LOU BOND ULTRA-RARE ORIG '74 WE PRODUCE LP IN SHRINK

$

44

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·       LOU BOND -  THE SELF-TITLED FIRST (AND ONLY) ALBUM BY THIS CULT SOUL GIANT - ORIGINAL 1974 'WE PRODUCE' (A STAX/ENTERPRISE SUBSIDIARY) STEREO LP XPS-1904

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·       ORIGINAL  YELLOW 'WE PRODUCE' LABEL WITH RED LOGO (FOR ALL WE KNOW, THIS MAY BE THE ONLY TITLE EVER RELEASED ON THIS SHORT-LIVED LABEL AFFILIATED WITH STAX AND ENTERPRISE LABELS)

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       ORIGINAL, THIN CARDBOARD COVER (NO THICK CARDBOARD COVERS WERE EVER PRODUCED FOR THIS TITLE)

·       COVER IS STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL SHRINK (CELLOPHANE) WRAP

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS (minor writing on label on side 1)

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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Lou Bond is one of the forgotten heroes of Stax Records. Before he cut this record, his one and only album, he'd made two singles -- "Oh Cheater" b/w "What Have I Done," and "You Shake Me Up" b/w "Don't Start Me Crying." England's Northern soul collectors now treasure both records, but the music on his self-titled album is its own animal. Black psychedelic crooners are few and far between, and, in fact, Bond may be the only one. Perhaps that's why Stax originally released this album on the We Produce subsidiary. Bond and his producer/arrangers -- Jo Bridges (Rufus Thomas, the Temprees), Lester Snell (Isaac Hayes), and Tom Nixon (Rufus Thomas) -- really went out on a limb here by presenting Bond's soulful, folk-influenced singer/songwriter protest songs with a blend of Memphis soul, orchestral strings, and jazzy horn charts. The tempos stay slow and dreamy, which may have made it a hard sell on its original release in 1974, but it's just as likely that the combination of soul and folk wasn't something people were ready for. Pity, because Bond's unique vocal style is nothing short of amazing. He has a passionate growl that can slide up easily to a spine-tingling falsetto, and a unique lyrical approach. He opens with Jimmy Webb's "Lucky Me," a treacle-drenched tune that Bond turns into a wrenching lament. The soaring strings are almost a parody of pop, but Bond's bluesy delivery keeps everything down to earth. "Why Must Our Eyes Always Be Turned Backwards" is a Bond original with popping bass, acoustic piano, and understated strings. He slips into his falsetto for this meandering protest song that references Vietnam, Pakistan, Attica, school bussing, religion, and other hot button topics. When he drops a quote from "American the Beautiful" into the mix, it oozes with irony. "To the Establishment" is the album's masterwork, eleven minutes of protest music that ranks up there with Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin'On." Bond uses his playful high register to ornament the melody, and finishes the tune with several minutes of gospel-esque improvisations full of sighs, cries, stuttered notes, growls, and wails. He also applies his falsetto to Carly Simon's cynical ode "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" and wrings every once of painful ambivalence out of the lyric. The glacial groove is full of subtle percussive touches. "Come on Snob" could just as easily be called "Come on Whitey." It sports another kaleidoscopic, ever-shifting lyric that decries discrimination and materialism. The arrangement features flute, strings, and the bass strings of Bond's acoustic. His pleading refrain of "Please, please, please, please, please" references James Brown without overt imitation, and his moaned improvisations are superb. The set closes with a tune that wasn't on the original album, a cover of Al Green's "I'm Still in Love with You" played by Bond as a guitar and vocal showcase. Bond scats all over the lyric to open the tune, does a brief verse, then slips into the traditional "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," sustaining a stunning falsetto note for almost a minute.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

THIS IS A NO-RESERVE AUCTION!

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·                               CONDITION:

·                               RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL AS EXCELLENT. This is one of those albums that are somewhat difficult to grade. It is somewhere between VG++ and NEAR MINT, just a notch below NEAR MINT. A few light abrasions ARE visible, but they are extremely shallow, superficial  and only moderately visually distracting (nothing significant).For the most part, the vinyl looks impeccable without any MAJOR visual flaws or imperfections. Much of the original luster is intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

(c)           Small writing noted on one of the labels (initials of the previous owner written in black marker on side 1, about 1/2 x 1/2 inch in size)

(d)          The record comes in its original, custom, inner sleeve, which is UNIQUE to this album.

(e)           Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

·       COVER

COVER IS (WEAK) NEAR MINT,  STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL ►SHRINK WRAP

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-        Cover has a large cutout corner

-         Minor shelf wear noted on the opening side (nothing significant)

-         Cover has one corner slightly worn / dinged / bent.

-         Cover has a partially split top seam (less than 1 inch / 2.5 centimeters)

-         Cover has a tiny, barely visible, peel-off mark, probably from the careless removal of the price sticker. (about 1/16th square inch in size)

-         Cover has some writing on its back side (initials of the previous owner about ½ x ½ inches in size)

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE COVER:

-        No ring wear

-        No cut-out (drill) holes.

-        No saw-marks or indents

-        No dirt/dust rubbing stains (friction marks caused by rubbing against other covers)

-        No wrinkles or creases

-        No yellowing from aging

-        No stamps

-        No stains

-        No mold or mildew spots

-        No stickers or labels

-        No water damage

-        No razor marks, scratches, pressure marks, lines, streaks, or  cuts.

-        No warping

-        No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover

-        No glue traces or wax residue.

-        No bar codes

-        No RIAA stamps or stickers. 

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

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