STEPPENWOLF: 1968 DEBUT UK RCA RARE 1st PRESS MONO

£ 27

$ 35

£ 27 Sold For

Sep 9, 2010 Sold Date

Aug 30, 2010 Start Date

£ 22 Start price

3 Number Of Bids

Great Britain Country Of Seller

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Description

STEPPENWOLF: 1968 DEBUT UK RCA RARE 1st PRESS MONO

1st WHITE C&B SLEEVE - FRONT LAMINATED, DECCA PRESSED

STEPPENWOLF
Steppenwolf

UK RCA VICTOR (RD 7974) FIRST *MONO* PRESSING (October 1968) OF STEPPENWOLF'S SUPERB DEBUT - THIS IS THE INITIAL PRESSING HOUSED IN THE EARLIEST SLEEVE WHICH HAS A WHITE BACKGROUND (LATER SLEEVES WERE SILVERED) AND IT WAS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR A SHORT TIME IN MONO BEFORE STATESIDE RELEASED THE STEREO VERSION IN 1970

THIS COPY HAS BEEN WELL PLAYED OVER THE YEARS BUT STILL SOUNDS VERY IMPRESSIVE INDEED AND PROVIDES A HUGELY ENJOYABLE LISTEN (please see detailed audio assessment below)

PRESSED ON QUALITY MID-WEIGHT VINYL WHICH DELIVERS A CRYSTAL CLEAR AND SHARP MONO CUT - AS YOU WOULD EXPECT FROM DECCA WHO CUT SOME OF THE FINEST SOUNDING RECORDS OF THE PERIOD
THE VINYL HAS THE FIRST ISSUE 'RED SPOT' RCA VICTOR LABELS
MATRIX: D - 50029 A - 1K / D - 50029 B - 1K
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1/B and 1/U (one of the first of the press - Decca used BUCKINGHAM to designate their stamper letters - B=1, U=2 etc and as approx 300 records were pressed with each stamper the B and U here indicate this is in the batch of the first 300-600 but it could be lower as the B may never have been used for Side Two)
AND THE RECORD IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL (FIRST ISSUE) FRONT LAMINATED SLEEVE “Printed in England by Clout & Baker Ltd.”
COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL POLY-LINED DECCA COMPANY INNER SLEEVE WHICH IS DATED '9 - 68'

Steppenwolf entered the studio for their recording debut in mid-1968 with a lot of confidence -- based on a heavy rehearsal schedule before they ever got signed -- and it shows on this album, a surprisingly strong debut album from a tight hard rock outfit who was obviously searching for a hook to hang their sound on.
The playing is about as loud and powerful as anything being put out by a major record label in 1968, though John Kay's songwriting needed some development before their in-house repertory would catch up with their sound and musicianship.
On this album, the best material came from outside the ranks of the active band-members: "Born to Be Wild" by ex-member Mars Bonfire, which became not only a chart-topping high-energy anthem for the counterculture (a status solidified by its use in Dennis Hopper's movie Easy Rider the following year), but coined the phrase heavy metal, thus giving a genre-specific name to the brand of music that the band played (and which was already manifesting itself in the work of bands like Vanilla Fudge and the just-emerging Led Zeppelin); the Don Covay soul cover "Sookie, Sookie," which, as a single by the new group, actually got played on some soul stations until they found out that Steppenwolf was white; two superb homages to Chess Records, in the guise of "Berry Rides Again," written (though "adapted" might be a better word) by Kay based on the work of Chuck Berry, and the Willie Dixon cover "Hoochie Coochie Man"; and Hoyt Axton's "The Pusher," an anti-drug song turned into a pounding six-minute tour de force by the band.

Track Listing:
Side 1: Sookie Sookie / Everybody's Next One / Berry Rides Again / Hootchie Kootchie Man / Born To Be Wild / Your Wall's Too High
Side 2: Desperation / The Pusher / A Girl I Knew / Take What You Need / The Ostrich

LABELS: The labels are clean, bright and unmarked with quite a few spindle traces - VERY GOOD+
VINYL Visual: Both surfaces have general surface marks/scuffs but no feel-able scratches and they still retain a deep, glossy sheen - VERY GOOD
VINYL Audio: This copy has seen quite a lot of play over the years but there is no discernible groove-wear or deterioration in the sound quality. General background surface noise/crackle is present (but not continuous and only really noticeable on the track divisions and quieter lead-in sections) and there are no annoying continuous scratches or any other serious audio issues. This copy still sounds great and is very critically graded a VERY GOOD
SLEEVE: The front laminated sleeve is looking a little tired but there is no structural damage. The edges have small creases but all spine text is still clear and bold - VERY GOOD
The original Decca inner is clean and unmarked with no splits and the poly lining is still firmly attached - EXCELLENT

PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE ITEM
ALL GRADINGS ARE STRICT (PLEASE SEE MY FEEDBACK) SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE BUYING - EVEN THE SLIGHTEST DEFECTS ARE NOTED SO YOU CAN BE 100% CONFIDENT WITH YOUR PURCHASE - I AM AN AVID RECORD COLLECTOR MYSELF SO I KNOW ONLY TOO WELL WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BUY RECORDS DESCRIBED AS PERFECT ONLY TO BE SEVERELY DISAPPOINTED
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THANKS FOR LOOKING, CHEERS

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POST & PACKING
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417 (GS 6.0.5 (417))

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