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Fine west coasty hardrock with femme belter & faint proggy undercurrent, plus a Dead & Youngbloods connection -
"North Africa-Islamic Influence; South of the Sahara", with Bilal Abdurahuram & accompaniment by Rahkiah Abdurahman & Ayyub Abdullah. Great & rare LP.
Early 70s re of pretty cool bent 1969 debut.
Orig of the their 2nd & more of the same.
1st solo from Wildweeds (sorely underrated!) & NRBQ guitarist. I've always liked the front cover.
His second & a fine folk/singersongwriter LP, with plenty of notable guests: Dave Mattacks, Dave Pegg, Ralph McTell, Danny Thompson, Cozy Powell, Rick Wakeman a o.
Slightly more polished 3rd, again with heavy backing: Terry Cox, Roy Babbington, Dave Mattacks, Francis Monkman, Dave Coxhill a o. Single-sleeve on this German orig.
This version: https://www.discogs.com/release/5684225-The-Animals-The-Animals
Archive Series Vol 7, with Baby Face Turner, Drifting Slim, Sunny Blair, Robert Dudlow Taylor, James "Peck" Curtis, Junior Brooks. 2nd pressing (1st came in a gatefold the year before).
Red target label.
Fairly expensive one & hot in audiophile circles. Priced to move (you'll make a good profit!).
Record: beautiful EX; looks unplayed.
Cover: very strong VG+; some very gentle cornerbends/tweaks/spine creases, a tiny sawcut & minimal overall wear only.
Price: SEK 400 / $39
And while you're at it, grab this one too!
Record: very strong VG+; looks to have been barely played, but has a few near-invisible hairlines + faint scuffs/pressing marks s1.
Cover: strong VG+; some really light seam/spine/cornerwear; a few very gentle creases at spine; a super-tiny touch of age-yellowing; just about the smallest sawcut I've ever seen.
Price: SEK 300 / $29
2LP-set.
Comp with Who, Move, Cream, Blossom Toes, Hendrix & more.
Mono. This version, I think...: https://www.discogs.com/release/651143-The-Beatles-Beatles-For-Sale
The version with "Paper back Writer" & "Revolutions".
Another, tiny bit better copy of the same version as the above.
Cookin' blues rock in a sorta laidback ballroom style - how fitting for the time (1967; Dutch issue came out a year later than the US one) & place! Backing by Steve Miller Band & production by "Voco" Kesh.
Re of 1973 private hippie folky sounds, not lost enough but earnest & good-natured & getting a nice vibe goin' on the best tracks.
Record: downgraded to VG+ because of some micro hairlines s2, but it look pretty much unplayed.
Cover: strong VG+; in shrink; a tiny cornerbump from being like new. Insert.
Price: SEK 200 / $20
creases along sides + one longer lamination crease obc - nothing very notable.
Volume 3 1926-1929.
unavoidable noise from source material as well.
V/A LP collecting various demos sent in to a radio show; typically early-mid 70s Swedish mixed bag of sounds from
Record: downgraded to VG with a few scuffs + a small mark at beginning of s2t1 which causes light background surfnoise,
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BLOND - same (Fontana) USA 1969
US issue of sole LP by this post-Tages outfit; very UK-sounding pop/freakbeat/psych.
Comp on white vinyl with Muddy Waters, Hendrix, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Cream, Taste - and Savage Rose!
Censored back cover version. I kinda think the band shot would've been more reasonable to censor - here they look just about as sleazy as any band ever could.
Long oop re of highly rated 1973 Canadian softrock/folkrock/folkpsych; has a couple of real winners with cool keys/guitar interplay. I'll include a like-new copy of the CD re of their '77 single as a bonus.
Post-Jungle Rot 45 with a wild a-side & a more subdued, floating (or drifting, then) b-side, moving into sub-Dead zones.
Appears to be two versions released the same year(?), with different labels & covers - one textured, one laminated. This here is the textured "US-style" one (but as it happens I also have a copy of the other one - ask if interested). Mono.
Re in different cover of the 1970 Douglas LP "To Is A Preposition...".
1st non-ESP release from a Canadian lost on the streets of NYC; new label comes with a new sound as well - this has a very urban street vibe despite a track named "Livin' In The Country". David Bromberg guests on dobro & bottleneck.
BYRDS - Mr. Tambourine Man (Columbia) USA 197?
Early 70s pressing.
Pop/soft rock/soft psych with obvious Moody Blues influences; rather neat LP actually.
Seems to be the rarer version of cool psychy rock with both folky & hard rockin' tracks. Great thick gatefold cover with neat primitive artwork - the kind that has any private hound take note.
