ZAPPA / MOI 200 Motels RARE ORIG UK 71 N/M LPs + POSTER

	£		271
	$		358

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Artist or Band: THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION

Album Title: Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels

Producer(s): Frank Zappa.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Semi-Fraudulent/Direct from Hollywood Overture; Mystery Roach; Dance of the Rock and Roll Interviewers; This Town is a Sealed Tuna Sandwich (prologue); Tuna Fish Promenade; Dance of the Just Plain Folks; This Town is a Sealed Tuna Sandwich (reprise); The Sealed Tuna Bolereo; Lonesome Cowboy Burt.

Side 2: Touring Can Make You Crazy; Would You Like a Snack?; Redneck Eats; Centerville; She Painted Up Her Face; Janet’s Big Dance Number; Half a Dozen Provocative Squats; Mysterioso; Shove It Right In; Lucy’s Seduction of a Bored Violinist and Postlude.

Side 3: I’m Stealing the Towels; Dental Hygiene Dilemma; Does This Kind of Life Look Interesting to You?; Daddy, Daddy Daddy; Penis Dimenion; What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning.

Side 4: A Nun Suit Painted on Some Old Boxes; Magic Fingers; Motorhead’s Mighnight Ranch; Dew on the Newts We Got; The Lad Searches the Night for his Newts; The Girl Wants to Fix Him Some Broth; The Girls Dream; Little Green Scratchy Sweaters and Courduroy Ponce; Strictly Genteel (the finale).

Label/Format: United Artists – original cream and brown format. This is only album Zappa ever issued on this label. (Please see my label scan, all are practically the same).

Label Conditions: All four are in supreme condition, ultra clean, super fresh and highly attractive with each only showing the odd very light and faint spindle trace and no wear around the hole area. Just the one on side four shows a little more under light. This superb original UK double set looks barely even played.

Cat Number: UDF 50003.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of these Records: 119 & 143 grams. Quite a difference in the two but not so unsual. I know my Zappa well, and this album’s weight varied immensely, some pressed thin, some fairly heavy and everything inbetween.

Country of Manufacture: England. Many copies offered are French pressed and did not include the original inserts.

Rarity: Original first-pressed UK copies that include the book and giant poster are now quite rare and seldom offered complete especially with the magnficent poster in such lovely condition. Although it was briefly and carefully mounted, any evidence to this fact are small, faint and minor (more on that further down). Available briefly on CD but now deleted again and even this is hard to find. The title itself on vinyl is elusive in very variable conditions and many offered are French pressings.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: UDF-5001-A1 / UDF-5001-B1 / UDF-5002-A1 / UDF-5002-B1.

Brief Artist & Album Info: “Ladies and Gentlemen” 200 MOTELS! One of Zappa’s most beautifully packaged albums, a double set including the super full size book with stills from the film and the giant movie poster, one of the most elusive UK inserts from his vinyl catalogue. Rarely seen often these days, finding the two major inserts complete with two hardly played records will be a major bonus to any FZ fan needing this album. Often not one of the very best pressed albums in Frank’s huge catalogue, this is without doubt one of the best copies I have seen and heard. An album with some ultra quiet orchestral passages so a clean pressing that does not suffer from crackle or any scratches is of paramount importance for the more discerning vinyl and Zappa fan. This early pressing clearly has hardly been played. I have never heard a copy of this album that will play dead silent through it’s entirity but this plays brilliantly overall and will prove very difficult to find better – this is as close as it ever gets and equals my own personal copy. ‘200 Motels’ is a unique and very interesting Zappa project - United Artists offered him a budget of $630,000 to make his first feature film proper. He decided to make in England and employ the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - some 100 musicians at £1,000 a day. This gave him a chance to actually hear his own orchestral compositions while writing on tour. The film is a very surreal experience of being on tour, the movie, predictably, was not well received, generally being far too avant garde and inpenetrable for most people’s tastes. Typically for early 70s Zappa this was very bawdy and the resulting tour of the UK at this time resulted in prosecution which Zappa eventually lost. I still regard this as one of Frank’s most underrated albums. As the cover states, some of the music on the record is not in the movie and some of the music in the movie is not on the record.

The music and songs work beautifully on album. Zappa’s music has always been about the collision of social attitudes and genres and the action here is centred around ‘Centreville’ a town that’s almost portrayed as a concentration camp. The physical presence in Pinewood Studios of a symphony orchestra and genuine ‘pop stars’ (Volman and Kaylan, along with Ringo Starr as ‘Larry the Dwarf’, Keith Moon as a nun and trainee groupie, and drummer Aynsley Dunbar) allowed him to make the collision palpable. On the record, these forces are manifested in magnificent sequences between the string-orchestra and hard-rock fury. ‘Magic Fingers’ showed that Zappa had been listening to Black Sabbath; the fact that his scores were finally being interpreted by a proper orchestra seemed to push him to the opposite extreme in his song-writing. The riff and his own live-on-screen guitar solo detonated new depths of heaviness. An orchestral version of ‘Holiday in Berlin’ from Burnt Weeny Sandwich provides the ‘Semi-Fraudulent/Direct from Hollywood Overture’. The original introduction - Ringo’s speech about how the rock revolution has putrified the minds of the young and meant retraining orchestral musicians for the modern world - is reduced to compere Theodore Bikel telling us that Larry the Dwarf is dressed up like Frank Zappa (in the film, Ringo was dangled on the end of a wire like a puppet. ‘Mystery Roach’ detailed drug/road fatigue (What are we singing about?...We must be flipping out...)’. Jimmy Carl Black plays the part of Lonesome Cowboy Burt - the hippie-hating redneck - with particular glee, the irony being that he’s a Cherokee Indian. The next few tracks describe how band and groupies meet each other. In the film, ‘Lucy’s Seduction of a Bored Violinist’ used video technology to project Lucy Oferall’s erotic gesticulations over the obedient arm-movements of an RPO violinist. In this satire, no-one was left off the hook. ‘I’m stealing the towels’ and ‘Dental Hygiene Dilemma’ were the soundtrack to Cal Schenkel’s animations, emphasising the affinity Zappa’s’ music has for cartoons, with its swiftness, violence and humour. ‘Daddy’ was as tender a song as Zappa ever wrote, describing the allure of a confident groupie for sex-starved musicians. ‘Penis Dimensions’ mocked male anxieties over the size of their manhood and ‘What will this evening bring me this morning’ brought out the attitudes of sexual encounter. All this music is tightly organized, with Flo and Eddie’s vocals soaring over complex orchestrations. Devoid of the in-jokes and absurdism and chaos, this could have been hailed as a rock opera. At the movie’s end in a close-up of Zappa’s eyeball, Howard Kaylan says ‘he is the guy that is making me do all this s**t - it did not impress the film critics but followers of Zappa’s work generally loved it. It took rock music, satire and orchestration to new levels of intenseness, paving the way for future ideas in this great man’s career. What is for certain, there has been no other movie or album quite like ‘200 Motels’ and is dedicated to anyone who ever played for the Mothers.

The Mothers on this Album: Frank Zappa - Guitar, bass; Mark Volman & Howard Kaylan - vocals and special material; Ian Underwood - keybaords, winds; Aynsley Dunbar - drums; George Duke - keybaords, trombone; Marktin Lickert - bass; Jimmy Carl Black - vocals; Ruth Underwood - orchestra drum set; Jim Pons - vocals. Guest appearances in the movie include: Ringo Starr, Theodore Bikel, Keith Moon, Jeff Simmons, Pamela Miller (from the GTO’s), Don Preston, Motorhead Sherwood, Phyllis Bryn-Julson is the soprano soloist. The movie still gets an 18 rating and is currently out of print.

