ZAPPA / MOI Weasel's Ripped My Flesh SCARCE UK N/M LP

	£		69
	$		91

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe £12. Rest of World £16. ALL signed for. – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P as low as possible after the very significant Royal Mail price increases.

Artist or Band: THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION

Album Title: Weasels Ripped My Flesh

Producer(s): Frank Zappa.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Didja Get Any Onya; Directly From My Heart to You; Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask; Toads of the Short Forest; Get a Little.

Side 2: Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue; Dwarf Nebula Processional March & Dwarf Nebula; My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama; Oh No; The Orange County Lumber Truck; Weasels Ripped My Flesh.

Label/Format: Reprise – RSLP original with the very dark orange-tan finish, this album was NOT issued on the tri-coloured format, Burnt Weeny Sandwich was the last Mothers album on that label.

Label Conditions: Two supreme examples: ultra clean originals with rich colour and freshness. I am struggling to find any spindle traces at all.

Cat Number: RSLP 2028.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 160 grams. A massive heavyweight pressing and way above average.

Rarity: Only available for a relatively brief time with the RSLP number. Most are the K- Kinney pressings on significantly thinner vinyl. Never easy tp find in such clean condition, the famous cover rarely wears well especially with a 160 gram record inside.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: RSLP 2028 A2 / RSLP 2028 B1

Brief Artist & Album Info: ‘Weasels’ was originally designed as a sampler for a 12-record set, ‘The History and Collected Improvisations of the Mothers of Invention’. It includes live and studio recordings (all superbly recorded). Sugarcane Harris’s performance of Little Richard’s ‘Directly From My Heart to You’ is perfect - it was part of the same sonic universe as the avant garde orchestral music of Varèse and the free-form jazz of Eric Dolphy. The latter was given his own ‘Memorial Barbecue’, a stunning encounter between bizarre harmonies and electronic distortion. Weasels also featured another notorious sleeve - for me one of the greatest ever - a hilariously gruesome painting by Neon Park (Martin Muller from San Francisco). He found more fame with his covers for Little Feat. When guitarist Lowell George - who can be heard imitating a Gestapo officer on ‘Didja Get Any Onya’ - broke away to form Little Feat, he insisted on using Neon Park for all their covers. The title of ‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mark’ nodded to Debussy’s ballet about the skipping faun, but the heavy-rock sounds were totally ‘Mothers’. ‘My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama’ (a Zappa classic) is an icon of teenage rebellion and was issued as a single that failed to sell (of course). The title track was simply two minutes and seven seconds of feedback and distortion – amazing electrical mayhem. It would be many years later - with the advent of lo-fi and ‘noise’ bands like Sonic Youth - that such strategies would become familiar to rock listeners. As it was, Zappa was happy to be known as the King of Weird, it gave him carte blanche to employ any musical texture or style that took his fancy and here it’s very varied. This album is essential and remains one of his most popular for his even growing audience and fans. My regular Ebay readers and buyers will know of my love of Zappa’s music and I am always delighted to offer any of his items if the conditions are right. This is a fantastic record - never so easily found as a RSLP version in better grading conditions. That marvellous cover is so often seen (on either pressing) in very poor shape. The repressings were slightly tougher with a more shiny varnished finish but were never laminated. This is flat matt ink and is very prone to rubbing and ringwear and the early ones with the thicker records inside are heavily prone to all forms of wear. It also proved highly intolerant of sticker removal and large tears are also seen. The record itself looks hardly even played and has ultra clean playing surfaces and it plays absolutely beautifully throughout with incredibly sound. Stating the obvious, it has the original mix and sound that was slightly altered on the CD reissues. The vinyl remains definitive and nothing will ever beat the sound of this classic on first-issued vinyl.

Cover Condition and Details: EXCELLENT: this being quite harsh but it does have a small few light surface creases. A single unlaminated format with a matt finish, it has RSLP on the front, back and spine (again beware of substituted covers). Printed and made by Garrod and Lofthouse. Stunning artwork, and even though hardly a big seller, one of the most famous covers in rock history.

