FUSION ORCHESTRA Skeleton In Armour 1973 HEAVY TRIPPY PROG PSYCH LP LISTEN

$

30

Who knew?  The cover looks fru-fru.  The band name looks chi-chi.  Fusion Orchestra?  Classical jazz, anyone?  Didn’t think so.  And sure ‘nuff, a couple seconds after dropping the needle on Side 1 Track 1 (“Fanfare Suite For 1000 Trampits” – just what we needed, another fusion band with a penchant for bad puns), I’m greeted warmly by the kind of pompous orchestral opening I would expect from a Mannheim Steamroller album.  Or King Crimson’s ISLANDS.  But have patience, my friends, because just a few seconds later, these bad boys launch into some of the most BLISTERING fast-paced good old fashioned RAWK (and a bit of roll) I’ve heard since, well, King Crimson’s LARKS TONGUE IN ASPIC.  Soon some chick is yowling away over the din, shrieking like someone sprinkled some heroin in Annie Haslam’s herbal tea.  Dunno why they chose to give their songs such stodgy titles.  “Sonata in Z” ROCKS, believe it or not.  The title track’s a rather dark, brooding bit of progressive rock, quite heavy too.  Only on the irresistibly titled “You Only Love Me When My Mama’s Not Home” (think about that for a sec) do they finally match great music with a great title, and fans of Marsha Hunt’s soulful wailing rock and butt-shaking grooves will dig this like a well-groomed afro.  “Talk To The Man In The Sky” sez it’s 11:50 on the label, and that may send some Tarkus flags a-raisin’.  But rest assured, most of those twelve minutes are devoted to some AMAZING wild acid guitar pyrotechnics.  And the song is one of the trippier blends of progressive and psychedelic rock you’ll hear.  Look, I fully understand if you take a gander at that cover and expect some unholy cross of Jethro Tull’s MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY and Renaissance’s SCHEHERAZADE.  But SKELETON IN ARMOUR actually RAWKS, in the good old fashioned way.  Never judge a collection of ancient woodcuttings by its cover.

Original 1973 LP on the Canadian EMI label.  Cover's in EXCELLENT shape, almost like new.  Vinyl plays VG+ with occasional pops.  Still very very nice.

The less exciting stuff

Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  Overseas shipping has, unfortunately, gone way up in the fast few months, which translates to $15 for the first LP to Canada ($3 each one thereafter) and $24 for the first LP everywhere else in the world, with each add'l LP an extra $5 (so it pays to buy more, nudge nudge wink wink).   I accept payments through Paypal. 

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

 For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.