EL RITUAL Mexican Raff 1971 ORIG HEAVY ACID PSYCH LP Doors Sabbath SHRINK LISTEN

$

90

EL RITUAL "EL RITUAL" LP

ORIGINAL 1971 LP on the Mexican RAFF label, STEREO RF 937

POSSIBLY LATER PRESS - has "SERIE HOT ROCK" on cover

COVER is still in shrinkwrap, EXCELLENT to NEAR MINT!

VINYL plays real nice, VG++ to EXCELLENT

ONE OTHER ONE RIGHT NOW IS SELLING FOR $250 ON THIS SITE!

Big hairy demonic Mexican psych rock for fans of the Doors, Jethro Tull and the Necronomicon.  Okay, forget about the crappy ‘roided-out pygmy monkey demon on the cover, the one whose mouth is apparently big enough to hold all the band members of El Ritual but at the expense of, say, a friggin’ body.  He may be a sad little beast, but make no mistake, El Ritual is one of Mexico’s finest hard rock beasts in a musical sense.  The highlight is the downright frightening “Satanas,” which is either about the Devil or Carlos Santana, I can’t tell which.  It starts out like a warped South-of-the-Border take on the Doors’ “Horse Latitudes,” with a dramatic spoken word piece, screamed over top the sounds of people being whipped and flayed, recurring fits of maniacal nuthouse laughter, and what could either be the sound of whales in pain or fire-breathing horses of the Apocalypse.  Which leads directly into a great hairy 1970 vintage heavy guitar riff, fueled by warm Dos Equus and the blood of a thousand virgins.  It’s sung in English too, xenophobes.  Most of El Ritual’s 1971 album continues in this heavy, heady Black Sabbath in Guadalajara vein.  But respites are thankfully thrown in from time to time.  “Groupie“ features a nice jazzy vamp, and “Baio El Sol Y Frente A Dios” is a downright, dare I say, beautiful floaty gentle little flute pop number.  Dear Lord, does the gimpy little mouth demon have a heart after all?

HEAR IT...

PLEASE NOTE I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).  BUYERS FROM ITALY AGREE TO PAY FOR GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL INSURED ONLY!

The less exciting stuff

Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  Overseas shipping has, unfortunately, gone way up in the fast few months, which translates to $15 for the first LP to Canada ($3 each one thereafter) and $24 for the first LP everywhere else in the world, with each add'l LP an extra $5 (so it pays to buy more, nudge nudge wink wink).   I accept payments through Paypal. 

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

 For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.