GUS & THE MAGIC FINGERS very RARE Beatles psych pop 45

$

47

In the pantheon of RARE singles, this one's gotta be way up there - so rare, I can't find ONE thing about this single, even about this BAND, online, or anyone else who even has one to sell.  It comes out of Lebanon in the late 60's or very early 70's, and Gus & the Magic Fingers must've been the Middle East's equivalent of late 60's Pretty Things or even Abbey Road era Beatles.  Yes, Gus and his band really ARE that good, and this is one single that really SHOULD have been picked up by one of those international pop/psych compilations like Incredible Sound Show Stories or something.  "Fly Away", the A-side, is a wonderful slice of drifty psychedelia, with a well-produced, full and rich sound.  Cymbal washes and some cool wah wah guitar licks give this a dreamlike, hazy feel, like a classic UK Rubble toytown pop song distorted through the ether of the looking glass world.  A soaring chorus and great melody beg comparisons to the best of the British sound, like those aforementioned Beatles around the time of Abbey Road (think "Because") or the trippier songs off of the Pretty Things "Parachute".  The flipside, "Hey You There (Dedicated to Simon)", is midtempo psych pop with a real stoned feel, great rolling drums and some soaring background vocals.  Simon helped to arrange both sides of this single, so he gets the B-side named after him.  I wish I could tell you more about this band, but there's nothing out there - I'm not sure if they were a Lebanese band, or a band from Europe whose single only came out in Lebanon - the arrangement credits to "Simon and Yves" might indicate France - but at any rate, this is a TOP QUALITY TREMENDOUS slab of hazy dreamlike pop psych that you're not likely to run across again any time soon.  Original Lebanese pressing on the Empire label.  Vinyl plays solid VG+.  Winning bidder pays $3.00 first class shipping in the US, $4 air mail to Canada, $6 air mail everywhere else.  Paypal, Bidpay, cash, checks and money orders accepted.  Please check out my other auctions for more obscure pop, psych and garage singles!