ALBERT COLLINS - The Cool Sound Of... on TCF Hall NEAR MINT MINUS

$

75

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 ALBERT COLLINS - "The Cool Sound of Albert Collins" in mono on TCF Hall 8002.


Record Grade: Near Mint Minus, a solid 8 on a 1-10 scale

Cover Grade:  VG+, minor wear but some 'flaking' at the top right corner, both on the top seam and at the opening.

Labels: Red and black

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

by Richard Skelly

Albert Collins, "The Master of the Telecaster," "The Iceman," and "The Razor Blade" was robbed of his best years as a blues performer by a bout with liver cancer that ended with his premature death on November 24, 1993. He was just 61 years old. The highly influential, totally original Collins, like the late John Campbell, was on the cusp of a much wider worldwide following via his deal with Virgin Records' Pointblank subsidiary. However, unlike Campbell, Collins had performed for many more years, in obscurity, before finally finding a following in the mid-'80s. Collins was born October 1, 1932, in Leona, TX. His family moved to Houston when he was seven. Growing up in the city's Third Ward area with the likes of Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, Collins started out taking keyboard lessons. His idol when he was a teen was Hammond B-3 organist Jimmy McGriff. But by the time he was 18 years old, he switched to guitar, and hung out and heard his heroes, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker and Lightnin' Hopkins (his cousin) in Houston-area nightclubs. Collins began performing in these same clubs, going after his own style, characterized by his use of minor tunings and a capo, by the mid-'50s. It was also at this point that he began his "guitar walks" through the audience, which made him wildly popular with the younger white audiences he played for years later in the 1980s. He led a ten-piece band, the Rhythm Rockers, and cut his first single in 1958 for the Houston-based Kangaroo label, "The Freeze." The single was followed by a slew of other instrumental singles with catchy titles, including "Sno-Cone," "Icy Blue" and "Don't Lose Your Cool." All of these singles brought Collins a regional following. After recording "De-Frost" b/w "Albert's Alley" for Hall-Way Records of Beaumont, TX, he hit it big in 1962 with "Frosty," a million-selling single. Teenagers Janis Joplin and Johnny Winter, both raised in Beaumont, were in the studio when he recorded the song. According to Collins, Joplin correctly predicted that the single would become a hit. The tune quickly became part of his ongoing repertoire, and was still part of his live shows more than 30 years later, in the mid-'80s. Collins' percussive, ringing guitar style became his trademark, as he would use his right hand to pluck the strings. Blues-rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix cited Collins as an influence in any number of interviews he gave. Through the rest of the 1960s, Collins continued to work day jobs while pursuing his music with short regional tours and on weekends. He recorded for other small Texas labels, including Great Scott, Brylen and TFC. In 1968, Bob "The Bear" Hite from the blues-rock group Canned Heat took an interest in the guitarist's music, traveling to Houston to hear him live. Hite took Collins to California, where he was immediately signed to Imperial Records. By later 1968 and 1969, the '60s blues revival was still going on, and Collins got wider exposure opening for groups like the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Collins based his operations for many years in Los Angeles before moving to Las Vegas in the late '80s. He recorded three albums for the Imperial label before jumping to Tumbleweed Records. There, several singles were produced by Joe Walsh, since the label was owned by the Eagles' producer Bill Szymczyk. The label folded in 1973. Despite the fact that he didn't record much through the 1970s and into the early '80s, he had gotten sufficient airplay around the U.S. with his singles to be able to continue touring, and so he did, piloting his own bus from gig to gig until at least 1988, when he and his backing band were finally able to use a driver. Collins' big break came about in 1977, when he was signed to the Chicago-based Alligator Records, and he released his brilliant debut for the label in 1978, Ice Pickin'. Collins recorded six more albums for the label, culminating in 1986's Cold Snap, on which organist Jimmy McGriff performs. It was at Alligator Records that Collins began to realize that he could sing adequately, and working with his wife Gwen, he co-wrote many of his classic songs, including items like "Mastercharge," and "Conversation With Collins." His other albums for Alligator include Live in Japan, Don't Lose Your Cool, Frozen Alive! and Frostbite. An album he recorded with fellow guitarists Robert Cray and Johnny "Clyde" Copeland for Alligator in 1985, Showdown! brought a Grammy award for all three musicians. His Cold Snap, released in 1986, was nominated for a Grammy award. In 1989, Collins signed with the Pointblank subsidiary of major label Virgin Records, and his debut, Iceman, was released in 1991. The label released the compilation Collins Mix in 1993. Other compact-disc reissues of his early recordings were produced by other record companies who saw Collins' newfound popularity on the festival and theater circuit, and they include Complete Imperial Recordings on EMI Records (1991) and Truckin' With Albert Collins (1992) on MCA Records. Collins' sessionography is also quite extensive. The albums he performs on include David Bowie's Labyrinth, John Zorn's Spillane, Jack Bruce's A Question of Time, John Mayall's Wake Up Call, B.B. King's Blues Summit, Robert Cray's Shame and a Sin, and Branford Marsalis' Super Models in Deep Conversation. Although he'd spent far too much time in the 1970s without recording, Collins could sense that the blues were coming back stronger in the mid-'80s, with interest in Stevie Ray Vaughan at an all-time high. Collins enjoyed some media celebrity in the last few years of his life, via concert appearances at Carnegie Hall, on Late Night with David Letterman, in the Touchstone film, Adventures in Babysitting, and in a classy Seagram's Wine Cooler commercial with Bruce Willis. The blues revival that Collins, Vaughan and the Fabulous Thunderbirds helped bring about in the mid-'80s has continued into the mid-'90s. But sadly, Collins has not been able to take part in the ongoing evolution of the music.

Maiilers with appropriate padding (heavy cardboard fillers or bubble wrap or "peanuts" or some combination thereof". With the exception of sealed LP's, all LP's are removed from their outer sleeves to prevent seam splitting. Upon request, I will give your sealed LP's the same treatment. (once an LP is shipped sealed, it cannot be returned once opened).

All records are carefully graded. In an attempt to give customers an accurate impression of condition rather than adhere to somewhat arbitrary criteria, I give an "overall presentation" grade, supplemented when necessary with additional remarks. Please refer to my grading system below for a more detailed explanation.

MY GRADING SYSTEMS: I’ve been told that I grade conservatively. My NM (near mint) is my highest grade for opened records (which would also include unplayed records). It’s a 9 or 10 on a 1-10 scale. M- would be equivalent to an 8; VG++ to a 7; VG+ to a 6; VG to a 5; VG- to a 4; G to a 3; F to a 2 and P to a 1. The same scale applies when I grade covers (jackets). Significant defects are specifically noted and taken into consideration in the grade.

GRADING DESCRIPTIONS

RECORDS:

• GRADING is based on the following criteria
• Sealed = store stock new
• Near Mint = like new or near new with only one or two small insignificant defects, a 9 or better on a 1-10 scale
• Near Mint Minus (or NM-) = very nice. Would be Near Mint, except for a couple of light hairlines or scuffs, which do not affect play
• VG++ = still a very nice record with all or nearly all of its original gloss but may have a few more light, surface marks, hairlines, needle tracks or the like which should not materially effect play
• VG+ = a nice, but used record that may have a series of light scuffs or scratches. It probably plays with a few pops, but has no serious problems.
• VG = a well-used record that still should sound OK when played, but may have moderate surface noise, pops, etc.
• VG- = a well-worn record that plays through without skipping, but will do until a better copy comes along.
• Good = not actually good at all but probably will play through but with much in the way of surface noise, pops, crackles, etc. Still, will have no cracks, chips or the like
• Fair = you’re getting this record just to own but not to play
• Poor = the sky’s the limit, generally I will discard a record this bad (and sell the cover, jacket or sleeve alone) unless the label holds some particular interest

  VISUAL GRADING: All records are visually graded only unless I state that they are play-graded. Some major labels were pressed on better quality vinyl and will sound better than a record which visually appears the same on "budget" labels which were pressed on lower quality vinyl. Recording techniques also varied. The sound on live albums may be far inferior to studio recordings. There may also be defects in the pressing which are invisible. The point is that an album on a high quality label that was visually graded VG+ may sound better than an album on a budget label that was visually graded Mint- or even Near Mint. Please refer to my return policy, below. But please don’t be shocked if a record visually graded Near Mint doesn’t sound state of the art. If I base my grade on a PLAY GRADE, I will state this specifically in my grading section.

