BLUE CHEER "VINCEBUS ERUPTUM" 1968 FIRST PRESSING PHILLIPS RARE TRIPPY TEXTURED

$

28

BLUE CHEER "VINCEBUS ERUPTUM" RARE 1968 U.S. FIRST PRESSING NICE VINYL AND GREAT TRIPPY, TEXTURED COVER
BLUE CHEER "VINCEBUS ERUPTUM" LABEL: PHILLIPS PHS 600-264 RELEASED: JANUARY 16th, 1968 EDITION: FIRST U.S. PRESSING 1968 TEXTURED COVER RECORDED DECEMBER 1967 ~ AMIGO STUDIOS NORTH HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER: ABE 'VOCO' KESH PRESSING PLANT: MERCURY RECORDS COMPANY ('MR' IN MATRIX) LINER NOTES (POEM): AUGUSTUS OWSLEY STANLEY III SLEEVE NOTE: "AMPLIFIERS BY JIM MARSHALL LTD." COVER ART DIRECTION: "GUT" MATRIX (SIDE A): PHS600264A-M2  MR

CONDITION:  VINYL VG++  JACKET VG+
I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection these past few weeks and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 45 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this rare original 1968 First U.S. Pressing of Blue Cheer's debut album "Vincebus Eruptum"
This is my original copy, purchased back in the early 70's, that I've cherished and taken great care of for many years. See details on Condition below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a rare original January 1968 First Pressing. Not many of these were released initially, as Phillips wasn't sure how it would be received. It was more popular than they thought, and quickly repressed again in the summer of 1968.
This album has been repressed and re-issued several times over the years, but true original First Pressings can be identified in several ways:
Firstly, and most impressively, this album has the thick, embossed, very textured, drippy and trippy, purple, white and silver jacket, which was never quite duplicated on later pressings. It just screams LSD and psychedelia.
The Philips shield on the front cover is purple with silver lettering. The 2nd and later pressings reversed the colors. Modern re-issues brought the purple back.
LSD guru "Augustus Stanley Owsley III" is fully credited for the 'poem' on the back cover. This was shortened and altered on repressings.
First pressings do not have any producer credits or other information on the labels. Very plain simple labels.
The back cover credits at the bottom start with "All selections published by BMI"
This copy has all these features and just looks and feels "Correct." 
If you're a vinyl record collector, you know that feeling and 'vibe' when you're holding a vintage 'OG' copy. This copy just oozes psychedelia and has a strange lysergic power eminating from it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE HISTORY OF 'BLUE CHEER' AND "VINCEBUS ERUPTUS"
Blue Cheer was formed by the singer/bass player and mad visionary Dickie Peterson in San Francisco in 1966.
The early band was a loose, six-piece, rocking blues revue, with lots of drug-fueled energy and enthusiasm, but they were trying to find their 'niche' in the quickly expanding Bay area rock scene.
There were a bunch of different members at the beginning, but after seeing Jimi Hendrix perform locally, the band's core members Dickie Peterson, drummer Paul Whaley and guitarist Leigh Stephens were inspired by Jimi's trio and thinned the band down to just the 3 of them; creating their own 'power trio'.
They were also inspired by other power trios like Cream, Taste and the James Gang, who were popular at the time.
~~~~ In early 1968 when this album was released, everyone was still dealing with the fallout of 'Are You Experienced?', the Hendrix debut that changed what rock music was, sounded like and could be.
If you weren't around the music scene back then, it's hard to explain how game-changing that album was. It commanded attention. It was so different, technically dazzling and innovative that it altered everything that followed it.
Blue Cheer wanted to make an album which also demanded attention and was like nothing else before it.  They were impressed by seeing Jimi and the sounds that his heavily amplified rock trio could make, but wanted to take it even deeper, to create music so loud and physical that it made the amps and speakers howl. 
By the summer of 1967, Blue Cheer developed their unique sound; a cross of Cream's tight rhythm, Hendrix's flamboyant excess, and the Bluesy riffs of the blues masters, both old and new.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lead singer and Bassist Dickie Peterson later clarified their intent: “People thought we were just making noise...a detriment to the scene. We wanted to be loud...wanted our music to be physical...wanted it to be more than just an audio experience. This is what we set out to try and do. We ended up being in a lot of trouble with other musicians of the time". 
Blue Cheer thrilled some, angered others, and disrupted the status quo, just like art and rock music is supposed to do. Legendary rock writer Lester Bangs was an early champion of Blue Cheer. He called them the first true American power trio. 
