ORIGINAL JOHNNY GUITAR WATSON ON KING 857

$

105

Very scarce original Black Label King 857, the first and only Johnny "Guitar" Watson album for the label with liner notes by Johnny Otis. Twelve tracks recorded in LA 1961/62: Cuttin' In, Embraceable You, Broke and Lonely, What You Do to Me, Gangster of Love, Highway 60, Those Lonely Lonely Feelings, Posin', That's the Chance You've got to Take, I just Wants me Some Love, Sweet Lovin' Mama, and You Can't Take it With You. Lots of his trademark slashing guitar. Cover excellent (great picture of Watson with his stratocaster in a ruffled lace cuff shirt!), about a 1" seam split on the top near the opening and a small dab of what appears to be orange marker on the rear, very slight ring wear on the upper front, apart from that no other defects – unusually good specimen of a King from this period, which are typically ringworn and split. Record retains good gloss and has been little played but there is some moderate crunchy sound on the first one and a half tracks on side one and four clicks at the end of the side, side two has surface noise through about the mid-point of the first track and three pops on track 2. The surface noise at the beginning of both sides I atribute to the pressing, there are also some 4-5 light marks on both sides, including what look like three bad scuffs/scrapes on side one which however do not sound or remain well below the music. Definitely not for mint fanatics, though in general, with the exception of the surface noise with which the two sides commence, the album plays very well. Killer mono sound with the guitar and vocals up front. I would rate this visually as cover/record E/vg/vg+, aurally much better and after the first cuts on each side it plays very nicely indeed.

Strict grading, condition guaranteed and records properly packaged by experienced collector - please see my buyer feedback for praise for conservative grading.. Bidders with shades or excessive negative feedback will be automatically rejected, so if that's you please don't bid. Biders with less than 10 feedback please check with me first before bidding. Preferred payment by cash (US$) via registered mail, international postal money order (but doesn't work from the USA, please check with your post office), western union (BUT NO BID PAY!!! NOT ACCEPTED HERE OR ANYWHERE IN EUROPE!!), direct bank transfer. If none of these are possible I will accept paypal payment. I expect to receive payment within 10 days of notification of shipping rates. PLEASE DO NOT USE THE CHECKOUT FEATURE – I WILL CONTACT THE WINNER BY E-MAIL!

A NOTE ON SHIPPING COSTS: Swiss postal rates have NOT gone up, but the dollar has lost some one-third of its value in relation to the franc as well as the euro and the Swiss post office is very strict about weight A typical thin, light lp in a record mailer weighs in at just under 500 grams, packed in a cardboard mailer with bubble wrap. The price for priority air mail to Europe is 13 CHF (Swiss francs), or 10 US dollars (USD), rest of world is 19 CHF or 15 dollars. For non-priority air (not surface, but can sometimes take up to 6 weeks, usually about a month) the price is 8 CHF, or 6 dollars, for Europe and 10 CHF or 8 USD for the rest of the world. If it is a gatefold cover, or contains a booklet, or is an older lp on 180 gram or heavier vinyl, or has a heavy stock cover or extra packing material is employed at the request of the buyer, the weight can quickly exceed 500 grams and the price jumps to 21 CHF, or 16.50 dollars for Europe, and 33 CHF or 26 dollars for the rest of the world prority, non-priority is CHF 12 (9.50$) for Europe and CHF 18 (14$) for the rest of the world. For buyers outside Europe, I would recommend this last option. THESE ARE ACTUAL COSTS, THERE ARE NO SPURIOUS HANDLING CHARGES, BUT PLEASE BEAR THE COST OF SHIPPING IN MIND WHEN YOU BID.

In the past I have stated that I will not ship items except through registered mail, in view of the huge increase in postage costs due to the decline of the dollar I will no longer be firm on this, but I do recommend it and I will NOT assume responsibility for unregistered items! This is to protect the buyer as much as myself. It only costs 5$ to register a package and insure it up to CHF 150 or ca. 118 US$ with the Swiss postal system, this provides a tracking number and guarantees against theft, loss or damage, additional insurance for more expensive items can also be purchased at only slightly more. I have never seen an lp go astray, but it can happen and again I recommend registering/insuring.