BAS SHEVA / LES BAXTER – The Passions, weird exotica

$

27

TITLE: The Passions

ARTIST:  Bas Sheva & Les Baxter

LABEL / YEAR: CAPITOL LAL 486 / 1950’s

10-inch record in box, with insert.

REMARKS: I’m selling off my soundtracks, electronic, weird and other good vinyl over the next several months. I don’t have room for records anymore. I hope these go to a good home.

Please note that the eBay’s “Maximum Shipping Costs” as outlined above may NOT BE ACCURATE. See shipping costs below. If you win, don’t pay until I invoice you – thanks.

From Idlesounds.com: Vocalist Bas Sheva was born Beatrice Kurzman to a wealthy and prominent Jewish family in Philadelphia. When Kurzman decided to go into show business she adopted the name "Bas Sheva" (i.e., the Biblical "Bathsheba") in order not to embarrass her family. She formally studied the voice and developed an extremely powerful instrument with extraordinary dexterity, and probably got her start singing in the so-called "Borscht Belt" of Catskill Mountains resorts. Her recording career began around 1950 with a small number of obscure singles of standards, none of which sparked much interest. In 1953 Bas Sheva was engaged by bandleader Hal Mooney as the principal voice on Soul of a People, a collection of traditional Jewish songs issued by Capitol. This was a very successful disc in the Jewish market, and Bas Sheva's brassy, no holds barred delivery of this familiar material was an important element in making Soul of a People appealing. Nonetheless, Bas Sheva did not record again for another five years, and she may have felt somewhat typecast as a primarily Jewish entertainer. Composer and Capitol Records producer Les Baxter came to her rescue by offering Bas Sheva the role of star vocalist on his suite The Passions. Bas Sheva's performance on The Passions is quite amazing even 50 years on; she screams, wails, whimpers, howls, grunts, and even acts a little to the pulsating rhythms of Baxter's dark, gritty, and complex musical score. While The Passions was the very embodiment of innovation in an era that encouraged musicians to stretch out, it was considered far too edgy, obscure, and over the top in its time and was not a success. Despite this great showcase of all the astounding things Bas Sheva could do with her voice, she was never to record again. In 1960 Bas Sheva died at age 34 from a diabetic reaction suffered while entertaining on board a cruise ship.

GRADE: VINYL: VG++/NM, deep sheen, few light sleeve marks.

GRADE: COVER: 8.5/10, excellent, very minor wear. 

GRADING: Records and covers are graded to Goldmine Standards to the best of my ability (covers are graded on a scale of one to ten: ten = perfect, one = most hideous piece of junk you could imagine). I cannot playgrade records as I currently have no turntable. If I mention its sound, it’s because I playgraded it before I put it in storage.

SHIPPING COSTS:

Please note that the eBay’s “Maximum Shipping Costs” as outlined above may NOT BE ACCURATE. Below is the shipping costs involved.

Winning bidder can pay for surface delivery for this LP item as follows:

                        U.S.A                          OVERSEAS

     1    LP......  $ 7.50……………..    $9.25.......................
     2-3 LP.....   $ 11.20...................     $15.50.......................
     4-6 LP.....   $ 16.00 ...................    $23.00.......................

OR winning bidder can pay for air delivery for this LP item as follows:

                        U.S.A.                         CANADA                  OVERSEAS

     1    LP......  $ 9.00 ..................... $ 11.95............................$16.95.......................
     2-3 LP.....   $ 13.95 ................... $ 12.95 ...........................$32.50.......................
     4-6 LP.....   $ 22.25 ................... $ 14.75 ...........................$48.00.......................

Overseas can take up to two months for Surface mail.  There really isn’t a “surface mail” option within Canada. If you’re Canadian I’ll quote you the cheapest possible.

PAYPAL ONLY. No MOs, personal cheques etc. Only Paypal. I expect payment within 7 days from being invoiced. Any and all non-paying bidders will receive bad feedback.

AFTER AUCTION: Please give me up to 48 hours after auction close to invoice. If I don’t respond right away do not freak out. DO NOT PAY UNTIL I INVOICE YOU.

PACKAGING: Please be assured that I package all records extremely well in stiff cardboard – you will NEVER get a record sent to you in a flimsy envelope or silly bubble wrap. I mail the disc outside the sleeve. I collect records also, so all items are sent the way I would want to receive them. 

FEEDBACK: As a seller I leave feedback only after the buyer has first done so. I do not send out ‘item sent’ messages. If you pay me, you can be assured the item is sent.

Please see my other auctions for a wide variety of records this week. 

Key words: exotica, moog, incredibly strange, oddball, weird, tiki, unusual, kitsch, lounge, psych, space-age, outer space, cheesecake, sexy, nude, exploitation, exploito, crime jazz, library, product, celebrity, 60’s, 50’s.