FRONT PAGE REVIEW - MYSTIC SOLDIERS 68 BOSTON PSYCHEDELIA pre ST. STEVEN SLD LP

$

30

FRONT PAGE REVIEW – Mystic Soldiers. Guerssen GUESS 134 LP. Spanish release. FACTORY SEALED VINYL RECORD ALBUM. Originally recorded in 1968, but not released as the band had broken up. First issued by Ace/Big Beat in 1996. This remastered edition issued in 2013. Includes 2 bonus tracks and comes with a photo/liner note insert. MEMBERS:  Steve Cataldo (vocals), Richard Bartlet (guitar), David Weber (drums), David Christiansen (guitar), Thomas Belliveau (bass), and Joseph Santangelo (piano, organ). TRACKS:  Prophecies/Morning Blue, Prism Fawn, One Eyed Minor, Feels Like Love, Silver Children, Valley Of Eyes, Without You, and For The Best Offer. BONUS TRACKS:  What Were You Looking For and I’m Satisfied. DESCRIPTION:  For many first-time listeners of The Front Page Review’s one and only album, Mystic Soldiers, it may seem like just another footnote in the endless ranks of psychedelic laced bands to have come out in the late sixties. Based out of Boston, Front Page Review was signed to MGM Records as part of their Bosstown Sound wave of bands from the late 60s and produced by Alan Lorber, who was the man responsible for signing most of the Boston bands to MGM during this time period. Once you’ve gotten your ears acclimated to their sound let it simmer in your mind for awhile and then go back and listen a little closer because there are some fine aural antics going on in the background of many of these songs. The opening number, Prophecies/Morning Blue is almost downright progressive with its theme of nuclear war, a building fuzz guitar, and a breathtaking tempo shift halfway through and then a Doors-like organ fueled coda. Prism Fawn sounds much like the Who's Relax from the Sell Out album....but once again, the lyrics are fixated on doom. Feels Like Love is a wonderful time capsule of the sixties you could have easily found on the first two Nazz albums. The electric, harpsichord-like keyboards play nicely against the tinny rhythm guitar work. Silver Children, one of the album’s highlights with its HP Lovecraft atmosphere, follows and yields another remarkable shift in tone; we go from happy love to the familiar Doors territory of The End with more of a mystical heaviness. Valley Of Eyes, with a decidedly more urgent tempo, goes from mystical to apocalyptic protest. Without You is more wistful and sad; a nice echo effect is induced onto Cataldo's vocal. The last song to complete the album proper is For The Best Offer, plays like an extended psychedelic dream with its series of different fade-ins and fade-outs and the persistent image of `she's the girl of a streetcorner tree'. Of the bonus tracks, What Were You Looking For features a fine fabulously distorted guitar-workout; I'm Satisfied is an upbeat bluesy number (if such a thing can be said to exist), which by being placed unfortunately after Looking For, ends up sounding more pedestrian than it had probably intended to. In all Front Page Review dish up the kind of psychedelic music you would expect from this time period, but they add a marvelous lyrical twist to many of their songs that sometimes is manifested in occasionally twisted music. Due to MGM’s marketing strategy of spreading out the Bosstown Sound product for maximum exposure time of each release and the glut of material recorded at that time, The Front Page Review album was pushed back for release. With no album to promote, the band had little hope of touring outside the Boston area and broke up before the album’s release. With no band to promote the album, MGM shelved the recordings. Their tragedy aside, Mystic Soldiers deserves to be heard and appreciated by lovers of 60s psychedelia. Steve Cataldo, soon after, recorded as St. Steven issuing one album on the ABC/Probe label. He later formed Nervous Eater during the heyday of punk & new wave as well as providing guitar on some of Willie Alexander’s (The Lost) late 70s recordings. Guitarist Richard Bartlett was later in Brother Fox And The Tar Baby who issued one album on the local Oracle label (later picked up by Capitol Records for national release, along with label mate Jaime Brockett’s album Remember The Wind And The Rain that features the underground classic Legend Of The USS Titanic).    

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All LPs are removed from their jackets and placed outside of the jacket for shipping. If an album comes sealed (and will be noted as such in the above description), it will be shipped whole unless you request that I open it up to place the disc outside of the jacket for shipping. Both jacket and disc are placed inside of an outer plastic sleeve before packing for shipping. I use professional corrugated record mailers.

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TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS:

SS or SLD:  Still Sealed or Sealed (or some variation of sealed depending on how many characters I have left in the title line). This item is new and unplayed. Also appears in the listing description as Sealed LP or Factory Sealed LP.

NEW LP:  This item is new and unplayed, but was received from a supplier without being shrink wrapped or cellophane wrapped; more common on imports but also many of the smaller independent US labels do not seal their LPs.

GFC:  Gate fold cover.

LTD EDT:  Limited, as in limited edition. If I know the press run number it will be included in the above description.

