GRATEFUL DEAD WORKINGMAN'S INSANELY RARE SEALED (ORIG?) '70 LP w/UPSIDE DOWN CVR

$

96

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 150  LISTED ITEMS

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·      GRATEFUL DEAD - WORKINGMAN'S DEAD - ORIGINAL (?) 1970 WARNER BROTHERS STEREO LP WS-1869

·      ORIGINAL (?) U.S. PRESSING

*** STILL SEALED 1970 WARNER BROTHERS PRESSING, BELIEVED TO BE THE ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING ***

·      BELIEVED TO BE PRESSED ON THE ORIGINAL GREEN WARNER BROTHERS LABEL WITH A “SHIELD” (WB) LOGO AT THE TOP OF THE LABEL, EARLY 70’s STYLE , SUCH AS THE ONE SHOWN ABOVE, FROM OUR PREVIOUS AUCTION

·      ORIGINAL UPSIDE-DOWN COVER (THE PAPER SLICK ON THE BACK SIDE IS INTENTIONALLY PASTED UPSIDE DOWN) [THIS IS PROBABLY AN ALLUSION TO TAROT SYMBOLISM, IN WHICH THE MAN HANGING UPSIDE DOWN SYMBOLIZES DEATH, OR THE DEAD]

·      THE THICKNESS OF THE VINYL, THE APPEARANCE AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE COVER, LABEL’S LOGO AND OTHER PERIPHERAL ELEMENTS OF THE COVER, ARE ALL PERFECTLY CONSISTENT WITH THE ORIGINAL, FIRST PRESSING OF THIS TITLE.

·      TWO “BREATHE” (AIR) HOLES NOTED ON THE SHRINK WRAP

·      THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·      THICK CARDBOARD COVER, AMERICAN STYLE.

·      ORIGINAL “TEXTURED” (CRUDE FINISH) COVER.

·      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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As the '60s drew to a close, it was a heavy time for the quickly crumbling hippie movement that had reached its apex just a few years earlier in 1967’s Summer of Love. Death and violence were pervasive in the form of the Manson murders, fatalities at the Altamont concert, and the ongoing loss of young lives in Vietnam despite the best efforts of anti-war activists and peace-seeking protesters. Difficult times were also upon the Grateful Dead, unofficial house band of San Francisco’s Summer of Love festivities and outspoken advocates of psychedelic experimentation both musical and chemical. The excessive studio experimentation that resulted in their trippy but disorienting third album, Aoxomoxoa, had left the band in considerable debt to their record label, and their stress wasn't helped at all by a drug bust that had members of the band facing jail time. The rough road the Dead were traveling down seemed congruent with the hard changes faced by the youth counterculture that birthed them. Fourth studio album Workingman's Dead reflects both the looming darkness of its time, and the endless hope and openness to possibility that would become emblematic of the Dead as their legacy grew. For a group already established as exploratory free-form rockers of the highest acclaim, Workingman’s Dead's eight tunes threw off almost all improvisatory tendencies in favor of spare, thoughtful looks at folk, country, and American roots music with more subdued sounds than the band had managed up until then. The songs also focused more than ever before on singing and vocal harmonies, influenced in no small way by a growing friendship with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The band embraced complex vocal arrangements with campfire-suited folk on "Uncle John's Band" and the psychedelic cowboy blues of “High Time.”

Before they blasted off into hallucinatory rock as the Grateful Dead, several founding members had performed as Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, a group that played traditional jug band music with earnest, heartfelt appreciation. Those early influences came into sharp focus on the bluegrass rhythms and hillbilly harmonies of "Cumberland Blues" and the glistening pedal steel and shuffling drums of "Dire Wolf." The more rocking songs add to the album's brooding feel with "New Speedway Boogie" directly addressing the violence at Altamont, and "Casey Jones," which appeared at first to be a lighthearted celebration of cocaine, but was really a lament for troubled times that felt like they were spinning off the rails.