~~~~~~~~~~ 'Vincebus Eruptum' was certainly a record way ahead of its time. There really wasn’t anything as loud and aggressive as Blue Cheer before this debut album appeared. Hendrix and Cream were loud and powerful, but they performed skilled, melodic, masterfully written songs, that were often beautiful and insightful.
Blue Cheer introduced a new, raw, aggression to rock. They were only after two things - volume and intensity. They were so loud and heavy, their manager claimed, that “They turn the air into cottage cheese.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Being a San Francisco band, one would think that Blue Cheer would sound like all the other 'flower-power' & 'peace and love' bands of the time, but Blue Cheer was unlike any other Bay Area band, or ANY band at the time.
Although they shared a town (San Francisco) and a pharmacist (Owsley Stanley) with other Psych bands, their musical approach was entirely different.
Blue Cheer was the epitome of San Francisco psychedelia, but at the same time embodied the absolute antithesis of San Francisco's 'Summer of Love'. Blue Cheer chose to be loud, aggressive and "counterculture," when many other San Francisco bands were promoting peace, love, harmony and “flower power”
Blue Cheer played at extreme volumes, which some people loved, but many other Bay Area musicians and bands despised.
Blue Cheer's bassist and vocalist Dickie Peterson stated: "We were the ugly stepchildren. Everybody in the San Francisco scene was all 'kiss babies and eat flowers'. We were sort of' kiss flowers and eat babies'" 
Jim Morrison of The Doors called the group, “The single most powerful band I’ve ever seen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The band took their name, 'Blue Cheer' from a very popular type of LSD created and promoted by Owsley Stanley. The band, like the early Grateful Dead, was closely linked with Owsley and even included an Owsley poem on the back cover of this album.
Owsley strangely and mysteriously states: "Subtle color of the mind - BLUE, call the figure of the soul - CHEER."
Psychedelic LSD references are all over this album, from Leigh Stephens' fuzzed out guitar work, to the great album cover itself.
This album jacket is one of the most 'psychedelic' and LSD inspired record covers I've ever seen; from the lettering graphics, to the extremely thick, textured artwork, to the 'mirrored' images of the band on the back.
It's design is very similar to the style of concert handbills and posters of the time designed by Rick Griffin, Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, and Victor Moscoso.
The cover art was overseen by their manager Allan Terk, a former Hell's Angels associate, who simply went by the name "Gut." 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the Fall of 1967, the band ventured to Amigo Studios in North Hollywood, California and, with the assistance of producer Abe “Voco” Kesh, they were able to capture and record this debut album called "Vincebus Eruptum"
The story is that the title was a made-up Latin term meaning “conquered chaos” or "controlled explosion,” depending on which group member you believe.
Certainly, the music represents a 'Controlled Explosion' capturing the group's definitive sound. The Band comes blasting off the vinyl, radiating extreme decibels of sonic might as they turn up the volume on their Marshall amplifiers to maximum capacity. 
"Vincebus Eruptum", was released on January 16, 1968. It was released on the smaller Dutch Phillips label, as the bigger West Coast labels weren't sure what to make of the band and it's explosive sound.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The genius and legacy of 'Vincebus Eruptum' lies in its overlapping blend of traditional blues riffs, modern psychedelic sound, and Leigh Stephen's frenzied guitar-playing. 
'Vincebus' is all about power, mayhem and psychedelic insanity. It's a psychedelic, almost psychotic, thunderstorm of sound and fury. 
Leigh Stephens unleashes a deafening wall of guitar sound; Piercing, fuzzy, tangled, and undulating, with deafening turbulent reverb. All done with perfect Tone from his Gibson SG Standard.
He famously used 100-Watt Marshall amps, and would use four to six stacks at a time onstage. The band's massive stack of Marshall amps was treated as a 4th band member. They are as much an essential part of their sound, and this record, as the musicians themselves.
The Band strangely gives minimal production, recording or engineering credits on this early first pressing, but it does rightly give credit to "Marshall Ltd" and LSD Guru Owsley on the back cover. It clearly shows where their main 'inspirations' came from.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Blue Cheer's sound is completely dominated by the psychedelic, mind-expanding, fuzz-draped guitar of Leigh Stephens. 
Leigh Stephens was self-taught on guitar, so he incorporated everything he heard, 'colored' it with psychedelia, and developed his own unique sound. In the process he created some of the most psychedelic guitar sounds ever laid down on record.
