Rare Copy of Havana Daydreamin' LP

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I'm new here, so please excuse me and let me know if this is improper. I have a rare vinyl copy of Havana Daydreamin' that I bought when it first came out. It contains an alternate version of "Kick It In Second Wind" and the unreleased song, "Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year Old Girlfriend Home." Does anyone know what this is worth these days? It is in M- condition, both the cover and the disc. I have found references to it on the web and on this discussion group, but never see any copies for sale so I have no idea what it might be worth. I'm going to retire soon and might need to sell some of my old vinyl! Thanks for any information!

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I'm new here, so please excuse me and let me know if this is improper. I have a rare vinyl copy of Havana Daydreamin' that I bought when it first came out. It contains an alternate version of "Kick It In Second Wind" and the unreleased song, "Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year Old Girlfriend Home." Does anyone know what this is worth these days? It is in M- condition, both the cover and the disc. I have found references to it on the web and on this discussion group, but never see any copies for sale so I have no idea what it might be worth. I'm going to retire soon and might need to sell some of my old vinyl! Thanks for any information!

Here some information about the version of "Havana Daydreamin" that you have:

Three rare versions of this album are known to exist. One contains the songs "Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year Old Girlfriend Home," and "Train to Dixieland," The catalog number on this version is the same as the released version ABCD 914

The second rare version contains the song "We've Been Taken to the Cleaners (and I Already Had my Shirts Done)." The catalog number on this version is the same as the released version ABCD 914

The third rare version has the catalog number ABCD-914a. It does not contain "Woman going Crazy on Caroline Street" instead it has " Kick It In, Second Wind" first song, side a. The last song on side a is "Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year Old Girlfriend Home," not "Defying Gravity." "Train To Dixieland" nor "We've Been Taken to the Cleaners."

The reason this album has theses variants is that at one point the album was going have the title "Second Wind" with song "Kick it in Second Wind" as the title track.

"The Official Price Guide to Records" published House of Collectibles places a value on both rare versions of Havana Daydreamin at between "$100 and $150"

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Thank you for the information. I have the third version you mention above. However, the catalog # is definitely NOT ABCD-914a. It is ABCD-914, same as the official version.

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Thank you for the information. I have the third version you mention above. However, the catalog # is definitely NOT ABCD-914a. It is ABCD-914, same as the official version.

Sounds like you have second pressing or test pressing of the version that was going to be released as "Second Wind" those were pressed in 1975 with the final catalog number of ABCD-914 but clearly the songs were not the final set of songs released under the "Havana Daydreamin" title. Incidentally the final official pressing of "Havana Daydreamin" happened in 1976

All in all not a big deal

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It's not a test pressing. It was purchased at a record store, right when the album was officially released. Definitely in 1976.

[Bucarader]

Post some pictures.

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Here's the full story on this: In 1976 I worked at Disc Records in Highland Mall in Austin, TX. One day when I was working the register a customer came in and said he wanted to return an album. It was "Havana Daydreamin'", which had just been released. I asked him what the problem was. You couldn't just return a record for any reason, there had to be something wrong with it. He told me that the first song "Woman Goin' Crazy On Caroline Street" was missing. Well, that didn't make much sense, so I put in on the store turntable, and sure enough, the first song was a different version of "Kick It In Second Wind." I was flabbergasted. Now, I was a Buffett fan and had all his previous ABC albums. I got the customer another copy, we opened it and checked it, and it was fine. After he left I immediately opened every copy of the album we had because I knew these "different" copies were special. Out of about 10 albums in stock I found 3 of the "alternate" versions. I bought all 3. When I got home and played the album I noticed the other difference, "Drunken Girlfriend" replacing "Defying Gravity." It appears the wrong "master" was used on side one. Over the years I've parted with 2 of them and now have this one left.

I am happy to post photos of the "alternate" version, but there is literally no difference between it and the "normal" version. The cover is exactly the same as the "normal" version that I also bought at the same time. The labels on the disc are exactly the same as well. There is NO visible difference in the "alternate" copy and the "normal" copy. Except for the dead wax.

On the "alternate" version they are like this:
Side A: / S ABCD-914-A 1B RFS/WSS A20
Side B: / S ABCD-914-B-1A RE-1 DP/WSS A1

On the "normal" version they are like this:
Side A: / S ABCD-914-A 1B RE-1 DP/WSS 3 B 4
Side B: / S ABCD-914-B-1A RE-1 DP/WSS A5

Again, happy to post photos if anyone really wants, but there is no visible difference. Both of my copies (the "normal" and the "alternate") were bought the same day in the same store and both have the exact same cover, inner sleeve and labels.

[Bucarader]

Oh, I wasn't doubting you. I was just curious as to what it looked like.

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Here's the full story on this: In 1976 I worked at Disc Records in Highland Mall in Austin, TX. One day when I was working the register a customer came in and said he wanted to return an album. It was "Havana Daydreamin'", which had just been released. I asked him what the problem was. You couldn't just return a record for any reason, there had to be something wrong with it. He told me that the first song "Woman Goin' Crazy On Caroline Street" was missing. Well, that didn't make much sense, so I put in on the store turntable, and sure enough, the first song was a different version of "Kick It In Second Wind." I was flabbergasted. Now, I was a Buffett fan and had all his previous ABC albums. I got the customer another copy, we opened it and checked it, and it was fine. After he left I immediately opened every copy of the album we had because I knew these "different" copies were special. Out of about 10 albums in stock I found 3 of the "alternate" versions. I bought all 3. When I got home and played the album I noticed the other difference, "Drunken Girlfriend" replacing "Defying Gravity." It appears the wrong "master" was used on side one. Over the years I've parted with 2 of them and now have this one left.

I am happy to post photos of the "alternate" version, but there is literally no difference between it and the "normal" version. The cover is exactly the same as the "normal" version that I also bought at the same time. The labels on the disc are exactly the same as well. There is NO visible difference in the "alternate" copy and the "normal" copy. Except for the dead wax.

On the "alternate" version they are like this:
Side A: / S ABCD-914-A 1B RFS/WSS A20
Side B: / S ABCD-914-B-1A RE-1 DP/WSS A1

On the "normal" version they are like this:
Side A: / S ABCD-914-A 1B RE-1 DP/WSS 3 B 4
Side B: / S ABCD-914-B-1A RE-1 DP/WSS A5

Again, happy to post photos if anyone really wants, but there is no visible difference. Both of my copies (the "normal" and the "alternate") were bought the same day in the same store and both have the exact same cover, inner sleeve and labels.

Okay it sounds like a few incorrect copies were shipped from ABC Records by mistake with the official versions this would explain why the tracks on the vinyl and the list of tracks on the record sleeve differ. A similar thing happened with Jimmy's album "High Cumberland Jubilee" where some copies have the songs in a different order, one song is mixed different and another song is actually longer than the listed running time

There are other test pressing and or demo version that are floating around too, these can be distinguished easily because label on the vinyl is white with black text instead of the usual full color label. In fact there is a promo copy on Ebay right now

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Oh, I wasn't doubting you. I was just curious as to what it looked like.

No problem! I understand.

[Bucarader]

I don't even have a record player and haven't had one for 25 years. I am a 100% CD person. I made the stupid mistake in high school/college in the late 80s to get rid of all of the vynal I had from when I was a kid and just do CDs. Unfortunately, that's a mistake that I have had to live with.

With all that being said, was it common for albums to release "test pressings" before the official release came out? Why would they release a version of Havana Daydreamin' with tracks that don't match the label? Was it a quality control issue or done on purpose?

Just asking because I'm curious.

I've always wondered why Jimmy hasn't re-released his back catalogue, remastered with original artwork and alternate takes. We'd all buy them.

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With all that being said, was it common for albums to release "test pressings" before the official release came out? Why would they release a version of Havana Daydreamin' with tracks that don't match the label? Was it a quality control issue or done on purpose?

True "test pressings" are actually pretty rare. A real test pressing was generally done for an artist or record label so they could listen to the finished album before it was manufactured and give approval. They are not circulated to radio, press or anyone outside of a very tight inner circle of the record label. They have very distinct labels which are generally the labels of the manufacturing plant, not the record label. Often times the album information is handwritten on the generic labels. Sometimes it is absent completely. They always have generic white jackets. One of the most famous of these is Bob Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks." After listening to the test pressing Dylan decided to record about half the album. So, those test pressings are very rare and valuable because they contain completely different tracks. That particular one has been bootlegged quite a bit. I've attached the label of a true test pressing of an album by a guy named Sammy Walker on Warner Bros. Nothing on the label to let you know what it is. No artwork, just a generic white cover. It came with a sheet of paper with all the information.





