BAND OF SUSANS Wired For Sound +4 1986-93 UK 3 LP Set TEST PRESSING Autographed

$

25

UK Blast First hard to find 1995 triple LP vinyl copy of their "Best Of" this is an early test pressing with no labels (vinyl should be exactly the same as the official version I once listed on Ebay, matrix info on the vinyl sides is exact, just an early pressing before they pressed it up with finished labels) this comes directly from the band's Robert Poss from the lady I bought this huge collection from (in fact side two label has written in green marker "To Christine, Love, Robert B.O.S. 1994". I guarantee it to be a real autograph from Robert (she had a ton of their stuff).
There are 4 bonus tracks on the vinyl edition that didn't make the double CD version on this (BFFP111). There are two pages of cue sheets printed out on this & looks to be the same except notes written in the margins: E07 (supposed to be instrumental version) D03 (should be longer remix version). These just came in white lined sleeves, I'll put them in proper white plain 12" hole sleeves ALSO (12 inch single sleeves so you can see the labels) each side has a sticker so you know which side is which.

WIKIPEDIA SONIC CHARACTERISTICS: As the band's history of having eight guitarists in all (and never less than three at any given time) attests, Band of Susans were a heavily guitar-centric outfit. They are generally included in New York City's abrasive post-No Wave scene which produced Sonic Youth, Glenn Branca, Live Skull, and Swans. They generally used G&L brand guitars (which appear on several of the band's album covers), Fender Jazzmasters, and Park (a budget brand made by Marshall) amplifiers. G&L owner Leo Fender was an avowed fan of the band and later befriended Poss. Musically, BoS organised their three guitarists into providing an overwhelming wall of feedback and guitar noise layered atop more conventional song structures. Due to their love of atmospheric textures, the band is often considered a peripheral member of the shoegaze movement, though they had a more abrasive sound than most of the primarily-British bands of the shoegaze genre. Like shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Band of Susans were notorious for playing live at extremely high volumes in order to recreate the visceral impact of their studio albums. Despite BoS's experimental leanings, Poss was a big fan of The Rolling Stones, which was later manifest in covers of the Stones' songs "Child Of The Moon" and "Paint It Black."

AMG BIO: Favoring chaotic squalls of guitar noise and avant textures over the dynamics of conventional songcraft, the New York-based Band of Susans formed in 1986 around the core duo of singers/songwriters Robert Poss and Susan Stenger, longtime friends who reunited only after pursuing dramatically different musical paths: while Poss became a fixture on the N.Y.C. punk scene in the Clash-inspired Tot Rocket before joing Rhys Chatham's guitar ensemble, Stenger relocated to Prague, where she studied the theories of John Cage. Originally, Band of Susans featured Poss on lead guitar and Stenger on bass, rounded out by guitarists Susan Tallman and Susan Lyall (hence the outfit's name) and drummer Ron Spitzer; four months after forming, they issued their debut EP, Blessing and Curse. In 1988, Band of Susans released their first full-length album, Hope Against Hope; both Tallman and Lyall departed soon after, and were replaced by Page Hamilton (a former student of Glenn Branca, a frequent Susans reference point) and Karen Haglof. After 1989's Love Agenda, Hamilton too left the group to found Helmet; he was replaced by Mark Lonergan, and following Haglof's exit, Anne Husick stepped in for 1991's The Word and the Flesh, which employed a more focused attack, typified by a lesser emphasis on reverb and feedback, to arrive at a more accessible sound. Without the usual attendant line-up changes, Band of Susans issued 1993's dense, droning Veil, followed two years later by Here Comes Success, a uniformly strong collection of lengthy pieces including the instrumental "In the Eye of the Beholder (Song for Rhys)," a tribute to Poss' mentor. In mid-1996, Band of Susans dissolved, although Stenger and Poss continued working with Wire's Bruce Gilbert in the trio GilbertPossStenger in addition to mounting other projects.

