FRANK ZAPPA Hot Rats RARER ORIG UK 1969 EX++ LP, STUNNING SOUND, HARDLY PLAYED.

	£		133
	$		176

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Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: FRANK ZAPPA

Album Title: Hot Rats

Producer(s): Frank Zappa, who composed and arranged all songs

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Peaches en Regalia; Willie the Pimp; Son of Mr Green Genes.

Side 2: Little Umbrellas; The Gumbo Variations; It Must Be a Camel.

Label/Format: Reprise – original 3-colour riverboat format with matt, very gently textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with minimal light spindle marks on side two, hardly any on side one. The record plays superbly with high quality sound and was a pleasure to play-grade – one that matches my own prized copy.

Catalogue Number: RSLP 6356

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 168 grams. A massive heavyweight pressing, a record of the highest, purest quality.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: The actual album itself, moderate, this was Zappa’s most commercially successful album in the UK, although strangely it failed to sell well in the United States. Available relatively briefly on the first label design before being repressed on the new tan format, initially with the same catalogue number. Then subsequently on new Kinney Reprise with the usual K- number prefix. Finding first pressings appearing hardly played with little short of pristine sound and fine cover are way harder to find.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: RSLP 6356 A1 / RSLP 6356 B1 [both machine punched and clear, this pressed to the highest standard by CBS]

Musicians: Frank Zappa – Guitar, octave bass, percussion; Ian Underwood – piano, organus maximus, flute, all clarinets, all saxophones; Captain Beefheart – vocal on ‘Willie the Pimp’; Sugar Cane Harris – violin; Jean luc Ponty – violin; John Guerin – drums; Ron Selico – drums; Max Bennett – bass; Shuggy Otis – bass.

Brief Artist & Album Info: The album that proved to the world that Frank Zappa was one of the greatest guitarists of his generation – if not THE best ever (even acknowledged by fellow guitar players). A point proven over many years of quality albums, not just a small few. At the end of 1968, Zappa’s contract with MGM expired, he and his manager Herb Cohen set up Bizarre Records. This gave them total control over their own packaging and music. Major distribution was needed, so they chose Reprise, Frank Sinatra’s label which had recently been acquired by Warner Brothers. Hot Rats was the second album to be just accredited to Frank Zappa, he used a 16-track recorder and state-of-the-art production techniques, making this a musicial extravaganza with phenomenal sound and detail. Indeed, Zappa was one of the first to utilise multi-track techniques to get real stereo effects from a drum kit on to a record. It proved a successful album in the UK, but mysteriously was a relative failure in his native US. This is high-octane jazz-rock, a predominately instrumental album and (for me anyway) one of the greatest ever made. To make it, Zappa called upon the services of some of the great musicians of the West Coast. Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris features on electric violin with some blistering solos as does French violin virtuoso Jean luc Ponty. Also featured are veteran bassist Max Bennett, John Guerin, a young drummer who had been working with Tom Scott on fusing rock and jazz, also with Shuggy Otis, Ron Selico and Paul Humphrey. Zappa supplied himself with the finest rhythm section he could get. The other hugely important presence was fellow-Mothers of Invention member Ian Underwood, who played keyboards and electric saxophones. This is one of Underwood’s finest moments recording with Zappa, his blistering electric saxophone solo on ‘The Gumbo Variations’ takes the breath away. Last but not least, there is a cameo performance from Don van Vliet, better-known as Captain Beefheart on vocals for ‘Willie the Pimp’ the lyrics of which are derived from an interview Zappa conducted with a New York-based groupie named Annie. Zappa himself plunges into a virtuoso guitar solo. His wah-wah pedal make the notes talk, but amongst the frenzy there remains a marvellous coherent melody throughout. Frank dubbed in percussion, chains, castanets that added that extra fizz and Underwood is credited for playing ‘organus maximus’ which is a pipe organ.

The cover is as famous as the music: it features Christine Frka (Miss Christine) of the infamous GTO’s, lurking inside a disused swimming pool in Beverly Hills. A striking image that was seen under many an arm in the heady days of the late 1960s. She is often credited as the inspiration for the Alice Cooper look, both recorded on Zappa’s Straight label. A notably thin Czech girl, she sadly she died in 1972. ‘Hot Rats’ charted at No. 9 in the UK and a miserly 173 in the United States. A work of genius that must have opened many eyes, ears and minds on issue. Even non-Zappa fans who simply never understood his music usually appreciate this album. Anyone who likes the sound of the electric guitar cannot fail to be impressed by this blistering set. Some rock guitarists have been quoted as saying Hot Rats contains impossible to play guitar chords, well this great man played them, and how. This easily ranks in my top 10 greatest albums ever made, I never tire listening to it and this impressive original does it virtually maximum justice. It plays beautifully and I heard nothing at all to fault with all the detail, warmth and dynamics of a master-recording. This a gateway into Zappa’s recording studio itself and no other formats will better it. The great feeling of holding and playing a first-pressed ‘Hot Rats’ is a pleasure in itself. There will never be a better way to enjoy the king of the bizarre than on record – a timeless excusion into Frank’s world of jazz-rock, the word ‘masterpiece’ is often overused, but not in this case. If you have not experienced the wonderful world of Zappa, there is no better place to start – but be warned – this man’s music is highly addictive and his catalogue vast.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: or close to. An unlaminated gatefold format with a matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press, it has the correct RSLP 6356 catalogue number. The original polylined inner sleeve is included.

