GRATEFUL DEAD "COSMIK MESSENGERS" 10-30-70 'HALLOWEEN' SUNY STONEYBROOK LOOK

$

42

GRATEFUL DEAD "COSMIK MESSENGERS" 1970 SUNY STONEYBROOK ~ 
THE GRATEFUL DEAD TITLE: "COSMIK MESSENGERS" LABEL: U.F.C.S. RECORDS ~ CSR-003 DATE: 10-30-70 (LATE) SUNY STONEYBROOK, NY RELEASED: CIRCA 1986 MATRIX: CSR-003 A/B
VINYL:  VG++/EX-   JACKET: VG+ (corner 'dings) (See full condition description below)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection this summer and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 40 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this great copy of "Cosmik Messengers"
THE GRATEFUL DEAD "COSMIK MESSENGERS" OCTOBER 30, 1970 (LATE SHOW) PRITCHARD GYMNASIUM ~ SUNY UNIVERSITY ~ STONEYBROOK, NY
This is a nice, rare, live 'Collectors' record that I purchased back in the mid 80's and have taken great care of for many years.
This was recorded live on Halloween weekend at the Pritchard Gym on the campus of SUNY out in Stoneybrook on Long Island.
By all accounts it was a crazy weekend with the Dead playing 4 shows over 2 nights in a college town full of students hyped up with the Halloween spirit. The town was definitely in a Party mood. Imagine the small college town out on cozy Long Island suddenly 'invaded' by thousands of Deadheads from all over the NYC Metro area.
Stoneybrook is on the Train line out of NYC and on Route 17, just off the Long Island Expressway. Very easy to get to by train, hitchhiking, car, and even Boat!
The show was advertised in the Village Voice at the time, as well as other local media, and Thousands of deadheads knew about it and figured it would be a fun, festive, easy show to check out.
The stories suggest that thousands of Deadheads from the NYC, Boston, Philly and the whole Northeast area descended on the unprepared town and turned Stoneybrook into a massive Deadhead encampment, with Hippies hanging out and crashing anywhere they could all over campus.
Add the Halloween party vibe, costumes, sugary candy, some strong LSD and the Dead, doing 4 shows over a Friday and Saturday night, and you can imagine the craziness that erupted that weekend.
By all accounts, the shows were fantastic. Soundboards of the 1970 SUNY concerts soon circulated, giving the shows legendary status among Deadheads and collectors for many years to follow.
To be honest, the shows really weren't up to the quality the band was able to create in the 70/71 Era, but they were still pretty good.
They were playing in a large gymnasium, not known for it's fine acoustics, plus the student-run sound crew was in charge of the PA system, leading to some issues which irritated both Bobby and Pigpen.
During soundcheck, Pig famously said “Mister soundman sir...if I don’t get it the way I want it, I’m going to rip off your head and shit in it.”
Not a perfect situation, but the Dead did the best they could given the circumstances and put on 4 great shows. The 1970 Halloween shows from Stoneybrook were, and still are, legendary.
Jerry's solos and 'noodling' were great, as always, but he was clearly tired. The band was in the middle of a fast-paced tour, and Jerry was doing double duty, playing Pedal Steel with opening act NRPS and then with his own band every night. 8 shows over 2 days wore him out. Pigpen and Bobby picked up the slack and Bob's voice and playing is great. Pig stepped away from the Organ at times and plays some great harp on these songs. 
As mentioned, the original tapes had a few 'glitches' in some songs, due to the student run sound team, which the makers of this LP nicely left off, giving us just the highlights.
This LP compiles some of the highlights from the Late show on Friday night, 10-30-70. It contains some great songs and great playing. The Songs on this LP include:
Smokestack Lightning Beat It All Down The Line China Cat Sunflower I Know You Rider Railroad Blues St. Stephen Not Fade Away
A wonderful shared musical moment in time, containing some timeless classics of early blues and country as well as some jams featuring their own far-reaching explorations. The version of China>Rider is terrific.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tickets were very cheap, even by 1970 standards. The cost for students was $1 and you could buy a 'super' ticket for $2 that got you into all 4 shows. Non-students had to pay $4 per show. Pretty amazing compared to today's ticket prices!
Many people came to the shows dressed in Halloween costume. Reportedly there was lots of 'spiked' beverages and edibles going around. Everyone was tripping. It was a party. Between the NRPS set and the Dead's set, they showed old spaced-out Betty Boop cartoons, which was very weird indeed.
By the end of the second show on Saturday, when the house lights came up at 3:10 Sunday morning, everyone was spent, nobody clapped or yelled for more, because there just wasn’t anymore left. The band and audience had given their all.
If any band is enchanted, it is the Grateful Dead and if any night is the Dead's night, it's Halloween. It was one of those rare, intimate, fragile and precious human interchanges that reminded you, if you needed to be, that you are alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
VINYL: The Vinyl is in great condition. Strong VG+. There is one light, superficial hairline (see pics) that doesn't affect play. There are some pops and clicks, as there always are, on these 'collector' records but actually quite good as far as these records go. 
LABELS: The labels are bright yellow, No mention of the band, just 'The Cosmik Messengers.' Label is simply CSR-003, The label is dated 1986. Clean and bright with no markings. The Spindle Holes are very clean, suggesting infrequent or very careful playing.
JACKET: The Jacket is also a strong VG+. It's how I purchased it 30+ years ago. There are some bumped corners, some mild ringwear, and the leading, bottom right, corner has some wear and damage. Overall not bad, but not perfect either. I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
The Album cover is printed in a cool blue monochrome with the title in red at the top. No mention of the Band name anywhere on the record. For some reason, the blue hue of the cover was hard to photograph. It's 'bluer' than my pictures suggest.
The album cover features a cool, vintage photo of Bob Weir wearing unusual trippy eyeglasses with a Groucho Marx (or Pigpen) like mustache. Appropriate, as this show was recorded on Halloween weekend. Bob's 'costume'.
Mountain Girl (Carolyn Adams/Garcia) to his left seems unimpressed. She appears a little fried and road weary, almost Witch-like, also fitting the Halloween theme.
The back cover has a great picture of PigPen in all his regalia. Some might think he was in a Halloween costume, but no, that's his normal attire.
At the bottom it states: "This fan club album is not intended for sail (my edit), commercial distribution, or air play and is available exclusively from the United Fan Club Society, Goteborg, Sweden."
Song titles are printed on the back, with some songs mis-titled, but close enough. "Beat it on Down the Line" incorrectly listed as "Beat it All Down the Line"
NOTE: This collectors Record is being sold "AS IS' and with "NO RETURNS". I'm sure you'll be happy with it, but on this record, no returns. Sorry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
My grading is fair and honest and I will ALWAYS refund you for anything you’re not happy with. I have had over 3,300 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for well over 20 years, so please bid with confidence!
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN