Sold Date: April 20, 2014
Start Date: April 13, 2014
Final Price: $30.00 (USD)
Bid Count: 1
Seller Feedback: 13608
Buyer Feedback: 20

BERNIE SCHWARTZ "The Wheel"

Original 1968 white label pr0m0 LP on the COBURT label, STEREO CO-1001

COVER: VG++, very very minor ringwear, DJ sticker on back

VINYL:  Plays nice VG++

I could go for the cheap joke here, and say that The Wheel is one of the few bargains left in the pop psych genre, then remark how the guy’s name is Bernie Schwartz (and he should know about bargains, oy-vey!).  But heck, it took Bernie a good six or seven years to get comfortable enough with his heritage – he started out recording in 1963 under the name Don Atello (trying to hitch a ride on the backs of popular Italian singers like Dion and Frankie), then again in 1966 as Adrian Pride (perhaps going after the growing Aryan market?).  He joined Comfortable Chair in 1968 and finally used his real name.  One year later came this solo effort, on which he’s backed by Wesley Watt and Bill Lincoln, otherwise known (and revered amongst psych heads) as Euphoria.  So yeah, this is kinda like a second Euphoria album, only with an Italian Jewish superhero lead singer at one quarter the selling price.  Which is why, when some schlemiel once asked Pete Townshend what he though of this album, he said “I call that a bargain.” 

Much like that venerated Euphoria album, much of The Wheel has a laid-back Topanga Canyon country rock vibe, a little languid, a little stoned.  The catchy “Round and Round” sounds like a long-lost Stephen Stills solo venture, and elsewhere Bernie Schwartzberg covers laid-back languid stoned singer/songwriter types like Fred Neil and Randy Newman.  It’s when those Euphoria dudes unholster that wicked fuzz guitar that things get REALLY interesting, and something as frantic and snotty as “Follow Me” really would have fit nicely on Lenny Kaye’s Nuggets compilation, if only he’d ventured into more Semetic territory with his selections.  Then there’s “Sunshine Woman,” a light rural rock tune that builds to a solid wall of fuzz guitar pyrotechnics at the end, like a drunken Jimi Hendrix busting into a Flying Burrito Brothers recording session (and some of us probably wish he had).  

So yeah, Bernie Schwartz’s The Wheel is still one of the few remaining undiscovered bargains left in the late 60’s psych rock canon, at least until some mensch finally gets ‘round to reissuing it on CD.  Until then, grab one while you still can.  Then sell it for a profit to some poor Goyim next year.

PLEASE NOTE I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).  BUYERS FROM ITALY AGREE TO PAY FOR GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL INSURED ONLY!

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.  Overseas shipping has, unfortunately, gone way up in the fast few months, which translates to $15 for the first LP to Canada ($3 each one thereafter) and $24 for the first LP everywhere else in the world, with each add'l LP an extra $5 (so it pays to buy more, nudge nudge wink wink).   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. 

 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.