Stephens' playing on this album is fantastic. He doesn't have the technical mastery of Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton, but he makes up for it with fantastic psychedelic frenzy, perfect crisp tone and his absolute mastery of taming, and 'surfing,' the feedback of his Marshall amps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In retrospect, Blue Cheer is cited as the world's first 'heavy metal' band. That's partly true and partly false. 'Vincebus Eruptum' is certainly "heavy," but it's not heavy metal. 
Whether this album can really be called the first "Heavy Metal" album or not is debateable, but it's devastating assault did redefine musical aggression and sonic brutality. It took sixties teenage angst and hurled it back at unsuspecting, stunned, stoned hippies like some sort of sonic jackhammer. I guess you could argue that's a 'Heavy Metal' attitude.
No other music released during that time even comes close to the level of power, volume and distortion unleashed on this album. It broke new boundaries and opened up new possibilities. Like Velvet Underground's debut, not many people purchased this, but the few who did all started a band, inspired by the sound.
You have to realize this album came out a full year before Led Zeppelin's first and a full two years before Black Sabbath's classic first album. Like the V/U, there was nothing like it at the time.
If you listen through all the Psychedelic Fuzz, the roots of metal, proto-punk and stoner rock can all be found.
The pure rawness of the album and the gritty vocals clearly sound proto-punk and remind me of the early Detroit scene of the MC5 and the Stooges. Peterson’s vocals sound very 'Iggy' in places.
With 'Vincebus Eruptum', the band combined their passion for blues and early rock with heavy doses of both aggression and LSD, to create a brand new, 'heavy' sound.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The crude, low-fi production of this recording, and the limits of their strange choice of studio, takes away some of the shine, clarity, potency and potential of this recording, but at the same time it gives the album authenticity, a raw DIY sound, pure attitude, raw power and grit, which makes it work and makes it sound fantastic in it's own way.
The musicianship on 'Vincebus Eruptum' tends to be a bit primitive and disheveled, but Dickie, Leigh and Paul perform the material with uninhibited spirit and energy. 
It's irreverent, loud, frantic, raw, and primal. It's a little sloppy and a little out of tune, but that's the point. That's what makes this album a classic. The record's basic, lo-fi production is nice to hear again in this modern world of Audiophile perfection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'Vincebus' only contains six songs, half original songs written by Dickie Peterson and half covers, which clearly show that Blue Cheer had one ear in the past and one ear in the future.
They pay respect to those that came before them; Eddie Cochran, Mose Allison, and BB King, but certainly stamped their own unique style on the songs, breaking them down, and re-inventing them, intentionally corrupting them with their heavy style and lacing them with fuzzy feedback guitar.
Their original tunes, "Doctor Please," "Out of Focus" and "Second Time Around" are not preoccupied with luring fans with catchy hooks and pop sounds, but more focused on pushing the limits of their amps and showing off their mastery of their fuzz-driven sound and musical genius.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kicking off 'Vincebus Eruptum' is a hard-hitting cover of Eddie Cochran‘s “Summertime Blues” which surprisingly became the band's 'hit', despite making hit singles the furthest thing from their mind. It's still considered one of the best covers of that timeless song.
"Summertime Blues" remains their definitive song in so many ways. They capture the angst and raw teen emotion of the Cochran original, but they add feedback-ridden, abrasive guitar riffs, thick bass and a rumbling avalanche of drums.
It sounds more like how The Jimi Hendrix Experience would approach it, rather than the original's pop intent.
The other covers on this album, BB King's “Rock Me Baby” and Mose Allison's "Parchment Farm" show how Blue Cheer can take an old simple blues song and infuse it with their own powerful sound and style to transform them into driving rockers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The rest of Side One is highlighted by the abrasively loud and amazing guitar-work of Leigh Stephens, especially on the album's first original composition, "Doctor Please." 
"Doctor Please" is a rollicking number, supposedly about Peterson's first time delving into the world of LSD. The song speeds up and accelerates, like a trip, driven by Paul Whaley's frantic, pounding drums and clashing cymbals.
As the song peaks, Peterson's lyrics include the classic line "I need your Pain Killers..."
Leigh Stephens' wild, extensive guitar solo ranks among one of his very best on this album.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Side two begins its onslaught with Peterson's "Out Of Focus" in which Dickie appears to question his mental state of well-being. 
He sings tales of "the magic madness" and "mystic dream" while the song grooves along with a jangling tambourine sound and a relatively mellow beat compared to the rest of the album.
