Hi,
I agree with your comments, and, the Fireglo is darker than on my 2 73's and my 72.
In all I've 6 Fireglo Rics, ranging from 1972-4001 through to my 2015-4003s, this one is darker than all of mine, and, just about any other Fireglo I've seen over the years.
That said, John Hall has told me the Fireglo is by far he hardest of all the Rickenbacker colours to try to accurately capture, even for professional photographers, so, this could be just the light and circumstances that the pictures were taken in.
Even though this is darker it is nicely uniform and is well blended, not like the "Clown Glo" examples of the late 90's early 2k's. Since each instrument is colored by hand it produces finished that are not identical which is one of the things I like about Fireglo, and the various "Burst" colours that have been produced over the years, this a testimony to the hand finishing that goes into all Rickenbackers.