mid-late 1970s?). Same as originals, except later model white/color labels - promo has nice light blue A&M Canada company inner sleeve.
Variant 2 silver reissue
Vinyl album: SP 3607 (A&M, Canada, 1980s?). Same as originals, except later model white/color labels and a nice A&M Canada English/French company inner sleeve. NB typography same as white reissue below.
Canadian budget reissues
(Vinyl album: SP 3607 (A&M, Canada) White label reissue
Labels
Inner sleeve, English and French
(Vinyl album: SP 3607 (A&M, Canada) Black label reissue
Was there one ??
EUROPE VINYL
Danish/Swedish/unknown release?
Vinyl album: SP 3607 (A&M, ?, 1974). Originally thought to be a US release, but after further research, I think that unlikely. Hudson Ford's Nickelodeon came out ahead of Hero And Heroine and was released with a silver label with the titles in two columns and matching promo release. As did The Carpenters's The Singles 1969-1973 album, released on A&M in Nov 1973. So whatever this is I don't now think it's a brown label US release in early '74.
The single sleeve it came in is nearly identical to the US release. Front cover has US cat number, no asterisk. The back cover of the copy I have has no UK trademark wording and substitutes the US A&M PO box address in Beverley Hills. What is different is an unreadably small three line logo at bottom right (also on the lyrics insert at the bottom): no idea what that is - looks like "S I 8/truck/TUMBA". Searching on the internet suggets that Tumba is music of Afro-Caribbean origin ...any ideas anyone?
Discogs lists it as "Scandinavian", and has a scan of the back cover which is ink stamped at bottom right with "Svala & Soderlund" (listed on Discogs as a record label), another illegible word, then Stockholm, capital of Sweden.
Inner sleeve with lyrics is a quite flimsy paper affair, and my copy came with a clear plastic protective inner sleeve inside that.
Labels are brown, but with "33" at the top, a bit like Australian/New Zealand releases. It also states "MONO/STEREO".
Note also there's a Scandinavian copy of Hudson Ford's "Burn Baby Burn" with a similar design, which comes in a "plate sleeve with "Distributed in Scandinavia and Finland by the Sonet Group" on it. So it looks like Sonet, which had indepedently released Strawbs albums on their own label from the very beginning, was no longer doing so by late 1973/early 1974, but were acting as a distributor for A&M instead.
So: this is probably either:
I think the latter is more likely.
Back cover
Labels
Italian release
Vinyl album: SLAM 63607 (A&M/Dischi Recordi, Italy, 1974). Follows UK release but with larger logo and Italian number at bottom left of front cover. Back cover has "Distribuzione Dischi Recordi S.p.A." Inner sleeve a copy of the US/Canadian sleeve, with publishing references to Irving Music for US and Canada.
The labels are brown - unusual for this album as by the time it was released, most of A&M had gone over to silver labels.
Labels
Dutch release
Vinyl album: AMLH 63607 (A&M, Holland, 1974). Follows UK release but with logo and cat number at bottom left of front cover. Back cover has Dutch distribution info, including "Distributed by CBS". Inner lyric sleeve but modelled on the US/Canadian insert, with publishing references to Irving Music for US and Canada. Silver labels.
Labels
German brown label release
Vinyl album: 87 709 IT (A&M/Ariola, Germany, 1973/1974?).
One of the few brown label releases for this album, which came out over the back end of 1973 and early part of 1974. Cover based on US copy, but with Ariola details at bottom of back cover and German catalog number at top right back cover. Inner lyrics sleeve is based on US, but has German cat no at bottom left of side 2 lyrics.
Labels
German silver label release
Vinyl album: 87 709 IT (A&M/Ariola, Germany, 1974).
Labels
French release
Vinyl album: 875020 (A&M, France, 1974). Based on US release, even to extent of US A&M address on back cover. Cover is shiny laminated. French cat number top right front cover, small A&M logo bottom left. Also on the back cover, Barclay distribution credit, made in France statement and a small B in a circle at top right (price code, maybe?).
No lyrics insert or inner sleeve in the copy I have -anyone seen one?
Back cover
Labels
Spanish release (some with promo insert)
Vinyl album: 87.709-1 (A&M, Spain, 1974). Spanish catalogue number at top left of back cover, with Barcelona addresses at bottom replacing UK or US addresses. Comes with a paper lyric inner sleeve, which repeats Spanish cat no on side 1 at the bottom centre.
Labels
Promo insert
Paper is green on the front, white on the back. At the top of aech page there is an A&M logo embossed into the paper (doesn't scan well!).
Back cover, bottom right
Spanish reissue
(*) Vinyl album: 87.709-1 (A&M, Spain, 1975). Pretty much the same as the first release, but wording at bottom right of back cover gives 1975 printing details.
Back cover, bottom right
Yugoslavian release?
(*) Well, "Hero And Heroine" was released as a single - so, did the album make it out here?
ASIA PACIFIC VINYL
Australian release
Vinyl album: L-35,122 (A&M/Festival, Australia, 1974). Australian release copies the US cover, but with Australian catalogue number (L 35112 on the back cover - but L-35,112 on the labels) and Festival details at bottom of back cover. No lyrics (as far I know), but a 1 page insert on beige paper from Festival Records.
Labels
Festival insert
New Zealand release
Vinyl album: AML 35112 (A&M/Festival, New Zealand, 1974). Copy I have came in an Australian cover with Australian cat no, but the album itself is a NZ release. No lyrics sheet in my copy - was there one?
Labels
Japanese release
Vinyl album: AML 201 (A&M/King, 1985). Sleeve based on US release (but without A&M logo on front). Back had King Records details added. The lyrics inner sleeve is based on US also, with King Records details added. Green and white Obi, with prior Strawbs releases advertised on rear.
But as ever, the joy of Japanese releases is the extra material they provide. There's a 4pp LP sized booklet, in black and white, which features the dove and hand design from the inner sleeve as a background to each page. Page 1 has the track listing in English and Japanese, and sleeve notes which seem to be in the form of an interview with "Dav" (Cousins I think) and Rod (Coombes). For an English speaker it's interesting to pick out the English words: "pigeon", "dove", "Jesus Christ movement", "Spiritual satisfaction", "opium poppy", and on page 2 "Tina". There's a whole phrase from Dav: "A lot of waters flows under the bridge". Page 2 continues the sleeve notes, which start considerinng the album track by track. The pages 3 & 4 provide the lyrics in Japanese. Nice item!
Insert
Obi front and back, labels
Japanese promo release
Vinyl album: AML 201 (A&M/King, 1985). White label promo release, otherwise same as main release.
Labels
Korean silver label
Vinyl album: SP 3607/SEL-RA 344 (Sung Eum, Korea, 1985). Silver labels. Dates on the labels suggest this was a 1985 release. A silver label Bursting At The Seams was also released in Korea in the following year, 1986, cat no: SEL-RA 354.
There a sided black and white insert - the front has Korean sleeve notes, the back some photos of the 1984/1985 line-up (Cousins, Hooper, Hud, John Ford, Brian Willoughby and Chris Parren - the latter re-surnamed as Chris Defornade ??), not the original line-up that recorded the album. Transparent company inner sleeve, with a notice from Sung Eum Records, which may have been part of or associated with Polygram.
The sleeve is a reprint of the US sleeve, with the catalogue number obscured on the front bottom left, and the Korean cat no printed on the back at top right. There's some Korean characters to the right of the track listing on the back cover, and manufacturing info and Sum Eung logo at very bottom right.
Text on the labels and the back cover confirm that the record was licensed into Korea from Polygram Records Limited Hong Kong.
