2 RARE 'LEONARD NIMOY' 'STAR TREK' RELATED ALBUMS '67 OUTER SPACE/SPACE ODDYSEY

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2 RARE EARLY 'LEONARD NIMOY' 'STAR TREK' RELATED ALBUMS  "MR. SPOCK's MUSIC FROM OUTER SPACE" 1967 DOT "SPACE ODYSSEY" 1972 PICKWICK
~~~ LEONARD NIMOY "MR. SPOCK'S MUSIC FROM OUTER SPACE" LABEL: DOT DLP-3794 RELEASED: JUNE 1967 EDITION: FIRST PRESSING MONO RECORDED AT: REGENT SOUND STUDIOS ~ NYC PRODUCER & ARRANGER: CHARLES R. GREAN PRESSING PLANT: MONARCH RECORD MFG. (△10323 MR (Circled)) MATRIX: LPM 56525 △10322  / LPM 56525  △10322-X 
This is an original 1967 Mono First Pressing. It comes with the original red Dot inner sleeve, but does NOT come with the 4 Star Trek pictures that were included in some copies of the album. I've read that those were only in copies sold thru the 'Star Trek' fan club.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEONARD NIMOY "SPACE ODYSSEY" LABEL: PICKWICK/ 33 RECORDS – SPC-3199 RELEASED: 1972 EDITION: FIRST PRESSING 1972 COMPILATION OF EARLIER 'DOT' MATERIAL MATRIX: SPC 3199-A X W-1 / SPC 3199-B
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection this winter and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 40 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up these 2 fantastic, odd, unusual, early Leonard Nimoy or Spock 'Star Trek' related albums.
I've had both of these in my collection for nearly 40 years. They just 'called" to me back in the day.
One is an Original Mono First pressing of his First album, a Monarch pressing, from 1967, The other is an original 1972 First pressing of "Space Odyssey" a compilation of hits from his early Dot albums, released on Pickwick.
Two cool early Star Trek Spock albums that I thought someone would like for their collection.
Some background and explanation....
Star Trek was a popular Sci-Fi TV show in the late 1960s and was well loved by many fans, back then as well as today.
Leonard Nimoy was best known for playing the Vulcan alien Mr. Spock, the chief science officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise on the show, as well as in the multiple Star Trek related movies that followed, but there was so much more to him. 
He was an actor, but also a philosopher, a poet, a photographer, a film director, and a writer. One of the most interesting aspects of Leonard Nimoy’s long career was his work as a singer and musician.
The Original Star Trek series was produced by DesiLu studios, a branch of Paramount Studios, who were a part of the Gulf & Western Company.
Another Gulf & Western Company, Dot Records, a small record company best known for making Pat Boone records and cheesy pop, was interested in using popular Actors from the show to record some outer-space-themed records. TV and Movie actors making phonograph records was all the rage in the late 1960s. Anything 'Space' related was also popular, so Star Trek was an obvious target for Dot records.
William Shatner (Captain Kirk), Nichelle Nichols (Lt Uhuru) and Leonard Nimoy (Mr Spock) were all approached to make records. They all made records in the late 1960s, but only Leonard Nimoy signed with Dot.
'Spock' was signed to a five album record deal. Over the next four years, from 1967-1970, Nimoy would record five unusual vocal albums for Dot Records. 
The First album was recorded as 'Mr Spock' and included Vulcan-themed novelty tracks, but as he made more records and became more comfortable with the process, he recorded some interesting folk-pop songs and kitschy 'space age' lounge music for the label.
Most actors-turned-musicians were notoriously bad at it, but Nimoy’s five albums from the late ’60s were not that bad. Some of it is good, some of it's great, and some of it is so bad that it's good, in a strange sort of way. It's all fun.
Nimoy's career as a recording musician was relatively short. He made 5 albums in 4 years for Dot from 1967-70, and then went on to other artistic projects.
There have been some 'Compilation' albums made of his best bits. That's what the 'Space Odyssey' album is, but except for an odd Record Store Day issue several years ago, these albums have remained out of print and are highly sought after collector's items. Both of these albums are original First Pressings.
These albums were clearly 'of their time' in the late 1960s, but now, over 50 years later, they have aged, like a fine Wine or Whiskey, and have acquired a whole new taste, new appreciation, and a new audience, with the emergence of vintage vinyl records.
The passage of time has added another dimension of space to these remarkable albums and made them fun, campy, entertaining music. Great albums to pull out at a party for a little bit of novelty and nostalgia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you think of great singers and great voices of the late 1960s, 'Spock' doesn't quickly come to mind, but his voice is surprisingly good, and certainly much better then you would expect it to be.
