(Who) Pete Townshend/Meher Baba-Happy Birthday M- '70 1ST PRESS BOOK+INSERT RARE

Sold Date: November 3, 2018
Start Date: October 24, 2018
Final Price: $199.99 (USD)
Bid Count: 1
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Buyer Feedback: 37


(Who) Pete Townshend-Happy Birthday (blank label with "Made In England" sticker on one side) M- vinyl with VG++ jacket & booklet + 2 page lyric insert (Read album description below).
You can hear "Evolution" (which is the 6-minute extended version from this album that later came out as an edited 3:45 version on Pete's "Who Came First" LP) on Youtube if you search there for "Pete Townshend / Ronnie Lane- Evolution"
Beautiful FINAL COLLECTION ARCHIVE COPY of the elusive FIRST PRESSING from 1970. You won't find a better copy!
Tracks include: Side One 1."Content" (words by Maud Kennedy) Pete Townshend  2."Evolution" (words and music by Ronnie Lane) Townshend with Ronnie Lane  3."Day of Silence" (words and music by Townshend) Townshend  4."Alan Cohen Speaks" (Sitar accompaniment by Vytas Serelis) Meher Baba's Universal Players  5."Mary Jane" (words by Michael Westlake, music by Townshend) Townshend  6."Alan Cohen Speaks" (words by Meher Baba) Meher Baba's Universal Players  7."The Seeker" (version, words and music by Townshend) Townshend 
Side Two 8."Begin the Beguine" (words and music by Cole Porter) Townshend  9."With a Smile Up His Nose They Entered" (music by Ron Geesin) Ron Geesin  10."The Love Man" (words and music by Townshend) Townshend  11."Meditation" (words by Mike Da Costa) Mike Da Costa
"Happy Birthday" is a collaboration album by Pete Townshend, the guitarist for The Who, and friends including Ronnie Lane, Ron Geesan, etc. It was pressed and released in 1970 by Universal Spiritual League and comes with a gorgeous 28-page booklet. Ultra rare with unique recordings, some of which later appeared on his "Who Came First" LP with different mixes.
The album was originally released in February 1970 (in commemoration of Meher Baba's birthday on 25 February) as the first in a series of three tribute albums dedicated to Pete Townshend's spiritual mentor Meher Baba. All three original albums are very difficult to find. 
Only about 2,500 copies were pressed in the original 1970 issue. The album was reissued in similar numbers in 1977. What is being auctioned is the very rare First pressing
Later albums by Pete Townshend and friends dedicated to Meher Baba included "I Am," "With Love," and "Avatar" (a compilation of the previous three albums, later released as Jai Baba). Several songs from "Happy Birthday" and "I Am" reappeared in the 1972 Pete Townshend's solo album “Who Came First” with noticeable alternate mixes.   Check out my other LPs currently running on eBay.