THIRD EDITION Take 1 1973 PRIVATE FUZZ PSYCH LP LISTEN

$

128

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

THIRD EDITION "Take 1"

Original 1973 LP on the RAPTURE RECORDS label, STEREO R-1236

Cover:  NEAR MINT, still in original shrinkwrap, slight corner bend

Vinyl:  SUPER CLEAN, plays EXCELLENT to NEAR MINT

You kids are too young to remember how f**king INCREDIBLE the Third Edition were in their day.  You call the Sex Pistols punk?  The Clash?  The friggin’ MISFITS?  Harumpphh.  They were pretenders, absolute JOKERS compared to the mighty Third Edition.  You see, the Clash and the Pistols – they could play their instruments.  The Third Edition, now those cats didn’t even pick up an instrument until the morning of their first recording session.  You can tell.  And if that ain’t punk, I’ll eat my Misfits hoodie, the one I bought at Hot Topic last week.

I mean, just listen to these kids rip apart and deconstruct the Allman Brothers’ hoary classic rock staple “Rambling Man” – and tell me that organ player had ever even SAT in front of a keyboard for one damn second before the tape started rolling.  No friggin’ way.  Someone taught him the chords to “Rambling Man” and that’s all he’s playing.  Chords.  Meanwhile, the band drew straws to see who would sing, and the guy who won had never even HEARD the song before.  Or, you know, SANG.  Sheer brilliance.  Why, you can even hear his voice DISINTEGRATE right there in the early stages of the song.  Just break down and crack in two. Consummate punks they are, do the kids in Third Edition go back and re-record the vocal track?  F*** no.  They didn’t call this album Take 1 for nothing.

But lest you think for a second this is the work of a bunch of rank amateurs, listen again.  Where does that fuzz guitar solo come from?  Compared to the vocals and every other instrument in the studio, this guy can play.  Which means these kids probably brought in a hired hand at the eleventh hour to lay down some class, which, you gotta admit, is really f**ing with our heads.  It’s like Davie Allen jamming with the Shaggs.  Is it great?  Or is it the musical equivalent of Plan 9 From Outer Space?  You already know what I think.  Nothing less than the Godfathers of Punk. 

I mean, let’s face it, their name alone practically screams anarchy.  Taking a cue from one of garage punk’s earliest legends, Mr. Kenny Rogers, whose first band was called The First Edition.  So what happened to the Second Edition, you might ask?  Who cares?  Chances are if there were a Second Edition, they would have existed in that bloated half decade we called the early Seventies, the era of prog rock and boogie bands, the land of Rush and Foghat.  Now this, on the other hand, this is the Third Edition, so punk rock they skip a whole generation.  Too bad New Edition came along later and f**ed up the whole family tree.

Other victims…er, I mean other artists who get the Third Edition cover treatment include the Rolling Stones (a languid somnambulant “As Tears Go By”), Charlie Rich (“Behind Closed Doors,” which was languid and somnambulant to begin with), and Creedence Clearwater Revival, who get not one but TWO loving tributes – a fuzz-drenched “Lodi,” and a version of “Proud Mary” that somehow makes Leonard Nimoy’s sound soulful.  There’s also a version of “Your Mama Don’t Dance” that aurally does what many of us have always wanted to do physically – club Kenny Loggins to death.

When the Third Edition do lay down an original composition, and they do from time to time, it’s a garage punk tour de force.  Like “Come On Joan,” whose title alone is a scatological F-you to censors everywhere.  “Come On Joan” – isn’t that what Anthony Newley and Peter Holm used to do?  Once again, we’re talking vintage Des Moines basement style 1965 teen acne garage punk, with that hellfire and brimstone fuzz spewn over it like…well, like the title suggests.  And it that ain’t punk, then I’ll eat my Criterion Collection edition of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains.  Of course, if you want professionalism, you can always buy a Steely Dan album.  Or listen to “Take Off,” which is the most professional sounding cut on this record, because a) there’s no vocals, and b) it runs 1 minute and ten seconds.  Future punk rocker Mike Watt was listening.  Herein lie the seeds of his mighty Minutemen.

I know what you’re saying.  How can this record be the cornerstone of punk rock if no one’s ever even heard of it?  But isn’t that what the punk aesthetic is all about?  The Third Edition are the true underdogs of the musical hierarchy – untrained, completely inept, and in tune only by accident.  And armed as such, they go and tackle the old dinosaurs of classic rock, like the Allman Brothers and CCR and the twin AntiChrists Loggins and Messina, bands who’ve outstayed their welcome on classic radio stations in small towns where they still pack ‘em in at tractor pulls.  And they do it in one take.  Never mind the bollocks.  It’s Third Edition. 

 HEAR IT!

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.  ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS REQUIRE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION, WHICH IS AN EXTRA 75 CENTS.  Air mail shipping to Canada starts at $10 US, each additional record $2 shipping.  Air mail shipping everywhere else in the world starts at $16 US, with each additional record only $3 shipping.  ALL FOREIGN ORDERS REQUIRE CERTIFICATE OF SHIPMENT, WHICH IS AN EXTRA $1.10.  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. 

And finally, I include delivery confirmation on all shipments inside the US.  This is my proof of shipment, and also helps us to track your package if it doesn’t arrive when it should.  I will email you within 2 days of shipment and give you the confirmation number at that time.  Insurance is always optional, but for larger orders, it’s highly recommended.   I DO NOW REQUIRE THAT ALL FOREIGN BUYERS PAY AN ADDITIONAL $1.10 FOR PROOF OF SHIPMENT.  IT'S A NOMINAL FEE AND THE CHEAPEST WAY FOR ME TO PROVE THAT I ACTUALLY SHIPPED YOUR PACKAGE AND DIDN'T JUST POCKET YOUR MONEY AND SKIP TOWN.  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.