AMG REVIEW: Wired for Sound is a great introduction to the Band of Susans, conveniently wrapping up the New York group's 1986 to 1993 output. In fact, it could be argued that an average admirer of the band would only need this and their excellent swan song, Here Comes Success, to get a full picture. Although most of the material is excellent, the sometimes tuneless din can grow tiresome pretty quickly; the collection works best in small doses. Moody textures are the rule for the Susans, and when they leave second gear, they're at their best ("Trash Train," "Hope Against Hope"). Neatly divided between "songs with words" on the first disc and "songs without words" on the second, Wired for Sound will likely please any Sonic Youth or Television fan.

SONGS: THE BONUS TRACKS THAT ARE ON THIS VINYL VERSION THAT AREN'T ON THE CD ARE ADDED IN ALL CAPS:

RECORD ONE: A01 Hope Against Hope (5:00) VINYL ONLY BONUS TRACK: B02 SOMETIMES A03 Throne Of Blood (3:16) A04 You Were An Optimist (3:18) A05 All The Wrong Reasons (5:26) B01 The Pursuit Of Happiness (5:29) B02 Hard Light (4:41) B03 It's Locked Away (5:10) B04 Birthmark (4:09) B05 VINYL ONLY BONUS TRACK: BECAUSE OF YOU.

RECORD TWO: C01 Now Is Now (REMIX FROM NOW 4:51) C02 VINYL ONLY BONUS TRACKS: SERMON ON COMPETITION PART TWO C03 Tilt (5:06) C04 Trouble Follows (1994 Remix) (3:53) C05 Ice Age (1994 Remix) (5:27) D01 Following My Heart (4:31) D02 Mood Swing (5:07) D03 The Red And The Black (Veil remix version 6:27) D04 VINYL ONLY BONUS TRACK: PEARLS OF WISDOM (Veil version) D05 Blind (3:54).

RECORD THREE (SONGS WITHOUT WORDS): E01 Elliott Abrams In Hell (2:23) E02 Where Have All The Flowers Gone (5:03) E03 No God (5:00) E04 Thorn In My Side (2:54) E05 Sin Embargo (3:43) E06 Bitter And Twisted (3:13) C13 Tilt (5:06) E07 Paint It Black (4:33) F01 Trash Train (3:57) F02 Out Of The Question (unreleased track from Veil 2:55) F03 Trollbinders Theme (4:25) F04 The Last Temptation Of Susan (2:42) F05 Guitar Trio (13:20).

CONDITION: The records are near mint, I'll add 12" single plain white sleeves (along wtih the original cue sheets in the photo).

LP SHIPPING + PACKING & VARIOUS INFO:
I use real coated cardboard LP mailers when I ship vinyl & these are very durable. I usually take the records with the inner sleeves out of the covers (unless factory sealed of course) so they don't split the seams of the cover in shipment. Then I put them in a 2 or 3 mil plastic sleeve & then wrap a plastic bag or two around them to keep them from flopping around in the mailer, this method seems to work best since it adds air & almost works like bubble wrap (keeps the LP's usually under a pound & saves a lot on shipping rates worldwide compared to using cardboard inserts), breakage rate has been way less than 1 in 1000 using this method, if I added cardboard it also would make the weight of it more prone to the corners getting dented in transit if dropped. 10" records & 12" singles count as 1 LP for shipping, single laserdiscs count as 2 LP's for shipping (& I pack 2+ records differently & I have oversized boxes for larger packages...don't worry I've been sending out stuff about 5 days a week for well over 20 years now & know exactly what I'm doing over here). I also add plain white inner sleeves so custom inner sleeves don't get spit in shipping also (if either company or specialty sleeves came with the record).

All records are BLACK VINYL unless noted & inserts/gatefold covers/posters/custom inner sleeves will be noted in the description if they are included plus promo & cutout marks stated if they are there also. I don't believe in hiding stuff & try to note most everything that should matter to buyers. All 12" vinyl on ebay is automatically listed as 33 1/3 rpm & 7" vinyl as 45 rpm (to save time on listing all this stuff) if you need to confirm speed on a specific item please ask & I can go check.