STEFAN GROSSMAN w/SON HOUSE+JO ANN KELLY COUNTRY BLUES RARE ORIG TEST PRESSING

$

136

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 200  LISTED ITEMS

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·       STEFAN GROSSMAN WITH SON HOUSE, JO ANN KELLY, SAM MITCHELL AND OTHERS - COUNTRY BLUES GUITAR FESTIVAL - ORIGINAL BRITISH PRESSING - ORIGINAL 1977 KICKING MULE RECORDS (UK) STEREO LP  (NO NUMBER, BUT THE MATRICES IN THE TRAIL-OFF VINYL AND THE HANDWRITTEN CATALOG NUMBER ON THE GENERIC WHITE SLEEVE IDENTIFY THIS RELEASE AS SNKF-129)

·       ORIGINAL U.K. PRESSING

·       ULTRA-RARE TEST PRESSING

·       PLAIN, WHITE, GENERIC KICKING MULE TEST PRESSING LABEL WITHOUT ANY DETAILS WHATSOEVER

·       THIS TEST PRESSING COMES IN ITS GENERIC, PLAIN, WHITE COVER WITH A TYPEWRITTEN DATA SHEET (TRACK LISTING ONLY) ON KICKING MULE STATIONARY

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.K. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       FAIRLY THICK VINYL PRESSING On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least thick, and  10 being the thickest), we assess the thickness of the vinyl as 7.

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·       MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) ENDS WITH '-A1/-B1'.  ON SOME LABELS,  SUFFIX '–1' DENOTES THE VERY FIRST, ORIGINAL PRESSING)

·       PLEASE NOTE: THE MATRIX NUMBER IN THE TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) OF THE RECORD IS CONSISTENT WITH THE ORIGINAL, FIRST, 1977 PRESSING OF THIS ALBUM; THIS IS NOT, REPEAT: NOT A TEST PRESSING OF ONE OF THE SUBSEQUENT REISSUES OR REMASTERS.

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you'll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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Amazing !!! An unbelievable piece: What we have here is an unheard-of TEST PRESSING of this classic slice of British blues revival masterpiece.  While many test pressings often have alternate or demo- versions of known, later released songs, and while it is possible that this particular test pressing contains demo or alternate versions of some of the tracks, please don’t take our word that it does:

PLEASE NOTE: THIS TEST PRESSING APPARENTLY NEVER HAD A CUSTOM COVER;  THE ALBUM WILL BE SHIPPED IN A PLAIN, GENERIC [WHITE] CARDBOARD COVER. TEST PRESSINGS ARE RARELY – IF EVER – FOUND IN CUSTOM (STOCK) COVERS.

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Recorded in England and originally released in 1977, Stefan Grossman's Country Blues Guitar Festival is simply a marvel. Beginning in the early 1960s, Grossman befriended and learned the secrets of the trade from Reverend Gary Davis, Son House, Fred McDowell, and Bukka White, among others, and he has released over 30 albums since his 1966 debut How to Play Blues Guitar. With the exception of three songs, including two Blind Willie Johnson tunes (Motherless Children and Nobody's Fault but Mine), Grossman appears on every track on Country Blues Guitar Festival and he shows his dexterity and sensitivity as a guitarist-he is equally adept at playing rhythm, bottleneck, and 12-string guitar. He is joined by Jo Ann Kelly (vocals), Mike Cooper (vocals, guitar) and Sam Mitchell (vocals, guitar, bottleneck, 12 string guitar, and mandolin). Kelly's tone and phrasing are near-perfect. Her interpretation of Hard Time Killin' Floor is especially powerful and wrenching, nearly rivaling Skip James' 1931 original performance. Both Cooper and Mitchell are effective on vocals, and Mitchell's mandolin work on Easy Street is a nice added dimension on a disc dominated by acoustic and bottleneck guitar.

The set  consists mostly of cover songs, including Special Rider Blues, Weeping Willow, Wake Up Mama, Ragtime Mama Blues, Moon Goin' Down, and Good Morning Little Schoolboy. It is doubtful that any musician can outperform the original versions, but Grossman comes close on several occasions. He sounds like two different guitarists on Special Rider Blues and If You Haven't Any Hay Get On Down the Road, flexes his bottleneck skills on Brownsville Blues and Wake Up Mama, and knows how to intertwine his guitar lines with Cooper and Mitchell. The guitar interplay, particularly on Pallet on Your Floor, is something to behold. While the sound of ringing, intersecting guitars is entrancing, Grossman's duets with Kelly are the most memorable and powerful aspect of the release. Her sympathetic reading of these songs both accompanies and emphasizes Grossman's guitar work.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY STEPHEN A. KING)

The records of Fred McDowell, Son House, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt and Rev. Gary Davis taught legions of aspiring guitarists how to play country blues. Fred McDowell, Son House, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt and Rev. Gary Davis also taught Stefan Grossman how to play country blues " face to face. (Yeah, salivate over that.) Always in the right place at the right time back then, the New York prodigy absorbed it all  "  their quick licks, their slide slurs, their dour six-string moods "  instantly becoming a walking storehouse of songs, styles and temperaments. Originally minted on 1977 vinyl, his Country Blues Guitar Festival continued the old masters' tradition of enthralling listeners by wringing all shades of blue out from old wooden Stellas and steely old Nationals while teaching turntable students how to do it (thanks to a tab/music booklet still accompanying this CD upgrade). Now doubly fortified by also including the complete How To Play Blues Guitar Vol. 2 album, 23 total cuts let Grossman's broad spectrum chops roam from popcorning Piedmont-style notes ("Hollerin' For My Crow Jane") to flipping summersaults ("Ragtime Mama Blues") to doing the Delta drag through the bottleneck bruiser "Brownsville Blues." Sometimes singer/guitarist Mike Cooper or slide extraordinaire Sam Mitchell tag team stunning duets, like playing the Willie Brown to Charley Patton on the "Moon Goin' Down" tangle. Yet Grossman's secret weapon is Jo Ann Kelly's balled-fist of a vibrato. Quivering through Skip James' monumentally bummed-out anthems of "Special Rider Blues" and "Hard Time Killin' Floor," it's like the second coming of Geeshie Wiley. - Dennis Rozanski/Blues Rag

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY DENNIS ROZANSKI)

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·                               CONDITION:

·                               THE RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL AS STRONG VG++, JUST A NOTCH BELOW NEAR MINT. A few light abrasions (probably just sleeve scuffs inflicted in storage over the years) ARE VISIBLE, but they appear fairly  insignificant relative to the overall condition of the vinyl, and are only moderately visually distracting. For most part, the vinyl looks impeccable, without any MAJOR visual flaws or imperfections. Much of the original luster is intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The record is pressed on a RELATIVELY  thick, inflexible vinyl. This is NOT a thin, flimsy ('dynaflex' type),  vinyl, but not the thickest, most rigid vinyl, either.

(c)           The album comes with the original typewritten data sheet on the Kicking Mule's stationary.

(d)          Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

COVER : This reference pressing comes without any custom jacket, and will be shipped in its original plain, generic, white cardboard cover with a typewritten data sheet attached (NOT GRADED SEPARATELY, BUT IN A NICE CONDITION OVERALL)

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

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FINE (BUT IMPORTANT!) PRINT

 (1) The year indicated in the title bar is the year of the original release,  NOT necessarily the year of the actual pressing; for the actual generation of the pressing, please see our item description (top section, text in red letters). (2) Please do NOT bid based on the title bar, subtitle bar or item specifics box alone; instead, please read the entire description and grading before bidding; (3) Absolutely NO order cancellations after the auction closes. ever, under any circumstances. We can ONLY cancel bids before the item closes. (4) We are unable to cancel bids in the final 12 hours of the auction; if you need to do so, please contact eBay for help (5) We are unable to provide matrix-, stamper- or other pressing  information in the final 24 hours of the auction. If you require this information, please contact us well before the final day of the auction. (6) Yes, we DO combine shipments. Please click on "Shipping and Payment" tab on top of the auction page for additional details. (7)  All Paypal payments must be made from confirmed Paypal shipping addresses. NO third party shipping addresses will be honored  (8) Absolutely NO partial refunds: if you are unhappy with the merchandise you received, please return it for a full refund, postage included (9). Civilized people can disagree without accusing each other of being indecent or dishonest; if you need proof of this seller's personal integrity, please check our eBay feedback, which speaks for itself  (10) All disagreements and miscommunications can be - and will only be - solved in a civil and mutually respectful manner;  please avoid puerile, offensive, abrasive or menacing language (attempted humor is fine and usually appreciated, although overused-to-death sarcasms can be really, really tedious. (11) This seller will accommodate all reasonable requests and is generally a flexible and agreeable person (12) Our love & appreciation for your trust, loyalty and business, always and forever;  Thank You & Good Night!

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