CAPTAIN BEEFHEART - LICK MY DECALS OFF 1970 1st UK Press EX FRANK ZAPPA

	£		37
	$		49

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART -

LICK MY DECALS OFF, BABY

1st UK PRESS 1970

Stereo

STRAIGHT  583083 

Machined Matrices

earliest mother stampers ending  A1  B1

Stunning example of this super rare first press which was soon retracted!!

Notes

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (A-Side label matrix): STS 1063 A
• Matrix / Runout (B-Side label matrix): STS 1063 B
• Matrix / Runout (A-side run-out, stamped [Variant 1]): STS-1063-A1   ?   ( ) 
• Matrix / Runout (B-side run-out, stamped [Variant 1]): STS-1063-B1   ?   C
• Matrix / Runout (A-side run-out, stamped [Variant 2 - '1' & '1' is stacked]): STS-1063-A1   ?   1 1
• Matrix / Runout (B-side run-out, stamped [Variant 2 - '1' & '1' is stacked]): STS-1063-B1   ?   1 1

Vinyl: EX+.  I'm very happy to be able to present this gem by CAPTAIN BEEFHEART  in this wonderful condition. The audio is simply sublime played on my Technics deck with Linn Sondek cartridge and through my Rotel amp and B&W speakers.  This vinyl sounds out of this world, a majestic album that showed that really went largely under the radar. Why ...? 

 Unbelievably it has just two wispy hairline traces and the audio is simply stunning.  I played this through in full and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was even tempted to keep this as it will be very hard to find this again, it is indeed getting very hard to find now in this kind of condition. Under a strong light just a few paper retraction traces visible. These are not detectable in plain daylight. Just a few light spindle traces. Needless to say NO jumps, clicks or ticks. 

 Sleeve: EX.  Single sleeve with barely any creasing, bar the light thumb crease near the opening.  Light edge and spinal wear. It sits superbly flat and has a sharp crisp opening. The spine is fully legible.  A beautiful original sleeve and the winner will be very pleased indeed, they don't come much better than this esp. after 50 years!! No marks, no stickers, no seam splits or tears.

"Lick my Decalls off is as confronting as its title! Captain Beefheart had already shown incredible ugly experiences within music in Trout Mask Replica and this is its logical follow-up. The most elements in the music are the same, but the band is playing tighter and the percussion is more interesting. There are also some very nice xylophone parts.

The Captain is not an easy listening experience; this is hardcore prog. This record is together with  Trout Mask Replica the hardest music to get into at the time and I don't know if this inaccessibility level has ever been beaten! The reason that it is so hard, is because the Captain and it's crew - the Magic Band - are champions in  poly rhythms and is quiet intense. The vocals are dark and ugly sometimes and the music itself is seldom symphonic, but most of the time it is dark and frustrating.

The reason that I do like this music so much is because of all the difficulties in it. The bass, the drum, the percussion and all instruments play out-of-the-box creating a weird atmosphere. This music is full of surprises. I also do like the avant garde saxophones and strange rhythms. It took me some time to appreciate it, but after this hard work a masterpiece approaches!

In comparison with the Trout Mask this music is somewhat more proto-punk. If all the strange elements are dismissed you will find a punk basis sometimes. Also the xylophonist is doing a great job on this record. This album is somewhat better because of the somewhat higher quality level of the individual songs.

I do recommend this record for everyone who likes the Trout Mask! Not for the fainthearted. An avant-garde masterpiece it is." (From: progarchives.com)

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This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.