CROMAGNON s/t Rare Original 1969 Acid Damaged avant Psych lp M-

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CROMAGNON s/t Rare Original 1969 Acid Damaged avant Psych lp M-

1969/USA/ ESP-DISK 2001….. here’s a clean original pressing of their acid damaged lp. The cover is in solid condition with light shelf wear, the cover has light soiling/staining, 1” bottom center seam split, corner dings/wear, splits starting top and bottom seam at opening, creasing upper right corner, otherwise the cover is clean with no delete! The vinyl is in strong Excellent to M- condition. The record has some minor light storage stains/blemishes from the inner sleeve, couple of faint hairlines. Clean labels have one very small light spindle mark on one label. A super copy and a rare lp! Please check my auctions for other rock and psych lp’s. Good luck and thanks for looking!

Cromagnon was a project formed in the late ’60s for the influential ESP-Disk label, which put out some of the wildest, most freeform music of the era, including albums by the Fugs, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman and even the godfather of the psychedelic era, Timothy Leary. The official story behind the band is that it was started by a pair of successful pop songwriters named Brian Elliot and Austin Grasmere who wanted to do an experimental album. When they approached ESP-Disk founder Bernard Stollman about the project, he allegedly asked what their theme would be, and when they replied, “Everything is one,” he gave them the go-ahead.

At this point, the story gets a little murky. Supposedly, Elliot and Grasmere decamped to some kind of hippie commune to record with a group of musicians known only as the “Connecticut Tribe” that may or may not have included future members of The Residents and Negativland. Whoever they were, the Tribe helped Elliot and Grasmere record a single album under the Cromagnon name. Originally released in 1969, it’s an absolute mind-fuck of a record, a dadaist/tribal freakout combining primitive percussion and musique concrète; creepy non-verbal groans, grunts, chants and shrieks; bagpipes; Hendrix-esque blasts of psych-rock guitar; Brian Wilson harmonies; sampled radio broadcasts; and a whole host of other sounds whose origins are impossible to discern. At the time of its release, it must’ve been enough to send even most the tripped-out “Revolution No. 9? enthusiasts scurrying back to their parents’ Johnny Mathis records.

The mystery of the Connecticut Tribe’s identity, and the complete lack of any further Cromagnon releases, has helped fuel the myths and rumors surrounding the group. Even the identities of Elliot and Grasmere have remained somewhat enigmatic. Who were these alleged bubblegum hitmakers turned hippie/freakout psychonauts? And why have we heard nothing further from them since 1969?

It just turns out the “Connecticut Tribe” wasn’t a hippie commune at all, but a bunch of dudes from a ’60s pop-rock group called The Boss Blues (plus various friends, guest musicians, and even people who just happened to be passing by the studio when they needed an extra pair of hands to bang on stuff). Elliot was the band’s producer and Grasmere was their lead guitarist. In 2002, the three surviving members of The Boss Blues–Sal Salgado, Peter Bennett and Vinnie Howley–gave an interview with Connecticut radio station WXCI where they talked at length about Cromagnon and the recording process for Orgasm (which was in fact not recorded on a hippie commune, but mainly in a makeshift studio in New York City). In 2009, some kind soul transcribed the interview for the ESP-Disk website, so the band’s history is now laid out for all to see. (Sorry, everyone who was really, really sure The Residents were actually behind the whole thing.) The interview is long but well worth reading for anyone who’s at all interested in the band; it also features MP3s of most of the tracks from Orgasm, so you can hear for yourself just how off-the-deep-end these guys got.

Sadly, both Grasmere and Elliot–the latter of whom, the other guys admit, was the principal architect of the Cromagnon sound–have passed away, so despite the occasional reunion-tour rumors, we’ve probably heard all we’ll ever hear out of this strange little footnote from the psychedelic era. Internet

GRADING

MINT: I consider New Unplayed or Sealed items only.

M- or Mint Minus, very clean with clean visual appearance and sound, there may be a couple of light inaudible hairline scuffs or such and will be mentioned in the listing, a Mint- record looks and plays very clean. Same for the cover. Very clean with no delete or other issues.

EXCELLENT: still very collectable for most, visually and sonicly clean. A handful of light inaudible scuffs, or hairlines. Cover will be clean with little wear, or delete. No splits.

VG++ still a very nice copy with minimal wear, the vinyl will retain it's original gloss and can have some minor scuffs/scratches that don't affect play very much. Cover will have slight shelf wear, and or delete, minor split.

VG+ the vinyl will still retain much original gloss with a bit more scuffs and/or scratches I may list a very rare or desirable item with a lower grade, I will try to list all defects.

POSTAGE FOR THIS RECORD

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I REMOVE RECORDS FROM THE COVERS FOR SAFE SHIPPING, IF IT'S SEALED I WILL LEAVE IT SEALED UNLESS YOU LET ME KNOW OTHERWISE. ALL USED RECORDS CLEANED ON A VPI RECORD CLEANING MACHINE

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