#'D:  Numbered edition. I will include the number of this item if it is visible to me.

CV:  Colored vinyl.

S/T:  Self-titled.

RE:  Reissue

OOP:  Out Of Print.

TERMS OF AUCTION/SALE: 

Buyer pays for POSTAGE & HANDLING:

Shipping rates are as of January 31, 2014; any subsequent rate increase will take precedence over the listed rates.

U.S. Shipping: 

$4.00 via USPS media mail for the first single LP or double disc LP set (excluding box sets). All US packages are shipped via eBay's USPS processing and include tracking.

Shipping of additional items of a multi-item purchase will be determined by weight. Please wait for my eBay invoice before making payment.

See U.S. Customers below for additional shipping services and payment method.

INTERNATIONAL Shipping (I ship worldwide; all packages shipped via first-class package international service and do not include tracking):

Prices will vary slightly due to the weight of the disc(s) and jacket. The amount listed in the shipping details is for this item only. Multiple item purchasers will need to wait for my invoice before making payment. On multiple item purchases the base rate for shipping will be the price of the highest/heaviest item to ship. Additional items will ship by weight.

I ship world wide. If your country is not covered with the listed rates please e-mail me before your purchase for the cost of shipping to your country. 

See International Customers below for additional shipping services, requirements, and payment method.

U.S. CUSTOMERS:

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INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: 

I have been shipping records and CDs around the world for over 25 years, so purchase with confidence. Items are shipped in professional corrugated mailers. Payment using credit cards can be made via Paypal or pay direct from your Paypal account to mine. If this is a problem please e-mail me for acceptable alternatives before you bid or purchase. All international payments are due in US $ only. Payment must be received within 7 days after close of bidding or date of purchase. If you can not meet my payment schedule please e-mail me with your needs. I only ask that you keep me informed. All packages are shipped via first class mail international (air); this is the least expensive method of shipping internationally, but does not necessarily meet all the conditions of Paypal’s buyer/seller protection plan. First Class Mail International does not offer tracking. If security is a major concern then please request Registered Mail, available upon request and at your expense, this is the least expensive method of meeting the conditions of Paypal’s buyer/seller protection plan; actual postal charge for registration is $13.65 in addition to the shipping total (required on all bids/purchases totaling $100 or more; this will be included with the invoiced shipping total). Priority Mail International and Express Mail International are available upon your request and at your expense. If you have any special needs of your purchase or you have any questions please e-mail me. 

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HANDLING TIME:  

Packages are usually shipped in less than 72 hours. NOTE:  This is not the same thing as delivery time, which begins once a package is turned over to the post office; averaging 3-7 business days for US delivery and 5 days to 3 weeks for international delivery (Italian customers it is not unusual for your package to take 4 weeks for delivery). International delivery is largely determined on how long it takes your local customs to process its mail. I will confirm receipt of payment and shipping date via my personal e-mail, adjust your filters accordingly. If you do not hear from me within the first three days after your payment, most likely my attempts to e-mail you have failed. Please keep me posted on your payment plans or any special requirements/needs of your purchase. 

RETURN POLICY:

Please e-mail me with specific details and I will get back to you with your options. I ask that if there is a problem with the item that you contact me as soon as possible after receiving it. Any item that must be returned is done so at the buyer’s expense. Any refund, exchange, or substitution/credit will be at the buyers choice, but not made until the original item is received back by me; in the condition as stated in the item description.  

NON-ARRIVAL OF PACKAGES: 

US Customers:  Please wait at least two weeks from my confirmed shipping date before contacting me about the non-arrival of your package. Packages are not shipped with confirmation; this service is optional and available upon request at your expense, e-mail me before making payment so I can invoice you accordingly. It has been several years since I’ve had a package not make its US destination, so risk is minimal.

INTERNATIONAL Customers:  Please wait at least 3 weeks from my confirmed shipping date before contacting me about the non-arrival of your package. If security is your concern please have your package registered (see above for fee). I do my best to quickly post packages, but once the package is in the hands of the world’s postal systems it is beyond my control. With first class mail international my only option for investigating the loss of your package is to verify that it left this country to its destination country. Most all delayed/lost packages have disappeared/been delayed after they have reached their destination country. NOTE:  Based on recent buyer feedback, International packages have been moving much slower these days; it is not unusual for a package to take over three weeks for delivery (especially to Italy), though normally packages should arrive in 7 to 15 business days.  

MULTI-ITEM PURCHASERS:

Multi-bid winners/purchasers:  If you combine various formats such as LPs, 7" singles, and CDs, please wait for my eBay invoice for the shipping total before making payment. For example, US customers purchasing an LP with a 7” single and/or CD, as LPs ship via media mail, your package will ship as media mail. All international purchases are shipped via first-class package international service so discounting will be determined by weight. Shipping discounts apply only to multi-item purchases that are paid for in one single payment and shipped in a single package.