Labels
Insert
Korean black label
Vinyl album: SP 3607/SEL-RA 344 (Sung Eum, Korea, date?). Black labels. Dates on the labels also suggest this was a 1985 release, but almost certainly wasn't the case. This may have been a reduced price reissue. The silver label Bursting At The Seams was released in Korea in 1986, cat no: SEL-RA 354, so it will most likely have been some time after that.
Same insert as for the above, and the cover is also based on the US sleve, but with different overprinting at bottom right of the back cover, stating both here and on the record label that the matefrial was licensed from PolyGram Int'l Music BV, The Netherlands.
The copy I have has a SEM Gramophone "Sample Record, Not For Sale" sticker on the back cover, and another sticker on side 1's label.
Labels
OTHER VINYL
South African release
Vinyl album: AMLS 63607 (A&M/RPM Pty, South Africa, 1974). Front and back covers come from US release: on the front you can see the little white A&M logo bottom left, which has been overprinted in back with the SA cat number. The back cover has the US address, but with overprinting telling us that it was distributed by RPM (Pty.) Ltd., and there's an "interpak" logo. The labels are silver, and instead of an inner lyrics sleeve, there's a 2-sided lyrics insert printed on high quality thick card, same as UK typography except that the times of the tracks have been overprinted, and there's a black logo and SA cat number underneath the logo at the bottom of side 1.
Insert
Labels
Argentinian 1977 release "Heroe Y Heroina"
Vinyl album: 8436 (A&M, Argentina, 1977). The logo on the back cover top left "1877-1977, 100 Anos del Sonido Grabado" dates the release. A 2 side lyrics insert, pretty much identical to the UK inner sleeve apart from the addition of US/Canadian publishing ownership after each song. Silver labels, the copy I have being overstamped "VENTA PROHIBIDA - Promocional", to make it a promo copy.
The song titles have been translated on the cover, the inner sleeve and the labels, but the lyrics are left in English:
And the verse from Hero And Heroine has also been translated on the back cover:
Mientras las tormentras nubes se amontonan en lo alto (While storm clouds gathered high above)
La heroina crece con amor (The heroine he grew to love)
Tornadose lentamente una paloma color blanco nieve (Turned slowly to a snow white dove)
Y desplega sus alas para volar (And spread her wings to fly)
Aplastado y quebrado el fin (Crushed and broken in the end)
El heroe mira su alma ascender (Hero watched his soul ascend)
Y sabe que esta condenado (Knowing that he was condemned)
A navegar solitario hacie la muerte (To sail all alone to die)
Front and back of sleeve
Inner sleeve
Labels
Venezuelan release "Heroe Y Heroina"
Vinyl album: LPS 88294 (A&M, Venezuela 1974?). Sleeve based on US copy with US address on rear. Front has Venezuelan cat no above A&M logo at bottom left with "STEREO COMPATIBLE" inside a rectangular box at bottom right. Back has cat no at top right, a "D" in a circle at top left, and "Hacho en Venezuela por El Palacio de la Musica SA", at bottom right above credits, all of which look to have been overprinted on covers probably supplied from US. On the back cover, song titles and the verse from "Hero And Heroine" are in English, but on the silver label, the song titles have been translated into Spanish:
Labels
Venezuelan reissue "Heroe Y Heroina"
Vinyl album: AMS 5089 (A&M, Venezuela ????). Single heavy card sleeve with US details, and Venezuelan info at bottom of back cover, and the Venezuelan catalgogue number top right. Top left there's "P.M.P.V Bs.34" in a circle. No Lyrics inner sleeve in my copy. Silver labels. Front and back, the title is in English, but on the thin spine "Heroe Y Heroina" appears.
As with the earlier release, the song titles have been translated on the labels only:
Labels
Brazilian release
Vinyl album: SA&M 2128 (A&M/Odeon, 1974). Single sleeve release. The picture quality on both sides of the cover is very poor, alomost like a grainy, bad, colour photocopy. Back cover has Brazilian catalogue number at top left (as well as US no), and "ESTEREO". At the bottom, it has the Disco E Cultura details of the Brazilian manufacturer. No reference to a cassette release as on the Brazilian Ghosts. Comes in clear plastic inner, no sign of any lyrics insert/inner sleeve.