Cover Front: One of rock’s most famous and well-known front covers – this seen to high advantage on this very fine example. Wear-prone and never laminated, but any grubbiness, creasing (top right corner tip) or rubbing little and light and little with no sticker issues or fading. The quite creepy graphic of Miss Christine looks fantastic as seen in close-up). Overall, this front gives scant clues of age and I can hardly believe this classic is now fast approaching 50-years-old.

Cover Back: Again impressive with any rubbing or dulling gentle and light seen under light. Overall very similar to the front, and the lack of ring wear is a massive plus with an incredible 160+ gram record inside nearly half-a-century.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside is very impressive with hardly anything to fault. Note the close-up of the great Captain Beefheart circa his classic 1969 Trout Mask Replica era. Two of the greatest musical minds of the 20th-century, both sadly gone and much missed.

Top Edges: Both straight, flat and very close to parallel. Any rubbing very patchy and equally light, actually up there with the least I have seen on these unforgiving folds. The front right has darkened from an original adhesive smear, that a very common trait of unlaminated gatefold covers, this only seen viewed end-on.

Bottom Edges: Again straight with moderate rubbing seen on the back edge. The front is white and shows little wear at all. These storage edges seldom fail to rub over many years.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The closed front edge remains generally sharp and neat, as the spine has a hint of left tilt, this has been naturally protected by the back ones. The rear opening edges have only patchy light thickening and have fared pretty well. All are guaranteed natural and untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: The black surface spine has always been prone to wear, this has little with any rubbing mostly confined to the very top end which is only small. Solid, straight with minimal compression, tilt light. Folded squarely, so the edges meet up flush and near parallel. Any rubbing to the surface minimal – that quite unusual – all text present and hardly worn as-seen, this also very well centred for good measure. A spine that always forms a fine central crease purely by opening, here only very fine and light as-seen.

Cover Summary: One of rock’s most famous covers and this is a splendid example giving only polite hints of it’s considerable age. No disputing the vintage of this one: RSLP covers were gone by 1971. This should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a heavy-duty polylined white inner that has quite gently aged with the usual darkening of the white paper and seam adhesive. This is UK patented with ‘Foreign Patents Pending’ text. Two crisp, very neat window circles and intact polylining that is still reasonably clear. No hard creases, any crinkle light, all edges have no splits or repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): arguably better, this copyy appears hardly played with any surface traces bordering on minuscule, ultra fine, wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light barely anything even registers. Clean with fine shine and massively pressed on the highest quality CBS vinyl. One of the heaviest copies I have ever handled. This plays beautifully and opens the studio door, this is for me, one of rock’s most amazing experiences that pushed sound and engineering technology, at the time, near to its limits. For the ‘early-bird’ Zappa fans who bought this from the back end of the 1960s into the early 1970s, most played it into submission – imagine the thrill of hearing this masterpiece for the first time. No other format gives the thrill of a tri-coloured first pressing. Hardly any surprise it has acquired ‘Classic Album’ status and it remains one of the greatest ever made. This contains musicianship, composition and sound of the highest possible calibre and few would have even known the brilliance of this long-haired ‘weird’ American at this time. Visually, a record to please many, if not most 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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality & Audio Grading – The Hot Rats Hi-Fi Experience: This copy plays beautifully and even above its impressive visual with practically nothing to fault – crank this up and prepare to be thrilled. Cleanly pressed on very thick, deep grooved vinyl that offer ultimate detail and dynamics. Both channels are clean and sharp, the sound and production are up there with the very best from this period with stunning stereo separation and detail. Zappa spared no expense in recording this classic, he was a sound perfectionist and only wanted the highest quality possible. His ‘solo’ masterpiece, the sonic delivery of the music defies it’s substantial age – you simply need a worthy system to bring it all out. With the highest possible technology of the day utilised, this has not aged at all and will better anything the digital age has to offer. It makes worthy systems excel with high quality and beautifully produced sound. The delicate high frequencies of the electric violins, percussion and winds are unclipped and simply rasp and fizz from the speakers. Zappa’s frenzied and blistering guitar work is heard to maximum effect and this will leave fans wanting more. What set’s this analogue recording apart are the bass-lines which are warm and deep and fully focused, and more importantly – present! The CD versions are leaner and lack that vital depth and power. My Sondek gave this record real pace and rhythm with effortless tracking* and no inherent pressing noises. Beefheart’s cameo role on ‘Willie the Pimp’ is famous as he shrieks Hot Meat, Hot Raaaaattttzzzzz, Hot Zitz, Hot Wrists, Hot Ritz, Hot Roots, Hot Sooooottts… this is the album’s only vocal track and it Fizzzessssss, the man’s voice totally unique and rarely sounding better. Nothing beats an original copy – a stepping-stone to his more challenging works. They do not make records like this any more and the spirit of this much-missed musical genius lives on in this monumental work. My musical world has never been quite the same since his sad and untimely death.

His Legacy: Frank Zappa issued over 60+ official albums in his own lifetime – now expanded to well over 100 official albums – and most I consider essential. Sadly leaving us too young, it’s such a shame his work, music and talent was only recognised by many after his loss, but not unusual for a genius in the arts. But for lifelong fans, his name was known from his early years and lives on forever. With more and more music fans still discovering the master guitarist and musician’s work, this is the ideal place to start. It simply emphasises the mundane mediocrity around these days, the greatest entertainer in rock will always live on.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade – visuals alone do not always tell a true story. I will try to 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 it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, 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 as will any suspicious bids or bid bid retractions. 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] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 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]) = £16.50 (£17.50 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.