Chad&Char-Expo67 private"real people"folk/psych,rare

$

69

OK...first of all I am not sure if anyone knows about this LP or not. I have been collecting for almost 40 yrs and I know I have never seen one before, or maybe I have and never bothered to pay attention. I am always one to pick up albums that I have never heard of , especially if they look interesting so I doubt the latter. I know for a fact that I was the first to discover the Jeff Moore - Youngest Son LP and I am pretty sure there are others, so I know what I am talking about when describing this LP. This is the work of two 19 year old girls - Lynne Chadwick,who plays banjo and Charlene Beck on guitar, both having grown up in the Windsor , Ontario area in Canada. I know... the banjo thing scared me a little, but thank god no one showed this girl how to play banjo in the conventional folk style, so it seems she made up a style all her own. The two girls sang and played together from 1963 in and around the Windsor area but their big break came on April 29 & 30th, 1967 when they were selected to play in front of an international audience on the opening weekend of Montreal's Expo 67. This LP was privately released to mark that event, although it  is not a live recording of the event but rather was recorded at Aldon Sound Studios . I presume the songs are the ones the girls performed at Expo, but can't say for sure.I have included a scan of the back cover paste - on that tells the whole story.

The cover is definitely a home made affair, using a plain white LP jacket with a paste on front slick in two colours that appears to be a screen print, i.e. looking under a magnifier I see no dots, just solid colour. The back slick is a mimeographed sheet that tells the whole story of Chad & Char and their Expo appearance, obviously typed on an old manual typewriter and mimeographed before the days of Xerox. The cover condition is easily VG++, no splits or damage, just a little browning to the back slick.

The music? First of all I have to say, the songs are pretty typical for the era but , hold on.... obviously these girls cut their teeth on the likes of ; Joan Baez, Judy Collins et al but there seems to be lots of evidence that they were also groovin' on the sounds of San Francisco. The reason I say that is in their harmonies. Both girls have beautiful voices, one a rich tenor and the other a clear soprano and their combined sense of harmony suggests some classical voice training.Throughout the LP their harmonies are incredible, weaving in and out with each other, complex and contrapuntal, reminiscent of the best San Francisco groups like Jefferson Airplane, Its A Beautiful Day, Euphoria etc. They even do a version of the folk classic " Scarlet Ribbons " that owes more to Gandalf than to the Weavers, if you know what I mean. Some of the songs are dark and protesty in nature like - Cruel War, Springhill and Tiny Sparrow, these songs are amongst the best, for instance - their version of Springhill starts with one crashing minor key guitar chord and then goes almost accapella with only a hint of fragile guitar way back in the mix, the effect is truly haunting. There are a couple of French songs, probably to emphasize the bi-lingual message of Expo 67. I alluded earlier to the banjo skills of Lynne Chadwick, or should I say lack of same. Believe me this is a blessing in diguise, no trad banjo playing here at all. She almost uses it more like an eastern string instrument, providing a melodic line that fills in between the guitar chords. Both girls are limited in their technical skills and play in a metronomic kind of style that gives it a mantra like quality. This is clearly evident on the track" Jesus Met The Woman " a traditional spiritual that by far is my favourite track on the LP. Starting off with a very fragile combination of the banjo and the guitar in this mantra like style the girls come in very hauntingly with extraordinary contrapuntal harmonies slowly developing into a full out gospel/blues worthy of Joplin then ...boom it drops back down to the guitar/banjo thing and the voices get even more haunting, its truly a killer track considering its two voices and acoustic instruments that are miked not electric.The occasional mistake pops through so I am betting it was done in one take, live in the studio.The LP is good to excellent throughout and definitely reveals more with repeated listens, the girls put lots of real passion into their performances and for me define what the "real people folk" appeal is all about. The record is a visual VG+ with a couple of ultra light marks but plays much better with only occasional light pops, grooves are solid with great lo-fi sound, probably mono.

Please pay by PAYPAL, Money Order, or cheque, if you pay by cheque make sure you are prepared to wait 14 days for it to clear(you must be patient!!) any type of international money order is fine for me, a US postal MO must be pink(international), whichever is the easiest and cheapest way for you .

///GRADING///

MINT: as stated with no defects

NEAR MINT: as stated near Mint!, or Mint Minus, same thing, very clean with no defect to sound or visual appearance, one scuff or mark may be permitted but it will be mentioned in the description, a near Mint record looks and plays very clean

EXCELLENT: not much below near Mint, may have a delete hole and/or a minor defect or two not visually detracting from the cover, the vinyl will appear shiny and in clean condition with very minor defects not affecting the sound, still very clean and very collectable!

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

VG+ a little more cover/ring wear and delete, splits etc., 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, both cover and vinyl no matter the condition, I also play grade the records on high end equipment and will give an honest play grade as well as visual grade.

AIR POSTAGE TO USA IS $9 ...OR $7 SURFACE IF THE PACKAGE WEIGHS LESS THAN 500 GRAMS(one regular weight pressing).........USA AIR POSTAGE FROM 500 GRAMS TO 1 KILO IS $14 AND SURFACE MAIL IS $10(usually 1-3 lp’s depending on individual weight),  AIR POSTAGE OVERSEAS UNDER 500 grams is $16(one regular weight lp), OVER 500 grams is $29(usually up to 3 lp’s depending on individual weight), SURFACE MAIL IS AVAILABLE OVERSEAS for  $9(500 grams) $13 (500 - 1000 g),OVERSEAS AIR POSTAGE BETWEEN 1000g AND 2000g (usually between 3 and 6 lp’s depending on individual weight) is $45............IN CANADA..POSTAGE IS $7 IN Ontario and Quebec, $10 elsewhere.

Return Policy 100% refund if not satisfied.I will refund the value of the item only and not the shipping.