ZAPPA / MOTHERS - Uncle Meat RARER Orig UK 68 EX LPs

	£		44
	$		58

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION

Album Title: Uncle Meat.

Produced: Frank Zappa.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Uncle Meat; The Voice of Cheese; Nine Types of Industrial Pollution; Zolar Czakl; Dog Breath in The Year of the Plague; The Legend of the Golden Arches; Louie Louie; The Dog Breath Variations.

Side 2: Sleeping in a Jar; our Bizarre Relationship; The Uncle Meat Variations; Electric Aunt Jemima; Prelude to King Kong; God Bless America; A Pound for a Brown on the Bus; Ian Underwood Whips it Out.

Side 3: Mr Green Genes; We Can Shoot You; If We’d All Been Living in California; The Air; Project X; Cruising for Burgers.

Side 4: King Kong Itself; King Kong by Don Preston; King Kong by Motorhead; King Kong the Gardener varieties; King Kong ‘deranged’; King Kong by Ian Underwood.

Label/Format: Transatlantic – original purple and white format and all four surfaces textured. I am sure this was never repressed, hence so many later US copies are seen here. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: All four very clean, fresh looking with no grubbiness to the white textured surfaces. Spindle marks range from from very light to light, all fine and faint.

Cat Number: TRA 197.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Records: 142 / 131 grams. Very good solid weights for this double set.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: UK pressings on Transatlantic are quite rare. It was not available very long before being deleted and not repressed here. So later Zappa fans had to rely on imported, usually US copies which were wafer thin and largely inferior. The UK pressings did NOT include a book, but a British-made book, being different inside to the US book exist and were made available at the gigs of the era, they are very rare.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: STRA 197 A1 / STRA 197 B1 / STRA 197 C1 / STRA 197 D1

Musicians: Frank Zappa – guitar, percussion, vocals; Ray Collins - vocals; Jimmy Carl Black - drums; Roy Estrada - electric bass, vocal; Don Preston - electric piano; Billy Mundi - drums; Bunk Gardner - piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, bassoon (all mostly electrified); Ian Underwood - electric organ, piano, harpsichord, celeste, flute, clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax; Art Tripp - drums, timpani, vibes, marimba, xylophone, wood blocks, bells, small chimes; Euclid James (Motorhead) Sherwood - frenetic sax; tambourine. Guests: Ruth Komanoff (later Underwood) - marimba, vibes; Nelcy Walker - soprano vocal.

Brief Artist & Album Info: In terms of ‘progressive’ music, they don’t come much more progressive than this awesome double album. One of the cornerstones of a serious Zappa collection regardless of which pressing or country of issue it comes from. I am happy to offer any clean great-sounding copy of what is one of my favourite albums ever. An amazing blend of rock, psychedelia and free-jazz and very experimental. The use of early electronics and treatments of voices and traditional musical instruments is quite mind-blowing. This was the Mothers of Invention with eleven members, it introduces us to Ruth Komanoff (later Underwood), a hugely talented classically-trained percussionist who really understood Zappa’s complex music and plays the distinctive marimba and other vibes on this remarkable set. Zappa was still printing Edgard Varèse’s quote on his albums - ‘The present day composer refuses to die!’ - but so far his talent for outrage had somewhat obscured his skills as a composer. Uncle Meat aimed to put that right, a double release that down-played lyrics. ‘Basically this is an instrumental album’, it stated inside the gatefold. A note described the technique of overdubbing, which was used extensively, opening up the weird world of virtual orchestration. New recruits, Arthur Tripp and Ruth Komanoff were both added on percussion with Jimmy Carl Black. They helped Zappa realise some of his fiendish metrical ingenuities. Ian Underwood played harpsichord: a jangling, absurdist quality infuses all the music. Uncle Meat eventually became a great favourite in Europe, and almost single-handedly gave birth to the genre of ‘Art Rock’. The music was to be used in the movie of the same name, but never got actually finished until much later (the money ran out). This is Zappa at the very peak of creativity, predominately instrumental, but not all, it includes some classic live performances taken from tours in the US and UK. ‘Louie Louie’ features Don Preston on the ‘mighty Royal Albert Hall Pipe Organ’ and the band also demolish ‘God Bless America’ (an equivalent statement to the distortions Hendrix was applying to ‘Star Spangled Banner’). Pamela Zarubica (a one time house-mate) appeared as the ‘Voice of the Cheese’ - Zappa takes the listener from domestic intimacy to rock-venue spectacle in breathtaking lurches. Every track is interesting in its complexity either vocally, or more so instrumentally. Zappa’s solo on ‘Nine Type of Industrial Pollution’ has inspired many guitarists in the future with its strange chord structures and sound. ‘The Air’ had lyrics about customs searches and tape recordings and ‘If We’d all Been Living in California’ is a conversation between Jimmy Carl Black and Zappa about why the Mothers were not making more money being on the road and being near destitute. The album’s piece-de-resistance and long-standing favourite is Side D taken up by one of Zappa’s greatest compositions: ‘King Kong’, this is a six section instrumental featuring some blistering solos from Underwood on electric alto sax, Motorhead on a deranged baritone sax and best of all Bunk Gardner’s solo. Many assume this is a treated electric saxophone solo, but not so. The amazing sounds are created on an electric clarinet - you have never heard nothing like this before - the reed’s spit and rasp and create a sound possibly unique to this amazing album. The instrument is simply blown to destruction, this is Gardner’s tour de force, his finest moment with the Mothers. The large band is in overdrive on ‘Kong Kong’ and sounds created are astonishing. I compared this vinyl record against the Japanese card cover CD and the vinyl has the edge in all departments with more detail and depth. The prelude to King Kong on side B is pretty amazing too, a vast free-form jazz rock instrumental - this is the band blowing at their very best. (Check out the CD Pachuco Hop if you can find it for more of the same, recorded live in Toronto 1969 - its incredible). For any Zappa fan who has not heard this amazing journey into free jazz and weird creativity, this has to be experienced. The sounds embedded in these vintage grooves are priceless and so far ahead of their time they still sound remarkable today. The use of early synths and electronic effects was groundbreaking, and no other album sounds quite like this, this record and it’s importance in progressive and jazz rock is undeniable. If it proved to weird for you back in the late 60s, give it another try today, the best records take time to fully appreciate and this is more than worthy of perseverance. This is a very fine copy: the only mark on the record of note is a scratch on the run-out groove on side four, it only clicks just as the music finishes, so no effect on enjoyment at all. Also includes a very fine cover, one that is so terribly wear-prone, I have seen some of these threadbare, split and very badly rubbed and ringworn, this one has only modest wear and will match or better the majority around. Regarding this man’s work – this is truly one of the very best ever. Weird? oh yes, very much so – enjoy!

Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very high++. Both UK and US covers are notoriously fragile and split, rub and wear so badly unless stored and handled with extreme card. Best to keep the records out of the cover all the time, few ever did.

Cover Grade and Format: VERY GOOD++: arguably undergraded as the main four faces are in strong condition. Mainly marked down for edge rubbing. An delicate unlaminated gatefold format and made with quite thin card, hardly surprising these thick heavy records usually press into the surface to cause often deep, ugly ringwear. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press. The UK pressings did not include a book. But one does exist that was made available at the gigs but cannot be considered as a part of this album. Only the early US versions included one.

Cover Front: Not the prettiest front cover artwork ever but for a change, one that shows little wear. The very first ones that hit the shops had a large LSD price sticker on the front, these are massively rare – I have a near mint one in my own collection – but that is going nowhere. I have only ever seen two. This front has few marks and minimal rubbing, a few traces near the very edges. The lack of creasing or ringwear is a bonus too, this is thin card and rarely does it escape, no sticker marks either, so a fine front for an incompromising sleeve.

Cover Back: The back is very similar with just a light ring arc near the top edge and an even fainter trace near the bottom (but look hard). A few minor light creases and fine surface marks seen more under light.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Fresh and clean with rich colour with practically nothing to fault, almost as made and worthy of note again is the lack of pressure marks, creasing and rim impressions. Any traces of set-off are very faint indeed.

Top & Bottom Edges: The top pair have a little less than moderate patchy rubbing. The bottom pair have moderate plus rubbing and few escape.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Fairly sharp still with little wear, both guaranteed untrimmed. Records entered on these fragile edges.

Spine and Text: Quite solid with most of any rubbing on the top fold, but still pretty light in context. A little patchy rubbing with a small few text characters clipped or lightly rubbed, but the majority of the text is present and strong.

Corners: All have tip rubs in context for their respective edge. Fine shape is largely retained.

Cover Summary: The most difficult UK-made Zappa cover ever. Unlaminated double sets with quite heavy records inside have little chance and this one is very rare to find even near Excellent, let alone better. This is a very respectable example, very good means just that and this is a little better and arguably undergraded. Not for the perfectionist, but many collectors who appreciate how difficult this one is should enjoy it.

The Inner Sleeves: The two plain, unlined, open windowed inners are included. Original or not, I cannot be sure, they are very similar but not identical. Mildly aged but neat and secure with some lightish discolour.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: or very close to, this NOT taking into account of the scratch on the run out of side four that does not affect the music. This clicks as the sound ends. A very fine visual pair that are clean with fine shine, intense black and solidly pressed. Any other marks are surface types with no sound, they are few, mostly fine and faint. This splendid pair should please many, if not most collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: Both records play above their high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is simply awesome with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. The details and dynanics of a first issue pressing blows away any later imports and the CDs hardly even compare. Pretty much devoid of surface sound and no pops or clicks were noted (on the music parts) and this is an exceptional clean pressing for a very challenging album. Transatlantic were not always the most reliable label for pristine pressings, but they excelled on this one. Not a label known for too many ‘progressive’ or ‘underground’ acts, mostly a dedicated folk label and this was Zappa’s only release on it. Few copies will outperform this quality pair and nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading these classic records. Always a thrill for me to hear this album via the analogue format and my Japanese card CD versions are slowly gathering dust. These two discs could prove difficult to find much better and merit my high recommendation.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or prompt payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied. If you cannot pay, DO NOT BID.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.