Ash Ra Tempel – Seven up (Timothy Leary). Super rare krautrock in TOP condition

$

78

Comes with the original insert and original paper inner sleeve. A krautrock classic, this album really lives up to the name of the label, which was “The Cosmic Couriers”. The label consistently delivered the best of Germany from the early prog/psych era and this LP is no exception. Just played it all the way through for the first time in 45 years and what a literal flashback! Echo-/feedback-drenched and very spacy guitars phasing in and out of focus, with equally fluid drumming. The haunting organ is reminiscent of Rick Wright from Pink Floyd circa Echoes and the distant choral vocals bring to mind Atom Heart Mother. The music comes and goes in waves in a general mood of just jamming late at night when the button-down techies had probably abandoned the studio and the boys were left alone smoking (or ingesting) something pretty strong. The glossy, laminated gatefold cover is rock solid all the way around. The spine and all seams are perfect, with zero flaking and not even any fading along the spine, which never had any artist/label info. Microscopic bumping on all but the bottom left corner, which has moderate bumping/flaking (see photo). Zero spindle marks on the Side 1 label, zero spindle marks on the Side 2 label, and the spindle hole itself is perfect. Even BEFORE running it through my Moth-MKII Pro Record Cleaning Machine it sounded remarkably clean with some very light bits of crackle in a few places, but not distracting even in the many quiet parts. The vinyl has full gloss with not even slight spider traces nor paper sleeve scuffs visible under the brightest light. Even the dead wax is mint and shines like new with zero spider traces or fingerprints. An utterly splendid copy of a killer 53-year old space-rock record! The sound/video file comes from the closing section of Time, which takes up Side 2 of the LP (Side 1 is Space). It shows both the quiet of the vinyl on this copy and the fidelity of the music. 

I am planning to list some ultra-rarities from my personal trove of vinyl LPs and 45s over the coming months. These have been painstakingly collected since the late 1970’s. Included are the absolute crown jewels of psychedelia, garage, prog, acid folk and folk-rock, all ranked 3-6 stars in Hans Pokora’s books. Artists like Vashti Bunyan, The Haunted, Fresh Maggots, Kaleidoscope, Plastic Cloud, Loudest Whisper, Reign Ghost, Synanthesia, Blues Section, Jormas, Mighty Baby, Sunforest, Trees, The Folklords, Anne Briggs, Kak, Moving Sidewalks and countless others. Most are stupidly rare, especially in such jaw-dropping condition. All have been extremely well cared-for across 4+ decades, and some are nearly un-played. In many cases, I also have the accompanying 45s for sale, including insanely rare non-LP tracks for e.g. Vashti Bunyan, Reign Ghost, Kak, Kaleidoscope, etc. These are not “spare” copies, these are THE copies from my personal collection. I am selling these only reluctantly, and if the first few samples do not attract an appropriate level of interest, I will simply return the rest of them to storage. All records have been dust vacuumed on a Moth-MKII Pro Record Cleaning Machine. 

My vinyl rankings are only slightly modified from Goldmine Standard for grading Please read them (below) carefully. I will describe every LP and 45 in detail and include photos as well as sound files. If you pay close attention to the cover/vinyl condition descriptions, check the photos in high-resolution and listen to the sound files, then you should know exactly what you are aiming for before you start bidding. I try to carefully note any flaws with the disc and the cover so that there are no surprises when the box arrives. I have 100% positive feedback on eBay and want to keep it that way. If there is ANY issue after receiving a shipment, please let me know immediately so we can resolve it before sending any feedback. 

Please do not pay before confirming your preferred shipping method and total shipping costs!! The domestic shipping costs to US are NOT real since the item comes from Finland! The international shipping costs also depend on the buyer’s location and preference in terms of service used. NOTE for US and Canadian buyers: Apparently, I CANNOT ship to Europe as eBay US only recognizes the buyer’s official eBay address. Otherwise they hold my payment for 30 days and I cannot do that. 

Buyer pays packaging, which costs $5 USD. I use top quality packaging and need to cover those costs, which will be included in the invoice. Vinyl will be packed extremely securely and LPs are double-boxed with cardboard stiffeners added inside the inner Euromailer to increase stability to avoid any damage in transit. The discs are always removed from the jackets to prevent seam splits, and all albums and 45s come in plastic outer sleeves. Each LP itself comes in a VRP rice paper-style inner sleeve. UPS and DHL Global Express Shipping from Finland are both available with or without insurance. Finnish Posti service is available to everywhere except the US, albeit without insurance. Posti no longer sends packages of any kind to the US, only documents/letters. 

Be sure to check my other listings now and in the coming months as these items almost never turn up for sale, much less in this condition!

I do not use Mint (M) unless the album is sealed. Near Mint (NM) means I literally unsealed the record myself and played it once or twice to record it to cassette. Any surface noise is therefore a function of the pressing and not due to wear and tear. I do not use EX. 

Very Good Plus Plus (VG++) will show only very minor – if any – wear, has been extremely well taken care of and plays with top-notch sound. The cover is crisp with minimal defects, and the record label shows very few spindle marks or other signs of wear or damage. The vinyl retains full gloss and for 45s the picture sleeve is mostly intact. This is as close to NM as it going to get for 99% of rare vintage vinyl for sale anywhere. 

Very Good Plus (VG+) will show minor yet visible cover wear, has been well taken care of and still plays with generally excellent sound. Spindle marks on the label may be more pronounced, yet vinyl gloss and sonic clarity both remain solid and surface noise minimal. For 45s the picture sleeve is intact but has significant defects, such as seam splits, age-related discoloration, wrinkling or visible rubbing.

Very Good (VG) will show visible wear and tear on the cover, have significant spindle marks on the label and the vinyl will have lost some of its gloss and/or sonic clarity. Surface noise is evident. I will offer almost no LPs or 45s rated VG as I simply do not own them, except a very few that are exceptionally rare in any condition.