(SIR) JOHN STRANG – The Masterpiece. Seelie Court SCLP 008. UK release. NEW UNPLAYED VINYL RECORD ALBUM. Originally recorded in 1968. This remastered debut release edition issued in 2020. Comes in a gatefold cover (uncoated stock) with the lyrics printed inside the gatefold. Includes a liner note insert written by John Strang. Limited to 500 copies. This item was shipped by the label unsealed without any outer wrap, as are all Seelie Court titles, I have placed it inside of a 3mil outer sleeve for safe keeping and shipping; disc shipped outside the jacket. MUSICANS:  John Strang, Valentine Lewis Lloyd, and Martin Farquharson.

 

TRACKS:

 

SIDE ONE:

 

01)    I Am The Crab #1

02)    Village School

03)    Seagull #3

04)    Late In The Day

05)    Dreams (Parts 1-5)

06)    Madame Bartholomew

07)    What’cha Gonna Do?

08)    Acid Albatross

09)    Little Fat Man

10)    Butterfly

11)    Ge-Bomb

 

SIDE TWO:

 

12)    I Am The Crab #2

13)    Masterpeace #1

14)    Twisted Tree

15)    Swallow #7

16)    He Was Only A Child

17)    Blistered Blades Of Grass

18)    No Money To Pay

19)    Love Grew In The Night

20)    Little Anna

21)    Masterpeace #2

22)    I Am The Crab (outro)

 

DESCRIPTION:

 

“Astonishingly rare and misunderstood seminal folk rock LP privately made in Wales by the 17 year old Strang and his two friends. Strang collected the 25x copy pressing from the studios in 1968 and carried them several miles home in a rucksack on foot. In present day, Sir John Strang is an eminent psychiatrist and leading authority on the psychiatry of drug addiction, being knighted by the Queen for his work with heroin addicts. His shadow self has privately recorded Donovan-esque folk rock since the mid sixties, yet only a few of his songs have ever been heard, with just two posted on YouTube. Comparisons have been made to Vashti Bunyan, whom this LP predates in style… but delve into the dark and literate lyrics of this LP and a much more complex vista emerges. At over 54 minutes, the LP gets stronger on side two, interleaved with gradually more menacing versions of a song called The Crab, in which the nature of reality is questioned. Strang’s nascent interest in the workings of the mind emerge in the obscure lyrics, and though on the surface his LP appears to be delicate Donovan-like folkrock, the recurring motif is Death, with references to the atrocities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and an odd connection to the disturbing play (later film), Equus. The LP title itself refers not to the Hippie dream of love and peace, but to the master of all peace, the final and total death of all mankind. Value of an original is estimated to be £1500-2500. It’s seminal in that no one was writing lyrics like this until Peter Hammil surfaced. Valentine Lloyd Lewis adds some female vocals."  This gatefold edition, limited to 500 copies.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS ITEM IS NEW AND UNPLAYED. Used items will include condition details for the cover, disc, inserts, etc.

 

NOTE TO POTENTIAL BUYERS:  If the jacket or disc (unless sealed) is punched, marked, or cut in any manner, denoting a promotional/review copy, I will state that as part of the item description. Also if an issue is a "music club" edition, that will be noted in the item description. (The below information was last updated 10/08/22)

 

If you have any questions or if you have additional information, especially corrections, to the description, please e-mail me. I particularly enjoy when an artist, band member, or someone who has personal background knowledge of a particular album/artist and offers their insight/information of that recording, which I will include with the description for future listings of that release. As a collector of many years, part of the hobby side for me is to learn about the background of the artists and music that I collect. Hopefully, sharing some of this information in my descriptions will help educate and enhance your listening experience.     

All LPs are removed from their jackets and placed outside of the jacket for shipping. If an album comes sealed (and will be noted as such in the above description), it will be shipped whole unless you request that I open it up to place the disc outside of the jacket for shipping. Both jacket and disc are placed inside of an outer plastic sleeve before packing for shipping. I use professional corrugated record mailers with inside packing.

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER CURRENTLY LISTED ITEMS AND EBAY STORE.

 

TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS:

 

SS or SLD:  Still Sealed or Sealed (or some variation of sealed depending on how many characters I have left in the title line). This item is new and unplayed. Also appears in the listing description as Sealed LP or Factory Sealed LP.

 

NEW LP:  This item is new and unplayed, but was received from a supplier without being shrink wrapped or cellophane wrapped; more common on imports but also many of the smaller independent US labels do not seal their LPs. These items are placed inside of a clear poly outer sleeve upon their receipt by me

 

GFC:  Gate fold cover.

 

LTD EDT:  Limited, as in limited edition. If I know the press run number it will be included in the above description.

 

#'D:  Numbered edition. I will include the number of this item if it is visible to me.

 

CV:  Colored vinyl.

 

S/T:  Self-titled.

 

RE:  Reissue

 

OOP:  Out Of Print.

 

MIX:  This sometimes appears in my title line and refers to a group's/artist's music having a mix of styles such a rock track with jazz then followed by a straight rock track followed by a psych rock track, etc., as opposed to a blues album with the album's tracks having predominantly one style.

 

MULTIPLE ITEM PURCHASERS: 

 

My automatically generated invoices do not apply discounted shipping for multiple items purchased. I recommend that you request an invoice for the discounted shipping amount to make your payment. If you make your purchase and pay the full shipping charges for each item I will issue the shipping discount refund once your package has been posted. If you are outside the US you can e-mail me prior to your purchase for a shipping total, include the specific titles you are interested in purchasing. Customers whose purchases include CD(s) along with LP(s) will be shipped in a single package. Please e-mail me with any questions you may have.

 

SHIPPING: 

 

Buyer pays for POSTAGE & HANDLING:

 

Shipping rates are as of October 2022; any subsequent rate increase will take precedence over the listed rates.

 

U.S. Shipping: 

 

$4.90 via USPS Media Mail for the first single LP or double disc LP set (excluding box sets); this also includes tracking. Check your eBay Purchases folder for tracking and shipping information.

 

$1.25 for each additional single LP set and/or

$1.50 for each additional double LP set.

 

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INTERNATIONAL Shipping:  

 

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HANDLING TIME: 

 

Packages are usually shipped with in 24-hours, excepting weekends and holidays.

 

RETURN POLICY:

 

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NON-ARRIVAL OF PACKAGES:

 

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