The Unknown Soldier / We Could Be So Good Together

The Italian pressing of The Unknown Soldier / We Could Be So Good Together on Vedette Records, catalog number VRN 34086, released in 1968, is a picture sleeve single that stands apart from the numerous other regional pressings of this title. Vedette was a Milan-based label that handled licensed releases from American and British acts throughout the late 1960s, and this is one of their Doors entries. Collectors chasing the full international spread of this single will want to cross-reference this against the other known pressings cataloged here on DoorsInfo, as the country-specific variants differ meaningfully in sleeve design, label typography, and back cover content.

The picture sleeve is the primary draw for collectors of this specific pressing. The front carries band imagery consistent with 1968 promotional materials for the single, rendered in the color palette typical of Italian pop and rock releases of the period, which tended toward high-contrast printing with slightly warmer tones compared to their American counterparts. Italian licensees of this era frequently sourced sleeve artwork from the originating label's promotional materials but adapted the typography and layout to their own standards, and Vedette followed this pattern. The label name and catalog number appear clearly on the sleeve, giving it its own identity rather than functioning as a simple clone of the US Elektra issue. The label on the disc itself would carry Vedette's house design, with the track titles, artist name, and catalog number laid out in the label's standard typeface for the period. These Italian pressings often used slightly different stock for both the sleeve and the disc itself compared to Elektra originals, which is something to examine carefully if you are sourcing a copy for condition grading. The back of the sleeve is where this pressing distinguishes itself most sharply: the Discogs notes confirm that the back sleeve carries the full Italian text and translation of "The Unknown Soldier," which was a relatively common practice for Italian licensees releasing English-language material, particularly for tracks with lyrical content that had cultural or political weight. That translation element alone makes the back sleeve worth examining closely as a document of how the band's more confrontational material was being contextualized for European audiences at the time.

The two tracks here need no introduction to anyone reading this catalog, but the specific sources and context of this pressing are worth addressing. "The Unknown Soldier" was released as an Elektra single in the US in early 1968 and was one of the band's more overtly political statements, arriving during a period of intense public debate over the Vietnam War. The B-side, "We Could Be So Good Together," came from Waiting for the Sun. The Italian market was an active one for The Doors during this period, and Vedette issued several of their titles under license. This particular single sits in a notable cluster of related pressings; serious collectors tracking the full international run of this title should consult the UK and other European variants as well as the additional pressings documented in this catalog to map the differences. There is also a four-track Italian pressing worth comparing, listed here as Hello, I Love You / Love Street / The Unknown Soldier / We Could Be So Good Together, which gives some sense of how the Italian market packaged Doors material across different formats in the same period. On Discogs, this specific pressing, VRN 34086, shows 51 collectors with a copy and 56 wanting one, a want-to-have ratio that keeps it in mild demand without pushing into truly scarce territory. It is not a common find at record fairs outside Italy, but it surfaces with reasonable regularity through Italian sellers and specialist dealers in European pressings.

For collectors focused on The Doors' international 45 releases, the Vedette VRN 34086 is a solid and legitimate addition. The picture sleeve with its Italian text translation on the back gives it genuine documentary value beyond the pressing itself, and it fills a specific geographic slot in any comprehensive run of this single. It is not rare enough to command serious premiums, but it is not a pressing you trip over casually either. If you are building out the full international picture sleeve set for this title alongside the other regional variants in this catalog, this one belongs in the collection.