THE GODS TO SAMUEL A SON 1ST UK EMI PSYCH URIAH HEEP PROG 1G 1G MATRIX ?? ?????

	£		116
	$		154

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TRUE PSYCH ROCK UK MASTERPIECE FROM 1969 ON EMI COLUMBIA . HERE IS WHAT  VINYL ANTIQUITY  BLOG HAS TO SAY ABOUT THIS LP . " The Gods are best remembered by rock historians as the band who became Uriah Heep (Ken Hensley, the leader, would go on to form Heep with Mick Box and David Byron of the band Spice whilst Gods drummer Lee Kerslake became a UH mainstay when he joined them on DEMONS AND WIZARDS all the way up until their 2008 release Wake The Sleeper and 2011's masterful Into The Wild), but traces of that later, heavier group would only appear very sporadically on the two albums The Gods recorded Genesis and the much superior To Samuel A Son. Most dealers/collectors seem to prefer Genesis, but I find the tracks off that album to be tamer, less fully realized, and the album has its high highs and low lows. Having said that, I've yet to own the original.....
In Koobas fashion (A band To Samuel A Son and my second choice Titus Groan resemble to a certain extent) To Samuel A Son was released after The Gods no longer existed. Throughout their career personnel changes had plagued the group with such luminaries as King Crimson/ELP bass man/voice Greg Lake and the Stones Mick Taylor early members who came and went, but after settling on Hensley as the leader (lead vocals/keyboards/guitars) with Joe Konas (Guitar/vocals), the late John Glasscock (bass player SUPREME and vocals), and Lee Kerslake (Drums/vocals) they would make their two albums and then rapidly disappear into the netherworld of collectors groups who didn't sell 5 copies at the time.
To Samuel A Son is a concept side of 9 songs and a non-concept side of "Stage Numbers" on Side Two although more likely the ambitious songwriting and dramatic vocals were a natural to Hensley and he was feeling restricted by The Gods' short song format. The concept of Side One is the birth, life, death, and rebirth through his son of the fictitious Samuel "Sammy" Jay and while that may sound ordinary much of the 9 songs are amazing.
 The beginning of the album isn't inviting- a plodding organ, sound effects, and then finally after that kicking into the first song the title track which manages to combine Zombies Oddesey And Oracle melodic richness with a deeper, more urgent progressive slant. We can call this majestic track "Progressive Pop-" a transition from the 1967/1968 British pop to the coming progressive sound of the early 70s. The vocals from Hensley are strong and appealing while the harmonies are staggeringly good. The rest of the side moves from childhood to marriage to growing old to the very sophisticated take on rebirth through the Son in "Autumn" which like the opener begins pretty lame and then gets great when the vocals and actual theme come in. You can overlook two poor yet very short intros when the rest of the side and the album are amazing. Highlights of the Conceptual side are the classy very British psychedelia of "Sticking Wings On Flies," the Koobas style rocking psych sound of "He's Growing" and "Lady Lady-" which may be the side's best track. There is a also the Beatles/Badfinger power pop sound which permeates through this entire album.
 Yes, my mates, Uriah Heep began as the Beatles proteges The Gods.
 "Penny Dear" and Side Two's brilliant "Mama I Need' are McCartney meets The Koobas while the McCartney and Lennon comparisons can't be avoided when describing some of the band's vocal arrangements which find them somewhere between the two.
  Now, you're probably going to ask if To Samuel A Son and The Gods really are great enough to command the 400 and more pound value of the album/their work and whether they were capable of turning out a classic and not just an album that would get overshadowed by the masterful work of Uriah Heep. I can tell you right off that you play To Samuel A Son next to Very 'Eavy Very 'Umble and To Samuel wins hands down. Byron's voice wasn't quite all the way there yet as it would be on Salisbury and same for the songs, many of them ideas nicked from this record.
The Gods no longer were afraid to spice up their arrangements both musical and vocal nor were they held down by pseudo soul moves which led many to call them a British Vanilla Fudge. Now they sound confident, melodic, upfront, strong, and with many highlights which combine superb vocal harmonies with a strong yet very down to earth lead voice.
 "Lovely Anita," the album's closer, is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard and though it may be from 1969 is full of the vibes of the Summer Of Love. It is a love song to end all love songs and I'm not one that's big on girls' names in song titles (Toto is a guilty pleasure thus so..) or lyrics. The Gods manage to surpass quite a few other bands here, and they also manage to avoid sounding pretentious which isn't easy when one side of your album is a 9 song mini-opera. Yes, you can hear echoes of Queen from time to time in their harmonies and it undoubtedly is the influence of The Beatles and Bee Gees on The Gods which can be pointed to as making them a trio of bands whose music would later take on a very mature shape in the songwriting of Freddie Mercury and cohorts. If you love The Bee Gees, Beatles, Koobas, and you like your Proto-Prog on the less pretentious more juicy song based side start here. To Samuel A Son is a Brilliant album and The Gods themselves are a band worthy of their revered place in the world of late 60s British Bands who didn't have the success they deserved so much at the time.   "

VINYL IS IN A LOVELY VG++ CONDITION , I RECORDED THE WHOLE LP ( A SAMPLE FOR EACH SIDE ) SO YOU CAN JUDGE FOR YOURSELF . 

"YAX 3954 -2 " & "YAX 3955 -2 " MATRIX . AND , THE VERY IMPRESSIVE "1/G" "1/G" MOTHER / STAMPER . THE FIRST AND EARLIER PRESS OF THIS CLASSIC UK PSYCH LP . 


LAMINATED  SLEEVE IS IN VG+ CONDITION ONLY , SOME LAMINATION CREASES , A PRICE TAG MARK ON THE TOP RIGHT , A CUT ON THE BACK SLEEVE AS WELL AS ON THE TOP AND BOTTOM SEAMS ( SEE PICTURES ) . 

SEE PICTURES FOR TRACKLIST
















RECORD GRADING IS  M/NM/VG++/VG+/VG/G/P.
ALL LISTED RECORDS ARE ORIGINAL PRESS , NO RE-ISSUES UNLESS CLEARLY STATED . BID WITH CONFIDENCE WITH MORE THAN 1500+ POSITIVE FEEDBACK. 
 
SOUND SAMPLES ARE ALWAYS FROM THE RECORD ON AUCTION. 
RECORDS WILL BE CAREFULLY SHIPPED IN PROTECTED CARDBOARD.

RECORD GRADING IS  M= A perfect, unplayed record . NM= Record appears new, At most, perhaps a barely visible sleeve mark appears on the record. It should play without any noise or skips of any kind whatsoever. VG++= Record has some extremely light surface marks. These marks do not affect play. Very nice copy VG+= Record has noticeable marks, Light surface scratches and may play with some very light noise, but doesn't overpower the music, Still very enjoyable. VG= Record has noticeable marks and scratches, plays with noise

. I'LL  DESCRIBE EVERY RECORD CAREFULLY . SOUND SAMPLE WILL ALSO HELP YOU GET AN IDEA OF THE CONDITION.
 

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ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT IN DOUBLE REINFORCED LP MAILER . THANKS TO LOOK AT THE PICTURE .