CRASS "The Feeding of the Five Thousand" LP UK 1978 1st press NEVER PLAYED

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CRASS

"THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND"

(UK) Crass      (A)  641984 A-4 / (B)  641984 B-4

1978

M / -

FIRST PRESSING / Advance Copy

INCLUDES BOTH INSERTS

LIMITED EDITION OF 5000.

ONLY ADVANCE COPY CURRENTLY ON EBAY AS OF 3-21-2019

Mint copy of this hard to find first pressing.   

I was working at Trade-A-Tape & Records in Boulder, Colorado in 1978 when this LP arrived at the store.  We had ordered several UK independent LPs from the importer / distributor that we did business with.  Among the LPs was the disc, complete with the two Xerox inserts but the disc arrived in a plain white generic paper sleeve.  I made a call to the distributor and was told that the LP was sent in error and did not as yet have a cover.  I had already bought the Crass records including this one.  I took it home and it slipped into my collection unplayed, and here it is today.  New and mint.  I don’t know what is up with the inserts which look like they have been rippled by water.  On purpose?  Art is art, baby!  Anyway. it’s the way they came to the store in 1978 is all I can say.  This album and inserts are basically brand new and for a 42 year old album, that’s pretty good.

“The Feeding of the 5000” is the first album by the anarcho-punk band Crass. The album was recorded on 29 October 1978, by John Loder at Southern Studios and was released the same year. It was considered revolutionary in its time due to what was considered an extreme sound, frequently profane lyrical content and the anarchist political ideals in the lyrics. The album also saw the introduction of Crass's policy of ensuring cheap prices for their records.  This album is considered one of the first punk albums to expound serious anarchist philosophies.

The record was made when Pete Stennett, owner of Small Wonder Records, heard a demo that the band had recorded. Impressed by all of the material, he decided that rather than release a conventional single by the band, he would put all of their set onto an 18-track 12" EP. However, problems were encountered when workers at the Irish pressing plant contracted to manufacture the record refused to handle it due to the allegedly blasphemous content of the track "Reality Asylum" (referred to as "Asylum" on the record sleeve). The record was eventually released with this track removed and replaced by two minutes of silence, retitled "The Sound of Free Speech". This incident also prompted Crass to set up their own record label in order to retain full editorial control over their material, and "Reality Asylum" was issued shortly afterwards in a re-recorded and extended form as a 7" single. A later repress of The Feeding of The 5000 (subtitled The Second Sitting) released on Crass records in 1980 restored the missing track.

Crass helped reinitiate the influence of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the wider peace campaign in the UK with the songs like "They've Got a Bomb", "Fight War Not Wars" and the adoption of the CND Symbol at their live concerts.  "They've got a Bomb" also has a period of silence within it, inspired by John Cage's "4'33"". The band have acknowledged the influence of Cage, and said that the idea of the space in the song, when performed live, was to suddenly stop the energy, dancing and noise and allow the audience to momentarily "confront themselves" and consider the reality of nuclear war.[5]

"The feeding of the five thousand" is a well-known phrase in Christian tradition, being the name of a Biblical miracle in which a small amount of food is said to have fed 5,000 people. According to the band's drummer and spokesperson, Penny Rimbaud, "We named the album The Feeding of The Five Thousand because 5,000 was the minimum number that we could get pressed and some 4900 more than we thought we'd sell”.

Stored vertically in a smoke-free environment for 40 years.