RAMASES space hymns VERTIGO SWIRL ORIGINAL UK Roger Dean LP PSYCH PROG ROCK 10CC

£ 57

$ 76

£ 57 Sold For

Nov 5, 2011 Sold Date

Oct 29, 2011 Start Date

£ 50 Start price

2 Number Of Bids

Netherlands Country Of Seller

eBay Auctioned at

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Description

RAMASES - "Space Hymns" LP, on the Vertigo label, 6360 046, from 1971. This is a super rare original UK pressing of a rare progressive psych album. On the original swirl label. The huge fold out poster cover is in VG condition as it has lots of coverwear (mainly on the front, see picture for details) and the record is in VG+(+) condition.

Here's a review from Sean Trane on progarchives:
Ramases was a weird character, married to his Selket wife, that was substantially older than most rock acts of the very early 70's, being in his early 30's, but they'd been busy trying with two previous unsuccessful singles that also appeared on label compilations,. But since then, they had dropped from the radar until the Vertigo label signed both him and his equally strange wife Selket. The ended up writing and recording their first Lp in a studio owned by four young musicians that would one day (mid-70's) become the pop icons of 10CC. So the future geniuses helped out the weird couple and produced a fairly strange but endearing hippy album that was graced with one of Roger Dean's most astonishing artworks ever, as the gatefold sleeve unfolded in six to display this church tower transformed into a rocket. It was released under the Swirl Vertigo label in mid-71. As the texts on the inner sleeve indicates, we're dealing with some heavily idealistic songs that link up in a general spacey peace & love spiritual mumbo-jumbo concept.

Emerging out cosmic noises, the fantastic Life Child has first an acoustic guitar strumming then joined by a thrilling electric guitar, soon leading the song proper into a great catchy pop/rock tune that the 10CC gang would've loved to write it themselves. Equally brilliant pop is the Oh Mister (it will be used as a B-side of a single), but the album has also a hippy-folk heart as shown by the almost sing-along Whole World, but it's a tiny bit embarrassing. Another thrilling but weird one is the catchy but quirky Quasar One track, which was originally one of their early two singles misheard and mistyped from Crazy One, with these amazing almost vocodized vocals. Maybe a tad overlong, but excellent stuff anyway. A bit more nerve-wracking is the thankfully-short You're The Only One, especially the intro and outro.

The flipside opens on the spacey Earth-People, where the couple plays their mostly-unaccompanied folk ditty, certainly not devoid of charms. Ramases picks up a sitar and sings a semi-grotesque Indian-sounding Molecular Delusions, which tends to overstay its welcome. Thankfully the superbly catchy Balloon is another one of those pop tunes that the 10CC members would've loved to write, especially the fantastic "Don't burst your bubble, or you're in trouble" chorus line. Outstanding stuff, and mega-prog as well and it was issued as a single. The other single had that Jesus Come Back track, which is one of those almost-ridiculous hippy religious chants, but it is well in line with the hippy-folk of the times and the melody is nice enough to forgive that flaw. Closing on the completely psychedelic and spacey Journey On The Inside, almost a journey in Krautrock's electronica ala early Kraftwerk or Kluster. Excellent stuff, but I wouldn't have chosen it to close the album and ending it with a pataphysical consideration.

NOTE! Postage indicated in the auction is not the actual postage as ebay doesn't allow a higher postage then 4 GBP in this category. Postage for this item is 8 GBP to most countries within Europe and 15 GBP for the rest of the world. This is up to 2kg, so you can add up to 6 more LP's for the same postage. Postage for 7 LP´s is the same as for 1 LP, so buy more to save on postage!
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