P. F. Sloan, Mamas & Papas Trousdale demos LP

	£		107
	$		142

Trousdale Publishers Inc What’s Going On Here? Publishers Demo LP (no label, no cat. number) US 1966 mono

Frankly, for any P.F. Sloan and Mamas & Papas fans (and I include myself) this is heaven!

Here is the super rare Trousdale demos LP that was only pressed to drum up publicity for the Dunhill roster of artists and writers. Obviously part of the reason for this LP’s rarity is due to the fact that it was never commercially available. Nor was it made available for radio play like most promos which, as we know, can often be more prevalent than equivalent stock copies of regular releases. For some reason copies of this album tend only to turn up in Europe, possibly because that was their intended market. As the sleeve notes attest, two tracks which weren’t included were Sloan / Barri songs recorded by Herman’s Hermits (A Must to Avoid and Hold On) – one can imagine that they were hoping for further success across the channel.

As can be seen from the track listing below, the album included no less than 11 PF Sloan compositions (8 of them co-written with Steve Barri) and 6 by the Mamas & Papas. Amongst the Sloan tracks are two recordings (Can I Get To Know You Better and You Baby) that were genuine demos which had never appeared anywhere until the release of Varese Sarabande’s Child Of Our Times CD in 2001 and have never appeared on vinyl apart from on this original LP.

Finally, another must for P F Sloan fans is the inclusion of a photograph of Phil, wearing his trade mark shades and clutching a giant sunflower, that has never appeared on any other record.

Tracks:

Side 1: California Dreamin' - Mamas & Papas / Chocolate On A Sunday - Gabriel / Can I Get To Know You Better - Sloan & Barri / I Found A Girl - P.F. Sloan / Look Through My Window - Mamas & Papas / Take Me For What I'm Worth - Sloan & Barri / Eve Of Destruction - Barry Mcguire / I Saw Her Again Last Night - Mamas & Papas / Unless You Care - Terry Black

Side 2: Secret Agent Man - Hal Blaine / Where Were You When I Needed You - Grass Roots / Words Of Love - Mamas & Papas / You Baby - Sloan & Barri / Lollipop Train - Grass Roots / This Precious Time - P.F. Sloan / Let Me Be - P.F. Sloan / The Dancing Bear - Mamas & Papas / Monday Monday - Mamas & Papas

Condition: Record - The disc is glossy and the label is clean. Closer inspection under bright light reveals a few hairlines, but the disc plays beautifully with only the occasional very light crackle. Please note that this is a very long LP (9 tracks either side) and so a relatively quiet pressing. All the same it plays with a very low level of background noise that in no way detracts from the music. I would grade it as a very strong VG+++.

Cover – There is absolutely no ring wear and the cover slick is still bright and glossy. Although there is a little wear around the edges and at the corners the seams are still tight. As you can see in the scan there is a very thin two inch scratch across the cover, but this is hardly visible. There is a tiny bit of rubbing on the rear and a little browning with age, but that’s it! There is also a little edge and corner wear, but the spine is crisp and legible and there are no seam splits. Once again I would conservatively grade this as VG+++.

Please note that this is a realistic description. This is a very rare LP which almost never turns up. In 5 years of ebaying I have only ever seen one other copy and, believe me, I have been looking! As with all the LPs I am selling, it is only here because I have since up-graded to a mint copy. As I say below, I try describe as accurately as I can. Finally I guarantee everything I sell. If you don't like it send it back. But you will like it, I promise.

I should also be adding further auctions during the week, so please keep looking!

Payment & Shipping: Paypal is the preferred method of payment, but I will accept cash in £, $ or Euros. I will ship anywhere. Most of the records I buy come from overseas and in over 500 transactions I have never had a record broken or lost. All records are well packed in stiff cardboard packets. UK shipping is about £2.00 for an LP, £1.00 for a 45. Air shipping beyond Europe is about £6.00 per LP, £3.00 per 45. Europe in between. Obviously it will cost less per record for multiple items and more if you want insurance. 

My guarantee: I hate vague descriptions and misleading gradings as much as anyone else - hence I will try and avoid gratuitous use of the word ‘psych’ as well as EXCESSIVE CAPITALS and exclamation marks!!! Because I only sell records when I have duplicates, these are all records I still enjoy. The aim is not to make a profit but to put money towards buying more records. Of course, grading is always subjective, so I will attempt to describe what every record actually looks and sounds like. I hope that my feedback (100% as a seller) speaks for itself - every record I sell is guaranteed.

About me: I have been collecting records since my mid-teens and buying and selling on ebay for over 5 years. I also write for magazines like MOJO, Uncut and Ptolemaic Terrascope. In particular I have written articles and sleeve notes for bands like The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Euphoria (on Capitol) and Rodriguez (Sussex). If anyone wants information on any of these bands then feel free to get in touch.