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Original first press (with brown cardstock inside) of their only studio album, often cited as one of the first hardcore punk albums. The album's title is an acronym for "Germs Incognito", an alternate name the band used to obtain bookings when their early reputation kept them out of Los Angeles-area clubs. A blast of self-lacerating punk in its original glory, (GI) is simply classic; a commanding, rampaging sneer at everyone and everything infused with a particular, disturbed vision. Said vision belongs to Darby Crash, whose proclivities for charismatic manipulation were already well established before he fully spelled them out in lyrics like "Lexicon Devil," here featuring in a re-recording, and "Richie Dagger's Crime." His David Bowie worship was also paramount -- "Land of Treason," "Communist Eyes," and "Strange Notes" are just three numbers featuring his transformation of the apocalyptic aesthetics of albums like Diamond Dogs and Station To Station toward more brutal ends. Practically speaking, his snarling star quality comes through more than his words, but it's more than enough on that front. Pat Smear has an equal claim to being the album's star, though, and for good reason -- not only did he co-write everything, his clipped, catchy monster riffing was as pure punk in the late-'70s sense as anything, wasting no time on anything extraneous. Lorna Doom and Don Bolles keep up the side as a kickass rhythm section, Bolles in particular making a good mark in the first of his many drumming stints over the moons. The notorious 9:42 closing number, "Shut Down (Annihilation Man)" was recorded live in the studio, in an attempt to emulate the way Germs would close their sets with it until they had to stop. Joan Jett, a longtime friend and heroine of many of the band members since her time in The Runaways, was asked to produce the album (Crash had originally wanted former Paul Revere & the Raiders vocalist Mark Lindsay to produce, but he turned out to be too expensive for Slash Records). Jett and engineer Pat Burnette did a great job, with crisp, strong results. After (GI)'s release, the band would only undertake one more recording session, for the soundtrack album to the Al Pacino film Cruising (1980). A year after the release of (GI), on 7 December 7 1980, vocalist Darby Crash committed suicide.



Artist: GERMS

Year: 1979

Label: Slash

Catalog Number: SR-103

Mono/Stereo/Quadro: stereo

Country: USA

(hand-etched)

Weight: 118 grams

Cover Format: thick standard, wrap-around front slick with paste-on rear panel

Cover Condition: EX (sharp, crisp, vivid & tight, still mostly in the tight shrink, top NM if not for light touch of corner wear on tips only)

Vinyl Condition: )

Label Condition: some light spindle marks & handling artifacts

We clean every record on a VPI HW-17F using Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions multi-step process (every disc goes into a brand-new poly-lined inner sleeve).

Everything is strictly graded using the classic Goldmine Standards that we have been applying since 1983: 

/ NM / EX / VG+ / VG / VG- / G+ / G  (please see bottom of auction for specific grading information).

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CANADA and MEXICO FIRST CLASS AIRMAIL :  $12 for the first LP, $5 for each after that.

THE REST OF THE WORLD - FIRST CLASS INTERNATIONAL AIRMAIL (2-4 weeks) :  $18 for the first LP, $7 for each after that.

International Registration is $12 and is required on all packages valued over $100.

 For all locations, double LPs count as 2 records, triple sets count as 3 and so on.  We are always happy to combine shipping, but regardless of how many LPs you hope to acquire, please complete your payment no later than 7 days after your last winning auction ends (of course exceptions can always be made, please contact us anytime).  If you are combining items please wait for us to send our personal invoice with the combined shipping amount.

Each (non-sealed) record is removed from its cover before shipping, and both are inserted into a new 3 mm sleeve before they are secured, with bubble wrap if necessary, in the highest-quality cruciform LP mailer.  No time or effort is spared to insure that your disc, cover and inner sleeve / inserts all arrive in exactly the same condition as they were listed.

We aim to ship every item within 24 hours of payment, but this is neither a physical store nor our only endeavor, so we kindly ask you to please understand if we take a couple days to ship your package every now and then.  We cannot be held accountable for lost or stolen items (please use Signature Confirmation if this is an issue), arrival times, or for anything shipped overseas without registration. We use eBay shipping so you will have records and tracking numbers for everything, but we have no control once the item is handed over to USPS unless you use registration, so if you forgo this extra service please do not file a claim if your package takes forever or fails to be delivered.  We highly recommend registration to all customers in Eastern Europe, Italy, and France.

