COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die RARE ORIG UK 1967 MONO LP

	£		28
	$		37

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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.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH

Album Title: I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die

Producer(s): Samuel Charters

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Fish Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag; Who Am I; Pat’s Song; Rock Coast Blues; Magoo.

Side 2: Janis; Thought Dream; Thursday; Eastern Jam; Colors for Susan.

Label/Format: Fontana with matt surfaces that have a gentle trace of texturing.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only very light, quite fine spindle marks and no wear around the hole area.

Catalogue Number: TFL 6087

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Warps or Lateral Movement: Assume all records I offer have no significant warping or lateral movement to cause sound or tracking issues. All should play fine even on budget turntables.

Weight of this Record: 148 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce, and not a major seller, especially in the UK where it went largely ignore on issue. Hence first issues on Fontana are moderately rare and mono copies in particular are seldom found in anything like decent condition. It was fairly quickly repressed on Vanguard Records only in stereo.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: 6087 1L//2 420 1 1 & 6087 2L//2 420 2

Musicians: Country Joe McDonald – vocals, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, organ; Barry Melton – 12-string guitar, vocals, kazoo, rhythm guitar, lead guitar; David Cohen – calliope, vocals, lead guitar, organ, bells, rhythm guitar, harpsichord, acoustic guitar; Bruce Barthol – bass; vocals, barking, harmonica; Gary ‘Chicken’ Hirsh – drums; wine bottle, congas, bells.

Brief Info: The second album from the American west coast psychedelic band Country Joe & The Fish. One of my favourite American bands of this era and type, this matches the quality of their debut set ‘Electric Music for the Mind and Body’ and was also issued in 1967. However, this did not sell as well as that in America and was largely ignored in the UK when first issued. The title song remains one of the most famous anti-war songs of the period, issued as the Vietnam was still raging. McDonald has a great voice and the material is superb again, it deserved to do better than it ultimately did, but such was the strength of ‘Peppermania’ in the ‘Summer of Love’, many classics largely went unnoticed. Clean Fontana UK first issues, especially in mono are seldom found now, and rarely in finer condition. Indeed, this is my first such example for several years. For those still unfamiliar with Country Joe (who do NOT play country music), this is a great place to start. One of the true classics from the greatest year in rock music and a copy worthy of the experience.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: due to a small blemish on the spine. A single format with front laminate, this covers all the folds and ends on the back on three flipbacks. The main back surface is matt and smooth. Printed and made in England, uncredited, this has the original copyright ‘WARNING’ for Fontana recordings on the back. The polylined inner sleeve is included.

Lamination & Front: One of the classic psychedelic front covers of the 1960s and this one does it strong justice. The laminate retains fine shine and clarity with only mild dulling seen under light. It has avoided any lifting and has minimal fine creasing only near the edges. This Fontana mono prefix cover simply does not show up often or much better these days.

Cover Back: The back has lightly darkened to politely remind of age, but has little actual wear at all. The matt panel hardly rubbed and with no creasing or writing. All three foipbacks are solid and neat with crisp ends that have avoided the usual grime on the laminate ends. A few creases on the spine edge the only minor issue.

Top Edge: Thin, but straight, smooth and hardly worn.

Bottom Edge: The odd tiny surface chip apart, as above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Mainly light patchy thickening is rarely avoided at best. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A small dink and lift to the centre area on the word ‘Die’ appears to have been ‘repaired’ in the distant past with a small piece of clear tape. Clearly the residue has darkened with age and the tape long since gone – always best to make small repairs with white wood glue (PVA) as its stronger, invisible and inconspicuous which I have now done, but the darkening cannot easily be removed and I left it as it was. This the only blemish on what is otherwise an impressive spine. Again quite thin, but still solid and, straight with possible compression. The text is still all present with just that one word darkened by the vintage tape mark as seen in my picture.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: The small spine edge flaw apart, a very strong all-round example of this elusive first press Fontana UK mono cover, one that will still prove difficult to find much better. This period-piece psych cover should please many collectors, but with the blemish, not the purist connoisseurs.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a white polylined inner that has aged very lightly only. Both window circles crisp and untorn, the lining clear and still fresh. Hardly any creasing with all edges naturally intact. This is UK patented with ‘Foreign Patents Pending’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: VERY GOOD(++): arguably better for a vintage mono record, I feel confident many would grade this higher, the difficult task being highly subjective of course. A fine visual copy that is clean with shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with modest plays going on the label evidence with surface marks mostly light, mostly wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No ugly penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, few even register. Visually a fine record that plays very impressively and 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: This brilliant psych-acid-rock album plays above it’s fine visual grading with little to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal – the odd contact sound so hard to avoid on records like this – but overall very few. This also a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Few available copies will outperform this early first mono UK pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp when played on a standard stereo system. I am certain this record has been played quite modestly and has been reasonably well stored (the one accident on the spine apart) and fairly carefully handled. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this lovely record – my first mono experience of this gem in years. It could prove difficult to find significantly better as a Fontana original 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 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 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. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my 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, major 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 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.