Necronomicon Tips zum Selbstmord Original 1972
  $   1,275

 


$ 1275 Sold For
Nov 2, 2004 Sold Date
Oct 23, 2004 Start Date
24   Number Of Bids
  Germany Country Of Seller
eBay Auctioned at
 
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Description

This is the very rare occasion to obtain one of the most famous and most sought after German "Krautrock" LP records (Vinyl) recorded in 1972. Only 500 were made and there were no authorized vinyl reissues of TIPS ZUM SELBSTMORD later on (if someone will say so, its a lie!). Contrary to many bootlegs offered on the market, this is the original recording. I can guarantee this because I am a member of the band myself (Walter Sturm, see beforehand unpublished picture of a life concert in 1971). The record is in a very good to mint condition, no scratches. The cross shaped cover is complete and undamaged, there are slight discolorations at the edges which come from the glue used in 1972 to fit the parts of the cover together. The winner of the auction gets a free example of an original promotion folder of the band made in 1974.

 

Here only two from a large number of worldwide comments regarding "TIPS ZUM SELBSTMORD":

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NECRONOMICON

Personnel:

NORBERT BREUER g, v

WALTER STURM g, v

FISTUS DICKMANN, kb

BERNHARD HOCKS, b

HARALD BERNHARD, d

 

ALBUM:

(A)"Tips zum Selbstmord" (Best Prehodi 60.634) 1972.

Famous for their eponymous album which is sought-after by collectors World-wide, Necronomicon came from Aachen, a city near the borders with the Netherlands and Belgium. They adapted the name Necronomicon from an H.P. Lovecraft novel and built up a spectacular live repertoire during 1971. It featured complex heavy progressive song arrangements with awkward German lyrics that dealt with ecological problems, the threat of a nuclear disaster, the end of mankind and pure despair. Necronomicon proved themselves to be a band with the same seriousness and sense of large scale works as the most extreme Italian bands. With the economic support of a friend, Necronomicon set off to a semi-professional studio in the Netherlands to record (in March and April 1972) what has become the ultimate collector's item for purveyors of German progressive rock: Tips Zum Selbstmord, released in a lavish multi fold-out cover, in the shape of a cross. The highly talented drawings were done by Harald Bernhard and pictured tortured bodies and painful faces, building up an intricate whole, reminiscent of some nightmarish Hieronymus Bosch work (but no fantasy monsters!). Few would deny that this is one of the best and most unique German records of the early seventies. The sinister atmosphere of both the music and lyrics are evident.There were biting guitar leads throughout, shimmering, painful vocals, a garage organ trying to battle with Bach, sudden shifts of tempos and moods, including passages of more primitive heavy garage rock. For the want of hotter comparisons: imagine the best elements of vintage Uriah Heep with the lyrical awareness of a political rock band like Floh de Cologne. Perhaps this is the music that Wagner would have made if he had lived in 1945 and experienced the bombing raids over Germany, freaked out in the sixties and decided to be a rock musician and then had bad trips for years due to the daily news on TV! Remarkably enough, the album was recorded on just two backs, approximately recorded live in the studio. It was released in a limited edition of 500 copies and is probably THE most hunted German record. The odd copy that turns up sells easily for 2000$ or more. From 1972 to the end of 1973 the group worked on new material with a revised line-up: guitar player Walter Sturm quit to join Rufus Zuphall, Fistus Dickmann was replaced with Dieter Ose and Detlev Hakenbeck replaced by Gerd Libber. Some of the new compositions lasted for sixty minutes! In fact, such material proved to be almost impossible to play live, and the songs were consequently edited down to a length of 10 to 15 minutes. As such, they were recorded live in their rehearsal room in 1974. Walter Sturm had now returned to the band. Little Wing compiled 45 minutes from the only remaining source, a low quality cassette. It's only interesting for collectors as another historic document of their development. The desperation had now faded to mere resigned statements about mankind's cynical nature. As such they were now closer to other refined political rock bands.

(from: Cosmic Dreams at play)

 

Necronomicon - "Tips Zum Selbstmord" (1972).

Legendary heavy progressive from Germany. This was their first and only album. It consists mostly of raw, dark and sinister heavy progressive with political-oriented lyrics. They sometimes remind me of a heavier version of Gäa. Very heavy guitars and a rather thin organ sound (sounds like Farfisa to me) dominated this band's sound. On some passages they also used choirs which sometimes gives the music a symphonic lift among all the rawness. "Requiem der Natur" starts with a acoustic, melodic and pleasant part but soon turns into a dark, intense part with the mentioned choir, and thereafter it turns into a bluesy jam. Quite unique and interesting stuff. "Die Stadt" and "Prologe" are both aggressive and thundering heavy progressive with lots of fuzz-guitar, heavy riffs and long jamming. "Requiem vom Ende" is perhaps the most sinister track on the whole album with some terrifying screams at the end. Not an album to everyone's taste, but it's worth checking out if you like early 70's heavy progressive.

(from: Tommy's Forest of progressive rock).

 

On Oct-30-04 at 00:35:29 PDT, seller added the following information:

The LP has the following tracks:

1. Prolog; 2. Requiem der Natur; 3. Tips zum Selbstmord; 4. Die Stadt; 5., In Memoriam; Requiem vom Ende.

This is the original Studio recording from 1972, not the demo tracks mentioned at the end of the first review. NECRONOMICON is the first German band with that name, not the contemporary metal trash band using the same name.

 

On Oct-30-04 at 23:45:40 PDT, seller added the following information:

Here another, more recent review:

Necronomicon were formed in 1971 in Aachen, the Western part of Germany near the Belgium and Netherlands border. They took their name from the infamous H.P. Lovecraft novel. The group played had a unique progressive rock sound which mixed of classic, jazz, folk, and rock with 'Polyphonic' vocals (as described by the band back in 1973). The music is full of garage-like distorted guitar, 'cheesy' organ and political awareness lyrics. Although the band only survived for two years and managed to record 1 album, their legacy lives on to this day. Their only album 'Tips Zum Selbstmord' (How to commit suicide), recorded in 1972, is quite possibly the most sought after German record for collectors! It was originally released with a multi-fold-out cover in the shape of a cross in a print of only 500!

(GJP)

On Oct-31-04 at 01:46:03 PST, seller added the following information:To answer the most often posed question: does the label have the printing "Carl Lindström GmbH" at the bottom line? Yes it has (see additional picture). This is the most important difference to one of of the most recent bootlegs of our LP (the bootleg doesn't show this line, but is otherwise very similar).


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