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WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 500  LISTED ITEMS

 

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·       ARETHA FRANKLIN – THE ELECTRIFYING ARETHA FRANKLIN (ARETHA FRANKLIN’S SECOND STUDIO ALBUM!!!) – ORIGINAL 1962 COLUMBIA RECORDS STEREO LP CS-8561

 

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

 

·       ULTRA-RARE ORIGINAL RED AND BLACK COLUMBIA 'SIX EYE' STEREO LABEL (PROBABLY THE RAREST PRESSING OF ANY ARETHA FRANKLIN ALBUMS)

 

·       MONSTROUSLY RARE STEREO PRESSING, MANY TIMES RARER THAN MONO

 

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

 

·       ORIGINAL, THICK CARDBOARD COVER (AMERICAN STYLE)

 

·       ORIGINAL GLOSSY, LIGHTLY LAMINATED COVER

 

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

 

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

 

·       MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) ENDS WITH '-1A/1B'.  ON SOME LABELS,  SUFFIX '–1' DENOTES THE VERY FIRST, ORIGINAL PRESSING)

 

·       MACHINE-STAMPED MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) OF THE RECORD

 

·       As far as we know, this album has NEVER been available on legitimate Compact Disc or in any other way, manner or format.

 

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you'll get.  GUARANTEED!)

 

 

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Aretha Franklin’s albums for Columbia are usually dismissed as failures, releases from a record company that just didn’t know what to do with Franklin’s potential. But back in the 1980s I came across three of these early albums and have a soft spot for them. However, I hadn’t listened to them for years, until, for some reason, I returned to this one a few weeks ago. I’m not going to claim it is a lost classic, or even that it is a successful album, but I still quite like it. At its worst it is a bit dreadful: I could live without hearing Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive again (and I’m unconvinced that Aretha Franklin would want to rock-a-bye her baby to a Dixie melody), but there are nice things here. But what were Columbia doing giving this overwhelming powerful young singer, with her roots deep in gospel and the blues, a bunch of standards to sing? I can only guess: I presume Columbia didn’t want Franklin to be labelled a Rhythm and Blues singer, but, like Ray Charles, appeal to an audience that was much broader than the core R&B audience, i.e., to appeal to a white audience who had a greater disposable income. I also presume they didn’t want her to appeal just to kids, who may have bought singles, but were a much smaller market for the more expensive LP. Hindsight tells us there was a major miscalculation here: the great boom in record sales that occurred during the 1960s depended on a growingly prosperous youth market that could now afford LP’s and wanted the new pop, rock, soul, etc., not rehashes of the songs from their parents’ time. But in a way it is the very strangeness of these early Aretha Franklin albums that I like. There can be little doubt that with her later albums for Atlantic Franklin had material that was much more suited to her talents, but the best tracks on this album have a fascination in the tension between the singing style and the songs. Listen to the first track, You Made Me Love You, a song dating back to 1913, which had been popularized by Al Jolson, Judy Garland and Doris Day, amongst others. It is a nice song with a good melody and witty romantic lyrics (i.e., it is a good Tin Pan Alley song); the arrangement is pleasant, the strings are hardly innovative but they are nice enough. And then Franklin hollers it out, her singing full of a heart on the sleeve emotion that sweeps away the pleasant wittiness of the song. Maybe Columbia thought of Franklin as their new Black Judy Garland, belting out her songs in a big theatrical style (on her previous album Franklin has sung Over the Rainbow, and back in 1939 You Made Me Want to Love You had been the B-Side to Garland’s big hit) – but, despite their similarities, Franklin and Garland came out of very different traditions, Franklin, of course, building on the emotional and devotional impact of gospel, a very different sensibility to the white show music of Garland. And, as I said, it is this dislocation between material/arrangement and singing style that both dooms it to failure and yet is fascinating.

 

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ANONYMOUS ONLINE REVIEW)

 

For additional historical or discography information on this album, including track listing ►

 

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THIS GROUP OR ARTIST ► 

 

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·                               CONDITION:

 

·                               RECORD

 

 (IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

 

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL AS STRONG VG++, JUST A NOTCH BELOW NEAR MINT. A few light abrasions (probably just sleeve scuffs inflicted in storage over the years) ARE VISIBLE, but they appear fairly  insignificant relative to the overall condition of the vinyl, and are only moderately visually distracting. For most part, the vinyl looks impeccable, without any MAJOR visual flaws or imperfections. Much of the original luster is intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

 

(b)          The record comes in the original stock inner sleeve.

 

(c)           The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

 

(d)          Stereo  pressing of this title is much rarer, and by far more preferable to its mono  counterpart. The mix is more graphic, the sound resolution more precise, and the channel separation (which does not exist on mono version) adds a whole new dimension to the music. Also, the stereo mixes are (by definition) somewhat different than on the mono version. We estimate that mono copies of this album outnumber stereo copies  by a ratio of at least 5:1.

 

(e)           Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

 

 

·                               THE COVER

 

THE COVER IS NICE --- ABOUT VERY GOOD++ (VG++).

 

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

 

-        Cover has a partially split bottom seam (between 6 and 8 inches  /15 to 20 centimeters); This split seam was delicately taped by the previous owner with a piece of transparent scotch tape

 

-        Cover has some light ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 3

 

-        Cover shows some light yellowing on back side, apparently from aging.

 

-        Cover has a small quality control (inspection) stamp on the back panel

 

-        Cover has a few tiny wrinkles along the spine

 

-        Cover has some fraying/wear along the lower seam

 

-        Cover has a light "wrinkle" (crease)  in one of the corners.  (VISIBLE ON FRONT SIDE ONLY)

 

-        Minor shelf wear noted on the top seam and spine (nothing significant)

 

-        Cover has two corners slightly worn (nothing significant)

 

 

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

 

 

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

 

We offer THREE postage rates for both Domestic and International Mail: Media Mail, Priority Mail and Express Mail for domestic, and First Class, Priority International Mail, and Express International Mail for international orders. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND that you pay for USPS International Priority Mail OR International Express mail when making a payment in order to obtain tracking information, which is NOT available for First Class International shipments.

 

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates ►. While you can be rest assured that ►, please note that damage, loss or theft in transit is always possible, and in the case of some countries even PROBABLE. To discuss this potential problem and ensure flawless delivery, please contact us thru eBay BEFORE placing a bid.

 

 

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

 

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED; Still sealed items MUST be returned sealed in order to be eligible for a refund Some restrictions apply. Please read our complete refund policy before placing a bid. ►  for the full text of our policy

 

 

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