Frank Zappa & The Mothers - Uncle Meat UK Transatlantic LP + UK BOOK

	£		148
	$		196

THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION

UNCLE MEAT

(UK TRANSATLANTIC, TRA 197, 1969)

***PLEASE NOTE : this is one of the RAREST officially released Zappa albums out there - I have been collecting Zappa for many years and have done lots of painstaking research on this one so be prepared for a lot of 'boring technical information' (I have practically written an essay down below)!! THIS IS NOT JUST THE NORMAL UK TRANSATLANTIC PRESSING! THIS IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND TO BE OFFERED ON EBAY WITH A COMPLETE UK BOOKLET AND THE STICKERED SLEEVE!! This has come from my own personal collection and it is finally time to find this beauty a new home! This is for hardcore FZ collectors only!!***

Where can I start with this? It is very hard for me to actually part ways with this as it is one of the 'jewels' in my personal collection but I am having a clear out and am downsizing. I have an original US pressing and I have no need for both. 

This is SERIOUSLY RARE. I have been collecting Zappa for many years and have only ever found this once, I doubt I will find another.

This is the ONLY UK PRESSING of Zappa's sublime sixth album, Uncle Meat. Early UK pressings of Mothers albums are hard to come by these days, this one is certainly no exception. These UK Transatlantic pressings were supposedly in print for around six months before being deleted, and after that Bizarre pressings from the States (and later the Reprise pressings) were imported over here. This album was scheduled for release on the UK division of Reprise (who were distributed by Pye) but when the bigwigs at Pye heard this album, they flipped and refused to release it due to some of the content (notably the foul-mouthed Suzy Creamcheese skits). I find this rather interesting as they had no problem in pressing the Wild Man Fischer album over here which came out months before on Bizarre, and that is much more 'out there' and has about the same amount of swearing on it! That must have slipped them by... The only label that were willing to bite the bullet here were Transatlantic, who mostly released folk albums. They also had the guts to put out The Fugs' albums too, who were a lot ruder than FZ in my opinion. Thank the Lord Transatlantic DID bite the bullet! This is a beautiful pressing, the best you can get. The quality is flawless! CBS actually distributed Transatlantic at the time, and they, along with EMI were really on top of the game here in the UK. In my opinion, CBS were better than EMI. Check out the Miles Davis albums! Anyway back to Frank... 

There are several factors here which makes this particular copy the rarest you will ever find:

• THE LABELS ARE TEXTURED! All other Transatlantic ones I have seen/had/offered have had smooth labels. As you may know, CBS (remember they distributed this) releases had textured labels until sometime in 1969. So this release is the VERY FIRST RUN! The smooth ones are a little later (probably by a few weeks even)!! 
• THE TITLE STICKER IS STILL ON THE SLEEVE (see 2nd pic)! I have never seen another sleeve with the title sticker 'in the flesh', so to speak. The early US Bizarre pressings had a similar red title sticker, the only difference being the text on the bottom said 'double album with a nifty 12 page booklet'. As you can see, this sticker is a little different. The layout is exactly the same as the US one except that it is white and the text on the bottom says 'double album' and has the original price. This album was 79 shillings and ninepence, an awful lot of money then (roughly around £4), which no doubt explains why this album sold so little over here at the time. 
• THE U.K. BOOKLET IS INCLUDED! Ever heard about the UK booklet? Let me explain... These booklets have only been unearthed fairly recently. One sold on eBay last year for £150 on it's own and it was in worse shape than this one! Confusingly, they have exactly the same front and back cover as the US booklet. Even more confusingly, I have previously had a UK Transatlantic pressing with the US booklet (but no sticker). For years, I heard about this booklet and thought it to be a myth, until I eventually found this one some years ago. And yes, it did come with the album! The book was actually manufactured and distributed for The Mothers European tour and sold at gigs. It was definitely sold at their Royal Albert Hall show. The content is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to the US booklet (other than the Uncle Meat story). Please see the pictures I have taken of some of the pages. There are some great rare shots of The Mothers and also a biography of each band member (if you would like more photos let me know), the bio photos were used later for the US Burnt Weeny Sandwich poster. The booklet has 16 pages as opposed to the 12 page US version. There has been much debate over the years as to whether the UK booklet actually came with the album but here is the proof! I also spoke to someone who bought the album at the time recently and he also confirms that his came with the booklet at the time. The booklet was also manufactured in the UK - there is a Hastings Printing Company credit at the bottom of the final page. I think these booklets are one of the rarest Zappa memorabilia items out there, simple as that.

Vinyls are in EX(+) condition : a few very light marks which do not affect play, both play great with some very light surface noise, look great

Stickered gatefold sleeve is in VG+++ condition : light creases, spine has light wear but fully readable, top and bottom seams are a little worn - the top ones a small centre split each measuring approx. 2cm, these are not very noticeable, inside looks almost good as new, back has light ring wear and a tiny bit of biro writing (it measures about 1.5cm width and 0.5cm height) to the right of Art Tripp's head (top left corner)

Sticker is in EX condition : in great shape and all still intact and stuck down too, it is a little discoloured (the bottom right half in particular) although the other examples I have seen online have been the same, no creases, tears or rips!

Booklet is in EX condition : in lovely shape, the spine is a little worn, some very light handling creases but overall looks great, the pages are very thick and great quality

Run-out grooves:

SIDE 1 - STRA 197 A1 stamped

SIDE 2 - STRA 197 B1 stamped

SIDE 3 - STRA 197 C1 stamped

SIDE 4 - STRA 197 D1 stamped

PLEASE READ ALL DETAILS BELOW BEFORE BIDDING! THANK YOU!

POSTAGE:

UK buyers -

LPs and 12"s - £3.50 and £1.50 eachafter

7"s - £1.50 and 50p eachafter

CDs - £1.25 and 50p eachafter

Worldwide buyers - PLEASE CHECK THE POSTAGE CALCULATOR - PRESS THE POSTAGE & PAYMENTS TAB ABOVE THE DESCRIPTION TO ACCESS IT - I have put a set price on here as I have to - prices do vary, especially if you are not in Europe

THESE ARE THE PRICES I CHARGE FOR POSTAGE AND ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE!!

THE PRICES CALCULATED INCLUDE THE COST FOR THE MATERIALS TO SEND THE RECORDS!!

PAYMENT:

UK buyers can pay via Paypal or cheque

Worldwide buyers - Paypal only

Be sure to check my other auctions for similar items! Thanks for looking and good luck!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO Y'ALL!!!