UNITED STATES OF AMERICA RARE PSYCH LP BROWN BAG COVER

$

214

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·       UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - THE SELF TITLED FIRST – AND ONLY – ALBUM (“UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”) - ORIGINAL COLUMBIA RECORDS 1968 STEREO LP CS-9614.

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·       *** PROMOTIONAL COPY; THE RECORD HAS STOCK LABELS; HOWEVER, THE PROMOTIONAL STAMP ON THE COVER CLEARLY IDENTIFIES THE ITEM AS PROMOTIONAL ***

·       ORIGINAL RED & WHITE "360 STEREO SOUND" LABEL

·       MONSTROUSLY RARE ORIGINAL SLIP-ON “BROWN BAG” COVER, WHICH SERVES AS AN ‘ENVELOPE’ THAT HOLDS THE ORIGINAL CARDBOARD COVER INSIDE; ONLY A HANDFUL OF SURVIVING COPIES HAVE THIS EXTERNAL SLEEVE INTACT!

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

·       ORIGINAL, THICK CARDBOARD COVER (AMERICAN STYLE)

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

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

(►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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Dorothy Moscowitz, Gordon Marrow, Joseph Byrd, Randy Forbes and Craig Woodson were five New York-based individuals who, in the late 60’s set out to expand the boundaries of known musical universe. They were a part of the very dedicated movement, focused around the New Left set of ideals - to transcend the positive, in music and elsewhere. The tangible result of such ambition was this super-rare psych-electronic-meditative masterpiece of the psychedelic era circa 1968. The arrangements apparently pay homage to the known psych artists of the day (clearly, the band was familiar with the work of "It’s a beautiful day", another band signed up for Columbia Records), and this great psych album clearly complements and supplements It’s a Beautiful Day’s work. Still, everything on this album points out to the fact that this band was a new, unknown quality and that its members were determined to maintain their own niche and identity. The album flows effortlessly from one song to another, clearly being a concept work of some kind. Harmonies and ornate arrangements have aged extremely well; there is hardly a dud here; this is an entire album worth of some impressive songwriting and playing. The album was recently reissued on Columbia Records, for the first time in about 30 years, but this original version - on the original "360 Stereo" Columbia label is far superior in almost every way, to the reissue. The sound is sharp, fully defined and crisp, separation clear and dynamic range almost beyond human capacities. The songs are: The American Metaphysical Circus- Hard Coming Love - Cloud Song - The Garden of Earthly Delights - I won’t leave my wooden wife for you, sugar - Where is yesterday - Coming Down - Stranded in Time - The American Way of Love. Don’t fail to grab this beautiful work and a major, important relic of psychedelic era.

The PROMOTIONAL, RADIO STATION-, AUDITION OR DEMONSTRATION COPIES AND RELEASES (such as the one we have here) were often distributed among the radio stations before the record was released to the public, sometimes as much as four months ahead. These records are generally considered to be the "first among equals", which is to say the VERY FIRST generation and the VERY FIRST pressings of the particular title; a PROTOTYPE and the earliest known official pressing of the record.

For additional information about the group ►click here . For additional information about the album itself, ►click here

THIS IS A NO-RESERVE AUCTION!

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CONDITION:

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 (WEAK) NEAR MINT. Some VERY LIGHT AND SUPERFICIAL abrasions – mostly sleeve scuffs - are (barely) visible, but are probably inaudible, and do not affect visual integrity or beauty of the vinyl. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)            The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

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

COVER 1 (inner , cardboard jacket)

THE INNER (CARDBOARD) COVER IS NEAR MINT !

THE COVER IS ABOUT VERY GOOD+(+)

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-         Cover has some ring wear. On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and 10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 4 (front side) and 6 (back side)

-         Back cover has circular tarnish (grayish, dust-covered sections, which closely follow the contour of the record), probably caused by friction or by rubbing against other covers during the storage. The tarnish is similar in appearance to a common ring wear, but, UNLIKE ring wear, these grayish areas may be possible to clean up with a minor effort and with a right cleansing solution.

-         Back cover has some brownish stains, probably from exposure to humidity (total area covered is less than 1 square inch)

-         Cover shows some yellowing on back side, apparently from aging.

-         Cover has a partially split top seam (less than 1 inch / 2.5 centimeters)

-         Cover has a partially split bottom seam (between 2 and 4 inches / 5 to 10 centimeters)

-         Minor shelf wear noted on the top and bottom seam (nothing significant)

-         Cover has a few tiny wrinkles along the spine

-         Cover has some tiny, faint writing on its back side (a small filing code written in one corner)

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE COVER:

-         No cut-out (drill) holes.

-         No cut-out corners

-         No saw-marks or indents

-         No stamps

-         No peel-off marks

-         No mold or mildew spots

-         No stickers or labels

-         No water damage

-         No warping

-         No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover

-         No bar codes

-         No RIAA stamps or stickers.

COVER 2: THE EXTERNAL COVER (“BROWN BAG” ENVELOPE)

THE BROWN BAG (ENVELOPE) IS NICE --- ABOUT EXCELLENT OR VERY GOOD++ (VG++).

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the envelope

-         The envelope has some light ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and 10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 4

-         The envelope has circular tarnish (grayish, dust-covered sections, which closely follow the contour of the record), probably caused by friction or by rubbing against other covers during the storage. The tarnish is similar in appearance to a common ring wear, but, UNLIKE ring wear, these grayish areas may be possible to clean up with a minor effort and with a right cleansing solution.

-         Cover has a few tiny wrinkles along the seams

-         2-inch tear noted along the folding of the envelope’s flap

-         Minor shelf wear noted on the seams (nothing significant)

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE ‘BROWN BAG’ ENVELOPE

-         No cut-out (drill) holes.

-         No cut-out corners

-         No saw-marks or indents

-         No yellowing from aging

-         No writing

-         No stamps

-         No peel-off marks

-         No stains

-         No mold or mildew spots

-         No stickers or labels

-         No water damage

-         No warping

-         No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover

-         No bar codes

-         No RIAA stamps or stickers.

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

Generally, US POSTAGE is $5.80 FOR THE FIRST ITEM shipped via USPS PRIORITY MAIL (this includes a small $1.00 packaging surcharge).

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE- and insurance rates vary from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage and insurance rates ►click here. While you can be rest assured that our packaging is careful, sturdy and impact-proof, please note we are NOT responsible for uninsured items.

Media- and Surface Mail rates are available ONLY to orders of $200.00 or more. NO EXCEPTIONS.

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

Cash refund will be granted only for DEFECTIVE items, but we are flexible and reasonable in reviewing the merits of each individual case. We do NOT play-grade records and can only make reasonable inference on the item's condition based on its visual appearance. Every bid carries a risk that purchased item might play worse than its visual grade may indicate. Still sealed items MUST be returned sealed in order to be eligible for a refund. Please read our complete refund policy before placing a bid. ►Click here for the full text of our policy .

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