Pretty cool gritty r'n'b album; had they added some fuzz on a few tracks on the raunchier first side you'd see it described as 'funky black psych!!!' & with a far more respectable pricetag. But hey, "dig it for what it IS, man."
Chevy Chase goes not-quite-psych on this rather neat flowery baroque Bosstown trip, along the lines of Left Banke et al. I recall a positive early 90s review by GTS in the remembered-by-few 'zine A Runaway Flowerchild! (Last issue came with fake blotters & then the main guys behind it all became corporate suits. GTS is however still boppin' away to morning spins of Chamaeleon Church, but only after nightly freak-out sessions with heavier sounds have taken him too far down the Enlightenment Road!)
Record: strong VG+.
Cover: lower end of VG; some seam/spine/cornerwear; ring/shelfwear, esp ofc; very tiny toc; light cornerbends/bumps; light scrape marks bottom front; very light soiling obc; really light wear ofc at opening; drillhole.
Price: SEK 500 / $49
Soughtafter 7"; A-side's great funk with very tasty lead guitar.
2LP debut & they should've called it quits after this. Some surprisingly good moments with fine guitar leads & long tracks.
Records: disc 1 VG (I spotchecked, plays more like EX), disc 2 VG+.
Cover: strong VG with some minor overall wear only; fo.
Price: SEK 100 / $10
Major label promo press of Texas psych. Great cover art with that slightly primitive touch which makes it WAY more interesting & mind-blowing than pretty much all current "psychedelic" cover designs. The 7:50 "Pictorial" is also genuinely mind-blowing!
Record: visually s1 is VG, s2 VG+, both w/ a few light marks & scuffs only - and they both play nearly perfect all-through. Wlp.
Cover: nice G; some seam/spine/cornerwear; some ring/shelfwear; top seam split 3" at middle, bottom seam 1" at opening; tofc; promo stofc; some very light age-yellowing/soiling obc.
Price: SEK 600 / $58
What the title says...
2nd from B.J. Cole's & Mick Grabham's rootsy outfit. Steve Marriott guests on one track, "Why I Sing The Blues", which I've always dug, and "Another Day" was also on frequent rotation 25 years ago.
Early-on re of '70 LP with McLaughlin, Corea, Vitous, Cobham.
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Solo LP from ex-Hearts & Flowers guy, in a ssw/folkie/countryrock LA/Nashville bag/sound. "Jesse James (Is An Outlaw, Honey", "Clinging To The Edge Of The World" a o.
UK pop/rock with a bit of an arty vibe, vocal harmonies & acoustic guitars up front; some neat, slightly dreamy tunes (like "It Isn't What You Have") & title track is a wee bit on the psych side of things. Could serve well as a companion piece to "White Faced Lady".
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CLAES DIEDEN - First Claes (Olga) Sweden 1970
Rather obscure kinda sappy pop, the kind where just a little more taste & funnier ideas could've turned things into half-decent popsike. Alas, it wasn't to be.
Not until recently had I realized that Chris Robison (who had a couple of private LPs) was part of this band, once associated with Lennon. I reckon that as sales talk it's now more effective to mention Robison than Lennon, at least in these circles. Title track here's a pretty cool hard rocker, by the way.
1st & not as good as the follow-up, which could be the best Fredric-on-the-cheap album you'll find, but solid groovy 60s pop with garagey vibes, cheesy organ, vocal harmonies... check ut "Allison Dozer". Mono.
Lui Tsun-Yuen on pipa and chin. There are at least a couple of slightly different pressings for this title - the one here has Lyrichord logo & # + 'Stereo' in a rectangle upper right corner ofc & richer/fuller colour to artwork.
US issue of Welsh psychers with pre-Man Phil Ryan on keys & Graham Bond connection, sort of in the same bag as Art. Great
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US issue of 2nd/last with embryonic prog moves & a couple of long tracks (including the memorably titled "Door (The Child
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FAT MATTRESS - II (Polydor) Norway 1970
Neither of their LPs is solid, but this follow-up's kinda overlooked in comparison to the 1st, with plenty of enjoyable & occasionally mildly psychedelic stuff (admittedly some corny UK pop stylings as well).
Small label concept release from 1/2 of Risken Finns. Oddball record with mostly idiosyncratic folky stuff & setting - acoustic guitar, fiddle, accordion etc - but opening track has cheesy synths painting a very different picture, while another cut is sorta jazzy, and closing track is recitation & effects only.
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THE FLOCK - same (Columbia) USA 197?
Slightly later red/orange label pressing of their 1969 debut - plenty of hot guitar leads from Fred Glickstein.
Ancient boot in blue monochrome cover of 1969 Canadian psych/pop/rock outfit; "Close The Barn Door" is a classic from the Endless Journey comps & sounds like something that could've been released on IA - killer track.
Fun teen garage-psych with Greek influences giving it an unusual ethnic vibe in places.
2LP set & "The Super-Session Rip-Off Chase", with Clapton, Beck, Todd Rundgren, Doctor John, plus members of Canned Heat, Butterfield BB, J H Experience, ELP & tons more - Chris Darrow deserves a special mention of course.
70s issue of their all-time classic 1st; this comes in the awesome "Acid Jesus" cover. White label version.
A k a "For Those Who Chant", this features most of Santana & it basically sounds like them too - with the addition of Gasca's trumpet. Solid LP all through. First pressing.
Orchestrated US pop in neat cover with a slight sunshine vibe & show tunes feel as well, original material. "In a Colorful Way" is by far the best, as it's only a few steps from moving into full-on popsike mode. Odd LP, who was the targeted audience?
Gritty blues rock trio from Texas with short & to the point tracks; pretty powerful when in the mood. Think this is the
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Later pressing of monster 1968 LP, one of the all-time best by anyone, anywhere.
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PETER GREEN - The End Of The Game (Reprise) Germany 1970
"An underworld of eruption" - comp with Beefheart, Hapsash & The Coloured Coat, Groundhogs, Hour Glass, Jo-Anne Kelly a o.
Slightly later pressing of all-time classic 1970 masterpiece.
BO HANSSON - Music Inspired By Watership Down (Sire) USA 1977
US release of El-Ahrairah.
HAREN SATT I GROPEN I FINLAND (Svenska Love) Sweden 1980
Later pressing of 1973 LP with M.A. Numminen, Turid a o.
MERIT HEMMINGSON - Gästabud (Emi) Sweden 1979
surfnoise & scattered ticks/light pops, but it's never terribly noisy.
2LP-set; very powerful sound on these.
Record: nice G; light marks/lines only.
Cover: G; seam/spine/cornerwear; light ring/shelfwear; small toc; stkr stains ofc; gentle creasing along spine; one slight corner bend; minor wear f/b at opening; some odd & hard to see indentation marks f/b. Insert in very nice shape.
Price: SEK 100 / $10
Contemporary classical-into-avant LP with Hindemith's compositions & Petermandl on keys.
2LP-set.
Eclectic 3rd solo from Samla main guy.
Mono.
Well-known heavy psych power trio with Bobby Arlin on guitar; Uni managed to release quite a few bands of this sleazy LA club ilk.
2LP set with all the expected names from the label's roster. Some tracks mono.
Slightly later pressing of '75 comp with 1958-66 material.
2nd from the duo of Gerry Rafferty & Billy Connolly; orchestrated pop-folk sounds.
3rd/last, with heavy guests like Terry Cox & Barry Dransfield (+ Bernie Holland of Jody Grind). Loses most of the over-arranged backing - a wise move that is trumped only by the addition of tablas on one track. "Steamboat Row" is a really neat song.
2nd pressing from 1993 (1st was from 1991) of cool spacerock, recorded live 1978. Solid trippy LP. This 2nd issue is remasteredand has more material on it than the 1st.
Record: beautiful EX, looks unplayed.
Cover: VG+; light general wear only. No booklet (notes available at label's website).
Price: SEK 300 / $29
Not entirely sure, but I think this is the 2nd pressing of a 1992 release with material recorded 1976-79... Pretty good
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INCREDIBLE STRING BAND - Hard Rope & Silken Twine (Island) UK 1974
2LP comp incl the weird 16 minutes "Queen Juanita And Her Fisherman Lover", recorded in 1970 but not released until this came out.
openings; odd/very-hard-to-see scrape marks ofc; a couple of very light cornerbends.
2nd US pressing (spaceship lbl) of their 1972 3rd.
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JENS - Be As Good To Others As They Are Not To You (High on the Pyg Track) UK 2022
Yours truly back in the saddle; 300 copies & even if the contents won't be to your liking, chances are you'll still dig the cover!
"Fantastic & darkly beautiful solo LP by Jens from Spacious Mind. Rural psych floating in mournful clouds of joy. Just amazing." (Byron Coley on Twitter)"It's as fine a spin as anything I've heard in a good long while /.../ a deep, dark cycle of songs, soaked with stark rural vibes and highlighted by subtle psychedelic touches /.../ a gas from start to finish /.../ Don't miss it." (The very same BC in The Wire #469)
"/.../unerringly poetic country-folk composer of hushed psychedelic melodies which occasionally explode into torrents of sound like a sown-swollen mountain stream." (Phil McMullen, The Terrascope)
"/.../a rural psychedelia on the cusp between folk and country; gnomic lyrics, meditating on loss as a stage in the cycle of nature/.../" (Nick West, Bucketfull of Brains)
"/.../an album that wraps around the listener like a blanket doused in blood — comforting, but also a reminder of the darkness that makes you shiver in the first place." (Andy French, Raven Sings The Blues)"/.../an intensely personal dirge full of grief and an undying need for peace of mind. You can feel the years of struggle, pain and disappointment shaking within Unosson’s tired vocals. /.../ Finding solace in working with the land and nature appears to be a theme of the record, with many of its lyrics referring to an agrarian life/.../ (Keith Hadad, Record Crates United)
Sample Owl Fox Sing here.
