SP1776 V/A
Helter Shelter
Sub Pop SP1776 4x7" Box Set, released 1995 (U.S.)
Contained within: the four Brit-pop singles: SP 275 - Elastica, SP 276 - S*M*A*S*H, SP 281 - Supergrass and SP 294 - Gene. The out-of-numerical-order catalogue number was a nod to the year of the Declaration of Independence...for no good reason other than it was the U.S. releasing UK bands...
Anyway, this set was a big collector-dork tease. They claimed initially that there were 250 of these, if I recall correctly. I can't see that as being remotely possible, considering that you can buy this now, many years later, on every vinyl-vending web site, in sealed condition...for less than or equal to the original retail price. Something doesn't add up, folks. Granted, Sub Pop sold out of it very quickly. I bought two copies from that initial pressing thinking I had a solid collectible. I still have one of those sealed...yet the value has never really increased. In fact, it now sells for well below the original retail price. Maybe the label pressed more copies later or something. I don't know.
This one really bugs me. I don't think I have ever been more incorrect about the projected value of a collectible. The set royally screwed up the market for the records contained within...all it did was drive down the values of all of the individual singles (and, simultaneously, itself). It didn't help that all of the bands fell out of style either due to fickle fan bases with really short attention spans.
Right. SO...contained in the box set are all four singles, in the same colors that the individual releases had. If there were variants, the box set generally held clear colors. If there were opaque versions, those were more often sold as individual singles (the S*M*A*S*H single, for example, mostly came in straight clear green in the box set, and mostly appeared as olive green individually). They were all housed in the same cardboard inner sleeves that they came with as individual singles, but without the outer cardboard sleeves. Well, the set contained ONE of those, which held a booklet.
| Version | Approximate value ($) | Scarcity | Price Trending |
|---|---|---|---|
| SP1776 Box Set | 10-15 | 2 | Down |
 Insert |
 Booklet |
||
 SP275 Elastica |
 SP276 S*M*A*S*H |
 SP281 Supergrass |
 SP294 Gene |
| Sleeves | Full cardboard x 4, one cardboard outer sleeve, and a cardboard box containing the whole set. |
|---|
This page was last updated on October 27, 2019.
