Electric Sandwich. Essential 1972 Krautrock freakout album in TOP condition

$

343

This is an original German pressing of Electric Sandwich's self-titled first album from 1972 on the highly respected Brain Metronome label. This particular version was pressed at the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft pressing plant and cut by Pauler/Fehlauer, as indicated by the initials 'PF', etched into the deadwax area around the labels. Comes in the original poly inner sleeve. Very light price sticker residue on the top right front cover. The laminated gatefold cover is remarkably clean and solid all around. No seam splits and only slight bumping on all four corners, with some equally minor flaking in a few places along the seams, which are all shown in the photos. Light ringwear on the back cover is visible under bright light. Some fading along the spine (see photo), typical for a black sleeve that is 54 years old! The gatefold is equally clean inside with only a slight hint of ringwear beginning on the right-hand side. The vinyl itself is in astonishing condition with 1-2 light fingerprint residues on both sides visible only under bright light. They would probably come off with additional vacuum cleanings, which I have performed once on my Moth-MKII Pro Record Cleaning Machine. There are no spindle marks visible on either label and the spindle hole itself is perfect. Video/sound file is taken from the killer freakout psych/bongo/drone lead track “China” on Side 1, showing how clean the sound is on the quiet intro and build up. This is a keeper copy of a very rare hardcore psych/prog album that is difficult to part with. I rank this up there with Brainticket and Popol Vuh as one of my all-time favourites from the so-called “Krautrock” genre. 

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: it is significantly cheaper to ship to Europe if you have someone there to receive your package!

Buyer pays packaging and, preferably, insured shipping from Finland. 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 in 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.