***I have a few scarce Jan Johansson pic sleeves EPs as well - ask if interested ***
KAIPA - Solo (Decca) Sweden 1978
3rd from legendary (or was that stiff?) Swedish symphonic band.
Sort of clean west coast rock sounds from 3rd division supergroup (ex-members of Quintessence, Methusaleh, Ray Owen's Moon, Hokus Poke etc).
creasing; light wear at opening f/b; minimal tobc. Orig inner.
Last one from the vintage years & line-up & sound changes are obvious - this goes for a clean prog/symph thing & there's not a homespun folk rockin' pipedream to be heard anywhere.
His "psych" LP. Actually a rather decent late 60s pop record, very UK-sounding - and to be fair, there are moments bordering on real psych sounds too, with some surprisingly heavy guitars & odd structures ("Charley Cinders" would've been right at home on one of those UK psych comps). Unlikely title: "Marstrand".
Record: looks G, but apart from some occasional brief noise s2t1,2 you won't notice much.
Cover: G; seam/spine/cornerwear; ring/shelfwear; top seam split 1,5" at opening; spine split 1" at top; tiny toc; tiny cornerbumps; very light wear obc at opening; almost entirely invisible small writing indentation ofc; drillhole.
Price: SEK 60 / $6
Slightly later pressing of 1965 LP.
Well, I blinked for a moment & then this oddity had at least quadrupled its going rate. I've always wished they'd not put the band pic on the cover, it would've looked way cooler without it (minor Warner S. Richardson vibes!). But on the other hand I've also spent some time marvelling at the pics of the band whenever I've had a copy at hand. Can you think of a guy as out of place as the dude far right on front here? Bunch of hairy, greazy bikers & hippies + this fella who looks like he's not out of high school. Anyway, music's a weird blend of styles too (sleazy, mildly heavy groove-based rock with fine guitars & keys & percussion funkin' things up mix with wimpier stuff), so in the end it might all make perfect sense. A long "Roosevelt and Ira Lee" is really good, as is another heavy cut, "I can Tell", with maraccas that will have your mind in pieces if you focus on them.
Record: EX; a couple of really tiny surfmarks do nothing.
Cover: VG; seam/spine/cornerwear; light ring/shelfwear, mostly ofc; 1" budding split bottom seam at middle; minimal beginnings of splits both seams at opening; minimal tobc; tiny bend/crease top back.
Price: SEK 400 / $39
Rather obscure kraut title with an odd sound including lots of electronics & robotic moves, right down to semi-spoken vocals, but there's also some highly unexpected harmonica on one song + one campfire acoustic guitar-based tune, as well as near-hardrock & mildly funky stuff. Housed in a suitably odd/great cover.
Gospel/soul with powerful vocals & full band backing, including some snappy uncredited lead guitar. Things get almost funky on the cool "What A Difference". Whenever I see this cover I find it hard to believe it's from the late 70s.
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JOHN D. LOUDERMILK - Volume 1 - Elloree (Warner) USA 1971
With Norman Blake a o.
Black label with the '2nd' NCB logo, I can't quite recall if there was a slightly earlier press with the 1st logo.
Early-on 2nd pressing of 1963 LP; mono.
3rd & last; again a rare & great album, a bit earthier than their 1st one & to me stronger overall. Some truly beautiful songs here.
Rare 10" mini-comp with Gharrad El Komri, Ikoulek Zaman El Azhar & Hosn El Idhar. Nice roch sound with mixed vocals, string & reed instruments, lots of percussion.
Different from the above, this is a full-length 12" LP with - as far as I can tell - anonymous players. Excellent instrumental music with a wide array of string & reed instruments, some with percussion backing as well. Sparse performances with one or a few players at most. Very cool simple cover design, with slightly embossed print ofc, blank die-cut back.
Thick gatefold is perfect for the sounds within - kinda sappy/too serious flowery folk pop, but pretty charming still & at its best there's even a slight whiff of "Dreams & Images" to be heard.
Promo of funky fusion with Hancock, Laws, Rainey, Ritenour, Grusin & others.