  COVERS: There are really too many possible defects regarding covers to be as specific in my definitions as I had been with my record grades. But please keep in mind these general grading guidelines:

  • I will give greater weight to the condition of the front cover than back cover when assigning an overall grade
  • No cover with a cut out hole or saw mark will be graded Near Mint even if it is still in factory shrink and there is no other wear
  • I will not reduce the grade of a cover for stickers which are glued to the jacket by the record company (eg. Contains the hit song Expressway to Your Heart); but will reduce the grade for stickers glued on the cover by stores, previous owners, etc.
  • If I write that a cover has a bb hole, I’m talking about a small cut out hole
  • A saw mark is a narrow cut in the perimeter of the cover, could be anywhere and vary in length from 1/2” to 2” at the most.
  • The overall grade takes into consideration any stated defects. For example, if I grade a cover VG+ and then state it has 6” top and bottom seam splits - I’ve already reduced the grade because of the seam splits. If the seams weren’t split, the cover would be graded higher such as VG++ or Mint-.

    Shipping Costs: CURRENT SHIPPING RATES AND POLICIES.

    The winning bidder pays for shipping.

    DOMESTIC SHIPPING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES: Due to increase in postage rates, I have sometimes been losing money on shipping as I send all records in sturdy professional Bags Unlimited mailers with one or more fillers. Therefore, I am now using the eBay postage calculator to determine postage. This will also result in a more equitable charge for priority mail shipments. Instead of a flat fee, those who live in the southeast and mid-east will reap the benefit of reduced priority mail rates.

    DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS: COMBINED SHIPPING - Save money when I mail 2 or more records in the same package. Please wait until I send you an invoice or request an invoice when combining two or more records or cd's in one shipment -prior to making payment.

    INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS: Overseas customers are invited to bid. As with U.S. shipments, I will use eBay's postage calculator for all overseas shipments. Postage to Canada is substantially less than to other countries - if you live in Canada and don't see a separate rate for Canada , please e-mail me and I'll modify the invoice to reflect the lower shipping charges. Surface mail is no longer available for overseas. Express Mail International and Priority Mail International are available - rates are substantially higher than first class international and will be quoted for each purchase if buyer requests this service. Express Mail International or Registered mail is now required for purchases over $100. Generally, Express International costs $35 for 1 album and additional albums are about $5-6 more. Registered costs about $26 for 1 album, about $5 more for each additional album. Registered mail may not be available to certain countries. I am sorry but the increased risks and costs must be passed on to the international buyer. On the bright side of things, Express Mail International will get you the package faster and it is safer. Registered mail is the safest form of shipment (but not as fast as express mail international). So there are benefits to the buyer as well as the seller. Please wait until I send you an invoice or request an invoice when combining two or more records or cd's in one shipment -prior to making payment.

    Please check out my other eBay auctions and stores listings.

    I’ve been listing all types of records - mostly LP’s - including 50’s and 60’s rock ‘n’ roll, country, folk jazz, blues, personalities, new wave and punk, surf, psych, spoken word, comedy, etc., etc....... I try to list unusual, unique or obscure records, not the ones that you see all the time. While a majority of my listings are albums, you’ll often find a nice selection of 45’s, EP’s or picture sleeves...and an occasional 78 or two.

    My return policy: . You may return an item if it's not in the condition described. You may not return items if you decide you don't like the music. I will return the base price of the item unless I make an error in shipment such as sending you the wrong record or cd. In that case, you will be reimbursed for the cost of the item and shipping both ways. In addition, the item must be returned in its original condition , i.e. the way it was shipped when it left my hands. While a very high percentage of my records arrive safe and sound (I use professional mailers and a filler or two, more for 78’s), they occasionally are damaged in transit. If that happens, I won’t accept the return of the record or other item.

    Sealed Records: After a sealed record is paid for, I will gladly open it before mailing to make sure that the record is new & unplayed. If the record is not, I will give a full refund. Even though it is easy to spot most resealed records from the 50's and 60's [I will mention that in the desription if it looks like a possibility], not all records from the 70's & 80's are quite as obvious. Please ask for any details about the seal of a particular record & I will be happy to answer.