1971 BIG BROTHER HOLDING CO HOW HARD x- Janis S.F. SOUND PSYCH
$
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Description
PLEASE READ BEFORE BIDDING: Please read the entire auction listing, including shipping costs, before writing to ask a question. OUR GOAL IS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. In order to meet that goal, we will ALWAYS work with our customers on any concerns that may arise. If you feel the need to open a resolution dispute before working with us, you will immediately be blocked from any further chance to acquire the rare music we present each and every week. Payment is required within seven days. We mail all paid items ONE WEEK after auctions end. Please keep in mind our listings are time consuming in detail and we are often traveling to find these gems, which at times delays the delivery schedule by a day or two. We ALWAYS process and ship every paid order. We have no control over parcels once they are mailed from our local Post Office.Overseas mail to some countries (Italy, Russia, France, in particular) has became very slow. Opening a dispute for slow mail is unacceptable and will result in blocking the bidder. We work hard to provice excellent service as is represented by our 8000 plus positive feedback. We use a VPI machine and thoroughly clean all records. Each order is carefully packaged by removing the LP from the jacket to avoid seam splits, use of 3 ml plastic cover sleeves over each LP and jacket, cardboard pad inserts, and placed in sturdy record mailers for safe delivery. We take Customer Service seriously, and want you to be satisfied. Please give us 5 stars in each category through the feedback system, and we will be able to effectively continue to fulfill your passion for rare and collectible music! We have served thousands of satisfied customers - far more than our feedback records indicate - and our aim is to continue to do so. Thank you for your interest and support. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHIPPING:
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TOP COPY!
A RARE FIND!!!
BIG BROTHER
AND
THE HOLDING COMPANY
== How Hard It Is ==
\ USA - Columbia Records ... C 30738
TOP COPY!!!
Original 1971 first pressing vinyl in thick gatefold cover...
By far and away the hardest to find Big Bother album, especially mint like this as the dark cover is almost NEVER found without shelf wear ...here, a RARE survivor at M- ...harder to find this clean than you can imagine....
The second and final of the post-Janis Joplin Big Brother albums for Columbia was the closing of a chapter. A picture of Big Brother inside the gatefold has the band glowing with heavenly light; the cover photo is more telling, with faceless men standing in the shadows. To realize how good a Big Brother & the Holding Company album this is, all one has to do is play it. How Hard It Is, is right on target. The title track feels like vintage Big Brother. Kathy McDonald is credited as a guest artist on "Black Widow Spider"; she co-sings the lead, but it sure sounds like her on "How Hard It Is" and "House on Fire" as well and, eerily, it is much like when Janis sang in unison with the band. The major difference is that they can play their instruments better here, four years after the Monterey Pop Festival brought them to the attention of Columbioa Records. Nick Gravenites and McDonald were the perfect choices to step in, Gravenites having written two tracks on Joplin's Kozmic Blues LP and also having performed with her on Joplin in Concert. McDonald has sweetness, but can reach in and find some gravel to complement Gravenites. Everything on this album is listenable, and the three tracks -- "Last Band on Side One," "Maui," and "Promise Her Anything, But Give Her Arpeggio" -- are statements that the band members are real musicians, journeymen with vision. The loss of more recorded music by this group from this point in time is a tragedy. The Gravenites version of "Buried Alive in the Blues," the song he wrote for Joplin's Pearl album, is chilling; her death happened hours before the scheduled session when she was to sing on the Full Tilt Boogie Band's recording. Big Brother would have done well to have continued in the more bluesy direction this album pointed to rather than perform Janis Joplin's hits in small clubs. "Maui" and the song "Shine On" are as good as anything Moby Grape and Quicksilver Messenger Service could conjure up. Sam Andrew, James Gurley, Peter Albin, and David Getz cover music from all three phases of Joplin's career. The first song on side two, "Nu Boogaloo Jam," is pure Kozmic Blues Band, which Sam Andrew was part of at the beginning; the aforementioned "Buried Alive in the Blues," as stated, was recorded by the Full Tilt Boogie Band for Pearl. This album covers the gamut of styles that Joplin would bring to the world between 1968 and 1970. It's a catastrophe that this band was waiting for its lead singer to come home for the inevitable reunion; Joplin's death affected many lives and the body of work this band could have amassed. Where the Doors went off into a brief and spirited rock-jazz journey for two albums -- Jim Morrison's band experimenting with ideas they couldn't attempt as a superstar pop group -- Big Brother had lost its Morrison and was lost without its focal point. How Hard It Is and the album that preceded it, Be a Brother, are very musical and very good albums, but they just don't have the electric majesty of Cheap Thrills, an album that took their wildness and used it as an incredible bed for Joplin's truly cosmic vocal work and emotion. If allowed to record as the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane had despite those bands' personnel changes, there would now be a deep catalog of San Francisco rock from this essential psychedelic / experimental ensemble. Although Janis Joplin had a guest vocal on Be a Brother, her only participation here consists of photos inside the album jacket, a family tree of sorts. This is a striking record by an important band, but Joplin's contributions were so overwhelming that the integrity in these grooves never got the chance to reach a wider audience when it was first released.
.How Hard It Is
- You've Been Talkin' Bout Me, Baby
- House On Fire
- Black Widow Spider
- Last Band On Side One
- Nu Boogaloo Jam
- Maui
- Shine On
- Buried Alive In The Blues
- Promise Her Anything But Give Her Arpeggio
CONDITION: The Cover: thick gatefold cover is near M- no split seams, no bends, no writing and no delete marks...a must and such a rare find in this collectible condition...
The Vinyl: all glossy clean, M- TOP COPY and plays perfect...both labels are clean...
A cool addition to anyone's music library!
SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...
EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING
All imperfections are noted both cover & record
NOTE: All Items backed by money back guarantee! IF you have a problem PLEASE let us solve for you BEFORE leaving ANY negative feedback. Thanks! GRADING SCALE: M, M-, EX, VG++,VG+, VG, VG- M Completely clean, no marks M- Carefully used, looks clean, plays clean, shiny gloss, no marks EX Faint scuff or superficial mark, near M-, high gloss, plays clean VG++ Glossy with minimal scuffing or light mark playing very nice, clean VG+ a bit more scuff or markls still plays well with very minimal surface at worse VG more marks/scratches only minor, nothing deep, no loud clicks or pops this grade is abused by many, VG here does not mean "trashed" VG- surface noise present, will not have skips or jumps ALL PAYMENTS SHOULD BE MADE WITHIN 5 DAYS Of AUCTIONS END BIDDERS PLEASE = Do Not Bid If You Are Not Serious About Following Through The Transaction! ALL ITEMS GUARANTEED FOR WINNING BID - LESS SHIPPING!
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