Rare original Mozambique release (this came out in Portugal as well, under a slightly different title). Fine LP in a sort of folksinger style, with various stringed instruments & percussion, long tracks.
Obscure soft/folkrock duo with full backing; enough flute to occasionally make me think of Hollins & Starr, but this is not remotely as offbeat (nor interesting), but an ok spin every now & then.
Record: VG+; small wol s1.
Cover: G; fo; some minor seam/spine/corner/edgewear; ring/shelfwear; stofc; small wobc; light creasing ofc; spine's gently tweaked; very light wear ofc at opening.
Price: SEK 80 / $8
Their psych LP & pretty good it is too, in a sorta arty way. "Hell" goes there & doesn't come back... Sloopy dead & gone in the flames.
Strange arty US prog, weird enough to appeal to psych heads as well. Long tracks with titles like "The Monster Bride", "Spiders (in Neal's Basement)", "Witches Theme and Dance". Pretty cool record.
Record: strong VG+.
Cover: strong VG; fo; some seam/spine/corner/edgewear; some rw; very light cornerbends/bumps; really light wear obc at opening.
Price: SEK 300 / $29
One of major titles when it comes to American soft psych/pop with more ideas in one song than many bands delivered on a full
Record: EX; a tiny few surflines s2 do nothing - really nice disc!
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MISIKI GAMBIA Music Of The Gambia (Bussu/Sound News Productions) UK 19??
Very rare V/A LP with vocals, cora, sabarr, tama, riti... great stuff. I'm guessing it's a circa late 60s release. Mono.
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VAN MORRISON - His Band and the Street Choir (Warner) USA 1970
Single-sleeve black label version, not sure when this was made but no later than early 70s. Not the boot! Contains some then previously unreleased stuff.
Country-fied & gospel-influenced folkie/ssw LP from ex-Hearts & Flowers member, backed here by folks like Buddy Emmons, Bud Shank, John McKuen, Gib Guilbeau & tons more. Has a sort of rich n' ambitious feel, yet it comes across as rather intimate.
Record: VG, but apart from brief & light background noise at the very end of s2t3 it plays far better than grade.
Cover: F; downgraded because of water damage at bottom f/b + bottom seam split 5". Rest of cover displays rather well, esp front, with minor overall wear only.
Price: SEK 100 / $10
Original issue of 1958-68 recordings. Mono.
80s pressing of classic 1975 LP.
Record: EX
Cover: nice VG; fo; light seam/spine/corner/edgewear; light ring/shelfwear; very light soiling typical for glossy black cvrs; some thin scratch marks obc - you have to angle the cover just right to see them.
Price: SEK 150 / $15
"Magic bone scrapers, bellowing seals and dancers' footsteps, tones on a reed flute, bronze lurs which resound in ritual harmony with gong and clay drum!", i e all the hits from the Stone, Bronze & Iron Ages. Saw a bit of hype amongst ethnic collectors 10-15 years ago - here's a nice copy for late-comers. Ships as two LPs due to weight.
Rare original pressing sans any Caprice mention on labels. No 'single album postage' on this one!
Some truly out-there reed-based tracks (esp on s2) with humming/chanting vocals; interesting stuff going on both tonally & harmonically. Some percussion too & at times there's an almost free jazz-esque vibe to it - SO far from the watered-down versions of this music typically encountered when only scraping the surface. This 80s re has a different cover than the 60s/70s(?) original.
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Little known fact: in northern CA in the early 70s, Marmaduke picked up a hitchhiker - I think a couple of times? - going by
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THE NIXON INTERVIEWS With David Frost (Polydor) USA 1977
Sticker-sealed 4LP-box with the T Nix; two sides each on Watergate, "Nixon and the World", "War
at home and abroad", and "The final days and other highlights".
2nd/last/best from Canadian band. This doesn't sound anything like their poppy RCA LP & is also way better than that. CSN influences mix with powerful rustic hardrock - titletrack's especially effective - with great leads (some from a guesting Randy Bachman). Seeing how most anything with a heavy riff or two gets immensely popular these days, I think it's time for heads to dust this one off too.
Record: strong VG with just some very light lines & scuffs - this hasn't been played much at all.
Cover: very strong VG; downgraded due to some minor seam/spine/cornerwear (basically impossible to avoid due to cover texture) - apart from this & a minimal drillhole there's hardly any wear at all.
Price: SEK 150 / $15
Another LP in the Unesco series; with vocalists Mohinuddin & Aminuddin Dagar, Robin Kumar Chatterjee, plus backing crew on tamboura, tablas, pakhavaj, sarangi. Mono.
Single-sleeve re of Greek folk LP originally released in 1974. Most of the print is in native tongue & lost on me... sorry!
