CAPTAIN BEEFHEART Strictly Personal RARE Orig US Blue Thumb EX+ LP. AMAZING COPY

	£		27
	$		36

PLEASE NOTE: I am no longer a professional record seller, I am selling a few albums from my own personal collection. The service I offer will of the standard I used successfully for over 20 years on Ebay.
 

The pictures are of the actual item I am selling. I would never, and have never used stock images. What you see, is always what you get.
 

Artist or Band: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND

Album Title: Strictly Personal.

Producer: Bob Krasnow.

TRACK LIST:  

Side 1: Ah Feel Like Ahcid; Safe As Milk; Trust Us; Son of Mirror Man – Mere Man

Side 2: On Tomorrow; Beatle Bones n’ Smokin Stones; Gimme Dat Harp Boy; Kandy Korn.

Rarity: Scarce (at least). A record pressed several times over time, but usually in very small numbers as early Beefheart albums were not especially major sellers.

Label/Format: Blue Thumb. This is a 1968 American second pressing – the first pressing in the same year was quickly changed to this format that does differ. Now with the black with silver text and blue logo with the BTS 1 catalogue number. The labels have a ridge ring quite near their rims and smooth semi-shiny surfaces.

Label Conditions:  Both little short of immaculate, this record appeared barely played when I got it. So-much-so, the spindle hole was so tight, I could hardly get it on my turntable. And with no spindle marks. .

Catalogue Number: The cover has S1, the labels have BTS 1.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Few vintage records are ever perfectly ‘flat’, so some slight or very gentle arm movement is normal. If any record I offer has more than that, I will mention it, and it can be assumed all I offer will track without issues, even on budget turntables.

Record Weight:  143 grams.

Country of Manufacture:  U.S.A.

Musicians:  Don Van Vliet (as Captain Beefheart) – lead vocals and harmonica; Jerry Handley – bass; John French – drums; Alex St. Claire and Jeff Cotton – guitars.

Original Year of Release:  1968.

Matrix and Stamper Codes:  BTS-5001 J-1-RE-1 / BTS-5002 J-1-RE-1

Brief Artist & Album Info: After the brilliant debut 'Safe as Milk' failed to sell, this second album appeared on a different label – In America, Blue Thumb, and Liberty in the UK. This remains one of the most controversial in the Captain’s early catalogue mainly due to the production of Bob Krasnow. It always divides opinion on it’s sound and use of phasing. I think it sounds fantastic and makes a pretty strange band sound even more weird. But some think is obscured their real sound, including van Vliet himself. This second album was a great prelude to Beefheart’s classic 'Trout Mask Replica' which again was issued on a new label – Zappa’s newly formed Straight which specialised in the more ‘out-there’ artists. Here Beefheart’s sound progressed still further from the debut and was now becoming even more challenging. Van Vliet was no ordinary artist and his music had few rules, his genius is at last being more and more recognised as time passes. This landmark album was the last not to include those outlandish names for The Magic Band, the members real names were correctly used. Weirdness however was the order of the day – just check out the inside cover pictures. A man fast approaching his creative heights and this vintage 1968 American record does it fine justice. Skillfully blending blues with psychedelia, a unique sound and band. Only with Zappa’s total unrestricted artistic freedom did the Captain excel to even greater heights on his next masterpiece. To phase or not to phase? – who really cares, just enjoy this unique and brilliant album for what it is.

Cover Grade and Format:  EXCELLENT: and arguably much better given all the facts. American covers do not wear as well as European covers, especially from this vintage era. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt quite smooth surfaces. The inside has the paste-on panels. There are no printers credits.

Cover Front: Regardless of country of manufacture, this is one of very best covers I have ever seen for this album. Finding this American album in the UK with no punch-holes, edge or corner cuts is some achievement. Those were so often done on imported albums to denote tax clearance or deletion. This one is fully intact and looking almost magnificent. Apart from light and relatively faint rub traces  near the edges, this has little else to fault. Still very clean and fresh and avoiding creasing, they will seldom be seen better.

Cover Back: Very similar again, with even less hints of rubbing. The lack of horrendous ring wear these covers so often have, it a huge plus.

Cover Inside: Superb, and just look at the weirdness of the band – this inner gatefold has hardly anything of real note to fault.

Top & Bottom Edges: All four edges have NO splits, tears or repairs – again so few of this type avoid them to some degree. The top pair have little wear at all, the bottom storage pair have moderate surface rubbing (but in a neat way), this being the usual storage edge, it’s the least to be expected. Both pairs remain straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front closed edge is straight with minimal hint of wear. The back opening edge is superb, crisp, straight with no damage or thickening.

Spine and Text:  The spine is again exceptional with all text pristine as seen. Quite a wide spine with only a gentle tilt to the right, the surface, bar the top tip is practically unworn, and again naturally intact with no splits.

Corners: All corners retain very fine shape with just a smallish scuff to the end of the spine top, any other rubbing is minimal and very light. Any tip creasing tiny andn little, again so unusual to see.

Cover Summary:  Not seen too many US covers of this age and type better. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a basic plain white open window inner with no text. Both window circles crisp and totally untorn or worn. The paper aged little with any discolouration minimal indeed. Two exterior flipback construction with both solid and neat. All edges intact as well.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): with just a surface scuff on side two that does nothing, that apart, I would have graded near mint. This super early 1968 pressed record is unbanded and looks amazing. It retains a fantastic fresh shine and little else to fault bar the mild superficial scuff. One time has forgotten, I doubt if this has been hardly played. A real collectors piece. The only reason for sale is, I have three others in my personal collection.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [Equipment used: Pro-Ject X2 B Turntable, Ortofon MC X30 moving coil cartridge, Pro-Ject DS3 B Phono Preamp, Naim SuperNait 2 and Spendor A7 floorstanding speakers.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading:  This record plays up to its superb visual grading with barely anything to fault. Few from this year nowadays will better it I feel sure. A quite out-there psychadelic blues classic musically and production wise. Early Beefheart albums are unique, bizarre and wonderful. Again, one to please many, if not most fans and collectors.





The record has been professionally cleaned on my German-made Nessie vinyl record cleaning machine.

The record will always be removed from the main cover and placed inside a soft-lined white inner to avoid edge splits in transit. Then put inside a protective plastic sleeve.

It will be posted for UK delivery via a Royal Mail tracked service. More expensive albums will be posted Special Delivery. The price will be £4.50.

The price to Europe will be £14 and overseas £24 using a tracked DPD courier service. I will NOT send to Russia or Belarus.

Payment required within 4 days of sale or will be cancelled with no exceptions. Payment via Paypal is preferred.