What is a little more common are "advance pressings." These were sometimes manufactured by labels so that they could send out a copy, well in advance of the real album being pressed, to press and radio, hoping for advance publicity and radio airplay. At this point it was quite unusual for the track listing to change, but it could happen sometimes. They often had no artwork, or simple "advance" artwork. I've attached the label of an "advance pressing" for an Elliott Murphy album on Columbia. It has no artwork, just a generic white jacket.



Finally, there were "white label promotional pressings." Not all labels did these, but most of the big labels like Columbia and Warner Bros. did. They usually had a "white" label as opposed to the normal, branded labels the record labels used. They usually had the normal artwork that the commercial version would use. The only difference was the label on the disc. Some record labels like Columbia would include a "timing strip" glued to the front with the track names and times to help DJs. And often there was a "Promotional, Not For Sale" sticker or stamp on the jacket. These are generally of interest to collectors simply for the uniqueness of them, they almost never have any different music. I've attached the label from a white label promo by the Flying Burrito Bros. on A&M. Jacket is exactly the same as the commercial copies, just the labels are different.



My copy of "Havana Daydream'" is none of the above. It is an actual commercial copy. Same cover, same labels. Somehow though the record was pressed with a different master and thus the two different songs.

Hope that helps!

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Here's another example of a true "test pressing." This is an artist named John Stewart, an album named "Fire In The Wind." Nothing at all on the label. No one even bothered to write in the information. The jacket is a generic white sleeve with "John Stewart" written on it. The album was on RSO Records which was distributed by Polydor, but it looks like the pressing was outsourced to the Columbia plant in Terre Haute, one of the biggest pressing plants back in the 70s. Again, these real "test pressings" were not for public consumption in any way, shape or form. They were only for the record label, artist, management, etc. to check before giving the go ahead to manufacture. Sometimes things changed and that made these test pressings very valuable. Most often things did not change, but collectors still like these.

[Bucarader]

That is crazy interesting how they did that. Now with everything being digital things are probably very different.

It seems like your copy of Havana Daydreamin' was kind of a "mistake" or manufacturing defect, if you will. Very rare indeed. I wonder what made them scrap "Train to Dixieland" and "Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year Old Girlfriend Home"? Or change "Kick it in Second Wind"? That thought process would be interesting. Now all of those takes are coveted and good copies hard to come by.

Again, you would have thought that these would have been officially released by now. I'm surprised they were not on the boxed set released in the early 90s.

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That is crazy interesting how they did that. Now with everything being digital things are probably very different.

It seems like your copy of Havana Daydreamin' was kind of a "mistake" or manufacturing defect, if you will. Very rare indeed. I wonder what made them scrap "Train to Dixieland" and "Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year Old Girlfriend Home"? Or change "Kick it in Second Wind"? That thought process would be interesting. Now all of those takes are coveted and good copies hard to come by.

Again, you would have thought that these would have been officially released by now. I'm surprised they were not on the boxed set released in the early 90s.

Not sure about Train to Dixieland and Kick it Second Wind but "Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year Old Girlfriend Home" would not have made the cut for radio airplay

[Bucarader]

Yeah, but "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw?" was allowed? They are about the same.

[ParrotHead67]

Weren't you going to post a picture of Jimmy's album?

[ASaltyPieceOfLand]

Never heard of We've Been Taken to the Cleaners (and I Already Had my Shirts Done). Looked around on Google, found nothing.

It's too bad the box set didn't contain more unreleased tunes.

[teddyn]

Over the weekend at Amoeba in Hollywood I actually found a test pressing of Rancho Deluxe. Looks like it was made for some record execs. I can take some pictures if you all would like to see it.

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Never heard of We've Been Taken to the Cleaners (and I Already Had my Shirts Done). Looked around on Google, found nothing.

It's too bad the box set didn't contain more unreleased tunes.

I have had a theory for a long time that the song title "We've Been Taken to the Cleaners (and I Already Had my Shirts Done)" was used as camouflage for the song "Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year Old Girlfriend Home" in order to get the song past ABC Records executives who might have rejected the song and possibly the entire album

There are a couple of collections of rare and or unreleased songs on the jokelben server for downloading