RARE Country Funk 1968 TEST PRESSING LP & 1970 release on Polydor Blues Psych

$

125

Here's your chance at an Ultra Rare piece of music history.

Included in the auction is a test pressing by the band Country Funk dated 12/68 in a cover which is autographed by the four band members, along with their official album release from 1970 on Polydor records 24-4020.

The test pressing is an acetate LP from DCT Recorders in Hollywood, CA and is dated 12/68. DCT recorders worked with other notable names during that era such as Iron Butterfly, Deep Purple and Steppenwolf. The test pressing is much different than their official album which was released in 1970 on Polydor. Side 1 plays like one long extended jam in a way and side 2 has three tracks. Some of the tracks and ideas are heard on their official release, some aren't. The test pressing is more raw, psychedelic and unpolished compared to their official album. I have searched high and low online and have not found any info on this test pressing. I don't believe it has changed hands online. It may be the only one in existence, I don't know. It is definitely extremely rare.

The condition of the test pressing is as follows: The label has various markings which have worn off a bit but are still legible. The record has nice gloss with a few light marks and is in strong VG condition. It plays through nice with no skips or loud pops, just faint crackling mostly heard during quiet passages or between tracks. The sleeve is taped all the way around the top and bottom seams and spine. It shows shelf wear and is autographed with a few short notes written on it from the band members. The inner sleeve is taped along one edge and is split across on the other seam.

The official album on Polydor 24-4020 is a strong VG+ condition with nice gloss and only a few superficial marks which have little affect on playback. Plays and sounds excellent, very enjoyable listen. There is writing on both sides of the label. The cover is split at all of the seams. It would be greatly improved by taping it all the way around with clear tape but I will let you decide if you want to do that. The inner sleeve is a generic paper sleeve without all the markings that the sleeve pictured with the test pressing has.

Here is a review about the album from allmusic.com:

The sole album from Country Funk's original incarnation, released in 1970, has confused a certain number of latter-day listeners since it's not especially funky (at least not in the James Brown or George Clinton sense of the word), and while there's a noticeable country-rock undertow in this music, there's just as much semi-psychedelic fuzz guitar, hard rock attitude, and sunny folk rock vibe to be found. "Not This Time" and "A Way to Settle Down" put the band's country influences up front, and the tight guitar work from Adam Taylor and Hal Paris rings out clean and fresh when they embrace a down-home vibe (bassist Jim Lanham also adds the occasional pedal steel overdub), but Country Funk shine nearly as bright when they put some soul behind the blue-eyed R&B of "When I'm Without You," and the opening cut, which segues from upbeat acoustic guitars to heavy electric thunder at the 1:10 mark before shifting to acoustics back for a coda, sums up the group's eclecticism admirably well. Country Funk weren't content to do just one thing, and they sound capable and confident on the various styles they embrace; Taylor and Paris were solid songwriters and contributed fine harmonies, while Lanham and drummer Verne Johnson were a rhythm section with enough force to push the melodies forward but the good sense not to overpower the guitars. (Alternate drummer Joe Pfeifer sounds equally capable on his four tunes.) At their best, Country Funk suggests a more streamlined variation on what Moby Grape was doing on their third and fourth albums, and though they weren't as good as that masterful band, there's enough worth hearing on this album to wish Country Funk had stuck around long enough to record more than these twelve songs.


I combine shipping! Additional albums ship for $.50/each (double LPs count as 2 albums)

Goldmine record grading scale. NM>EX>VG+>VG>G+. Graded under four 60w bulbs.

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