Cover Condition and Details: EXCELLENT(+): and I have seen few better than this. Actually in better all-round condition than my own, but the owner removed the cover sticker which mine has. Being honest, I think the cover looks better without it as it masks some artwork – a tough call which to keep for sure. An unlaminated gatefold, printed and made in England by E. J. Day Group London. Comes with 16-page book and giant poster.

Cover Front: Very colourful and highly attractive with superb artwork – a sinister looking Zappa overlooks the mayhem. This is very clean and fresh with hardly any wear at all with just a very fine mark near where Zappa’s left ear would be. Any rub traces are very faint and light and there is barely any creasing. No ringwear whatsoever and this superb front will take a lot of beating.

Cover Back: Very prone to wear and seldom seen devoid of often significant ringwear. Just a faint rub trace from the record’s rim near the top but little else and this back is exceptional, any creases are fine and faint and few.

Cover Gatefold Inner: This inside is superb and betters my own copy by a fair degree.

Top & Bottom Edges: A little light, patchy rubbing. More near the very ends, all very straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with hardly any wear and both guaranteed untrimmed. Records entered on these outside edges.

Spine and Text: A super spine that takes few prisoners for rubbing and general wear. Solid and thick, straight with barley any traces of compression and folded square, both right edges meet up perfectly together and parallel. The mauve ink has not rubbed and all the text is present and remained unscathed, never take this for granted on this one.

Corners: Mainly light tip rubs, but little on the spine pair. All retain excellent shape.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this very fragile early 70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. I still think this looks better without the sticker and this colourful sleeve should please most collectors.

The Inner Sleeves: EXCELLENT(++): both unlined with open windows. Hardly aged and any creasing small and minor. All four circle windows neat and crisp with all edges intact with any age darkening faint.

Book Condition: MINT(-): a superb example, neat and clean and still stapled together strongly with no tarnishing. Minor handling traces on the covers the only reason a full Mint grading was not considered and no creasing and all pages have razor sharp edges. All pages intact and undamaged or soiled, this book looks hardly even ‘used’.

Poster EXCELLENT(++): Very big, colourful, attractive and spectacular (please see picture). Incredibly clean, fresh, unfaded and only briefly (and carefully) wall mounted. The only evidence is very small residue traces on the very corner tips but no pin-holes. Just the odd tiny fold end nick and clearly this was mounted and removed with the utmost care to be restored inside the cover. Even the back is untoned and barely marked so any mounted copy of this poster is highly unlikely to be seen better. This triple folded giant poster is always the most elusive part of this set, so many used, damaged or discarded altogether. This really is the icing on the cake.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(-): and it could be strongly argued, undergraded at even that. Very clean and shiny and solidly pressed, one even more so. Any minor surface blemishes are within the pressing and this set was only played once prior to my sound-check. I feel certain most discerning Zappa collectors will enjoy this pair, they hardly get better and are of the equal of my own personal copy.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This double set is always a tough one with so many quiet passages with dialogue and some delicate orchestral passages. This one is up there with the very best I have ever heard playing consistently well and quiet for practically all. I usually state ‘there will always be the odd sporadic light click or crackle trace’, but in this case barely anything unwanted was noted at all. UA were not always the quietest of pressings but this one does this complex album maximum justice. The sound quality is high, and the UK original pressings will always better the later French versions that seem to be far more abundant. Any orchestral music needs to be pressed supremely well to give anything like perfect repro, UA did not specialise in this type of music but that said this copy will prove near impossible to find better. A copy barely run-in in vinyl terms and my play-grade was immensely enjoyable again with more details from this demanding recording. No distortion and sound degrading this album should please all Zappa fans and with the super packaging too, this remains one of the most essential albums in the huge Zappa catalogue.

End Piece: I have probably gone OTT with my detail on this one, but a complex work like this needs some explanation for those less than familiar. As stated not an easy one to find now especially complete and this is a beautifull all-found copy. If you have not experienced this album (or movie) your are in for some unique sounds from the mind of one of the greatest entertainers ever. Unreserved recommendation applies.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programs. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.