FRANK ZAPPA ABSOLUTELY FREE RARE '67 MGM/VERVE STEREO WHITE LABEL PROMO LP

$

137

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  MORE THAN 400  LISTED ITEMS

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·       FRANK ZAPPA AND THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION - ABSOLUTELY FREE -  ORIGINAL 1967 STEREO VERVE LP V6-5013

·       GENUINE  U.S. PRESSING

·       *** WHITE LABEL PROMO ***

·       *** PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A WHITE LABEL PROMO OF THE SECOND PRESSING OF THIS ALBUM, CIRCA 1969; NAMELY, AFTER ZAPPA OBJECTED TO VERVE HANDLING FURTHER REISSUES OF THE FIRST FOUR MOTHERS ALBUMS (HE HAD SWITCHED TO  HIS OWN STRAIGHT/BIZARRE LABEL BY THEN) AND AFTER VERVE WAS ABSORBED BY MGM RECORDS, ITS NEW PARENT LABEL, MGM RECORDS CEASED AND DESISTED, BUT NOT BEFORE REISSUING FIRST THREE ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS ALBUMS ON THEIR MGM LABEL (DO NOTE THAT THE MGM RELEASES STILL USE ORIGINAL VERVE COVERS); THESE WHITE LABEL PROMOS WERE NEVER MADE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE AS STOCK PRESSINGS ON MGM LABEL (WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN GOLD-AND-TURQUOISE LABEL, SUCH AS THE ONE FOUND ON VELVET UNDERGROUND’S THIRD ALBUM); ONLY A SMALL PRESS RUN OF WHITE LABEL PROMOS WAS RELEASED, SUCH AS THE ONE WE HAVE HERE ***

·       THIS IS NOT AN IMPORT, RECORD CLUB RELEASE OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       ORIGINAL GATEFOLD COVER, MADE OF THICK CARDBOARD (AMERICAN STYLE) 

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

(►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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Here’s the album whose musical and historical significance is of truly earth-shaking proportions . If ever there was a REVOLUTIONARY album, this is it (although having to categorize this album as "Classic Rock" is something of a stretch). How many albums can claim to have ignited entire social and political revolutions? This one can: in the late 1960s, just as both Eastern and Western Europe were up in flames of student protest, and just as Daniel Cohn-Bendit was preaching the virtues of violent overthrow of the burgoisie in burning Paris, Zappa was doing something else: he was lambasting, ridiculing and mocking everything that was petty, ignorant, mentally limited, tyrannical , oppressive and otherwise retarded. In Czechoslovakia, this album fell on fertile ground among the local intellectuals (mind you, we are talking less than a year before Russians came in with tanks and totally different social ideas). One of the local bands, the later-famous "Plastic People of the Universe" took their name from one of the songs on this album; and, of course, Czech president Havel cited Zappa, and this album in particular, as one of his major influences. Still not persuaded? Well, you will be when you hear it. This glorious mono version - about 40 times harder to find than stereo - comes in a beautiful condition. BRUTALLY HARD-TO-FIND MONO ALBUM, WHOSE IMPORTANCE TRANSCENDS ITS MODEST SALES. GRAB IT BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES.

"The US version of Absolutely Free was due to be released in January 1967. Zappa had wanted the album to include a libretto/lyric insert, but MGM attempted to censor some of the songs and, following a four-month delay, Absolutely Free appeared without the libretto. Another hold-up occurred when MGM's legal department tried to remove the phrase "War means work for all" from the back cover montage. A compromise of sorts was eventually reached and the phrase was printed very faintly in grey!

The sleeve itself was a deluxe gatefold affair which opened vertically. The famous front cover photo of Frank was by Alice Ochs, although Zappa himself was responsible for most of the sleeve artwork. Following MGM's decision to axe the libretto, Zappa made it available separately via his publishing company. It was advertised on the sleeve of Absolutely Free together with the "freak map" which was originally planned to accompany Freak Out!"

From Record Collector magazine #93, May 1987 (quoted by Mikael Agardsson):

For additional historical information on this album, including track listing ►click here

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The PROMOTIONAL, RADIO STATION-, AUDITION OR DEMONSTRATION COPIES AND RELEASES (such as the one we have here) were often distributed among the radio stations before the record was released to the public, sometimes as much as four months ahead. These records are generally considered to be the "first among equals", which is to say the VERY FIRST generation and the VERY FIRST pressings of the particular title; a PROTOTYPE and the earliest known official pressing of the record.

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THIS GROUP OR ARTIST ► click here

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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  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)          White Promo Label version of this title is much rarer that a regular, commercially released, version of this title. We estimate that stock copies of this album outnumber promo copies by a ratio of at least 100:1.

(c)             The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

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

·       COVER

THE COVER IS NICE --- ABOUT VERY GOOD++ (VG++).

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-         Cover has some light ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 4

-         Cover shows some light yellowing on both sides, apparently from aging   (nothing significant).   Yellowing is also noted on the INSIDE gatefold

-         Cover has a few tiny wrinkles along the spine   (VISIBLE ON BACK SIDE ONLY)

-         Minor shelf wear noted on the seams (nothing significant)

-         Cover has two corners slightly worn (BARELY VISIBLE)

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE COVER:

-        No split seams

-        No cut-out (drill) holes.

-        No cut-out corners

-        No saw-marks or indents

-        No dirt/dust rubbing stains (friction marks caused by rubbing against other covers)

-        No writing

-        No stamps

-        No peel-off marks

-        No stains

-        No mold or mildew spots

-        No stickers or labels

-        No water damage

-        No razor marks, scratches, pressure marks, lines, streaks, or  cuts.

-        No warping

-        No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover

-        No glue traces or wax residue.

-        No bar codes

-        No RIAA stamps or stickers. 

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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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