ON THE SEVENTH DAY - Number One (Mercury) USA 1970
A k a same, odd LP with soul/funk influences along with some psychy collage-type stuff. 1st cover version.
Rare kraut LP, 20 years since I last had a copy & while that one came from a monster 10,000 piece collection, the bulk of which burned, this one involved a whole lotta serious heartbreak on my part just to be able to grab it & put it up here. Long story, but obviously you might be in for heavy stuff if you decide to go for it. And don't tell me that's not the best sales rap you've ever heard.
Pretty cool US pop psych, with obvious influences from the Beatles (or UK bands in general); plenty of good songs arranged with sitar, fuzz etc. Has become much more sought-after over the last few years, it seems.
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MARI BOINE PERSEN - Jaskatvuoda Manná (Hot Club) Norway 1985
Scarce debut LP from one of the biggest names in present-day Sami music. This is however not a folk LP, but rather an extremely 80s-sounding mishmash of things... including a Lennon-cover. Pretty rare though.
Privately released singersongwriter with full backing, including appearance from members of Gunder Hägg, Archimedes Badkar,
Solen Skiner, and several long tracks.
age-yellowing & soiling; light cornerbends/bumps & some faint creases. Original inner.
Re of his fine 1965 debut; not sure when this issue is from - it's not the 1987 Timeless pressing, maybe an early 00s boot ofthat one?Record: EX; a tiny line or two, but possibly unplayed.
Cover: EX; very light overall wear only.
Price: SEK 150 / $15
Gritty, bluesy, soulful rock with biting leads & horns. 1st pressing with 360 labels.
One of the top kantele guys & an essential LP if you're into this instrument and/or Finnish folk music.
Seldom seen & really cool Finnish comp, released on a Love sub-label. I'm guessing there's some sort of concept/theme at play here, but it's all lost on me apart from the fact that the whole LP hangs together really well with well-written songs & elaborate arrangements in a pop-rock-folk style which at times borders on sunshine pop, but there's also jazz & bossa influences, and strident femme vocals & an undefined but strongly Finnish edge keeps it well away from any cheesiness. Third track on s2 has a riff that could have been Hawkwind, had the setting been (very) different!
Re of 1975 classic.
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PUKAJ WAYRA - Ama Sua Ama Qhella Ama Llulla (Vol. 2) (Urspår) Sweden 1981
Original release on a label mostly known for prog & avant rock, not least Samla-related releases, but here's a Bolivian folk outfit. Nice album.
Actually a re of their first LP, dressed up/down in the unfortunate design of this series.
Their 1st. Cool cover art.
Follow-up; Digger/Free Family associate Steamin' Freeman guests on violin.
Original Broadside pressing.
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JIMMY RANEY - Momentum (MPS) German 1975
Guitar/bass/drums trio.
Great LP with Abercrombie, Danielsson, Christensen.
Same line-up as above.
With Roswell Rudd, J.F. Jenny-Clark, Aldo Romano.
Very rare V/A 10" with Stelios Cazantzides, Yota Lydia, Polly Panou, Emmanuel Angelopoulos a o. Mixed vocals. I'd hazard a guess that it's an early 60s release, but I really don't have a clue. No matter what, it's a great 'authentic' record & some tracks - like the opener on side two - are downright excellent.
Scarce comp with Blues Section, Hurriganes, Albert Järvinen, Freeman & lots more; wild, dirty rock n' roll which likely will appeal to those into punk & garage as well, if your ears are big enough. Finnish vocals on most tracks add another dimension as well - to a non-speaker like me, they make the end result come across as even more unhinged.
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ROSE GARDEN - same (Atco) USA 1968
seam; slight cornerbend/bump; top seam's very slightly tweaked, likely in manufacture; stain ofc; some very light soiling;
drillhole.
Better than you think garagey pop.
opening; one bent/bumped corner; some very light soiling/age-yellowing obc.
Recently released massive 2LP set, housed in a thick gatefold cover, of fantastically far-out sounds from 1970. The history is too complex to get into here, but it involves members from the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and has ties to a bunch of other underground acts of the time, plus the legendary Rustic Rod is all over much of it. There are distinct Beefheart influences at work, but these guys have a way more friendly freak vibe than the Captain ever did, not to mention it's also utterly British. Which in the end might leave us where Phil A's been standing for a while: "a more musically-adventurous Broughton Band". Regardless, this is real-deal underground head sounds conjuring up pictures of rusty vans, people living in tipis, Nik Turner honking his horn at a free festival & the revolution's just around the corner - and I love it for exactly those reasons.
This is a 3LP set, which includes the double above, plus a separate disc in its own cover. The thing to note about the latter is that, while it contains no music no on the 2LP set, it sequences the tracks differently, and - more important - it actually plays from the label outwards, as true to the band's original intentions when this was planned for a Dandelion release! I only have one copy of this set.