People like to make fun of TV and Film stars making albums, but Nimoy pulls it off better than most. His singing is decent; a soft, charming, often ragged Baritone. He's not a great singer, but not a bad one either.
The first album restricted him to singing as 'Spock' and staying in character, but his later albums started to show Nimoy's various musical tastes and allowed him more artistic freedom to be expressive, intimate, emotional and, dare I say, more Human.
He took off his plastic pointy ears and starting singing as himself, showing his true creative and musical talent. He started to express himself through covers of popular and well-written songs. He even wrote or co-wrote several songs on his later albums. His singing voice and song selection greatly improved as his recording career continued.
Paired up with the producer/arranger team of Charles Grean and George Tipton, his 'Dot' albums contained music that was within his croony Baritone vocal range and relatively easy for him to sing. The songs on these albums have that 60s sound, arranged with subtle orchestration, but they also contain some nice musical moments.
Yes, most all of the tunes on the first album are cheesy 'space age' pop, but they are generally hip, cool and have a sense of humor. There's actually some catchy jangly Pop tunes on it.
His later song selection is mostly focused on standard, easy listening, mainstream Pop. Some songs try to show his socially-conscious pop singer side, others show his Folky side, still others show his Romantic side, a few are just Kitsch. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.
You really get the impression that, unlike his co-star William Shatner, Nimoy embraced his singing career seriously. His deep, rich Baritone voice gives his songs some feel and authority.
He's not the greatest singer in the world, but he is expressive, interesting, decent and fun to listen to.  These 2 Albums are 'Must Haves' for any fan of obscure, cheesy, interesting and intriguing music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first album in this pair is an Original 1967 Mono First Pressing of Spock's, or Leonard Nimoy's debut album called "MR, SPOCK's MUSIC FROM OUTER SPACE."
It's a Mono copy pressed at Monarch, who were known at the time for their quality pressings.
Nimoy is in character as Mr Spock throughout the entire record. He plays the 'Star Trek' thing up completely. He talks, recites his Vulcan philosophy, and sings as Mr Spock and it's quite interesting. The songs are performed from the fictional character's perspective, complete with cool space sound effects and Spock's deadpan voice.
There are songs, instrumentals and some spoken word pieces scattered throughout the album. The album is a hoot. Part Camp, part Comedy, part Kitsch and all taken way too seriously by Mr Spock.
This album is a clear cash-grab to tie in with Star Trek, but that's not necessarily a bad thing musically. This odd album and it's unusual 'songs' deserves to be played and heard.
The Front Cover has Leonard Nimoy dressed as Spock and holding a model of the Starship Enterprise. The back cover shows Nimoy in his Human form, smiling (laughing?) at the absurdity of it all.
The record opens with a swinging, jazzy, campy,  version of the original 'Star Trek' series theme song. One of several instrumentals on the album. It is drenched in Reverb, has cheesy organ, and lots of vibrato. It's sort of like The Ventures mixed with Austin Powers.
There's also a cool instrumental version of Lalo Schiffrin’s 'Mission: Impossible' theme. Sort of like 60's Pop, Ventures style. It seems out of place, but Nimoy would soon join that show after Star Trek's third season ended.
“Music To Watch Space Girls By” is a hip, campy version of the Andy Williams hit. A sparkling, lounge-pop instrumental. fabulously hip. 
The instrumentals on this album are like 1960s cool, bachelor pad, space lounge music.
"Alien" is a song arguing against prejudice on behalf of a Vulcan visitor to Earth.
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Earth” is a song with Spock addressing a conference of "little green men." Strange sounds and even stranger lyrics. Spock sings out the Planet name 'Sestus Omicron III'
"Where Is Love" is a flat, crooning ballad. It's a song from the Musical "Oliver." A great example of Nimoy's Baritone voice, but otherwise unimpressive. 
"A Visit To A Sad Planet" closes out the album. Another spoken-word piece in which Spock visits a desolate, lifeless, planet after a Nuclear holocaust, only to find out it was Earth. Spock laments mankind’s inhumanity and self-destructiveness. 
A sad anti-nuclear 'song' which oddly was the track released by Dot as the album's single! The flip-side was the 'space lounge' version of the 'Star Trek' theme.
The whole album 'works' because Nimoy approaches it as parody and fun, not expecting to make amazing music or win any awards for his voice or the lyrics. He didn't get 'serious' about his music until the B-Side of his 2nd album.