We will always work with you no matter what the circumstance.  We make ourselves readily available to all of our customers, and look forward to any and all questions or concerns you may have.  We have satisfied many thousands of online customers alone over the years, we hope to add you to the list.

We visually grade all records using the classic Goldmine Standard, to which we have added EX (as have many others), but we do not use any other variant from the classic scale.  No NM- or EX+ (which are both EX), EX- VG+++ or Near Excellent (which are all VG+), or any such other nebulous grades here!  We feel that nearly every collector will be more than pleased with anything listed EX or above in our auctions; they will all be top-shelf, archive quality items which will play M- throughout.  A VG+ record will truly satisfy all but the most critical curator.  On the very rare occasion we actually grade an opened LP as straight MINT, we can guarantee you’ll never find a nicer copy anywhere!

We will play-grade any LP if there is any reason to do so; any questionable mark, scuff or noteworthy artifact of any kind will be sampled to determine its true significance (which may obviously impact the grade ).  We will also gladly play-grade anything upon request; if you are curious about the actual pressing characteristics or any have other questions about its actual performance please feel free to ask.

MINT :  Absolutely perfect.

This record looks like it has just left the plant, with no flaws whatsoever.  It appears unhandled and unplayed, with no marks of any sort.  Usually only sealed or (sometimes) unplayed LPs will warrant this grade.

The cover does not appear to have had a record inside it; there is no wear or distraction of any kind.

 NM : Virtually flawless, top copy.

The record is virtually identical to the moment it was opened, but may have a few faint paper, packaging or pressing scuffs which will produce no sound whatsoever and are very hard to see without critical inspection.  It was very carefully handled and played, likely only once or twice.

The cover is as close to perfect as can be expected given its age.  There may be minor impressions due to the outer edge of the vinyl (no ring wear), the lightest possible corner bumps, or a few tiny laminate creases (mainly on imports), but no wear or whitening of any kind whatsoever.

EX : A beautiful specimen, which will please most critical collectors and not need to be upgraded.

The record has no scratches or significant blemishes, and will play NM throughout.  It retains 100% of the gloss, sheen and luster, but may have a handful of faint superficial scuffs, hairlines or light spindle marks which will not produce any sound whatsoever.

The cover is nearly perfect.  There may be the absolute faintest suggestion of ring wear or possibly a light touch of dulling on the corners (nothing wrinkled or obtrusive in any way), but no notable seam or spine wear, writing or sign of tape anywhere.

 VG+ : Plays perfectly nearly all of the time, with only a few minor distractions.

The record still retains nearly all of the gloss, sheen and luster, but there may be a handful of inaudible superficial marks or scuffs, a mild scattering of light hairlines (which would only be faintly audible between tracks or in some very quiet passages), or a few stray marks which may mildly sound for a few revolutions. Each flaw is very minor, barely noticeable to the naked eye, and will not detract from the enjoyment in any way.

The cover is still very clean and crisp, but may look slightly more aged and have a few minor flaws such as small unobtrusive writing, minor wear to the seams and spine (no splits), slightly worn corners, very light ring wear or minor creasing.  No flaw is at all distracting in and of itself.

 VG : A nice play copy, which will perform without much significant distraction.

The record appears well played, but still has the majority of the luster.  It will not have been abused, though there will be some audible sound defects which will not overpower the dynamics of the music, such as mild surface noise in the quietest sections, a handful of stray isolated pops and clicks (which are brief and occasional), or possibly some very mild groove wear; still no skips, repeats, or anything deep or seriously pronounced.  It will play through quite nicely most of the time, with very minimal distraction.

The cover looks somewhat used and shows some mild wear.  There may be some minor seam splitting, ring wear (which still doesn’t overwhelm the cover), discreet writing (not large magic marker), or mild yellowing due to air contaminants. It is still nice, just a few notable flaws away from VG+.

We will never sell anything less than VG, so the rest of the scale is unnecessary.  We absolutely detest groove wear, so we will almost never list anything lacking the overwhelming majority of the luster, sheen and gloss.  Anything of significance will always be noted. 

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