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Banks. Peter - Two Sides of Peter Banks
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(Sovereign SVNA-7256 UK-76 VG+ 375:-)
For "Two Sides of Peter Banks", the ex-guitarist from Yes gathered an impressive group of guest musicians, including Genesis' Phil Collins and Steve Hackett and King Crimson's John Wetton. Most importantly, the whole album was written and recorded with Netherlands guitarist Jan Akkerman.
The first six tracks make up a suite ranging from acoustic duets to full-blown instrumental progressive rock numbers that bear noticeable similarities with some material Steve Hackett would record for his first solo album.
Original UK pressing. The sleeve shows some ringwear; the vinyl is graded EX.
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Barrett, Syd - The Madcap Laughs
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(Harvest SHVL-765 UK-70 VG 1250:-)
A definite madcap romp from the amazing Syd Barrett – and a record that still sounds as captivatingly chilling all these many decades later!
There's a stripping-down here that's really tremendous – no need for all the overblown, long-winded excursions of other forces in the psych generation – as Syd takes the whole thing down to its core, and carries it off with a charm that's almost folksy.
Original UK pressing; both sleeve and vinyl are graded Very Good.
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Beatles - Beatles
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(Apple PCS-7067/8 UK-68 VG/VG+ 1000:-)
The Beatles at their late best – 1968's self-titled set, now immortalized as The White Album! The White Album capped offed a period of intense creativity for the band with a double that's as freewheeling as anything they'd ever release. It's got raw rockers with wry lyricism, tender acoustic balladry, psych blues jams and some flat out weird bits.
Original UK pressing complete with 4 photos and poster. The vinyls are graded VG/VG+, but plays without any problems.
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Beatles - Help!
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(Parlophone PCS-3071 UK-66 VG+ 1000:-)
A great little record that's kind of a prequel for "Rubber Soul" – filled with short, tuneful tracks that would flower more deeply on that later album – and often served up with a bit more wit and adult consciousness than in any of the group's earlier records! One of those records that you always forget about, until you drop the needle and revel in its sweet blend of modes.
1966 2nd UK pressing with small solid "Stereo" on the front of sleeve. Previous owners sticker on the front.
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Beatles - Help!
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(Parlophone PCS-3071 UK-69 VG+ 475:-)
A great little record that's kind of a prequel for "Rubber Soul" – filled with short, tuneful tracks that would flower more deeply on that later album – and often served up with a bit more wit and adult consciousness than in any of the group's earlier records! One of those records that you always forget about, until you drop the needle and revel in its sweet blend of modes.
1969 UK pressing with one EMI logo on labels; no "Stereo" on the front of sleeve.
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Beatles - Let it Be
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(Apple PCS-7096 UK-70 VG+ 500:-)
A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon – and the Phil Spector production really helps open up a new sound for the group.
UK issue with the GREEN Apple logo on the back.
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Beatles - Let it Be
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(Apple PCS-7096 UK-70 VG+ 600:-)
A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon – and the Phil Spector production really helps open up a new sound for the group.
UK 2nd issue with the RED Apple logo on the back but without box and book.
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Beatles - Live in Australia, 1964
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(Crocodile BGLP-156 Ita-88 VG+ 400:-)
The Beatles' 1964 world tour was their first world tour, launched after their 1964 UK tour. They played played eight cities in Australia and New Zeeland between June 12 and June 30. It was followed by their subsequent US tour in August that year.
2LP Picture Disc set. Recorded live in Adelaide, June 12, 1964 (A1-B2); Festival Hall, Melbourne, June 16, 1964 (B3-B8); Sydney Stadium, Sydney, June 18, 1964 (C1-D3, alternate source D4-D6).
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Beatles - Revolver
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(Parlophone PCS-7009 UK-69 VG+ 600:-)
This is manys favorite Beatles album – a key set that bridges the catchiness of the early years and the sharper ideas of later albums – with a slightly sinister undercurrent that really keeps things fresh! The album's got some great early psych in spots, offset with wonderfully mature and sweet lyrics of the love songs – cross-cut with a bit of witty social commentary too!
Parlophone black/silver labels with one boxed EMI logo. This version has misprinted title "I got to get you into my life" on label.
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Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
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(Capitol SEAX-11840 US-78 EX 400:-)
Hard to deny the lasting power of this crucial album from The Beatles – a set that unleashed some of their trippiest sounds and most tender moments too! The mix of wit and honesty is wonderful – and the sonic range is dynamic as the archetypal cover image – a package that's had an undeniable impact on modern music for the past few decades!
1978 US limited edition Picture Disc, housed in a die-cut sleeve, still in the original custom stickered open shrink.
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Beatles - The Beatles' First
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(Polydor 236.201 UK-67 VG+ 375:-)
This album features the eight Hamburg recordings involving the Beatles plus four songs recorded by Tony Sheridan without the Beatles. While it appears that Polydor in U.K. initially planned on releasing "The Beatles First" in mono, the company ultimately decided to press the LP exclusively in stereo upon its release on the Polydor Special label. This album is a reissue of the eponymous German album which was released in April 1964 and imported to England.
This is the 1st variation which has “The Beatles” printed under each song on which they play.
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Beck, Joe - Nature Boy
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(Verve Forecast FTS-3081 US-69 VG+ 350:-)
Joe Beck is best known as a jazz guitarist but his debut album "Nature Boy" doesn't have much to do with jazz. Of course there are some jazzy influences here and there but the stylistic direction of this record is guitar driven psychedelic rock. Beck really offers some tremendous guitarwork here. Future Crazy Horse Danny Whitten handles the rhythm guitar.
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Birthday Party - Prayers on Fire
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(4AD CAD-104 UK-81 VG+ 375:-)
The Birthday Party were one of the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s, creating bleak and noisy soundscapes that provided the perfect setting for vocalist Nick Cave's difficult, disturbing stories of religion, violence, and perversity. Under the direction of Cave and guitarist Rowland S. Howard, the band tore through reams of blues and rockabilly licks, spitting out hellacious feedback and noise at an unrelenting pace.
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Black Sabbath - Past Lives
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(Earmark 41045 EU-05 EX 800:-)
Black Sabbath kicked loose rocks that's still setting off avalanches of creativity across the musical landscape. Their phenomenal first four albums remain the clearest articulations of heavy metal vocabulary to date.
"Past Lives" is a great first start to bring the rarest live performances to the casual Black Sabbath fan without having to search all over to get the unaltered bootlegs of these four shows. It's worth it, quite enjoyable, and once again shows that when it came to playing live, nobody came close to the Sabbath!
This pressing suffers from defect digital master on track D4.
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Bond, Grahame - Mighty Grahame Bond
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(Pulsar AR-10606 US-69 VG+ 300:-)
In 1968 Graham Bond left Britain after the collapse of the Graham Bond Organisation to make two legendary albums the US. Both records saw Bond play all instruments (except drums) and contained material that featured jazz influences alongside emerging psychedelic and underground rock, laced with fine musicianship and mystical lyrics.
Original US pressing.
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Boss Hog - Whiteout
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(City Slang 20150-1 Ger-99 EX 275:-)
It's difficult to consider Boss Hog without invoking the name of Jon Spencer. Not only is the Blues Explosion leader a member of Boss Hog, but he's also married to Boss Hog leader Christina Martinez, so his overwrought post-modern downtown, white-boy blues-funk is always lurking just around the corner.
WHITEOUT finds Boss Hog completing its evolution from unlistenable squalls of white-boy (and -girl) blues to a more varied sound incorporating blues, electronic textures, and programmed beats. Its strongest moments are the ones in which Boss Hog does what it does best: strut, sneer, and groove.
Original German pressing; both sleeve and vinyl are graded EX.
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Bowie, David - Aladdin Sane
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(RCA Victor LSP-4852 Ger-77 VG+ 300:-)
"Aladdin Sane" was a real turning point for Bowie – recorded on the heels of the tremendously popular "Ziggy Stardust" album, but really pushing the boundaries past the more straight-ahead rock and glam of that record. Instead of just sitting on his laurels, Bowie tripped out into a wilder, weirder world with this one – mixing together elements of some of the baroque arrangements of early records, with the meaner leaner sound of the 70s – populating the songs with freaks, weirdos, and odd characters that gave the whole thing a really creepy edge. One of Bowie's most magical moments!
1977 German reissue; gatefold sleeve with lyric insert.
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Bowie, David - David Live
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(Ryko RALP-0138/39-2 US-90 VG+ 1000:-)
A classic live set from David Bowie, culled from performances on the 12th, 13th, 14th & 15th July 1974 at the Tower Theatre, Philadelphia. The music is pretty straightforward, and pretty rocking - lots of fuzzy guitar in the "Diamond Dogs/Aladdin Sane" mode - played by a group with Earl Slick on guitar and Michael Kamen on electric piano and moog. Additional tracks from these concerts have been added to this issue.
2LP on CLEAR vinyl, Numbered Obi (#2189).
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Bowie, David - Diamond Dogs
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(RCA RPL-2104 Jap-82 EX 350:-)
David Bowie at his most sinister for the 70s – a landmark set that combines the harder rocking sound of the "Ziggy Stardust" years with the more sophisticated theatrics of "Aladdin Sane" – in a style that features some of the darkest, most political work of Bowie's career! There's a depth to the record that goes way beyond the silly, sensational cover image – and there's also a sonic complexity that's wonderful too – a songs slide into each other with a deftness that never fails to amaze!
'82 Japanese re-issue.
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Bowie, David - Lodger
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(RCA Victor BOWLP-1 UK-79 VG+ 300:-)
The brilliant consummation of Bowie's late 70s years in Berlin – a record that showed he could take the experiments in sound he was crafting with Brian Eno, and turn them back into the kind of creepily catchy rock tunes that first made him a legend!
Brian Eno's help on the record is still quite strong – heard very well in the record's use of odd electronics and exotic themes – of a sort that Eno would later explore on his own with David Byrne. But the real charm here is pure Bowie – with an unabashed flair for a dramatic lyric, a well-chosen use of a heavier guitar, and a sense of personality and poise that makes the record one of his most unified ever!
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Bowie, David - Scary Monsters and Super Creeps
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(RCA Victor AQL1-3647 US-80 VG+ 275:-)
David Bowie back in costume at the end of the 70s – but informed enough from his Berlin trilogy that he's coming at things quite differently here!
The album's a great summation of the sounds on "Low", "Heroes", and "Lodger" – taken almost back to some Ziggy Stardust and Space Oddity territory, but in ways that are a bit leaner, and more focused. Even more impressive, though, is the near-complete absence of other 1980 elements in the set – hardly any influences from punk or new wave, no post-disco dancefloor elements – just deeply unique Bowie all the way through, and proof that he could always find his own space in music when he wanted!
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Bowie, David - Sold Out
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(Sesam 830611 Swe-83 VG+ 350:-)
David Bowie was a performer who made a career out of defying rock convention so flagrantly and with such finesse that fans not only forgive him for it, they worship him.
"The Serious Moonlight Tour" was, at the time, his longest, largest and most successful concert tour to date. The Gothenburg concert was the only one sceduled for Sandinavia, and was an immense success, with an audience of 61,206.
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Bowie, David - Stage
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(RCA Victor PL-02913 UK-78 EX 300:-)
Emerging from his self-imposed exile in Berlin, David Bowie assembled a new band and took to the road to promote his Berlin-recorded albums. "Stage" chronicles that 1977 tour, and captures Bowie at one of the most creative periods of his career. Bowie performs gripping versions of these challenging tunes, and guitarist Adrian Belew is especially good on this material.
1978 UK pressing, fully laminated gatefold picture sleeve.
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Bown Set, Alan - Alan Bown!
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(Deram SML-1049 UK-69 VG+ 600:-)
Alan Bown was a trumpet player whos main interests were jazz and American rhythm & blues. His first group made it to the performing mecca of Hamburg, Germany, playing at venues such as the Star-Club and crossing paths with the Beatles, Tony Sheridan, etc. He formed the Alan Bown Set in 1964.
From late 1967 the group go through a complete transformation, into a psychedelic band known simply as the Alan Bown, which was signed to the Deram label. Originally released in the US with Jess Roden on vocals, the UK version was re-recorded with Robert Palmer replacing Roden.
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Buffalo Springfield - Expecting to Fly
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(Atlantic 2464.012 UK-70 VG+ 300:-)
Buffalo Springfield's time was short - they formed in 1966 and split in 1968 - but their legacy was vast. Nominally a folk-rock band, Buffalo Springfield also showed a facility with country-rock, psychedelia, soul, and hard rock, all the while embracing the possibilities of the recording studios of Los Angeles.
1970 compilation on the plum/red Atlantic label '99' series, fully laminated picture sleeve with notes by John Peel printed on the reverse. Both sleeve and viny are graded VG+.
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Business - 1980/81 (Official Bootleg)
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(Syndicate SYN-LP2 UK-83 NM 300:-)
The Business are an English Oi!/Punk Rock band formed in 1979 in Lewisham, South London. Their album Suburban Rebels became influential in the Oi! movement. Their biggest hit song in recent times, "England 5 - Germany 1", (based on the result of a World Cup Qualifying match in 2001), became a football anthem for England.
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