GROUNDHOGS "Solid" 1974 UK WWA 1st PRESS w/LYRIC INSERT

	£		21
	$		28

  GROUNDHOGS "Solid" 1974 UK WWA 1st PRESS w/LYRIC INSERT TEXTURED SLEEVE - SUPERB AUDIO - GREAT LP FROM McPHEE


GROUNDHOGS
Solid

ORIGINAL UK WWA (WWA 004 DE LUX) FIRST PRESSING (June 1974) OF GROUNDHOGS' EXCELLENT "Solid" LP

PRESSED WITH THE FIRST WWA LABELS
MATRIX: WWA 004 1Y//1 ∇ 420 05 11 1 / WWA 004 2Y// 3 420 05 11 7 (etched 'BILBO) (the earliest matrix set for this LP)
THE RECORD IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL FULLY TEXTURED MATTE SLEEVE AND COMES COMPLETE WITH THE THIN PAPER LYRIC INSERT (PRINTED ON ONE SIDE)

On the surface, the Groundhogs could easily have become one of the dozens of British "blooze and boogie" bands that cropped up in the late '60s and early '70s but Tony (T.S.) McPhee's ideas and ambitions were just eccentric enough to push the band into directions too challenging for most mainstream listeners, and as with much of their catalog it's McPhee's sense of invention that makes 1974's Solid memorable.
Recorded in McPhee's home studio with Clive Brooks on drums and Peter Cruickshank on bass, most of Solid's nine numbers are anchored by the sonic overdrive of McPhee's guitar playing, which twists blues figures through psych and progressive frameworks, while the gloomy poetics of his lyrics don't so much establish the mood of the songs as reinforce the tone of the music.
While Brooks and Cruickshank are a fine rhythm section, giving these songs the muscle and backbone to make the most of their hard rock leanings, this is obviously McPhee's show, and an impressive show it is. Not too many guys would think to lay a Mellotron or a fuzzy synthesizer over a heavy blues jam, or run his recordings through such a remarkable maze of phase shifting and ping-pong panning, but in his own small way McPhee's music is in the grand tradition of the great eccentrics of British rock, and that windmill-tilting spirit is what Solid is all about -- it's not a masterpiece like Thank Christ for the Bomb or Who Will Save the World?, but if you love those albums you owe it to yourself to give this a listen.

SIDE 1: LIGHT MY LIGHT / FREE FROM ALL ALARM / SINS OF THE FATHER / SAD GO ROUND
SIDE 2: CORN COB / PLEA SING, PLEA SONG / SNOW STORM / JOKER'S GRAVE

LABELS: The labels are CLEAN, BRIGHT and UNMARKED with barely a spindle trace to be seen
VINYL Visual: The vinyl still retains its original DEEP, GLOSSY SHEEN with just some light marks only ONE of which has minor audio consequence (see detailed assessment below)
VINYL Audio: SUPERB - CRYSTAL CLEAR, DEEP, RICH AND WARM AUDIO. FANTASTIC LOUD CUT. There are NO prolonged scratches, NO skips or jumps and barely any surface noise. A tiny mark on "Joker's Grave" gives rise to a few dull sounding background clicks but these are not loud or sharp and I did not find them at all intrusive on play-grading this WONDERFUL LP. Otherwise, plays to a very high standard with SUPERB AUDIO CLARITY, NO groove-wear and NO distortion and sounds GREAT - Graded EXCELLENT for audio. GREAT STUFF
SLEEVE: The FULLY TEXTURED matte cover is in EXCELLENT+ condition with practically NO wear to the edges or spine (which is 'pinched' at the top and bottom) where all text is CLEAR and BOLD. The textured surfaces are CLEAN and BRIGHT with NO rubbing
LYRIC INSERT: The original insert is EXCELLENT with NO marks/nicks etc., just some light handling creases

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