AKRITAS

self-tiled debut

…vinyl LP…

Original Greek release…first pressing, with gatefold cover (and original Greek Phonogram inner)…Freak Emporium in the UK had this to say:
” Amongst the most ambitious and best Greek progressive albums, this 1973 release is a tremendous concoction of dynamic and effortlessly shifting complex rhythm changes, multi-instrumental layers and musical textures. With individual segments ranging from Garcia-like guitar, pomp chuch organ, jazz, baroque, piano recital, thundering drums, soaring melodic vocals... And probably a kitchen sink, it is somewhat comparable with the finest ELP, Gentle Giant and Zappa, but at the same time totally unique! A mega prog killer!!”
…while Dutch prog specialists Hemispheres stumbled through this pretty lofty praise:
” The album that outshone all others in 1973(A huge call, but this album has attracted this sort of praise from MANY other prog fanatics, and reviewers.), was without any doubt the only one by AKRITAS, which moves within an unpredictable experimental progressive direction. The many elements from the Greek traditional folk music, especially in guitar playing, the unusual and excellent compositions, and the intense improvisation put the record in the first line of importance.(They’re not wrong there!) The principal composer of the group was Stavros Logaridis while the few lyrics were signed by the director Kostas Ferris, who had also written the lyrics for Aphrodite’s Child’s “666” concept double album. The Akritas line-up was Giorgos Tsoupakis - drums, Stavros Logaridis - vocal, bass, acoustic guitar, Aris Tasoulis - piano, organ, VSC 3 synthesizer, and Dimos Papachristou - electric guitar”
…and our Crohinga Well buddies expounded thus:
” Akritas must surely rank among the best groups ever to have hit the Greek scene, if one is to judge by their - admittedly very rare - eponymous debut album. The LP is chock-full of underground progressive rock akin to the sounds that can be found on albums by Aardvark, Arcadium and even Emerson Lake & Palmer. Apart from Logarides, other people in the band were keyboards player Aris Tasoulis (ex-Despina Glezou), guitarist Dimis Papachristou, drummer Giorgos Tsoupakis (who in the eighties went on to play with Panos Dracos) and organist John Papadopoulos). Sadly, apart from a single, this 1973 release was to be their only re-corded output, for soon after this excellent band split up due to general indifference. A part of that era's rock press is on record as describing Akritas' music as "music for Chinese people", because of the intrinsically difficult and complex rhythmic patterns they wove.”

This came from the private collection of an ex-radio station announcer from way back then, who may well have never played it …there are NO spindle marks on the labels at all, and the only thing that keeps it from being graded mint is a couple of the lightest scuffs, consistent with movement inside the sleeve…(regardless, it still looks to be unplayed)…it also has a slight rolling warp but plays through perfectly well on two turntables with normally-weighted arms, that I have here On Polydor
(cat. #: 2421031 )
CONDITION: cover/record ( EX/M- )
Name written neatly on inside cover.
If you have any concern about the quality of the gradings, please check my feedback, as quite a few folk have made some...errr... very nice comments…(bless ‘em!)

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You can pay in US$'s or UK pounds
(or EURO...but if Paypal, it must be converted into US$ or GBP first).

...and...

Australian/NZ buyers can pay in Australian dollars of course.

Thanks for considering this item. Best of luck if you decide to bid...Cheers.
CLICK ON view sellers other auctions ABOVE FOR SIMILAR ITEMS - I list lots of punk / garage (60s ˆ> 90s) / power pop / guitar pop plus industrial/experimental rarities from down this way - vinyl, posters, CDs - (admittedly you‚ll find all sorts of other guff too)...

POSTAGE

: first class airmail to USA, Europe, and Canada = GBP6.80 / US$12.50
: first class airmail to all of UK / Israel / South America / Central America / Africa / Continental Asia (Russia, Turkey, etc.) = GBP6.80 / US$12.50 -
: first class airmail to Japan / Asia-Pacific (China, Thailand, Korea, Singapore, India, etc.) = GBP5.50 / US$10.00 -
: first class airmail to New Zealand = GBP4.50 / US$8.00 -
: within Australia: AU$6.00

...and...take note:
..postage costs come down considerably per LP/12" if you happen to win more than one...(for instance, to the UK/USA/Europe, etc., winning 2 x LPs/12"s means adding only GBP2.80 or US$5.00 extra postage for the second, and even less for a third)...

PAYMENT

OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA:
You can pay by: 1. Money Order (you'll need to add a US$4 exchange fee for a Western Union m/o or a US Postal m/o ; or a US$8 exchange fee for any other non-Australian dollar money order)
.. .. ..or.. .. ..
2. CASH (MUST be in a registered envelope..ONLY)
.. .. ..or.. .. ..
3. via Western Union Auction Payments (WUAP...was Bidpay) (you need to add a US$4 exchange fee for payments via WUAP/Bidpay)
.. .. ..OR.. .. ..
4. Paypal..IF you like..BUT..you should know that Paypal unfortunately (for us all), charge we here in Australia, a hidden exchange rate fee which equates to 7% (.. ..it WAS 14%, then 11% until early Dec.2002); so its not as bad as it was, and still a tad cheeky and unfair (this is NOT to be confused with their normal fees, which I will, of course, pay for); but, all the same, IF you're prepared to cover that 7% exchange fee,

you CAN use Paypal

(it still works out cheaper [and obviously faster] than W.U.A.P.or registering cash, for any amount below about US$100 / GBP50 )..its up to you, but PLEASE don‚t think I condone their business practices; the other options are there for you to use. [My alternative, otherwise, is to allow them to take that much from every item..and they do not disclose that this is what they do. If you don‚t agree with covering for this (and why should you!), please do consider another option.]
IN AUSTRALIA:
Pay by Money Order, Bank Cheque, Personal Cheque (allow 5 days for clearance)...or Direct Deposit into our account (quickest method).. .. ..or cash (again, MUST be in a registered envelope).
PACKING:
Don‚t worry - we pack anything you buy VERY CAREFULLY to make sure it arrives in EXACTLY the condition it left here. More specifically, in the way we'd like to receive parcels ourselves.
WE MAIL OUT FROM AUSTRALIA EVERY DAY.

On 27-Mar-04 at 16:44:59 GMT, seller added the following information: