DAVID EXPLOSION Bright To-Morrow '71 Beatles psych HEAR

$

31

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

David Explosion "A Bright To-Morrow"

Original 1971 LP on the Belgian SUGAR PLUM label.

Cover:  VG+, some sticker residue on front, scuffing on back.

Vinyl:  Nice thick press, plays VG++.

What if The White Album was a single album and recorded by a Belgian band in the early seventies?  It’d be A Bright To-Morrow by the David Explosion, most likely.  These Beatles-obsessed Belgians have created one of the first tribute albums to the Fab Four, a lovingly-crafted trip through all things English psychedelia – a Magical Mystery Tour bus trip through Pepperland, around the Sea of Holes and right past the Village Green.  If this thing were any MORE into the Beatles, it’d be named Yoko.

Hey, and it doesn’t even matter whether you prefer John or Paul, because they’re both represented here!  “Mister Hardy” is a bouncy McCartney-ish number somewhere between “All Together Now” and “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da,” with a nice psychy warbled vocal chorus.  While “Mother Jacobs” travels into “I Am the Walrus” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” territory, with trippy distorted lead vocals and childlike “la la la” backing vocals.  There’s a little bit of There Are But Four Small Faces in there, too – suggesting that the band might’ve bought a few non-Apple-label albums too.  At any rate, it’s got the sound – y’know, THE sound – a rumbling Chocolate Soup vapor trail of Rubblesque goodness, rumbling bass and biting fuzz – you could slide this one on the end of the Five Day Week Straw People album and no one would blink. 

They’ve also been listening to Donovan, whose gentle sleepy time stoned folk psych sounds are referenced in the beautiful “Lena Lena” (which even SOUNDS like a Donovan song title!), a trippy acid-soaked lullaby with vocals bathed in a Grand Canyon of psychedelic echo.  And definitely Village Green Preservation Society, which influenced the mad marching band chorus of the very Kinks-like “Hide and Seek.”  And check out the opening riff, which sounds EXACTLY like Led Zeppelin’s “Trampled Under Foot” – hey, you wouldn’t think Page and Plant would rip off someone else’s guitar riff, do you?  Nah, of course not.  And I really DO think New Kids on the Block are ready for a comeback. 

So who WERE behind the band who took their name from an unfortunate stage accident that occurred during one of Mr. Copperfield’s magic acts?  Ahh, here’s where things get tricky.  They were a Belgian band, that we know, but many of the songs on A Bright To-Morrow were released in Germany under the band name Cockpit (yeah, it’s true, they somehow managed to find a name WORSE than the David Explosion), so it’s hard to tell WHICH band name came first.  Or why the band wanted TWO bad names in the first place.  Whatever the case, the David Cockpit Spencer Blues Explosion give us a dazzing display of Swinging London fireworks here, a giant Technicolor blast of paisley psychedelia as bright as the High School Community Art Show third-prize winning sunrise painting on the front cover.  It’s gonna be a bright to-morrow after all.

 TO HEAR SOUNDCLIPS FROM THIS ALBUM, PLEASE VISIT MY HOMEPAGE AT WWW.KATHLEENTURNEROVERDRIVE.WIKISPACES.COM - YOU CAN ALSO HEAR SOUND CLIPS FROM ALL THE ALBUMS I HAVE UP FOR AUCTION ON THIS PAGE TOO.

The less exciting stuff

Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $5.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  Air mail shipping to Canada starts at $10 US, each additional record $2 shipping.  Air mail shipping everywhere else in the world starts at $16 US, with each additional record only $3 shipping.  I accept payments through Paypal, or you can send checks and money orders made out in US dollars.  Items paid by check are held 14 days for the check to clear.

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

And finally, I include delivery confirmation on all shipments inside the US.  This is my proof of shipment, and also helps us to track your package if it doesn’t arrive when it should.  I will email you within 2 days of shipment and give you the confirmation number at that time.  Insurance is always optional, but for larger orders, it’s highly recommended.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.  Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.