THE SMOKE self titled USA 1968 Capitol Pop Psych Stereo LP in shrink on Sidewalk

$

82

USA 1968 very scarce original Sidewalk records stereo LP on the yellow label of this pop-sike masterpiece (ST 5912).
Liner Notes – Kim Fowley
Producer, Arranged By [Horns, Strings] – Michael Lloyd
Dedicated to Stuart Sutcliffe

AMG REVIEW: Copies of the Smoke's self-titled album are highly valued by collectors of West Coast soft rock and psychedelic music. The album certainly deserves its reputation as one of the masterpieces of 1968. It opens with the organ-driven "Cowboys and Indians," which was producer/songwriter Michael Lloyd's personal homage to Brian Wilson's "Heroes and Villains" and lyrically makes mention of war (obviously the Vietnam War was very much on everyone's minds at the time). Lloyd had met Wilson after Beach Boy Bruce Johnston invited him to the recording sessions for "Good Vibrations." In addition to Beach Boys-style production values, there are also references to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band throughout. (The chorus to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is even quoted in the fade to Lloyd's "Fogbound.") Other references pop up in the warm "Gold Is the Colour of Thought," which features an amazing arrangement encompassing Sgt. Pepper's-esque bursts of trumpet, strings, harpsichord, and sweet harmonies. The harpsichord-driven "October Country," a song previously recorded by the Lloyd-produced group of the same name earlier that year, reappears here with Lloyd handling the vocal lead chores this time, wrapped around bright strings. The album is dedicated to Stuart Sutcliffe. Fans of post-Pet Sounds West Coast psych-pop or Curt Boettcher-produced groups (the Millennium, Sagittarius) will love this album.

SONGS:
SIDE ONE:
A1 Cowboys And Indians A2 Looking Thru The Mirror A3 Self-Analysis A4 Gold Is The Colour Of Thought A5 The Hobbit Symphony A6 The Daisy - Intermission.
SIDE TWO:
B1 Fogbound B2 Song Thru Perception B3 Philosophy B4 Umbrella B5 Ritual Gypsy Music Opus 1 B6 October Country B7 Odyssey.

CONDITION: The record is in near mint condition (might be unplayed). The cover is excellent with tiny cutout hole on the upper right corner, right bottom corner 1/4" bump wear (3rd photo is a closeup, sorry about that stain below it on the fabric, it was completely dry when I put the cover on it for the photos), still in original shrinkwrap, no aging on sleeve, slightest ringwear on the top front & back, shrinkwrap is still on it but missing on the upper right corner area on both sides.

LP SHIPPING + PACKING & VARIOUS INFO:
I use real coated cardboard LP mailers when I ship vinyl & these are very durable. I usually take the records with the inner sleeves out of the covers (unless factory sealed of course) so they don't split the seams of the cover in shipment. Then I put them in a 2 or 3 mil plastic sleeve & then wrap a plastic bag or two around them to keep them from flopping around in the mailer, this method seems to work best since it adds air & almost works like bubble wrap (keeps the LP's usually under a pound & saves a lot on shipping rates worldwide compared to using cardboard inserts), breakage rate has been way less than 1 in 1000 using this method, if I added cardboard it also would make the weight of it more prone to the corners getting dented in transit if dropped. 10" records & 12" singles count as 1 LP for shipping, single laserdiscs count as 2 LP's for shipping (& I pack 2+ records differently & I have oversized boxes for larger packages...don't worry I've been sending out stuff about 5 days a week for well over 20 years now & know exactly what I'm doing over here). I also add plain white inner sleeves so custom innersleeves don't get spit in shipping also (if either company or specialty sleeves came with the record).

All records are BLACK VINYL unless noted & inserts/gatefold covers/posters/custom inner sleeves will be noted in the description if they are included plus promo & cutout marks stated if they are there also. I don't believe in hiding stuff & try to note most everything that should matter to buyers. All 12" vinyl on ebay is automatically listed as 33 1/3 rpm & 7" vinyl as 45 rpm (to save time on listing all this stuff) if you need to confirm speed on a specific item please ask & I can go check.