THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION Absolutely Free RARE ORIG UK STEREO 1967 EX+ LP, LOVELY

	£		103
	$		136

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Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION

Album Title: Absolutely Free

Producer(s): Tom Wilson

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Absolutely Free – Plastic People; a) The Duke of Prunes; b) Amnesia Vivace; c) The Duke Regains His Chops; a) Call Any Vegetable; b) Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin; c) Soft-Sell Conclusion.

Side 2: The MOI American Pageant – America Drinks; Status Back Baby; Uncle Bernie’s Farm; Son of Suzy Creamcheese; Brown Shoes Don’t Make It; America Drinks and Goes Home.

Label/Format: Verve – format as seen. The surfaces are matt with a very gentle hint of texturing. Side one has the ‘K T’ embossed tax codes, both letters are immaculate. All text and details as seen in the pictures.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with any of the few spindle marks, very light and faint. The record plays superbly bar three or four light ticks on the first song, a mere blemish for a record over 50 years old.

Catalogue Number: SVLP 9174

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 140 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: First SVLP UK issues that had single covers, and are quite rare and seldom found in anything like top conditions. Issued in both mono and stereo, the stereo versions are slightly rarer. In recent years, original Frank Zappa and Mothers of Invention albums have declined as more people are discovering this man’s work. Older fans also seeking upgrades for well worn copies of their favourites. The early originals did not sell well, and this particular album especially so. Most of the early original Verve classics, when they do surface, often trashed with grubby, creased and very shabby covers, and records hardly fit to even play. Few who bought these were hi-fi connoisseurs, many copies scratched and worn-out by vintage heavy-tracking mono record players. Finding these gems that still offer near perfect sound is incredibly difficult. This copy has an impressive laminated cover, and the very clean, little-used record plays superbly throughout with any imperfections minimal. As my regulars will know, Zappa is my all-time favourite artist and I will not offer any inferior items by this music genius.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: V6 5013 A-1G / V6 5013 B-1G

Stamper Codes: 1 G / 1 R [the stampers being the very first and second in the pressing sequence]

Brief Artist & Album Info: Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention’s second classic – Freak Out! sold just 30,000 copies according to Frank – MGM deemed it a flop. He was reduced to a budget of $11,000 for it’s successor. He lost Elliot Ingber, the quintessential underground/psychedelic guitarist who resurfaced as the Winged Eel Fingerling in Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band, but he gained other musicians to add to the Roy Estrada and Jim Black rhythm section. Drummer Billy Mundi, woodwindist Bunk Gardner and keyboardist Don Preston. Preston hadn’t played on Freak Out! because he ‘couldn’t play rock ‘n’ roll’. Now, after gigging with a few rock bands, he was ready to join Zappa, and take avant garde music to the masses. This was again produced by Tom Wilson, all selections were composed, arranged and conducted by Frank Zappa.

Absolutely Free is slightly less challenging than Freak Out!. First-time listeners found it hard to believe that this wild melange of bizarre rock, political jokes and lewd satire vocalising could become a favourite, but repeated listens reveal wonders. ‘The Duke of Prunes’ and ‘Call Any Vegetable’ have terrific melodies, the latter was Zappa’s first extended guitar work-out on record. The main centre-piece for this lies on side two. ‘Brown Shoes Don’t Make It’, it’s a song with bassoons, violins and electronics constructed into a seething mosaic of contemporary subjects and ills – it was again outrageous for the time and I am still surprised, even today, this was allowed to be issued uncut, taking into account the heavy censoring on the following album We’re Only it For the Money, and the labels nervousness for anything Zappa did. An extraordinary decision considering the sexual nature and activity in ‘Brown Shoes’ (What would ya do Daddy?), and heavily political lyrics and taboos, obviously drugs were less tolerated in those days than teenage sex within the UK anyway. This vintage record, now over half-a-century old, is in amazing condition, and plays the same with little unwanted bar those very brief light clicks on the first track. The cover equally impressive and aged little. A copy that comes fairly close to my own prized personal copy – a copy many fans of the rock legend will treasure – and these really are getting mightly difficult to find now.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better. A single format with a laminated front, this covers all the folds and ends on three rear external flipbacks. The main back panel is matt and smooth. This is the original stereo cover with it’s SVLP 9174 catalogue number. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd with the early Patents Pending’ text. The back also has the ‘Mothers Teach You’ text by Mike Raven which is not seen on the Select repressings from the 1970s. Includes the plain white ‘‘PATENTS APPLIED FOR’ inner sleeve. The later covers are very different, only the front artwork is the same. They were not laminated, matt, with a gatefold format.

