When Moody Blue was released in July 1977 it sold rather briskly, prompting RCA to rush a second pressing in early August. But that surge in orders was nothing when compared to what occurred when Elvis died on August 16, 1977. The album sales went through the roof. During the period when the album was initially pressed, Elvis sold his 2 billionth record, and it is believed that many of the known colored vinyl examples were made at this time. This special pressing was most likely made at the behest of Ernie Ruggeri, VP of manufacturing for RCA, who would have been responsible for the test pressings of this ilk. The offered example, with its bold picture of Elvis on stage pressed into the vinyl, may be a rarity among rarities, as all the other known colored vinyl Moody Blue LPs are pressed in solid colors. It would seem they were testing how the image looked through clear vinyl versus the gold vinyl, as each side of the record was treated differently. The vinyl’s matrix numbers do indeed indicate that the record was made in the original year of release, 1977, as they align with the matrix numbers on other known colored vinyl test pressings from this period. The clear photo side, which contains Side A of the album, bears the matrix number “AFL1-2428-1S B1 Masterfonics GAM,” and the gold photo side, which contains Side B of the album, has the matrix number “AFL1-2428-B-2S B1K Masterfonics GAM.” There appears to be very light residue where labels may have been removed—perhaps during testing someone realized the label covered most of Elvis’ face! The accompanying outer and inner sleeves are from the period of the initial release, but the outer sleeve has the notch in the edge, indicating it was “cut out” or returned. The offered disc is most likely just stored in this sleeve. The discs measures 12 inches (30.48 cm) in diameter and is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Graceland Authenticated.

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