This song is where Leigh Stephens really shines. His tone on guitar on this track really defines the Blue Cheer sound.
His Gibson SG, played thru a 'Big Muff' fuzzbox into a cranked up Marshall amp rightfully earned him a fervent underground following. This song has an overdubbed, double-tracked solo that is just amazing. Psychedelic guitar-lick madness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The album closes out with another Blue Cheer classic, "Second Time Around," which features Stephens' most unhinged, insane playing on this guitar heavy album.
It's a grimy, explosive, barn-burner seemingly written to emphasize guitar soloing. Peterson gives a scalding vocal performance as well, shouting and hollering throughout like a madman, all while Paul Whaley pulverizes the hell out of his drum kit. 
This song really cements Blue Cheer's legacy as being one of the loudest and wildest bands to come out of the 1960s.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
I purchased this copy back in the early 70's, 50 years ago, and have taken great care of it since.
VINYL: The vinyl looks nice. Clean and bright. Maybe a tiny hairline or two, and some evidence of play, but No serious scuffs, palpable scratches, or dings. It looks fantastic and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
Clean original copies of this record are nearly impossible to find. They weren't treated well back in the day.
The Deadwax has the first pressing matrix numbers, and the Mercury pressing plant stamp, but not much else. See the full Matrix numbers above.
I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it looks. I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
I haven't messed with it or cleaned it, other than my trusty 'DiscWasher' brush, in 50 years, since Nixon was in office. It could use a good deep cleaning to make it even better looking and better sounding than it already is.
LABELS: This is pressed with the classic 'shield and rainbow' black Phillips labels with a 'deep groove.' The labels do not have any credits or information on them; rather plain.
The labels are clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are still relatively sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing and my careful handling over the years.
JACKET: As you can see from my pictures, this still looks very nice for a 50 year old OG copy. 
This original first pressing has a fantastic, trippy, album jacket. It's very tactile and psychedelic. It has amazing silver and purple colors and a great heavily textured, trippy and drippy, look and feel. It's very psychedelic and oozes LSD vibes. I tried to show pictures of this album's 'texture'.
Back in the day, one used to hold, study, read and absorb the album jacket while listening to the record. I can just imagine someone putting this album on at a party in early 1968, while 'under the influence', turning the volume to 11, and then handing this album jacket to someone to check out. I'm sure it 'came alive' under the right circumstances.
This thick, textured, embossed jacket is notorious for showing ringwear, dirt, scuffs and damage, but this copy is still quite nice. There is some ringwear, front and back, but not too bad. In 50 years of collecting I've never seen an original without at least some ringwear which seems to be on EVERY early copy of this record.
There is a small seam split on one of the opening edges. (see pics).
There's some very minor shelf wear along the edges, but the artwork is bold and bright.
Overall, I'll call the whole record VG+, but the vinyl is clean. A nice survivor of a different place and time.
It has it's original 'tanned' plain white inner sleeve but this has been stored in a poly-lined sleeve for many years. This record has been sleeved and stored properly for decades, and is still quite nice for an original pressing.
You can see from my pictures it's still quite nice and acceptable. This copy is all original, and a real gem. I'm sure you'll love it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
My grading is fair and honest. I have had over 3,400 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for well over 25 years, so please bid with confidence!
I'm a 0ne-man operation, this is a hobby, not my job. I do this for fun. I do this because I love music, love collecting vinyl and want others to share in that same experience. I take my time listening, researching, grading, listing and packaging. I will NOT sell any record that I personally would not want in my collection.
As you well know, packing and shipping rare records requires special care and attention, therefore, shipping cost within the lower 48 states is $5.00 on this item. If you would like insurance, or anything faster than Media/Economy Mail, please let me know and I can arrange it for you. I’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy!
I will gladly combine multiple records, or other items on my page, and make the shipping much less for you. I don’t inflate the shipping costs; they are what they are. I strive to keep them as low as possible. See my feedback for comments on my quality packing and shipping.
All items are packaged with sturdy cardboard mailers and appropriate padding. I take pride in my packaging and shipping and package all my records as if I were sending them to myself. I refuse to use cheap flimsy packaging material when sending my vinyl. I treat them as if they were my own and mail them the same way. 
All orders are processed and shipped within 2 business days of receipt. We package and ship our vinyl records with the greatest care, using proper packaging to ensure that your rare and collectible vinyl records arrive in pristine condition.
Payments can be made by any of the multiple options that Ebay offers.
I will be happy to exchange feedback with anyone I complete a transaction with.
THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN