HACKAMORE BRICK One Kiss Leads To Another 1970 ORIG VU PSYCH LP MINT SHRINK HEAR

$

40

HACKAMORE BRICK "ONE KISS LEADS TO ANOTHER" LP

ORIGINAL 1970 LP on the US KAMA SUTRA label, STEREO KS85 2025

COVER in MINT shape, still in the original shrinkwrap!

VINYL plays NEAR MINT

Okay, let’s get it out of the way first.  Yes, they sound like the Velvet Underground.  More specifically, the eponymous stripped-down third album, as opposed to the one with the banana on the cover and the German chanteuse.  The band, of course, claimed no knowledge of Lou Reed’s band, but yeah sure, they recorded this in Brooklyn in 1970 so of course they’re gonna say that.  But there’s enough her to differentiate One Kiss Leads To Another from any VU album, even if the sparse minimal instrumentation, lo-fi production and wispy, fey sing-speak vocals do ultimately point Lou-ward.  Richard Melzer said they sound like the Zombies in his glowing Rolling Stone review back then, and maybe he was talking about the extended keyboard vamp in the second half of “And I Wonder,” which sounds more like a D.I.Y. Doors or King Crimson’s “Moonchild” to these ears.  The catchiest track here, “Got A Gal Named Wilma,” managed to find its way on to an old Rhino label Nuggets compilation, which is amazing for a band no one ever heard of.  Especially when you consider it’s such an unobtrusive and restrained anti-single, catchy and cool enough to sound like something off Big Star’s acoustic third album but hardly the kind of thing you’d expect from bubblegum factory label Kama Sutra.  Elsewhere, the sad acoustic strummed ballad “Someone You Know” brings to mind other sad acoustic balladeers of the early Seventies like Lobo, Gilbert O’Sullivan or Cat Stevens to name a few.  But those aren’t exactly the kind of cool names you wanna drop in your reviews, so most reviewers head for the Zombies and Velvet Underground.  They’ll point to how much album closer “Zip Gun Woman” sounds like early CBGBs proto-punk, drawing a comparison with the band’s New York roots rather than the fact that Marc Bolan copped half the title for one of his late fat-Marc singles.  In short, I’d say this about Hackamore Brick’s one album.  Despite its sudden cult record status and frequent comparisons to “cool club” members the VU and the Zombies, One Kiss Leads To Another is hardly the kind of album that blows you away.  It’s remarkably restrained, almost ghostly at times, as acoustic instruments strum behind fey vocals, songs wilfully avoid repetitive hooks and choruses, and someone at the Kama Sutra mixing desk takes an extended lunch break.  But it also avoids all the trappings and clichés of its time, and maybe that’s why it’s still loved today.  It’s no more a product of 1970 than 1977, or 1997, or 2007.  Except for the long Manzarek organ break at the end of “And I Wonder,” this could easily be the work of Brian Wilson during the mid-Seventies.  Or Daniel Johnston from the Eighties.  Or Elliot Smith in the Nineties.  But hey, that’s New York for ya.  Defiantly anti-trend, marching to its own beat and frequently ahead of the times.  Like the Velvet Underground.  Yeah, you know what?  This really does sound like the Velvet Underground.

HEAR IT!

PLEASE NOTE I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).  BUYERS FROM ITALY AGREE TO PAY FOR GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL INSURED ONLY!

The less exciting stuff

Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  Overseas shipping has, unfortunately, gone way up in the fast few months, which translates to $15 for the first LP to Canada ($3 each one thereafter) and $24 for the first LP everywhere else in the world, with each add'l LP an extra $5 (so it pays to buy more, nudge nudge wink wink).   I accept payments through Paypal. 

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

 For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.