Cover Front: The main factors for me is the lack of fading, rubbing and ring wear. A very bright and vivid Neon Park graphic that most will instantly know. There are some fairly fine surface creases near the right edge but with normal viewing, they show little. The ink has NOT cracked and anything remains quite inconspicuous. Fresh and clean with barely any hint of grubbiness at all. All quite impressive.

Cover Back: This side has minimal traces of creasing and only very slightly darkened with age. A back cover I know very well and so many seem to tone and become grubby which this has largely avoided. No rubbing or ring wear, this sets a high standard for quite a difficult sleeve.

Top Edge: Very straight, unworn and little short of as made.

Bottom Edge: Any rub traces are tiny, few and very faint, again straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with little wear at all, any thickerning or burr traces tiny, few and light. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression but fairly thin in manufacture. One of the few I have seen with pristine perfect text as can be seen on my close-up pictures. Any rubbing or grubbiness to the white areas very faint and light.

Corners: Small tip rubs with the odd tiny tip crease, very fine shape is retained.

Cover Summary: At 42-years-old, this is a tough ask to look like this, many are rife with deep ring wear, rubbing and faded ink – simply looking tired and tatty. This is seldom seen this clean and fresh. As stated, any creasing is very light and has minimal visibility. Overall, a splendid example that should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a plain white open unlind inner that has aged only little. Very mild darkening and a tiny hint of one edge split – hardly surprising with such a massive thick record inside. Two crisp and neat window circles and hardly any creasing at all.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(-): a superb copy of a record that more often gets seen very marked and heavily played. For those who did buy this title, it was popular and few survive this clean. Both playing surfaces are in almost supreme condition with just the merest hint of a super-fine hairline on side two, but little else. Very clean with excellent shine, intense black and massively pressed on top quality thick vinyl. And it plays as good as it looks and probably hardly run-in in vinyl terms. This should please most-all 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality: This fantastic record plays up to it’s high visual grading and beyond up to the very highest level with astonishing sound, a lovely clean pressing with nothing unwanted. A loud and dynamic recording and brilliantly produced by Frank, this complex music still astounds every time I hear it on top grade early vinyl. Barely played without any doubt at all – indeed this one easily matches my own personal copy and came from the same lot as the off-the-shelf ‘Hot Rats’ I acquired recently, now stored in my prized Zappa collection. It gives a wonderful account of itself and offers mastertape quality. Few, if any, records like this will play CD quiet, but this is as close as it gets and with such a difficult program too. The really difficult song is ‘Directly From My Heart to You’, with Sugarcane Harris’s electric violin. But this plays beautifully with sharp and totally focused sound with no traces of clipping, crackle or distortion, this instrument is amongst the hardest to track and often suffers the most. This vintage copy is special - very special for Zappa enthusiasts, it should please most-all collectors. One final note, this vinyl copy – stating the obvious – has the original mix, the CD remastered, reissues vary again. I have put these two recordings head-to-head, and even though the CD versions sound fine, the vinyl sounds way better, and that’s the honest truth.

End Piece: Far too weird and musically advanced for many, this album did not chart in the UK, the RSLP first issues originals are scarce. The cover alone I would have thought would have promoted more sales, but sadly not the case. This record is intricate and challenging, it has to be enjoyed loud, it’s the final album featuring most of the early Mothers. As stated this includes live cuts but all the songs here are new and the sound quality is of studio quality. Get this on to your deck, sit back and be entertained - this is the genius that was Frank Zappa. Musically this album is as fresh and timeless as the day it was issued, it’s the man and his band at their experimental best with very varied material blending rock, jazz, classical, blues and avant garde. Groundbreaking, original and astonishing – a Five Star album in most reference books and deservedly so. This is a copy I can strongly recommend, the record especially so that will prove nigh-on unbeatable, do not lose this one.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded 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 as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will 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 its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 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 D5000 SLR Digital 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.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand+ based on over 8,000+ items sold in over 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £4.25

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 (£17 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 can 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 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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, actually 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.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.