JIGSAW Aurora Borealis 1972 WILD UK PROG PSYCH RUBBLE SOUNDS Brazil LP LISTEN

$

50

JIGSAW Aurora Borealis

Original 1972 LP on the Brazilian SOM LIVRE label.  Vinyl plays VG+ with occasional pops because, well, it's a Brazilian press (plays pretty well for such).  Cover has some water/moisture stains near opening on front and back, otherwise VG to VG+.

Rare 2nd long-player from Britain’s Jigsaw, 1972’s Aurora Borealis, which finds them in a transitional period between the cracked Monty Python meets the Move Letherslade Farm and the orchestrated AM Top 40 pop of “Sky High.”  There’s some very strong psychedelia on Aurora Borealis – most notably the demented monster movie freakout “Freud Fish” – but there’s also a clear indication of where they were headed – check out album closer “Ready To Ride,” a near-embryonic version of “Sky High.”  Still, I’ll take this one over Letherslade Farm because it leaves out all the Pythonesque chatter (which was what, at least a third of Farm wasn’t it?), except maybe for the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band whimsy of “Sitting On A Bomb,” which at least has a melody.  What’s most evident on Aurora Borealis is Jigsaw’s penchant for writing great hooks in the McCartney tradition, and they kinda come off here like a slightly loopier Badfinger without that whole suicide trend thing.  The glorious “When The Sun Is In Your Eyes” soars majestically like the Beatles in their Abbey Road days, distorted George Harrison guitar dead-on perfect.  The heavily orchestrated “What’s My Name” is baroque pop perfection, kinda like vintage Bee Gees meets the Left Banke, even if the singer does sound an awful lot like Gilbert O’Sullivan.  And the gentle acoustic “See Me Flying” has the same suave breezy Spanish cool as Love did on Forever Changes.  There are a few missteps of course – “P-R-R-R Blues” shouldn’t have been attempted, and I have no idea what they were thinking when they recorded “Life Insurance” – but as a whole, I find Aurora Borealis a better psych pop album than Letherslade Farm, and certainly a lot easier to sit through.  And, not for nothing, “Sky High” was the second single I ever bought when I was a kid.  (For those keeping score, the Doobie Brothers’ “Black Water” was first.)

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.