The Kick Inside - USA Second Issue Release

When the Kick Inside was first released in the USA it shared the same front cover with Canada. It also shared the same catalogue number and Harvest logo labels on the record. One of the few ways of telling the releases apart is by looking at the manufacturing information on the record jacket and vinyl labels and seeing where they're made.

When the Kick Inside was reissued in the USA, it got a new cover, which I like better, a new catalogue number and even new records labels.The second issue cover is commonly referred to as the "red socks" cover, or the "box" cover.

The first release with the red socks cover actually had full green labels with black printing and a rectangular black and white EMI America logo along the top. It was later reissued again with full silvery labels and a larger rainbow EMI America logo along the top, like you see below in my scans.

Lionheart - Canada First Issue Pressing

The Canadian release is pretty identical to the UK release, with only some slight differences. The lettering on the front of the album jacket is embossed just like the UK original.

The back of the album jacket is also pretty identical to the UK release. The only real differences here are the catalogue number in the upper right-hand corner, and the Harvest logo along the bottom and the Canadian manufacturing information. Kate's name and album title are also embossed on the back.

Like the UK release, the Canadian version is also a gatefold. It doesn't differ on the inside in any way. I also decided to chop it into two sections so everything would show better.

The record labels do differ significantly on the Canadian release.

The Kick Inside - Canada First Issue Release

The Canadian release features a different cover to the UK release, and is also one of six covers for The Kick Inside to have completely different artwork. Interestingly enough, this was also the original cover for the first issue USA sleeve, until it got reissued with the "box" photo of Kate that people are more familiar with.

The back of the record jacket is fairly identical to the UK release, as are most of the releases. The only real differences here are the catalogue number, Harvest logo and distribution information.

Two-tone green Harvest labels are featured on both sides of the record. I think they're rather ugly.

Out of all the releases for The Kick Inside, the Canadian release is probably my least favourite.

The Kick Inside - Japan First Issue Pressing

The first thing that you need to keep in mind is that the Japanese release of The Kick Inside was issued twice. The first pressing, which is the one featured here, has the Obi-Strip placed vertically along the spine area of the record jacket. The reissue has the Obi-Strip placed horizontally along the top edge - so basically the strip of paper is cutting off the top part of Kate's head.

Since both the first issue and the reissue use the same artwork on the front of the record jacket, there are really only two ways to tell them apart. The obi-strip is one way as they are completely different from one another. The first pressing obi-strip has a predominantly black strip with pink Japanese text, whereas the reissue version is predominantly white and blue and says "Break Out 2000" on it in English. If the obi-strip is missing, both issues can also be identified by their catalogue numbers, which are completely different. The first issue pressing has the catalogue number EMS-81042, and the reissue is EMS-63026. I always advise against buying a Japanese pressing that no longer has its original obi-strip as it devalues the record in most cases.

The back of the album jacket is the same as UK release, which is pretty much the case with most of the releases. There's also a double-sided insert included, which is written in Japanese text. Side one has a small photo of Kate, followed by what appears to be a huge write up - the other side has song lyrics in Japanese.

The record labels are similar to the UK ones at the time and feature English titles.