Lamination & Front: Age-defying and impressive with fine shine, freshness and clarity, any dulling gentle and light seen under light. Any any lifting, any creases or marks few, light and faint as well. A lovely looking front that will always prove hard to find much better.

Cover Back: These vintage Verve cover backs are notoriously prone to ageing, grubbiness and toning – this has only minimal traces to politely remind of it’s genuine vintage. No rubbing or creasing, the lack of ugly ring wear always a plus. All three flipbacks are solid and neat, their ends avoiding burring and grubbiness, even these have few laminate creases. So a back to complement the impressive front.

Top & Bottom Edges: The bottom edge is close to perfect and very straight. The top again unworn, but a little less straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Some patchy thickening seen viewed end-on, these storage edges are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: A superb spine which remains solid and straight with minimal traces of any compression, the ends are lightly pinched in manufacture. The surface has hardly any creasing and the text matter is pristine with nothing to fault, also perfectly centred for maximum good looks. This has not darkened or aged which is quite unusual.

Corners: All tip blemishes tiny and light, excellent shape is retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A very impressive example of a genuine original Zappa cover classic. These are seldom seen in this beautiful condition. This I know for a fact being a life-long Zappa fan(atic), attractive, shiny and fresh covers with scant clues of age are very difficult to find and this should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a plain solid white unlined inner with minimal creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs. Moderate (arguably less) darkening to the white paper is almost the least expected. This includes the ‘PATENTS APPLIED FOR’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better. A very impressive visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. A very early 1G/1R first pressing with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface marks very few, ultra light and faint as seen critically under bright light. A tiny few ultra brief light clicks on the first song, little else. Putting a copy like in true perspective: most originals that surface are in horrendous condition as mentioned above. Most hardly worth looking at twice and with the sound ruined or even unplayable – this in age-defying condition. Not only does it look great, it plays the same, that being even more important. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This age-defying example plays up to and and practically all beyond its high visual grading with hardly anything else to fault bar those tiny few brief mild clicks. Offering strong, clean and distortion-free sound. Tom Wilson put his reputation on the line producing Zappa’s first three Verve albums, and even with the lesser budget, this still has marvellous sound and effects. Incredible and vast amounts of information amongst the weirdness – I absolutely love this album, and this does it near maximum justice. Any surface sounds minimal, barely anything note at all, no heavy tracking old mono record players have been near this copy. No tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises, this 50-year-old record totally blew me away and it comes pretty close to matching own personal copy. The sound embedded is definitive and (obviously) not messed around with like the modern versions. Unreservedly recommended for all those with a taste for the bizarre – “what would ya do daddy?”

(Soft Sell) Conclusion: The back of the original (S)VLP covers included text by Mike Raven which states:

“Listen to the songs the Mothers teach you. Out of the crawing compost of a heap of rotting plastic flesh the sweet and sour stench of the great American nightmare will steal upon your blind mind’s nose. While shrieking vegetable sounds born of necessity tear through your brain. Leaving their train of shining slime and painfully disturbing images of thought like painted discords electronically projected from the womb-world where the Mothers drift. Excreting comment on the passing show of iridescent rubbish that surrounds their lives. And yours and mine and mine deeper and deeper into the empty cess-pits of our souls. Our souls are cheap today but values may be found. Unlooked for in the wreaths of smoke blown through the almost uncorrupted minds of those society rejects. The voice is here for those with ears to hear. The plastic people will hear nothing but a noise.”

This text does not appear on the later gatefold version of this cover. * As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade – visuals alone do not always tell a true story. I will try to mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same – just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D7500 DSLR Camera.

PACKING – THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid bid retractions. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I only accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.