Unusually, there is no mention of the album title on the label. Ooops.
Labels
CASSETTE AND 8-TRACK
UK cassette release
cassette: CAM 63607 (A&M, 1974). Different running order, "Round And Round" swapped with "Sad Young Man".
Outer cover
Inner cover
Cassette
UK 8-track release
8-track: YAM 63607 (A&M, 1974). Running order differs from vinyl release and US 8 track release.
Outer front and back
Front, back and head
Running order
Program 1
Hero And Heroine
Midnight Sun
Out In The Cold
Program 2
Round And Round
Autumn (Heroine's Theme
Autumn (Deep Summer's Sleep)
Program 3
Autumn (The Winter Long)
Just Love
Shine On Silver Sun
Program 4
Sad Young Man
Lay A Little Light On Me
Hero's Theme
US cassette release
cassette: CS 3607 (A&M US 1974). Straightforward cassette outer with front and back covers both featured. Track listingn same as vinyl release. The inner (not scanned) has details of other A&M US cassette releases.
Outer cover
Cassette
US 8-track release
8-track: 8T 3607 (A&M US 1974). Running order differs from vinyl release and UK 8 track release.
This 8 track has both the A&M catalogue number and the catalogue number of the club release listed above (S 104480 - the vinyl club album is R 104480). Whereas it nmay have been cost effective for A&M to print up different labels for a vinyl club release, they may have doubled up for the club 8-track.
Front, back and head
Program 1
Autumn (Heroine's Theme
Autumn (Deep Summer's Sleep)
Autumn (The Winter Long)
Sad Young Man - Part 1
Program 2
Sad Young Man - Part 2
Just Love
Hero And Heroine
Program 3
Midnight Sun
Out In The Cold
Lay A Little Light On Me
Program 4
Shine On Silver Sun
Round And Round
Hero's Theme
Canadian cassette release - paper labels
cassette: CS 3607 (A&M Canada, 1974).. Very simple packaging for this Canadian cassette release, inside of card cover is blank. For reasons I can only guess at, A&M Canada put Side 1 of the LP as Program 2, and vice versa, so the whole thing is rather distorted. Strange.
Program 1
Hero And Heroine
Midnight Sun
Out In The Cold
Round And Round
Lay A Little Light On Me
Hero's Theme
Program 2
Autumn
Sad Young Man
Just Love
Shine On Silver Sun
Outer cover
Cassette
Canadian cassette reissue - on body printing
cassette: VPCS 3607 (A&M Canada, date?). This seems to be a later reissue - similar catalogue style to the early Canadian CD release ("VPCD") below, so I'd guess it came out more or less the same time. Same reversal of side 1 and side 2. On-body printing cassette rather than paper labels.
Cover
Cassette
Canadian 8 track release
(*) Listed on Discogs, visibly in very poor condition.
Front, back and head
Running order
About as mangled a presentation of the album as can be imagined, splitting "Out In The Cold" and "Round And Round" and spreading the component parts of "Autumn" across 2 bands. Only good thing to be said is having "Hero And Heroine" in pole position as the opening track.
Program A
Hero And Heroine
Midnight Sun
Out In The Cold
Program B
Round And Round
Shine On Silver Sun
Autumn Heroine's Theme
Program C
Autumn Deep Summer's Sleep
The Winter Long
Just Love
Program D
Sad Young Man
Lay A Little Light On Me
Heros [sic]Theme
Italian cassette
cassette: EMK 73607 (A&M Italy, 1974).. Cassette itself and case are a lurid orange plastic, with printed label on the cassette. Cassette inner is blank.
Running order switches "Shine On Silver Sun" and "LayA Little Light On Me" - not certain how well that works - "Lay" segues into "Hero's Theme " and "Shine On" doesn't. Otherwise same as vinyl.
Cover
Cassette
Korean cassette release
Cassette: CA 046 (Sun Eung Ltd, Korea, 1985). A South Korean edition in cassette form. Acquired same time as a Korean Bursting At The Seams (CA 056). Date on cassette label is 1985, same as vinyl release above.
Cassette cover
Cassette
CD
Canadian CD release
CD: VPCD 3607 (A&M Canada, no date). Minimal reproduction of original - front and back cover, no lyrics.
Booklet (4pp)
CD body and tray back
Korean CD release
CD: DA 2093/393 607-2 (Korea only, A&M, no date).The original 10 tracks, no bonuses, so presumed to be after Polygram's 1989 acquisition of A&M Records, but before 1998 when the Universal CD came out. Outer cover has track details and personnel. Inner has 3 pages of Korean sleeve notes. Manufactured and distributed by Sung Eum Limited, printed in Korea.
Outer cover and sticker on jewel case
Inner cover
CD body and tray back
Universal 1998 CD release
CD: 540 935-2 (A&M, 1998, REMASTERED WITH 2 BONUS TRACKS). Front and back covers reproduced (white tie and tails photo is not as "soft focus" as original. No lyrics, but six pages of new sleeve notes by Dave Cousins and John Tobler.
A&M 1998 CD releases (Antiques, Witchwood, GNW, BATS, Hero, Ghosts)
These Universal releases have manufacturing details printed in the clear plastic centre on the silver side (ie bottom) of the CD. The first releases were made in Germany by PMDC. They seem to have been re-pressed later by other companies - EDC and Universal M&L and these are coming up on Discogs as different releases, but I'm not going to start scanning CD bottoms on Strawbsweb! No other changes as far as I can see in packaging.
Booklet - front (p1) and back (p8)
Booklet - pages 2&3
Booklet - pages 4&5
Booklet - pages 6 & 7
CD body
Tray back and inner
Japanese facsimile card sleeve CD release (2002)
CD: UICY-9216 (Japan only, A&M, 2002, REMASTERED WITH 2 BONUS TRACKS). Card sleeve is mini replica of the original album release, nicely printed with a paper inner sleeve which exactly reproduces the UK lyrics inner sleeve (but the print is tiny and unreadable, so not scanned - see UK vinyl above). A really nice touch - the album only came out on the brown label in the US, everywhere else was silver label: so unlike the other 2002 reissues which copy the A&M brown label, this CD is got up to look like a silver label release.
Front & back cover
Insert
Obi and CD body
Vox Humana facsimile card sleeve CD release (20??)
Lyric inner is very small print indeed (so not scanned), but they've also provided a booklet which has the lyrics in English and sleeve notes by John Tobler from the UK re-issue.
Booklet - front (p1) (back is blank) and CD
Booklet - pages 2&3
Booklet - pages 4&5
Booklet - pages 6 & 7
Universal Japan SHMCD reissue (2018)
CD: UICY-78839 (Universal, Japan, 2018) Facsimile reissue including original inner sleeve and Japanese booklet, based firmly on UK vinyl release. Obi mimics original Japanese release.
CD and Obi
South African CD releases
CD: STARCD 5839 (A&M South Africa, 1991).. South Africa seems to have released the album on CD in both 1991 and 1992 with different catalog numbers. SA releases apparently include a specific release date.
CD outer and inner
Tray back and CD
CD: MMTCD 1684 (A&M South Africa, 1992). Pretty much the same as the earlier release, but different cat no and release date.
CD outer and inner
Tray back and CD
Russian CD bootleg (*)
Spotted online. A copy of the 1998 CD release, but the typography is all black as opposed to the dark red used on the original. Difficult to tell from the picture, but it looks as though the CD itself is a darker colour than the UK release.
