Rare Original Autographed Copy of "calm before" by The Rising Storm

$

1,325

Up for auction is an original autographed pressing of The Rising Storm's “Calm Before...” LP. This is one the rarest, most valuable, and most coveted garage band albums of all time. Recorded in 1967 by Remnant Records, there were only a total of 500 pressings, and it's anyone's guess how many of those survive to this day. The album has been referred to as a “holy grail” of garage and psychedelic bands.

This is unique among surviving copies. It is one of the few autographed by the band members (actually 4 of the 5). I was a classmate of the band, and attended a rehearsal at Tony Thompson's home in Barnstable, MA. Tony's father was Ben Thompson, the noted architect and US importer of Marimekko fabrics from Finland. Sharp-eyed fans will note the Marimekko fabrics covering the amplifiers and Tom Scheft's drum kit on the cover photo. Charlie Rockwell's autograph is missing because he was not at the rehearsal at the time I obtained the autographs. My name is also on the front and back so no one would steal it from my dorm.

I am the original owner of this album, copies of which have sold on EBay for upwards of $4,000. I understand a film about the band is in the works.

The songs on the album are all amazing. Five of the 12 cuts are original compositions by members of the band. Other cuts include covers of songs by The Remains, Love, Wilson Pickett, and the Ramrods.

Condition: per eBay guidelines, this copy is in good condition: “heavy wear, deep scratches and very apparent surface noise, clicks or pops”; there is a skip toward the end of side 2. The cover is intact and in good condition. There is some seam wear on the bottom seam, but no splitting. The album spine is in excellent condition. There is some ringwear visible only the back cover. Matrix markings include the album number “BBA-3571”, “28-4”, “5/67” (the recording date), and “K-1084”.

The LP has been cleaned on a Nitty Gritty machine and stored in an archival sleeve.

There's one other unique feature: to document this album's provenance, I will include copies of otherwise unavailable archival photographs of the band members and the band from yearbooks and address books going as far back as 1963. I am confident no other owners of this rare album will possess this documentation. I encourage you to check out The Rising Storm's entries in wikipedia, Goldmine, and YouTube.

I will start bidding at $300 and sell to the highest bidder.

The LP will be shipped in a top-quality reinforced Bags Unlimited record mailer. Domestic insured shipping is $9.50. International shipping is actual cost through eBay's Global Shipping Program; this will not include insurance, and international returns will not be accepted. Buyer pays through PayPal.

It's actually autographed by 5 of the 6 band members, not 4 of 5 as stated in the description. Signatures include: Bob Cohan, Todd Cohen, Tom Scheft, Tony Thompson, and Rich Weinberg. My mistake.