SYNOD Nobody's Jukebox 1971 PRIVATE LABEL ACID FUZZ JESUS PSYCH ROCK LP LISTEN

$

41

SYNOD "NOBODY'S JUKEBOX" LP

ORIGINAL 1971 LP ON their own private label they didn't even choose to name

COVER IN EXCELLENT to NEAR MINT shape

VINYL plays EXCELLENT to NEAR MINT

Who says all Christian rock bands are square?  Well, I do, but maybe I should rethink.  Witness SYNOD, the amazing Chicago quintet that started way back in 1971 and, according to their website, is STILL going strong today!  In fact, you can still book ‘em for your next corporate function slash prayer revival.  And if you’re worried they’ll bring the party to a screeching halt with an ill-advised 20-minute jam session based on “The Old Rugged Cross,” guess again – the current Synod set list consists of songs as diverse as U2’s “Vertigo,” Madonna’s “Vogue” and the Trammps “Disco Inferno!”  And I’m not sure which is worse – a Christian band covering a song that mentions an “inferno,” or any band bothering to resuscitate the Trammps.  Way back in 1972, however, the Synod kids unleashed this rare homemade platter on their very own label, an album they called Nobody’s Jukebox, that once sold on this very same auction site for $239!  I know a lot of televangelists who could use that kind of dough…  

I’m not sure why they done went and called it Nobody’s Jukebox – that’s not exactly an enticing title, is it?  But since this was never meant to be jostling for Billboard chart action with the likes of Van Morrison and Three Dog Night, I guess nothing really mattered but the music.  And that’s where Synod proved they weren’t just another Christian rock band with matching white suits and a pink Winnebago emblazoned with airbrush portraits of the Lord Jesus.  In fact, they open the album with a very non-denominational statement of purpose, “Let the Music Play,” a fair enough request at that.  “Let the Band Warm Up” is more like it, though, ‘cuz it seems like Synod isn’t quite ready to cut loose from the altar just yet, still clinging to those Sunday afternoon overenunciated choirboy harmonies like Kate Moss to a coke straw.  It helps that the guitarist unleashes a few wicked fuzz licks mid-sermon, and that the organist has apparently studied under Matthew Fisher at the Procol Harum School of Atmospheric Keyboards, but these Synod kids better shake it loose quick if they’re really gonna tackle the Trammps at the next DuQuoin State Agricultural Fair.  

And that they do on the much better, much rawer power pop nugget “Hard Times,” a big dramatic organ-heavy slab of classic rock with some killer acid guitar!    The organist’s wild Procol Harum flourishes take center stage here too, and oddly enough, the lyrics make it seem like Synod weren’t just satisfied with conquering the radio medium: 

“Robert Redford on camera, admirers crowding around him,

Hollywood is the place to be, beautiful people are everywhere.

Then I met Dustin Hoffman, he told me how he had struggled,

Years of bit parts and stage shows, he made it and I can make it too!”

Of course, as history bore out, Dustin and Robert turned out to be screen legends, and the fact that you can still book Synod in 2006 proves that their dream of starring in Rain Man 2: Four More Minutes Til Wapner, sadly, didn’t come to pass.  But you can’t blame ‘em for not trying! 

Things get even better on “Future Shock,” a surprisingly urban slab of vintage early 70’s blaxploitation funk.  No, it’s not a cover of the Curtis Mayfield classic, but it could be background music for a seedy bar scene in Superfly.  It’s also about as funky as a basement full of Christian white boys from Illinois was gonna get in 1971.  There’s a nice deep funk groove, and plenty of that irresistible wakka wakka guitar that anyone who watched a vintage porn film from back in the day knows all about.  Not that a good God-fearing band like Synod condones that, of course.  But throw some of those choirboy vocals on top, add in some chuggin’ machine gun church organ, and you’ve got yourself a good old-fashioned Eastern Orthodox version of a Pam Grier soundtrack!  Hey, kids, it’s Sheba, Baby Jesus!  Good Friday Foster!  Black Mother Superior, White Mother Superior!  

C’mon, how many other Jesus Rock albums are gonna even attempt to give you some funk for your hard-earned collection plate donation?  Or fuzz guitar, for that matter?  Or how about some vintage early 70’s prog rock - according to Synod’s bio, their drummer was influenced by ELP and Rush – now there’s a soul that needs saving!  There’s even a song on Side 2 called “Touch a Clown,” which sounds like a potential theme song for John Wayne Gacy.  You get all this and those wonderful straight-laced choir vocals, and suddenly Nobody’s Jukebox is suddenly one of those “hey, you just HAVE to hear THIS” examples of twisted Jesus Rock brilliance!  True, this is the band’s only vinyl release, and it’s a pretty rare one at that – just check the Buy It Now price of the only other one currently listed.  But if you like what you hear, visit their website and order up one of a half dozen or so newer CD releases, one of which features a “17-minute techo dance medley.”  Which I think answers the question, “What wouldn’t Jesus do?”

HEAR IT!

PLEASE NOTE I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).  BUYERS FROM ITALY AGREE TO PAY FOR GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL INSURED ONLY!

The less exciting stuff

Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  I accept payments through Paypal. 

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

 For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.