This album is full of cheesy 60's instrumentation, weird space sound effects, and Nimoy's odd vocal delivery. All a good thing in a strange sort of way. 'Spock' sounds exactly like he does in the TV show, which is both very cool and very odd.
Believe it or not, this album charted on the Billboard 100, peaking at #83 in August 1967, and spent 25 weeks on the chart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The selections on this album include:
Theme From "Star Trek" Alien Where Is Love Music To Watch Space Girls By Beyond Antares Twinkle, Twinkle Little Earth Mission Impossible Lost In The Stars Where No Man Has Gone Before You Are Not Alone A Visit To A Sad Planet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The second album in this lot is the Pickwick "SPACE ODYSSEY" album. This is a collection of 9 of the best songs from his first four 'Dot' records.
The album cover is kinda cool, with a colorful psychedelic 'Peter Max' vibe. The back cover has Spock surrounded by the Constellations. Very 60s, although this album was first released in 1972.
There are a few 'songs' on this compilation that are also on the 'Outer Space' record, but these are in Stereo, which gives them a slightly different 'Space Age' feel and also, this compilation includes the 2 essential tracks not on the first album, 'Spock Thoughts', full of great Vulcan insight and advice, and the timeless "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" originally on his 1968 2nd Album, 'Two Sides Of Leonard Nimoy.' Nimoy was an admirer of Tolkien’s 'Hobbit' stories and in this song he sings about the adventures of the bravest Hobbit of them all.
“The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins” is often ranked as both the Best and the Worst song Nimoy has released. It's a Camp, Spacey, retelling of the Hobbit story in under 4 minutes. It's gloriously ridiculous and achieves that 'so-bad-it’s-good' fame among fans. If you have any Spock/Nimoy records in your collection, they must contain this song.
The video of him lip-synching to the song on 'U-Tube' is a must see. 
"Spock's Thoughts" is basically Spock reciting parts of Ehrmann's 'Desiderata' pop-culture hippie beatitude. He's just reciting a philosophical poem, but it works. The vocals on this 'song' are in a cool Beat-Swing vocal style. The background music is great. Very sixties.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ The selections on this Compilation album include Nine Tracks from previously recorded DOT Albums
Theme From "Star Trek" You Are Not Alone Twinkle, Twinkle Little Earth Once I Smiled The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins Spock Thoughts Here We Go 'Round Again Consilium I Search For Tomorrow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'Star Trek' fans will enjoy these records, but even people who have no love for the TV show will get a kick out of these fun, obscure, oddball albums. If you're interested in strange, obscure, culturally kitschy, novelty, cult records, these are great to check out.
They both contain great, interesting music from a guy who, for years, made a living wearing fake plastic ears and speaking in a flat, emotionless voice. It's all, as Spock would say, highly illogical, yet it works, sometimes brilliantly.
Add these to your collection to expand your vinyl universe. Thanks Mr Spock! Live long and prosper or something like that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
"MR, SPOCK's MUSIC FROM OUTER SPACE"
VINYL: The Vinyl is still pretty decent on this 55 year old first pressing. A few small marks and a scuff ot two, but not bad. I tried to show details of both record's vinyl inmy pictures. I'll call it VG to VG+ but should stiil give you the ability to enjoy this album's weirdness. 
LABELS: This is on the mid 60s 'Script' Dot labels, before they went to the 'box' label. Labels are clean and bright, despite being dark black. No marks or writing. It's a 'Deep Groove' Monarch first pressing. Later ones weren't Deep Groove. It's the MONO labels. The spindle holes are sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing.
JACKET: The jacket is in nice condition. It has the original Red Dot inner sleeve, but NO Star Trek pictures.  Corners are slightly bumped, but still nice. The spine is straight and well marked. No seam splits. Some light ringwear across Nimoy's name at the top. These Black-edged albums showed damage easily. This one looks pretty good. The back cover is nice and clean but there is a 'scuff' over Spock's hair where an old label was removed. Overall, a decent First Pressing Mono Jacket.
~~~~~~~~ "SPACE ODYSSEY"
This album is in much nicer condition. VG++ to EX- all around.
VINYL: Clean and bright. No issues. No significant hairlines or scuffs. 
LABELS: This has the late 60s 'silver' Pickwick labels. Clean and bright. No writing, marks or issues. Spindle holes are clean.
JACKET: The jacket looks fine. Some minor corner bumping but overall nice. No ring wear, no seam splits, nice straight clear spine. This has it's original inner sleeve as well. A nice copy of this 1972 Compilation. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling these rare 'Collector' records "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". They are rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN