THE RISING STORM calm before LP ORIGINAL psych garage

$

1,750

You’re looking at an original copy of the Rising Storm’s LP “Calm Before…”, pressed on Remnant Records in 1967.  If you’re reading this auction, you probably know what the deal with this record is.  If not, here’s the review from Allmusic:

“In the early to mid-'60s, thousands of teenage rock & roll bands bashing away in garages, rec rooms, and basements across America sought to document their music on self-released recordings, and the Rising Storm were no different, even if instead of a garage, they practiced in a dormitory at Phillips Academy, an upscale prep school in Andover, MA. The six members of the Rising Storm were all Phillips students, and in 1967, with the guys facing graduation, they went into a local recording studio for a few days and recorded an album, eager to preserve their music for their friends and classmates. By the early '80s, the Rising Storm's self-released album, Calm Before..., had developed a potent reputation among record collectors, and mint-condition copies were trading hands for more than a thousand dollars each. Thankfully, the album is now available on CD, so no one needs to fork over a four-figure sum to hear it, but it is one garage rock collectable that happens to live up to its reputation. The Rising Storm were not the usual band of teenagers with bad attitudes covering "Louie, Louie"; roughly half of the songs on Calm Before... are originals, and they're surprisingly subtle and ambitious stuff, moody folk-rock that often suggests the subtle influence of the psychedelic revolution that was looming on the musical horizon. If the Rising Storm weren't exactly virtuosos, they were a tight and energetic band with enough musical smarts to make the most of songs like "Frozen Laughter," "The Rain Falls Down," and "To L.N./Who Doesn't Know," and when they stomp down on "Big Boss Man," "Don't Look Back," or "Baby Please Don't Go," they sound mighty fine indeed.”

A while back, I went to a tag sale near my hometown in Connecticut.  It turned out that it was the tag sale of a special education teacher at my high school, and he was getting rid of his substantial record collection.  I picked up 200+ LPs, including a complete Talking Heads collection, a large Brian Eno collection, and tons of jazz and blues.  Some of these I’ve sold on eBay before, some I’m preparing to sell, while others are now treasured pieces of my collection.

Among those records was one with a weird cover by a group called “The Rising Storm”.  It looked cool, so I asked the owner what the deal with the record was.  “Oh, that’s a bunch of guys who I went to boarding school with,” he said.  “I haven’t seen that record in years – from what I remember they were pretty good.”  That was a good enough recommendation for me, so I scooped it up.

When I got home, I looked it up on the Internet, and found that this LP, “Calm Before… The Rising Storm,” was a holy grail among psych-garage collectors.  "Wow" is something of an understatement.  I put my needle on the turntable, and within seconds of the first track, “Don’t Look Back,” I realized that this record is WELL worth the acclaim.  These guys can give the Music Machine or ? and the Mysterians – hell, anything off Nuggets – a run for their money.  500 copies were pressed on Remnant Records.

Anyway, it’s December now, and I realized that as great of a record this is, it needs to be in the collection of someone who’s a little more serious about record collecting than I am.  I also have several upcoming releases on my label, Fan Death Records, which the vast majority of the proceeds from this record (and the other records I'm selling) will be going to.

I’m aware of how sought-after this record is.  I want any potential buyer to know EXACTLY what he is receiving.  As such, I have attempted to show every single flaw with the record.  This record has definitely been played, but the previous owner also took care of it; he said it had sat on a shelf in his den for about 25 years.
Sleeve issues:
There is a seam split on the bottom of the sleeve that is broken in a couple of places; one split is roughly 5 inches, another is about 2 and a half, and then there is a 1.5 inch split closer to the opening.  Based on previous auctions of this record that I have found using popsike.com, this is not uncommon for played copies.  The top seam is slightly frayed near the jacket opening.  All four corners of the jacket are rounded, and there is moderate ring wear on the jacket.  The front of the jacket has a small stain of unknown origin (see picture).  The back has a minor smudge near the label logo near the bottom, and a “U” written in marker near the top (the previous owner’s initial).

Vinyl issues:
The record shows minor scuffing, which I have attempted to show in the photos.  An mp3 excerpt can be provided upon request.  There are no scratches that significantly affect play, and, based on three careful and thorough listens that I and a couple of friends have made, zero skips on this record.  It’s actually in surprisingly good shape for a 42-year-old record that somehow survived an all-boys boarding school.

Shipping information:
Shipping will be to your specifications.  If you are purchasing this record, you likely have purchased other items like this before.  I will package and ship this record to your specifications, and charge you the actual cost of shipping.

Payment information:
Payment is only accepted through Paypal.  Buyer must contact me within 48 hours of winning, and must pay within 48 hours of contacting me.