BLUE OYSTER CULT SECRET TREATIES RARE ORIG '74 COLUMBIA TEST PRESSING NEAR MINT

$

104

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·       BLUE OYSTER CULT - SECRET TREATIES - ORIGINAL 1974 COLUMBIA RECORDS LP KC-32858

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·       *** ULTRA-RARE ORIGINAL TEST PRESSING ***

·       PLAIN, GENERIC WHITE COLUMBIA TEST PRESSING LABELS WITH COLUMBIA'S PITMAN, NJ PRESSING PLANT INFO, A/B SIDE DESIGNATION  AND ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER DETAILS

·       INCLUDES TYPEWRITTEN DATA SHEET, WITH A TENTATIVE TRACK LISTING,  PROPOSED TITLE, ARTIST- AND OTHER CREDITS

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·       PLAIN WHITE COVER  (ORIGINALLY, THE TEST PRESSING CAME ONLY IN ITS INNER SLEEVE; WE ADDED THE EXTERNAL, WHITE COVER FOR BUYER'S CONVENIENCE)

·       MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) ENDS WITH '-1B/-1C'.  ON SOME LABELS,  SUFFIX '–1' DENOTES THE VERY FIRST, ORIGINAL PRESSING)

·       MACHINE-STAMPED MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) OF THE RECORD

·       FAIRLY THICK VINYL PRESSING On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the thickness of the vinyl as 6.

·       PLEASE NOTE: THE MATRIX NUMBER IN THE TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) OF THE RECORD IS CONSISTENT WITH THE ORIGINAL, FIRST, 1974 PRESSING OF THIS RECORD ;  THIS IS NOT A TEST PRESSING FOR ONE OF THE LATER REISSUES

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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Amazing !!! An unbelievable piece: What we have here is an unheard-of TEST PRESSING of this classic Long Island Rock masterpiece. While many test pressings often have alternate or demo- versions of known, later released songs, and while it is possible that this particular test pressing contains demo or alternate versions of some of the tracks, please don’t take our word that it does: unfortunately, we are not familiar with the entire album (we know only a few songs) and we regret  we cannot provide any competent information on how different this TEST PRESSING may be from the official release. Please contact us if you have any questions. The generic white test pressing label is (almost) entirely blank and without any details whatsoever.

The album comes with the neatly typewritten album data sheet (which also serves as a revision log) which contains all the details of the test pressing, including artist name, producer name, song titles, timings, assigned catalog number, scheduled date of release, list of revisions made thus far, performer credits, etc. However the generic test pressing label is mostly blank.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS TEST PRESSING APPARENTLY NEVER HAD A CUSTOM COVER;  THE ALBUM WILL BE SHIPPED IN A PLAIN, GENERIC [WHITE] CARDBOARD COVER. . TEST PRESSINGS ARE RARELY – IF EVER – FOUND IN CUSTOM (STOCK) COVERS.

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While the speed-freak adrenaline heaviness and shrouded occult mystery of Tyranny and Mutation is the watermark for Blue Öyster Cult's creative invention, it is Secret Treaties that is widely and critically regarded as the band's classic. Issued in 1974, Secret Treaties is the purest distillation of all of BÖC's strengths. Here the songs are expansive, and lush in their textures. The flamboyance is all here, and so are the overdriven guitar riffs provided by Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom. But there is something else, texturally, that moves these songs out from the blackness and into the shadows. Perhaps it's the bottom-heavy mix by producer and lyricist Sandy Pearlman, with Allen Lanier's electric piano and Joe Bouchard's bass coming to rest in an uneasy balance with the twin-guitar attack. Perhaps it's in the tautness of songwriting and instrumental architectures created by drummer Albert Bouchard, Bloom, and Don Roeser (Buck Dharma). Whatever it is, it offers the Cult a new depth and breadth. While elements of psychedelia have always been a part of the band's sound, it was always enfolded in proto-metal heaviness and biker boogie. Here, BÖC created their own brand of heavy psychedelic noir to diversify their considerably aggressive attack. Listen to "Subhuman" or "Dominance and Submission." Their minor chord flourishes and multi-tracked layered guitars and Bouchard's constantly shimmering cymbals and snare work (he is the most underrated drummer in rock history) and elliptical lyrics -- that Pearlman put out in front of the mix for a change -- added to the fathomless dread and mystery at the heart of the music. Elsewhere, on "Cagey Cretins" and "Harvester of Eyes" (both with lyrics by critic Richard Meltzer), the razor-wire guitar riffs were underscored by Lanier's organ, and their sci-fi urgency heightened by vocal harmonies. But it is on "Flaming Telepaths," with its single-chord hypnotic piano line that brings the lyric "Well, I've opened up my veins too many times/And the poison's in my heart in my heart and in my mind/Poison's in my bloodstream/Poison's in my pride/I'm after rebellion/I'll settle for lives/Is it any wonder that my mind is on fire?" down into the maelstrom and wreaks havoc on the listener. It's a stunner, full of crossing guitar lines and an insistent, demanding rhythmic throb. The set closes with the quark strangeness of "Astronomy," full of melancholy, dread, and loss that leaves the listener unsettled and in an entirely new terrain, having traveled a long way from the boasting rockery of "Career of Evil" that began the journey. It's a breathless rock monolith that is all dark delight and sinister pleasure. While the Cult went on to well-deserved commercial success with Agents of Fortune an album later, the freaky inspiration that was offered on their debut, and brought to shine like a black jewel on Tyranny and Mutation, was fully articulated as visionary on Secret Treaties.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY THOM JUREK, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

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·       CONDITION:

·       RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL  AS  (WEAK) NEAR MINT. Some VERY LIGHT AND SUPERFICIAL abrasions – mostly sleeve scuffs -  are (barely) visible, but are probably inaudible,  and do not affect visual integrity or beauty of the vinyl. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The record is pressed on a RELATIVELY  thick, inflexible vinyl. This is NOT a thin, flimsy ('dynaflex' type),  vinyl, but not the thickest, most rigid vinyl, either.

(c)           The album comes with its original typewritten track listing and credit sheet

(d)          Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

COVER : This reference pressing comes without any custom jacket, and will be shipped in a plain, generic, white cardboard cover (NOT GRADED SEPARATELY, BUT IN A BRAND NEW CONDITION

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

We offer THREE postage rates for both Domestic and International Mail: Media Mail, Priority Mail and Express Mail for domestic, and First Class, Priority International Mail, and Express International Mail for international orders. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND that you pay for USPS International Priority Mail OR International Express mail when making a payment in order to obtain tracking information, which is NOT available for First Class International shipments.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates ►click here. While you can be rest assured that ►our packaging is careful, sturdy and impact-proof, please note that damage, loss or theft in transit is always possible, and in the case of some countries even PROBABLE. To discuss this potential problem and ensure flawless delivery, please contact us thru eBay BEFORE placing a bid.

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