A Record Collector's Guide

Other Worlds EP

Velvetone CS, released 1984

SST 105 LP/CD / SSTC 105 CS, released 1988

The first Screaming Trees release was their 1984 demo, initially released exclusively as a cassette on Velvetone Records. From what I am told, this was limited to 1,000 copies. It feels as though there could not have been that many, as it was insanely difficult to find for many years. As more of these have turned up, it has become clear that there were several different cassette shell/label combinations: black shell with orange labels, black shell with green A-side/white b-side labels, white shell with white labels, and clear shell with white labels. This used to be nearly impossible to find, but a few have started to appear for sale with more regularity, and the price has come way down accordingly. For valuation purposes, I am lumping all of the Velvetone cassette versions together - collectors don't seem to be differentiating much at this stage.

Other Worlds was later reissued by SST Records as SST 105 in 1988. The SST version had a completely different sleeve design. Many copies were on green vinyl. In fact, the black vinyl version seemed to be the rarer one for a long time (though still not very rare). Recently, a bunch of sealed black copies have hit the market and are being sold through Merchbar (along with sealed copies of all the other SST albums). So either the band had a bunch of these they are finally liquidating or there was a low-key, recent re-press. As a result, the black vinyl version has gotten more inexpensive.

Velvetone Cassette	Velvetone Cassette Insert	Test Pressing Insert
Test Pressing	Green	Black

This page was last updated on January 26, 2020.

Clairvoyance

Velvetone VST 86002 LP, released 1986

Hall of Records HOR112 CD, released 2005

The legendary lost Screaming Trees album. Well, one of them. The band's first full length, released on Velvetone records in 1986 (theoretically limited to 2,500 copies, but that would be a surprisingly large quantity for how rare it has been). This was one of the top three on my want list in the 90's. It was a tough find. It wasn't until eBay showed up on the scene that I finally added this one to my collection. According to someone I knew who was friends with the band, they had lost the master tapes, and so were unable to re-press the vinyl or release it on CD, even though the demand was there. I don't know how much truth there is to this story, but it seemed like something that would happen to this band. Whether true or not, the problem was eventually resolved, and the album was finally released in CD form in 2005. When that happened, it detracted slightly from the overall value of the LP, but it is still difficult to find and fairly expensive. That effect wore off over time and it is back up in the more expensive range again. The price has been supremely volatile in the last few years. I still consider it one of my great vinyl prizes, even though the music may be a bit...underdeveloped. All copies were on black vinyl.

This page was last updated on January 26, 2020.

Even If and Especially When

SST 132 LP/CD / SSTC 132 CS, released 1987

The first fully excellent Screaming Trees album (warning: author opinion). After a very long time of looking, I located the color vinyl version of this record. It was pink, as had been rumored for years. It is very, very rare, and tends to go for a tidy sum when placed on the open market. The black vinyl version isn't the cheapest either, but it's out there. It's gotten more common since it and the other SST albums have appeared for sale on the band's Merchbar page - either vis re-press or overstock sale. The pink one was a later pressing (1990-ish), possibly released in conjunction with the Anthology double album.

Test Pressing

Pink

Black

This page was last updated on January 26, 2020.

Invisible Lantern

SST 188, released 1988

Full-length LP #3. Brilliant record. The color vinyl for this one was a dark blood-red. The red one was a later pressing (1990), possibly released in conjunction with the Anthology set. It is quite difficult to find. It is such a deep red that some people mistake it for brown.

As with the other SST albums, there may have been a recent pressing or resdiscovered back stock. The band started selling sealed black vinyl copies of this one through Merchbar recently. All of this has made the black ones much more common.

Test Pressing	Test Pressing Insert	Test Pressing Press Kit

This page was last updated on January 27, 2020.

Beat Happening Screaming Trees EP

Homestead HMS-110, released 1988

53rd and 3rd AGARR 20T (UK)

A bit of a random EP...this collaboration, released on Homestead Records, was definitely more Beat Happening than Screaming Trees. There was really only one Screaming Trees song on the EP (Polly Pereguin). There were two different sleeves for the U.S. version of this record: one with someone swinging at a doll head with a 2x4 on the front and one with band members sitting around. These do appear to have been pressed at different times; the print quality of the text on sleeve B was lower than that of sleeve A. They also had different sets of labels on the vinyl, but the identical trail-off wax suggests that the two were cut from the same masters. The two versions seem to show up with about the same regularity. There was also a UK pressing of the record on 53rd and 3rd Records. That one is slightly harder to find.

