Sold Date: March 16, 2014
Start Date: March 9, 2014
Final Price: $15.00 (USD)
Bid Count: 1
Seller Feedback: 13542
Buyer Feedback: 3

WYOMING "In Prison"

Original 1972 LP on the German BACILLUS/BELLAPHON label, STEREO BLPS 19079

Cover: EXCELLENT, small sticker residue on front

Vinyl: CLEAN, plays VG+ with occasional pops

Super obscure German-only album by Wyoming, their only record, 1972’s In Prison, and what a strange little record it is.  Nothing seems to make sense here, beginning with the title, In Prison.  Great, except none of the songs here have anything to do with being in prison.  Likewise the bizarre Dali-stealing cover art would have you believe Wyoming’s music was like some freakish cousin to Nektar or Brainticket – especially because it was released on the German Bellaphon label.  But it’s not.  It’s a German band going for a slightly American Midwest Native American rock sound.  Which makes more sense when you realize singer/songwriter Pete Bender was an American Army brat raised in France, Alaska, Washington, California, North Carolina, New York and finally Germany.  But, oddly enough, never Wyoming.  Okay, scratch that part I wrote about making sense.  Nothing here makes sense.

Wyoming are probably looser and funkier than most German rock bands, and I guess Bender’s feel for tribal rhythms has a lot to do with that.  “I’ll Be Back” is a pleasant little funky rock song with a “Brother Louie” melody and some nice Santana-esque hand drums and fluid guitar licks.  The upbeat “This Is My Song” bounces along on a catchy little mouth harp beat and “na na na” chorus hook, like a countrified Paul McCartney and Wings with Brainticket backing him up.  Only the 10-minute Comanche tribute “Indian Wardance” smacks of self-indulgence, or possibly a way to fill up Side 2.  It’s got a nice sinister tribal rhythm, but somebody shoulda moved the fader down around the 3 minute mark. 

In Prison will definitely grow on you.  It’s so bizarre and unlike anything else on the label, it has to.  I have no idea what that snakelike thing is on the front cover.  Or why there’s a shirtless red-haired barbarian with an artichoke below his chest saluting the beach.  I’m sure a lot of Germans were confused at the time by this record too (and that’s saying something).  The inside gatefold is taken up mostly by song lyrics – a mistake when they consist of lines like “I’m always on the run I am, and never in one place.  Can’t afford to be tied down, well I gotta move around” and “And I run, run and run, I’m a roller.”  Maybe the album should have been called Running.  Add to that the fact that the dedication message is cut off along the bottom edge and there’s an unmistakable giant phallus on the left side and, well, let’s just hope Mr. Bender wasn’t the Army psychologist.  This is one strange little record.  It might not be about prisons, or even Wyoming, but if you like songs about running set to wardance rhythms played by krautrock bands, this might just be the best thing you’ve ever heard.

HEAR IT!

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.