SILAS HOGAN - Swamp Blues 1970 Excello double LP NM

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31

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Silas Hogan with Whispering Smith, Clarence Edwards, Arthur "Guitar" Kelley and Henry Gray- "Swamp Blues" in stereo on Excello 8015/16. This is billed as a various artists album but it's really not because all of these relatively obscure swamp blues greats play on each other's tracks with each of the aforementioned taking lead of different tracks. They are supported by Gregg "Little Guitar" Schaefer, Roy Lee Sheppard, Leon Medica and Clarence Prophet. There are a total of 24 tracks on these two records and the sound quality is awesome - audiophile quality. Recoded in Baton Rouge in August 1970, the recording engineer was Cy Frost. Mixed in Nashville, the engineer being Rick Horton. The songs are standard in length, from a bit over two minutes being the shortest to a shade under 5 minutes being the longest. Most of the titles are obscure to me but some are well known blues numbers such as Muddy's 'Baby Please Don't Go'. Most of the songs were written by the lead singer of the song. A KILLER OF AN ALBUM. As a bonus, there are two original Excello inner sleeves (how often do you see those); the early Excello albums pictured (eg. Rooster Blues) have the second press covers which are probably rarer than the first pressings.

Record Grade: Near Mint

Cover Grade: VG, gatefold cover, ring wear

Labels: Blue

First pressing, not a reissue

About Silas Hogan: by All Music Guide

In the collection of local Louisiana blues stars that made their mark on phonograph records bearing the Excello imprint under the aegis of Crowley producer Jay Miller, Silas Hogan was a local phenom who finally had a chance to record at a time when the commercial appeal of his sound was waning in the national marketplace. Hogan recorded for Excello from 1962 to early 1965, seeing the last of his single releases issued late that year. Sometime in the late '20s Silas learned the basics of the guitar from his two uncles, Robert and Frank Murphy, who later went on to influence the idiosyncratic style of Robert Pete Williams. Learning his trade by playing assorted house parties and picnics in the local vicinity, by the late '30s Hogan was working regularly with guitarist Willie B. Thomas and fiddler Butch Cage, making the local juke-joint circuit his new found home. A move to the Baton Rouge area in the early '50s brought changes to his music. Armed with a Fender electric guitar and amp, Hogan formed his first electric combo -- the Rhythm Ramblers -- becoming one of the top drawing cards on the Louisiana juke-joint circuit. In 1962, at the ripe old age of 51, Hogan was introduced by Slim Harpo to producer Jay Miller and his recording career finally began in earnest. The recordings he produced in the Crowley studio were solid, no-frills performances that mirrored the many variants of the "sound of the swamp." After a few singles, Hogan's recording career came to an abrupt halt when Miller clashed with the new owners in 1966, ending the flow of Crowley product on the label. No longer an Excello recording artist, Hogan disbanded his group, going back to his day job at the Exxon refinery near Baton Rogue. The chance to record came around again in the 1970s, with Hogan cutting sides for labels like Arhoolie and Blue Horizon while remaining active on the Southern blues festival circuit for pretty much the rest of the decade. With as little fanfare as his Excello singles were greeted in the marketplace, Silas Hogan quietly passed away in January of 1994.

Excellent, full spectrum analog sound quality that sounds great for a lifetime. If you prefer the full and rich sound of vinyl over the thin digital sound, albums are your best choice.

All of my records are shipped in sturdy cardboard LP or 45 rpm mailers with appropriate padding (heavy cardboard fillers or bubble wrap or "peanuts" or some combination thereof". With the exception of sealed LP's, all LP's are removed from their outer sleeves to prevent seam splitting. Upon request, I will give your sealed LP's the same treatment. (once an LP is shipped sealed, it cannot be returned once opened).

All records are carefully graded. In an attempt to give customers an accurate impression of condition rather than adhere to somewhat arbitrary criteria, I give an "overall presentation" grade, supplemented when necessary with additional remarks. Please refer to my grading system below for a more detailed explanation.

MY GRADING SYSTEMS: I always try my best to grade conservatively. My NM (near mint) is my highest grade for opened records (which would also include unplayed records). It’s a 9 or 10 on a 1-10 scale. M- would be equivalent to an 8; VG++ to a 7; VG+ to a 6; VG to a 5; VG- to a 4; G to a 3; F to a 2 and P to a 1. The same scale applies when I grade covers (jackets). Significant defects are specifically noted and taken into consideration in the grade.

GRADING DESCRIPTIONS

• GRADING Grading is based on the following criteria
• Sealed = store stock new
• Near Mint = like new or near new with only one or two small insignificant defects, a 9 or better on a 1-10 scale
• Mint- = extremely nice. Would be Near Mint, except for a couple of light hairlines or scuffs, which do not affect play
• VG++ = still a very nice record with all or nearly all of its original gloss but may have a few more light, surface marks, hairlines, needle tracks or the like which should not materially effect play
• VG+ = a nice, but used record that may have a series of light scuffs or scratches. It probably plays with a few pops, but has no serious problems.
• VG = a well-used record that still should sound OK when played, but may have moderate surface noise, pops, etc.
• VG- = a very well-worn record that plays through without skipping, but will do until a better copy comes along.
• Good = not actually good at all but probably will play through but with much in the way of surface noise, pops, crackles, etc. Still, will have no cracks, chips or the like
• Fair = you’re getting this record just to own but not to play
• Poor = the sky’s the limit, generally I will discard a record this bad (and sell the cover, jacket or sleeve alone) unless the label holds some particular interest

