CAPTAIN BEEFHEART Trout Mask Replica V. RARE ORIG 1969 CANADIAN STRAIGHT EX LPs.

	£		105
	$		139

ONEADAYRECORDS – Serving-up a Christmas & New Year Feast of Entertainment

I would like to wish all my customers, regulars and newcomers, a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR

Over the Holiday Period, I am offering some interesting Christmas ‘Crackers’ – lovely albums – some rare – ENJOY!

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Artist or Band: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & HIS MAGIC BAND

Album Title: Trout Mask Replica

Producer(s): Frank Zappa

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Frownland; The Dust Blows Forward ’n’ the Dust Blows Back; Dachau Blues; Ella Guru; Hair Pie:?Bake 1; Moonlight on Vermont.

Side 2: Pachuco Cadaver; Bill’s Corpse; Sweet Sweet Bulbs; Neon Meate Dream of a Octafish; China Pig; My Human Gets Me Blues; Dali’s Car.

Side 3: Hair Pie: Bake 2; Pena; Well; When Big Joan Sets Up; Fallin’ Ditch; Sugar ’n’ Spikes; Ant Man Bee.

Side 4: Orange Claw Hammer; Wild Life; She’s to Much For My Mirror; Hobo Chang Ba; The Blimp; Steal Softly Thru Snow; Old Fart at Play; Veteran’s Day Poppy.

Label/Format/Information: Straight – all have gentely textured surfaces with a lovely semi-gloss finish.

Label Conditions: All four are are superb, ultra fresh, clean and highly attractive with any spindle traces minuscule, any minor fine blemishes purely within manufacture.

Catalogue Number: STS 1053

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of Records: 146 / 139 grams.

Country of Manufacture: Canada.

Rarity: First-pressed Straight originals are scarce, especially in better condition. A Canadian copy will be rare, especially appearing hardly played with a very fine looking cover – one of the most wear-prone double sets made – especially the front. Purchased by the curious at the time possibly with the Frank Zappa connection, this legendary set was far too out-there most listeners. This one also includes the quite rare lyric/graphic insert sheet that was never included the UK version. This one guaranteed original.

Matrix Nos: STS 1053-A / STS 1053-B / STS 1053-C / STS 1053-D [scripted]

The Magic Band: Bizarre by name – bizarre by nature: the Magic Band members were given outlandish names: Zoot Horn Rollo (Bill Harkleroad): glass finger guitar, flute; Antennae Jimmy Semens (Jeff Cotton):?Steel-appendage guitar, flesh guitar; Captain Beefheart (Don van Vliet): bass clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax, simran horn, musette, vocals; The Mascara Snake (Victor Hayden): bass clarinet, vocal; Rockette Morton (Mark Boston): bass and narration; Drumbo (John French), Uncredited on the original album – drums, percussion. Frank Zappa produces and can be heard on dialogue. All songs written by Beefheart.

Uncredited Guests: Doug Moon – guitar on ‘China Pig’; Dick Kunc - speaking voice on ‘She’s Too Much for My Mirror’ (and engineer); Gary ‘Magic’ Marker – bass guitar on ‘Moonlight on Vermont’ and ‘Veteran’s Day Poppy; Frank Zappa – speaking voice on ‘Ella Guru’, ‘The Blimp’, and Pena’; Roy Estrada – bass guitar on ‘The Blimp’; Arthur Tripp III – drums & percussion on ‘The Blimp’; Don Preston – piano on ‘The Blimp’; Ian Underwood and Bunk Gardner – alto and tenor saxophones on ‘The Blimp’; Buzz Gardner – trumpet on ‘The Blimp’.

Brief Artist & Album Info: I am always delighted to offer quite possibly the most brilliantly bizarre album ever made, light years ahead of anything else loosely within it’s field – that said there has never been another album, artist or band quite like Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica – this is true one-off. When I find ‘worthy’ copies to offer, I don’t mind where they were made or their pressing years – I simply want to offer a top playing copy of one of the most famous records ever issued. To offer a hardly-played original Canadian Straight example is little short of a privilege. I have never had, or even seen a Canadian copy of this classic. This a complete example and appearing hardely even played. Heavily pressed with beautiful semi-gloss Straight labels, clean cover, original inners and the rare lyric sheet.

“If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then ‘Trout Mask Replica’ is probably that work” – BBC disc jockey John Peel.

Produced by Frank Zappa this extravaganza (arguably) features the best ever Magic Band and actually charted in the UK at 21, but did not enter the American charts at all. This is an album of myth and legend: Don van Vliet, Frank Zappa and The Magic Band entered a rented house, which acted as a studio with a few song ideas, and what came out was little short of remarkable, even up to this very day. A blend of twisted rock, delta blues and free-form jazz hardly even begins to describe the content. Up until then, van Vliet has never been given the freedom of expression he wanted. His old school-friend Frank Zappa decided to put that right, as producer on his label, he let him perform his music and ideas exactly the way he wanted, and no stone was left unturned. Guitars thrash, barely in tune and totally off key – all quite deliberate – saxes and winds wail, blowing notes that hardly even exist and Beefheart’s vocals rarely sounded more focused or full-on, allegedly he ‘sang’ in a different room altogether. Musically this is as challenging as ‘rock’ music ever gets and van Vliet’s lyrical genius and crazed disjointed tunes (arguably) never quite sounded this wonderful again. Amongst the playful mayhem there is catchiness and beauty. For those prepared to listen and give it a try, it’s possibly one of the most rewarding musical experiences you can ever imagine. Matt Groening, creator of ‘The Simpsons’ explained in a TV Beefheart documentary some time ago, about his experience of this album, which exactly replicated my own (and I imagine others too). He bought this album simply because it was produced by Frank Zappa and thought ‘it must have something going for it’. First play: what the earth was that all about?, ‘the band aren’t even trying’. Undaunted, second play: still very difficult, but a chink of light. Third Play: things are becoming a little clearer. After around six plays, the genius of Trout Mask Replica kicks-in and gets embedded into the mind. This remains easily in my top five albums ever, I never tire playing it and hearing a super clean vinyl copy is always extra special. The sounds pressed in this very clean Canadian Straight copy carry incredible detail and information along with virtually top-draw sound quality. Straight pressing were often variable – the wonderful Tim Buckley pair are incredibly difficult to find with clean sound. Few examples will ever play ‘silent’, but this one almost as close as it gets. The stereo imagery and wildness is incredible, remember, this is how Zappa wanted this album to sound as well and nothing beats the vinyl experience. I have to conclude this preamble about this landmark, groundbreaking issue by mentioning the late, great, BBC disc jockey John Peel. It’s now been some time since this great man’s untimely death but his memory will not fade. Arguably and in my opinion, the greatest disc jockey ever, he introduced me to a vast array of varied music over the years and I know for certain this album had a special place in his own collection – he adored van Vliet and his music with Trout Mask Replica in particular, being documented as his favourite album of all time. He often featured tracks on his radio shows. And even though the Captain had long since left the music business, they remained great friends.

“I thought it was the worst thing I’d ever heard. I said to myself, they’re not even trying! It was just a sloppy cacophony. Then I listened to it a couple more times, because I couldn’t believe Frank Zappa could do this to me – and because a double album cost a lot of money. About the third time, I realised they were doing it on purpose; they meant it to sound exactly this way. About the sixth or seventh time, it clicked in, and I thought it was the greatest album I’d ever heard” – Cartoonist and writer Matt Groening (The Simpsons).

It’s been a long matter of debate between collectors and music critics about this album – 28 songs of genius or the greatest musical joke of all time? Well I cannot end the debate – it’s simply a matter of opinion of course, but for me it’s the former. I treasure this album with two copies (UK & US in my own colection), and like Groening, it took me several plays to fully appreciate it. If anyone says they enjoyed this album on first play, I will simply refuse to believe it. Pop music is often instantly likeable, and, equally, often instantly disposable too – sometimes just too easy to like a record on first play and get bored with it very quickly. But Trout Mask Replica is NOT pop music, it’s challenging, inventive, daring and at times difficult, but ultimately rewarding and original – you cannot be bored with this. Hugely complex and very difficult to even play – this Magic Band were very talented musicians and special mention has to be made for John French’s drumming which often holds the entire piece together. An album of legendary status – it even pops up periodically in newspapers and magazines for reassessment and debate – and how many albums ever do that from artists that many still are unfamiliar with? It always features high in most lists of all-time greats, and so it should, but that statistic is made even more remarkable given the fact it’s so weird and light years out of the mainstream. When an album like this can actually still claim a full page re-review in an English Sunday Newspaper some 45 years after issue, that has to tell it’s own story. Rock music has it’s eccentrics and strange characters, often manufactured for fashion or publicity. But van Vliet was genuinely weird, a unique and bizarre character. Most listeners would run a mile or simply switch off on hearing ‘Pena’, ‘Ella Guru’ or ‘Hair Pie’ and most of the others, but they are wrong and you are right. Also one of Zappa’s finest productions, this earliest cut proves that. This Canadian Straight original encaptures all the fine details, all the weirdness and sounds that make this masterpiece so special. Not all records sound the same – only the earliest pressings offer that real X-Factor in fidelity the audiophile listeners demand, and this one does exactly that. In 2011, the album was even added to the United States National Recording Registry – a massive achievement of recognition for such a piece of avant garde weirdness. If your collection is still missing Trout Mask Replica, it must added and be prepared to be mesmerised – ‘Fast ’n bulbous, got me’!

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): I think that more than worthy for a cover, especially the front, that always wears very badly. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt, fairly smooth surfaces. This heavily made with very thick card. No printing credits, presume either American or Canadian. Included are the original plain inner sleeves and the rare and elusive lyric insert sheet.

Cover Front: Any rubbing on this very bright and vibrant front little and light with a tiny dink crease on the top right corner tip, the only crease seen on this splendid front. Little else to fault on this, one of the most famous covers in rock history. An unusual sight on a highly wear-prone surface which is usually seen with heavy ring wear and considerable rubbing. This one of the finest I have seen in ages.

Cover Back: Even better and little short of as-issued. Any tip crease on the same corner even smaller and lighter.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Little to fault at all again, clean, fresh and attractive. A note: the cover is folded slightly off-square, the trim on the right is close to the track times. I am quite sure this is how it was made and trimmed in manufacture, the entrance ends are sharp and the card darkened to reitterate the point. But not knowing the history of this copy, I cannot be totally certain, what is though, it’s exactly as I purchased it from the owner and came from a lot that had been cover-protected for many years.

Top Edges: Both straight and flat but not parallel in the folding, there is barely any rubbing.

Bottom Edges: Largely the same, any rub traces little, very gentle and faint.

Right Edge(s), and Type: All four sharp, the card end naturally darkened a little. Viewing end-on reitterate the thickness of the card used for this cover – at least double the width of European-made examples. Records enter on these edges.

Spine and Text: A superb spine with little to fault. Solid, robust and strong with minimal surface rubbing and retaining deep unfaded colour. On a red cover, that is even more crucial with many changing to pink or even lighter still. This is very straight with no compression, but folded a little off-square, so the edges are not quite parallel. The text is unworn, large and very to read as-seen. Most of any shelf wear on the front fold, but as light as it’s likely to get.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, excellent shape mostly retained with just the small creases on the top right tips.

Cover Summary: A very strong, vibrant all-round example of this thick card North American-made cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This highly attractive, still fresh item should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeves: NEAR EXCELLENT: or thereabouts. Two plain white unlined white inners that do have some creasing. Any age discolouration light, all four window circles crisp and undamanged with all edges naturally intact.

The Graphic/Lyric Sheet: NEAR EXCELLENT: a double folded insert opening to three times the folded width. It has a picture of the young Don van Vliet with some of his art, and of course, those incredible song lyrics. This has only gently aged with some light toning in places, but solidly intact with no tears and minimal crinkle with no hard creases. A scarce insert not included with European copies and guaranteed original. That a shame as I deem this an absolutely crucial part of this legendary album.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: arguably better with most of any of the few marks within the pressing. A very fine visual pair that are very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any usage marks few, mostly very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. A small mark near the end of ‘Bills Corpse’ has a tiny few faint ticks and little else. No deep penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, little even registers. Visually super records that should please many collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: Can you imagine what any buyer made of this on first listen back in 1969? Captain Beefheart’s previous albums were hardly commercial, but this took his art to new levels. This legendary album plays even above it’s high visual grading for most with little to fault, any contact sound or blemishes few and very light. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is high with a full dynamic range and very detailed sound. As most will know, a couple of the acapella songs are quite low-fi as intended. Any surface sounds are minimal and this is a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. That not always the case on Straight records that were likely pressed on a budget with scant commercial potential – this proved especially true for this album in America and Canada. Few available copies will outperform this early first Canadian pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain these records have been played only lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Little of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this vintage copy. The pair will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade – visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new Nessie Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 17­ years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.