Sleeve A - Side A	Sleeve A - Side B	Sleeve B - Side A
Sleeve B - Side B	53rd and 3rd - Side A	53rd and 3rd - Side B

This page was last updated on January 27, 2020.

Change Has Come

Sub Pop SP48 2x7" released 1989 (U.S.)

Sub Pop SP48b CD / SP48a Cassette, released 1991 (U.S.)

Glitterhouse GR0080 12" / GRCD 80 CD, released 1990 (Germany)

Finally...a 7"!!! This was Screaming Trees' only release on Sub Pop, a double single in 1989. Most copies of this one either contain two black 7"s or one white and one black. Both discs exist on white vinyl, but SP48C on white seems to be slightly more difficult to find. There is a version with both records on red vinyl (~60 were supposedly made). It has always been a really tough find. It took me several years to track that one down.

I heard a rumor that there was a double purple copy out there...the test pressing was on purple vinyl. It's possible that's where the rumor started. I have never seen one with the Sub Pop labels.

There was also a concurrent German release of this EP on Glitterhouse, but it was a 12" with one extra song (the same track that is on the Sub Pop cd version).

Loose Insert	SP48A White	SP48C White
SP48A Black	SP48C Black	SP48A Red	SP48C Red

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

Buzz Factory

SST 248, released 1989

The final independent Trees album, and a very good one. The clear blue version is fairly common. It is on a deep blue, which you will occasionally see listed as purple. It isn't. Well, not really. If you hold it up to light, it looks somewhat purple. It's still more blue than purple, though. There is an actual purple one, though. It's a purple marble color, and it was super rare for years, but has been showing up a lot more recently. Not sure why this is. It is, by far, the rarest version of Buzz Factory, at any rate. The black vinyl one was always harder to find than the blue one (but much more common than the purple marble). There was either a recent re-press or the band found some dead stock, as they have been selling sealed black copies on Merchbar.

Test Pressing	Test Pressing Insert

This page was last updated on January 27, 2020.

Something About Today (4-track version)

Epic 49 73539 12" / 49K 73539 CD, released 1990

Something About Today (3-track version)

Epic EAS 3092 12" / ESK 3092 CD

And just like that, Screaming Trees was a major label band...this EP was initially released as a promotional item for the soon-to-be-released Uncle Anesthesia album. The EP had a nice picture sleeve and contained one song that was unavailable elsewhere, along with an alternate version of the title track. After the album came out, Epic released a 3-song promotional 12" version with a completely different set of tracks. This one had two more tracks that were otherwise never released. It did not have a picture sleeve; instead, it came in a standard black cutout sleeve with a label on it. The 3-song version is much harder to find than the 4-song version. Both versions were also released on CD.

This page was last updated on January 27, 2020.

Bed of Roses

Epic EAS 2296 12" / ESK 2296 CD, released 1990

Same song on both sides of this 1990 promo 12", all on black vinyl. The sleeve was a plain black one with a label on it. It came out shortly before the full length Uncle Anesthesia album. There was also a one-song promo CD.

This page was last updated on January 27, 2020.

Uncle Anesthesia

Epic E46800 LP / CD (U.S.), released 1991

Epic 467307 1 LP / 467307 2 CD / 467307 4 Cassette (Europe)

Epic 467307 2 CD (Australia)

Epic ET 46800 CD (Canada)

ESCA 5263 CD (Japan)

Music on Vinyl Re-press MOVLP587, released 2012

In January 1991, we saw the first Screaming Trees major label album. It was a concept album, and it had mixed commercial results. I've always thought it was excellent overall. Black vinyl, released in the U.S. and Europe. Most of the European Epic pressings from this time period were Dutch. In 2012, Music on Vinyl did a 180g vinyl re-release. That one is super-common, and seems to have crashed the value of the other versions. There were also various CD and cassette versions, of course.

U.S.

Europe

Music on Vinyl Re-press

This page was last updated on January 27, 2020.

Anthology

SST 260 2xLP / SST CD 260 CD/ SSTC 260 Cassette, released 1991

Once Screaming Trees made the jump to Epic, SST put out this 1991 compilation of the best of their four SST releases. This one, to the best of my knowledge, was never released in color vinyl form. It was released as a double LP on black vinyl and remains easy to find (often still sealed).

This page was last updated on January 27, 2020.

Sweet Oblivion

Epic E48996 LP / EK 48996 CD / ET 48996 Cassette, released 1992 (U.S.)

Epic 471724 1 LP / 471724 2 CD / 471724 4 Cassette (Europe)

Epic 188.291/1-471724 LP / 700.720/2-471724 CD (Brazil)

Epic/Sony CPL-1313 LP (CK-48996) (Korea)

Epic ESCA 5648 CD (Japan)

Epic EK 48996 CD / ET 48996 Cassette (Canada)

Epic 471724 2 CD / 471724 4 Cassette (Australia)

Epic 4-421724 Cassette (Argentina)

MJM Music PL 181 M Cassette (Poland)

Music on Vinyl Re-press MOVLP101 LP, released 2010 (Europe)

Epic 88875086351 Newbury Comics Exclusive LP, released 2015 (U.S.)

Music on Vinyl Orange Marble Re-press MOVLP101 LP, released 2017 (Europe)

Epic 19075844091 LP, released 2018 (U.S.)

HNE Recordings HNECD117D 2xCD, released 2019 (Europe)

This 1992 album was the band's greatest commercial success. It's a fantastic album, and one of my favorite albums by anyone, ever. It was released on the heels of the extremely successful Singles soundtrack, which contained what became the band's best known song, "Nearly Lost You" (also released on Sweet Oblivion). There were many different versions of this record, and even more CDs and cassettes. It was a major label release with good label support, and as a result, it was released in a bunch of countries. For the original release, there were four vinyl versions: U.S., Dutch, Korean, and Brazilian. I thought more might appear, but those are still the only four that have surfaced from the original run. The prices have come WAY down on most of these, except for the U.S. original, which weirdly spiked again around 2016. It came back down again, but is fairly volatile.

The U.S. LP was called the "One Foot in the Grave Limited Vinyl Version." The label put zero effort into this one: it came in a plain black sleeve with a label on the front and another on the back, and was sealed in plastic along with a CD booklet. The other versions came with proper sleeves and artwork.

Of the CDs and cassettes, the notable one was the Japanese CD, which came with three bonus tracks: "Song of a Baker" (a Small Faces cover), "E.S.K.", and "Van's New One", which was later titled "Maybe". The first two ended up on the Nearly Lost You single, and the last one was on the Shadow of a Season CD single. "E.S.K." was also later included on the Ocean of Confusion anthology.

There have been several new vinyl pressings of Sweet Oblivion over the past few years. First, Music on Vinyl put out a 180g version in 2010. Newbury Comics pressed an exclusive gold (yellow) vinyl version in 2015, limited to 1,000 numbered copies. Music on Vinyl did another in 2017; this one on orange marble vinyl. And, finally (for now), Epic got in on the fun in 2018 with its own re-press, on black vinyl.

In 2019, HNE Recordings put out a deluxe double CD, which contained a lot of the b-sides from the Sweet Oblivion era: the second disc had the three bonus tracks from the Nearly Lost You, Dollar Bill, and Shadow of a Season singles.

U.S. Original	Europe Original	Brazil Original	Korea Original
Music on Vinyl	Newbury Comics Gold Vinyl	Music on Vinyl Orange Marble	Epic Re-press

This page was last updated on January 29, 2020.

Sweet Oblivion Sessions Flexi

For Celebrations Past b/w E.S.K.

Epic ES7 4699, released 1992

OK...Epic released a promo flexi. Who knew? A fairly tough find for a while, but easier these days.

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

Nearly Lost You

Epic 658237 6 12" / 658237 2 CD, released 1993 (Europe)

Epic ESK 4604 CD / ESK 4942 CD / 34T 74854 Cassette (U.S.)

Epic 658237 2 CD / APCD 11 CD (UK)

A 12" single for Nearly Lost You came out in Europe. It shows up for sale regularly. Black vinyl. There were also several CD versions. All came with some semi-exclusive b-sides. Most versions came with three: "Song of a Baker", a Small Faces cover, "E.S.K.", and "Winter Song (Acoustic)". The first two of those could also be found on the Japanese CD version of Sweet Oblivion. ALl three were on the 2019 deluxe double CD version of Sweet Oblivion. "E.S.K." also showed up in a couple of other places, including the Ocean of Confusion anthology.

This page was last updated on January 29, 2020.

Dollar Bill

Epic ESK 4771 CD, released 1992 (U.S.)

Epic 659179 7 7"/659179 6 12"/659179 2 CD (UK)

Epic 658918 2 CD (Europe)

Epic 658922 2 CD (Australia)

There were a couple of vinyl versions of the Dollar Bill single. One was a 7" picture disc, and other was a yellow vinyl 12". Both were European releases, and both are pretty common. The 7"s were numbered, but there were several thousand of them (10,000?) in circulation. The numbering was on the disc itself, not the sleeve. There were also several CD versions released in different countries.

All versions came with at least one bonus track: a Screaming Trees cover of "(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me)" All versions except the 7" came with another b-side: a cover of Black Sabbath's "Tomorrow's Dream". These two tracks also appeared on the deleuxe CD re-release of Sweet Oblivion.

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

Screaming Trees/Paul Westerberg Split Promo 7"

Nearly Lost You b/w Dyslexic Heart

Epic 34-74419, released 1993

This was a U.S. promo 7" concurrent with the promotion of the Singles soundtrack. It has a plain record label paper sleeve and is on black vinyl. Not too tough to find.

This page was last updated on January 24, 2020.

Dust

Epic E 64178 LP / EK 64178 CD / 48 39802 CD / EM 64178 MiniDisc / ET 64178 Cassette, released 1996

Epic 483980-1 LP / 483980 2 CD / 483980 4 Cassette (Europe)

Epic 483980 2 CD / 483980 4 Cassette (Australia)

Epic EK 64178 CD (Canada)

Epic ESCA 6489 CD (Japan)

Epic CDEPC 5117 K CD (South Africa)

Music on Vinyl MOVLP247 LP, released 2011

HNE Recordings HNECD087D 2xCD, released 2017

Dust was the final Screaming Trees album before they called it quits. A very solid album, but definitely mellower/lower energy than its predecessors. There were two original vinyl versions - in the U.S. and Europe. The U.S. E 64178 version appeared to be more common, but seems to now be the more expensive variant. The prices for both have generally held steady for many years, but have been creeping upward lately, despite the re-release. Speaking of which...in 2011, Music on Vinyl released a 180g re-press of Dust. That one is easy to find.

There were also a bunch of CD and cassette versions. The Japanese CD came with a bonus track: "Wasted Time", one of the two b-sides from the All I Know Single. Interestingly, this was one of very few albums that got an official U.S. release on MiniDisc. I was all in on MDs in the 90s, but they never really got off the ground in the States. They caught on much more in Japan.

In 2017, HNE Recordings in Europe put out a double CD deluxe edition of Dust. The second disc contained all sorts of b-sides that had appeared elswhere. It had all the b-sides from the Butterfly Single, the All I Know Single, the Sworn and Broken Single, the previously exclusive tracks from the Ocean of Confusion anthology, "Darkness Darkness" from the True Lies soundtrack, and "Working Class Hero" from the John Lennon Tribute.

E 64178 (U.S.)

483980-1 (UK)

MOVLP247

This page was last updated on January 30, 2020.

Sworn and Broken b/w Butterfly

Epic ESK 8632 CD, released 1996 (U.S.)

Epic 663870 7 7"

Epic 663870 2 CD (UK/Europe/Australia)

Epic XPCD2101 CD (UK)

The final Screaming Trees single, from the Dust album. The 7" was a UK/Dutch release, on white vinyl. The sleeve wasn't even a proper sleeve; it was a two-sided insert. It was numbered, but I have no idea how many were pressed. It's pretty common.

There were also several CD versions. The U.S. one was just a one-song promo. One of those came out in the UK as well. Then there was a four-song version that was released in Europe and Australia. That one came with three live tracks. All of the CDs are fairly easy to find.

In 2017, the three live tracks were included with the deluxe CD re-release of Dust.

This page was last updated on January 26, 2020.