  VISUAL GRADING: All records are visually graded only unless I state that they are play-graded. Some major labels were pressed on better quality vinyl and will sound better than a record which visually appears the same on "budget" labels which were pressed on lower quality vinyl. Recording techniques also varied. The sound on live albums may be far inferior to studio recordings. There may also be defects in the pressing which are invisible. The point is that an album on a high quality label that was visually graded VG+ may sound better than an album on a budget label that was visually graded Mint- or even Near Mint. Please refer to my return policy, below. But please don’t be shocked if a record visually graded Near Mint doesn’t sound state of the art. If I base my grade on a PLAY GRADE, I will state this specifically in my grading section.

  COVERS: There are really too many possible defects regarding covers to be as specific in my definitions as I had been with my record grades. But please keep in mind these general grading guidelines:

  • I will give greater weight to the condition of the front cover than back cover when assigning an overall grade
  • No cover with a cut out hole or saw mark will be graded Near Mint even if it is still in factory shrink and there is no other wear
  • I will not reduce the grade of a cover for stickers which are glued to the jacket by the record company (eg. "Contains the hit Leyla" sticker on the Derek and the Dominoes album); but I will reduce the grade for stickers glued on the cover by stores, previous owners, etc.
  • If I write that a cover has a bb hole, I’m talking about a small cut out hole
  • A saw mark is a narrow cut in the perimeter of the cover, could be anywhere and vary in length from 1/2” to 2” at the most.
  • The overall grade takes into consideration any stated defects. For example, if I grade a cover VG+ and then state it has 6” top and bottom seam splits - I’ve already reduced the grade because of the seam splits. If the seams weren’t split, the cover would be graded higher such as VG++ or Mint-.

    Shipping Costs: CURRENT SHIPPING RATES AND POLICIES FOR 2010.

    The buyer pays for shipping.

    DOMESTIC SHIPPING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES: I use the eBay shipping calculator. Generally I add $2.00 to actual postage to cover the cost of supplies as I use professional grade mailers and fillers. Sometimes, as with 78's, the added cost will be a bit more.

    DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS: COMBINED SHIPPING - Save money when I mail 2 or more records in the same package. When I ship more than one record in the same package, the eBay shipping calculator more often than not gives the wrong amount, usually it is too high. Please wait until I send you an invoice of if you are finished bidding, request an invoice before making payment.

    INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS: Overseas customers are very welcome to bid. As with U.S. shipments, I will use eBay's postage calculator for all overseas shipments. Postage to Canada is substantially less than to other countries - if you live in Canada and don't see a separate rate for Canada , please e-mail me and I'll modify the invoice to reflect the lower shipping charges. Express Mail International and Priority Mail International are available - rates are substantially higher than first class international and will be quoted for each purchase if buyer requests this service. Express Mail International or Registered mail is now required for purchases over $100. Registered mail, while not as fast as Express Mail International is recommended because it is less expensive and just as safe, if not safer. However, registered mail can only be used for packages weighing under 4 lbs. If your package weighs more than 4 lbs (usually more than 5 LP's), Express Mail or shipping in two or more packages are the only choices. Generally, Express International costs $35 for 1 album and additional albums are about $5-6 more. Registered costs about $26 for 1 album, about $5 more for each additional album. Registered mail is available for most, but not all, countries.Why the change? It's because of eBay's and paypal's policies requiring proof of delivery - or - buyer can make a claim for a refund from paypal. On the bright side of things, Express Mail International will get you the package much faster and it is safer. Registered mail is much safer (but not as fast). So there are benefits to the buyer as well as the seller.

    Sorry, but I do not give refunds for items damaged or lost in the mail.

    Please check out my other eBay auctions and stores listings.

    . I’ve been listing all types of records - mostly LP’s - including 50’s and 60’s rock ‘n’ roll, country, soul and funk, folk jazz, blues, personalities, new wave and punk, surf, psych, spoken word, comedy, etc., etc....... I try to list unusual, unique or obscure records, not the ones that you see all the time. While a majority of my listings are albums, you’ll often find a nice selection of 45’s, EP’s or picture sleeves...and an occasional 78 or two.

    My return policy: . You may return an item if it's not in the condition described. You may not return items if you decide you don't like the music. I will return the base price of the item unless I make an error in shipment such as sending you the wrong record or cd. In that case, you will be reimbursed for the cost of the item and shipping both ways. In addition, the item must be returned in its original condition , i.e. the way it was shipped when it left my hands. While a very high percentage of my records arrive safe and sound (I use professional mailers and a filler or two, more for 78’s), they occasionally are damaged in transit. If that happens, I won’t accept the return of the record or other item.

    Sealed Records: After a sealed record is paid for, I will gladly open it before mailing to make sure that the record is new & unplayed. If the record is not, I will give a full refund. Even though it is easy to spot most resealed records from the 50's and 60's [I will mention that in the desription if it looks like a possibility], not all records from the 70's & 80's are quite as obvious. Please ask for any details about the seal of a particular record & I will be happy to answer.

    Any other questions? About anything? Please e-mail me at ibuyvinyl@nc.rr.com .