RED HOUSE PAINTERS - S/T Double LP (Vinyl, 1993, 4AD, The 'Rollercoaster' LP)

	£		89
	$		118

Red House Painters eponymously titled second LP, also known as the 'Rollercoaster' record due to the artwork & the fact they confusingly released another self titled LP the same year, with similarly sepia tinted artwork. The outer and inner sleeves of this copy are in pristine condition. vinyl copies of this record now seem to be ridiculously rare & highly sought after i.e. very expensive.

FORMAT: 2 x Vinyl LP, 33rpm
RECORD LABEL: 4AD
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
RELEASE DATE: 1993
CATALOGUE NO: DAD3008

(NOTE: I am now play-grading all my vinyl. I can't promise to play everything all the way through, but will be checking for any curving or warping and/or excessive surface noise - hiss, snap, crackles & pops. And if there are any dodgy looking areas with gouges, scratches, pit marks etc. I will double check that there is no skipping or sticking, and that playback is not adversely affected)

LPs: Excellent
OUTER SLEEVE: Near Mint
INNER SLEEVES: Near Mint

POSTAGE: £3.00 UK. £4.00 EUROPE. £7.00 THE REST OF THE WORLD.

STORED OUT OF SUNLIGHT IN VERTICAL POSITION. FROM A PET, DAMP AND SMOKE FREE HOME.

ANY QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS FOR MORE DETAILED PHOTOS ETC, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME.

I TRY & GRADE ALL SLEEVES AND VINYL AS FAIRLY & ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE, BUT IF YOU FEEL I HAVE GRADED THIS RECORD INCORRECTLY, OR IF ANY OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS INCORRECT PLEASE TELL ME.

ALL VINYL WILL BE POSTED IN A GLASS CLEAR, VERY BEST QUALITY 450G PVC SLEEVE, IN A CARDBOARD RECORD MAILER, WITH CARDBOARD STIFFENERS, REMOVING ALL INNERS TO PREVENT SPLITTING TO THE SEAMS IN TRANSIT.

RECORDS WILL BE REMOVED FROM ORIGINAL INNERS & PLACED IN PREMIUM GRADE GENERIC PAPER SLEEVES FOR SHIPMENT.
       
        Tracklisting
A1         Grace Cathedral Park        
A2         Down Through        
A3         Katy Song        
A4         Mistress    
   
B1         Things Mean A Lot        
B2         Funhouse        
B3         Take Me Out        
B4         Rollercoaster
       
C1         New Jersey        
C2         Dragonflies        
C3         Mistress (Piano Version)    
   
D1         Mother        
D2         Strawberry Hill        
D3         Brown Eyes    
   
LP Review (courtesy of Allmusic.com)

by Jason Ankeny

The first of the group's two eponymously titled 1993 efforts is a sprawling, remarkable set distinguished by Mark Kozelek's continuing maturation as a songwriter; far removed from the uniform darkness of Down Colorful Hill, Red House Painters offers an expansion of both emotional and musical possibilities. Working outward from the cutting "Mistress" -- included as both a Spartan piano ballad and as a gauzy rock number -- the record moves through a shifting, impressionistic backdrop of textures and sounds; from the luminous folk-pop of "Grace Cathedral Park" to the epic dissonance of the gut-wrenching "Strawberry Hill," the songs resonate with depth and poignancy, and rank as Kozelek's most fully realized collection of compositions.

by Jason Ankeny

Red House Painters was primarily the vehicle of singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek, an evocative, compelling performer of rare emotional intensity. Like Mark Eitzel of American Music Club, to whose work the Painters were invariably compared and to whom their early success owed a tremendous debt, Kozelek laid his soul bare on record, conjuring harrowingly acute tales of pain, despair, and loss; unlike Eitzel, Nick Drake, and other poets of decay, Kozelek's autobiographical songs walked their tightrope without a net -- forsaking the safety offered by metaphor and allegory, he faced his demons in the first person, creating a singularly haunting body of work unparalleled in its vulnerability and honesty.

Kozelek was born and raised in the Midwest, and formed his first band, God Forbid, while in his teens. After relocating to Atlanta, GA, he struck up a friendship with drummer Anthony Koutsos, and formed the first incarnation of Red House Painters. A move to San Francisco followed, where guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel rounded out the group's roster.

While performing on the Bay Area club circuit, the quartet came to the attention of American Music Club's Eitzel, who often named Red House Painters his favorite band. Through Eitzel, a demo tape of recordings cut in 1989 and 1990 made their way to the London offices of 4AD Records, which signed the group and in 1992 issued the unvarnished demos -- a superb collection of spartan, atmospheric melodies lurking behind Kozelek's ghostly vocals -- as the LP Down Colorful Hill.

In 1993, Red House Painters emerged from the studio with over two-dozen new recordings, which they issued on back-to-back eponymously titled albums. Taken in tandem, the LPs established Kozelek as a unique songwriter capable of conveying stunning emotional depths; compositions like "Grace Cathedral Park," "Katy Song," "Strawberry Hill," "Evil," and "Uncle Joe" expanded greatly upon the emotional palette evidenced on the first record, unflinchingly detailing Kozelek's erratic, abusive nature and troubled background.

A two-year lay-off followed, during which time only an EP, Shock Me -- a brief set built around a dramatic reading of an old Kiss song -- appeared in 1994. Finally, the luminous Ocean Beach, a collection of pastoral, almost sunny performances, appeared in 1995, although not without controversy; initially, 4AD did not want to release the record, further straining already tenuous relations between the band and the label.

When Kozelek began work on a long-discussed solo album, 4AD threw in the towel; the album, a more rock-oriented work dubbed Songs for a Blue Guitar, appeared in 1996 on the Island imprint Supreme. Although Kozelek was the only bandmember to appear on the record, it was nonetheless issued under the Red House Painters name in order to give the group a push as it headed into the second phase of its career. However, the major-label mergers of the late '90s left Red House Painters without a record deal, and their album, Old Ramon, in limbo. During that time, 4AD released the simply titled Retrospective, a best-of collection, and Kozelek kept busy, appearing in Cameron Crowe's critically acclaimed rock & roll love story Almost Famous, and releasing several projects on the Badman label, including a John Denver tribute album, a benefit album for a San Francisco AIDS charity, and Rock 'n' Roll Singer, a mini-album of classic rock covers and new material. Eventually, Kozelek bought back the rights to Old Ramon and Sub Pop released it in spring 2001, nearly four years after it was recorded.