Fun oddball Swedish prog that's difficult to describe - from heavy & powerful (check the great "Morron Med Siw") to goofy & plain weird, sometimes during the course of just one track (like the 10:20 "Bingo Flamingo" & 16:09 "Lärling"). Mixed vocals.
Scarce 80s boot on yellow-into-orange vinyl of solid 1969 Ohio psychy bluesrock; front cover is an all-time classic.
bent/bumped corners; old price tag ofc; light creases along sides, mostly spine.
MONGO SANTAMARIA - Stone Soul (Columbia) USA 1969
Pressing could be from any Scandinavian country, I guess... Great 2nd LP from this well-known Danish psych/prog outfit.
Very nice copy of scarce later LP.
Rather fun LP with plenty of killer Joe Beck shredding. Cool cover design as well.
Sweden 1976
Great LP with folk songs from various Swedish regions, as well as Finland & Estonia, performed on ancient instruments + vocals. Comes with a 16-page booklet, full of notes (Swedish & English) & pics of instruments etc.
German issue of the above.
top seam at spine as well; drillhole.
US issue in different cover of Kevin Coyne's band's second LP.
Long gone & still the only re of really rare 1976 folkrock/ssw/folkpsych pressing; gentle, dreamy vibe & killer title track. Ltd & #'ed - this is 331 of 375.
Record: beautiful EX; looks unplayed.
Cover: EX; pretty much like new, but there's a tiny touch of ring/shelfwear bottom back + back cvr paste-on is slightly 'bubbly' - as are all copies I've seen. Insert in top shape.
Price: SEK 500 / $49
Found a few of these in Hank The Prank's insanely overfilled storage space when we had another rec session recently. Never came sealed. ***Out of stock at the moment, but I'll have more soon.***
Ltd re-press of the 2019 LP; this is on white/gold vinyl, with white cover version as seen below. 90 copies only.
Ltd re-press of the 2019 LP; this is on white vinyl, with white cover version as seen above. 90 copies only.
CD comp of scarce material from circa 1997-2005, housed in a neat trifold digipak with somewhat extensive liner notes from band scholar Wilmot Clawson. This is the preferable revised 2nd edition. New/sealed copies - wholesale inquiries welcome!
Pink/yellow label pressing of 1966 LP.
Rather good soft singersongwriter, kinda reminds me of a poor man's David Ackles at times.
This is where they lose me, despite some lovely melancholic melodies, and sitar, tablas, backwards bits, mellotron etc sprucing things up... Too proggy, I guess (hearing this for the first time in ages, I thought they move into an almost Spring-like sound here & there).
1" tear, inside the gatefold, from opening inwards. Booklet in very nice shape.
Oop re of scarce & pretty cool 1970 Village Thing UK folk psychy LP; includes one bonus track not on the original.
Comp of various LP cuts from the expected ones... Mac, Bennett, Boyd, Dupree a o.
Rascals, Iron Butterfly, Buffalo Springfield, Vanilla Fudge, Cartoone. Different cover than on the US pressing.
Classic heavy psych with almost sidelong title track, plenty of cool guitar & organ work-outs; crash pad graffiti (including a slightly challenged yin-yang symbol) is there to help you "liberate your mind and see". 'n I seen plenty! (A nod at which private pressing? Send your best guesses this way.)
Record: beautiful EX; looks pretty much unplayed - by far the best disc of this I've ever seen. Tiny warp nap.
Cover: G; fo; one of those unipak covers which seemingly always is more or less tatty, this one has seam/spine/corner/edgewear; ring/shelfwear; small tofc; a couple of light cornerbumps/bend; slightly flat spine (fully readable though); a few very light creases along sides; cc.
Price: SEK 800 / $78
Excellent Greek LP with gypsy & mid-eastern vibes, bouzouki & other stringed instruments, bass, hand percussion, violin, strong vocals.
Pretty rare mono copy of solid bossa/latin jazzy grooves & one of the Waxidermy label faves; "Chant of Ossanha" is especially good.
TANGERINE DREAM - Green Desert (Relativity) USA 1986
First release of previously unavailable 1974 recordings, including the great "White Clouds" which when hearing it now blew me away back to 1991 or so, when I for some time had early TD on very frequent rotation.
Later Dutch issue (but, I think, the 1st pressing from there) of his fine 1968 debut.
Very rare original of north-Swedish punk rock 7"; yellow vinyl.
1st of two from eclectic Swedish folk-prog-jazz band.
Re, sort of (different cover, different track order), of monster rare 1978 tax-scam LP with 1965-67 garage recordings with some budding psych flavours; gets pretty heavy on the great "Darkness". Blue vinyl version. Mono.
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TIN TIN - same (Atco) USA 1970
1st/best from Australian duo, recorded in the UK & overall a pretty good pop LP, occasional psych influences. Opener "She Said Ride" is excellent, with rather heavy guitar leads.
2nd from Irish folk duo; nice LP but nothing here comes even close to the monster level achieved on some tracks on the predecessor. I've always felt some silly joy when seeing the Tudor Lodge sticker on the record player visible behind Sonny Condell!
Record: VG+
Cover: very strong G; fo; some seam/spine/corner/edgewear; light ring/shelfwear; small tofc; faint mark obc from removed stkr; a few light, thin scrape marks obc + one very small one ofc; light wear obc at opening.
Price: SEK 200 / $20
Palm tree label pressing of awesome 1969 LP. I bought my first copy of this when I was 16 & fifteen minutes later I managed to smash my glasses. Blind owl that I am I could barely find my way back home & in order to get back to town that same evening, where there was a gig by some band I can't recall, I had to locate a spare pair but the only thing I found were the ones I wore when I was 12. Thinking I looked like a total dork I made sure I had my face covered by a wall of hair, until a friend said 'Hey, you look like Ray Manzarek in those glasses", which made things a wee bit better. File under unremarkable tales from crypt.
Pop-into-light-psych with west coast vocal harmonies & some great tracks; same label as Grodeck Whipperjenny.
Great LP with Lars Lystedt, Bertil Strandberg, Rune Gustafsson a o. Used to come with a far higher price tag only a few years ago.
Only months later re of Vertigo classic.
VANILLA FUDGE - Rock & Roll (Atco) USA 1969
Hadn't heard this in... 20 years, maybe... and I'd forgotten how incredibly messed up side one is, in the way that no-frills rock sometimes goes completely off the rails without knowing it. S2 is as lost but very differently so.
Fusion with Bob Malik, John Lee & Alphonse Mouzon in addition to van't Hof's massive keyboard set-up.
Swedish anti-nuclear power comp, with Bernt Staf, Tore Berger, Elektriska Linden, Turid, Roland Von Malmborg, Nynningen, Röde Mor, Thomas Wiehe, and Thomas Tidholm - all good stuff (and exclusive to this release, I think), but Tidholm's track is a MONSTER, sounding like the perfect mix of his folky solo stuff & the droning of Harvester (Abelli on bass, and Bo Anders wrote the last verse, so there's a connection in people as well as sound). Painting ofc by Jan Ternald from Älgarnas Trädgård; single sleeve version. (Also, this is record is more relevant now than it has been for a long time, what, with Sweden moving away from neo-liberal hell into fascist hell, where nuclear power is considered a "green" energy. I'm going nuts here for a million different reasons, and this is one of them.)
Heady underground sounds, closely connected to later outfits like Agusa & Nepal Death. 300 copies only.
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WE FIVE - Catch The Wind (Vault) USA 1970
Later LP by semi-classic early SF band; soft pop with folky vocal harmonies. Their version of "Early Morning Rain" reminds me of the one by Square Root Of Nine.
Offbeat folkie with deep loungey voice, quirky songs & some fine players - Lyle Ritz, David Cohen - along for the ride. "Gladstone Greenery" is five minutes of weird & excellent folk psych, minor classic in northern Sweden. In at least two households.
Record: nice & shiny VG, but has a few light surfmarks - they do very little though.
Cover: strong G; fo; would've been a grade higher but for an odd mark/stain ofc, but it fits rather well with the slighly messy cvr design; seam/spine/corner/edgewear; light cornerbumps.
Price: SEK 120 / $12
Red print on front cover.
Biker OST with most tracks by Davie Allan & The Arrows, plus one each by The Visitors featuring Barbara, and The Hands Of Time. "Blue's Theme" is totally classic exploito fuzz rock!
2nd pressing (with Aarhoolie info bottom back) of 1964 LP.
12" five-tracker by stoney Irish hardrock outfit. Pretty cool black cover design (capturing this would be far beyond my photographic skills though) & label name/design is a funny-dumb take on Geffen.
PA band which once had Todd Rundgren in its line-up; "Everything Is Fine" is a melancholy treat, while "Color Scheme" is 6:23 of heavy, fuzzy bluesy psych, and the rest's a decent mixed bag of pop, rock, psych.
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STEVE YORK'S CAMELO PARDALIS - Manor Live (Virgin) UK 1973
Bluesy, gritty, rootsy, jazzy rock, some Stones-moves, with Mike Patto, Ollie Halsall, Lol Coxhill, Boz Scaggs, Dave Thompson, Elkie Brooks & more.