OPAL Happy Nightmare Baby LP SST US 1987 Mazzy Star Rain Parade Kendra Smith

	£		37
	$		49

Opal - Happy Nightmare Baby (original US 1987 first pressing) with fold out SST Cataog insert. The black centre labels of the US pressing look much better than the white centre labels of the UK Rough Trade pressing, I think!

Grading: RECORD - VERY GOOD PLUS - The vinyl is in excellent condition- no scuffs or scrathes. Tested and plays smoothly right through on both sides. The centre label - the close up photo of the black centre label on Side 1 shows some white at the edge at the top right and also a small bit at the bottom (and my shadow at the bottom left!) No such issue with the Side 2 centre label.  SLEEVE - NEAR MINT - cover still in shrink wrap.

"HAPPY NIGHTMARE BABY" 1987 LP SST RECORDS SST 103 ORIGINAL US FIRST PRESSING Barcode: 0 18861-0103-1 1 LABEL: SST - BLACK LABEL - SILVER TEXT
Catalog on cover: (spine) SST 103
Catalog on labels: SST 103 (Side 1 / Side 2)
Matrix / Runout (Side A, Etched & Stamped): SST-103-A S-17840 kdisc JG L?27636
Matrix / Runout (Side B, Etched & Stamped): SST-103-B S-17841 kdisc JG L?27636?X

Tracklisting: Side A: ROCKET MACHINE - MAGICK POWER - RELEVATION - A FALLING STAR - SHE'S A DIAMOND
Side B: SUPERNOVA - SIAMESE TRAP - HAPPY NIGHTMARE BABY - SOUL GIVER
OPAL DAVID ROBACK & KENDRA SMITH plus KEITH MITCHELL, SUKI EWERS, WILLIAM COOPER, AARON SHERER, PAUL OLGUIN, TERRY GRAHAM, ADAM NIMOY
Paisley Undergound folk rockers that pre-dated Mazzy Star. The neo-psychedelic group Opal formed in the mid-'80s, featuring former Rain Parade guitarist David Roback and former Dream Syndicate bassist Kendra Smith. Initially, the group was called Clay Allison, but the group dropped the name after one single; Roback, Smith, and drummer Keith Mitchell released the remaining Clay Allison tracks under their own name in 1984 on the Fell From the Sun EP. 
After its release, the group adopted the name Opal and released an EP, Northern Line, in 1985. Happy Nightmare Baby, their first full-length album, followed in 1987. Smith left the group during the Happy Nightmare tour, effectively putting an end to the band. Roback continued with vocalist Hope Sandoval; the group then metamorphosed into Mazzy Star. 
"At once drowsy, psychedelic, entrancing, and possessed of a sinuous spark, Happy Nightmare Baby may have been Opal's only album but deserves more attention than merely being a blueprint for Roback's later work in Mazzy Star. For one thing, Opal was very much its own band, with Kendra Smith's particular lyrical visions of mystic power and universe-scaling dreams and nightmares its own entity. As is her singing, though she's got less of Hope Sandoval's wistful drift and more focused control -- check out the brief "A Falling Star," where the comparatively stripped-down arrangement places her singing in the foreground, notably without much in the way of echo. Roback's playing certainly won't surprise anyone per se who backtracks to this group from albums like She Hangs Brightly, and the atmosphere of textured, moody power is evident right from the start with the wonderful early T. Rex tribute, "Rocket Machine." The compressed string swirl and steady stomp is pure Marc Bolan-via-Tony Visconti, though Smith avoids Bolan's style of warble for her own cool, something also quite evident on the slow-groove stomp of the great "She's a Diamond" and the concluding "Soul Giver." Meanwhile, other familiar elements Roback would later use are present aplenty -- very Ray Manzarek-like organ lines on the mantra-chugs of "Magick Power" and "Siamese Trap," compressed acid rock solos and lots of reverb. The title track itself stands out a bit as being a bit more of a '60s Europop confection in a stripped-down 1968 setting -- Roback's electric guitar adds some fire, but it's the slightly jazz-tinged rhythm and easy delivery from Smith that helps establish its own character. It's a release that stood out both in time and place (a 1987 release on SST Records, of all places!), but it stands up to future years and listens darn well."(AllMusic)

Will ship by Royal Mail First Class Signed For in the UK Will ship Royal Mail International Tracked outside the UK.
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