The abrupt shift toward sublime acoustic sounds on Workingman's Dead completely changed what the Grateful Dead meant to their listeners at large. The enormous risk they took in changing their sound entirely resulted in a heartbreakingly beautiful, unquestionably pure statement and one of the more important documents of its time. They’d continue this trend on the even more roots-minded American Beauty, recorded later the same year, but the limitlessness, fearlessness, and true power of the band began here.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY FRED THOMAS, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

The Grateful Dead were already established as paragons of the free-form, improvisational San Francisco psychedelic sound when they abruptly shifted gears for the acoustic Workingman's Dead, a lovely exploration of American roots music illuminating the group's country, blues, and folk influences. The lilting "Uncle John's Band," their first radio hit, opens the record and perfectly summarizes its subtle, spare beauty; complete with a new focus on more concise songs and tighter arrangements, the approach works brilliantly. Despite its sharp contrast to the epic live space jams on which the group's legend primarily rests, Workingman's Dead nonetheless spotlights the Dead at their most engaging, stripped of all excess to reveal the true essence of their craft.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY JASON ANKENY, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

The Best Dead!!!! No ifs, ands or but(t)s. Finding a still sealed original copy?!?! Forget it – not even a HOPE!!! This may be the last one you will ever see.

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THIS GROUP OR ARTIST ►  CLICK HERE

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·                          CONDITION:

·                          THE 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)         THE ALBUM IS STILL FACTORY SEALED AND IS BELIEVED TO BE PERFECTLY MINT. Please note: sealed items are assumed to be mint and are sold as-is, as we have no way of inspecting them.

(b)         The record is believed to come in its original stock inner sleeve.

(c)          The record is  apparently 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!

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

·                          THE COVER

COVER IS NEAR MINT, STILL SEALED AND COVERED IN ITS ORIGINAL ►SHRINK WRAP

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-       Front cover has a tiny dusty (water?) stain in one corner (less than 1/2 square inch in size)

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

We offer three postage rates for domestic orders: USPS Media Mail, USPS Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail and three rates for international shipments:  USPS First Class, USPS Priority International Mail, and USPS Express International Mail (in a small number of cases, we will, at our discretion and for purely technical reasons, substitute First Class Mail with eBay's Global Shipping, which is fundamentally the same service at about the same cost). INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND (BUT DO NOT INSIST) that you select USPS International Priority Mail when making a payment.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from one region of  the world to another. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates, please click on " Shipping, returns, and payments" tab in the header of our listing.

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CRITICALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

(A) All orders valued at $50.00 or more will be shipped fully insured against loss, damage or theft by ShipCover, eBay's contracted insurer, at our expense (B) Yes, we do combine items into a single shipment; in order to enable this feature, the winning bidders should WAIT until their last item of interest ends and ONLY THEN make a payment. Doing otherwise will result in multiple shipments to the same customer and forfeiture of multiple shipping charges already paid. (C) Because we do not play-grade our items, we do not know how the purchased item will play on the buyer's equipment. We can only make reasonable inference on the record's playing condition based on its visual appearance. (D) This seller will NOT cancel erroneous, frivolous and prank bids. The bidders can do so on their own, by visiting eBay's Site Map, then clicking on Bid Retractions link. (E) This seller does not specifically grade or describe certain items, such as: shrink (cellophane) wrap and accompanying extras (inserts, booklets, etc.); however, the presence of these items WILL be noted and accompanied by the gallery photo(s). (F) Please do not submit any bids on our items if you have insufficient user history. (G) Other than in very rare justified cases, failure to pay for the item you won amounts to a fraud and will result in a permanent ban on bidding on our future listings. (H) We will NEVER deliberately, knowingly or willingly provide a false, deceitful or misleading information.

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE (POSTAGE INCLUDED) WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED; STILL SEALED ITEMS MUST BE RETURNED SEALED IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND.   NO EXCEPTIONS!

FINE (BUT IMPORTANT!) PRINT

 (1) The year indicated in the title bar is the year of the original release,  NOT necessarily the year of the actual pressing; for the actual generation of the pressing, please see our item description (top section, the text in red letters). (2) Please do NOT bid based on the title bar, subtitle bar or item specifics box alone; instead, please read the entire description before bidding; (3) Absolutely NO order cancellations after the auction closes. ever, under any circumstances. We can ONLY cancel bids before the item closes. (4) We are unable to provide matrix-, stamper- or other pressing  information in the final 24 hours of the auction. (5) All disagreements and miscommunications can be - and will only be - solved in a civil and mutually respectful manner; please avoid puerile, offensive, abrasive or menacing language (6) This seller will accommodate all reasonable requests and - unless seriously molested - is generally a flexible, pragmatic and agreeable person.

Our love & appreciation for your trust, loyalty and business, always and forever;  Thank You & Good Night!

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