IVORY 1968 RARE TETRAGRAMMATON FUZZ ACID PSYCH LP HEAR

$

31

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

IVORY "Ivory"

Original 1968 pr0m0 LP on the TETRAGRAMMATON label, STEREO T 104

Cover:  VG+, light ringwear on front, creased corner, some staining on back, pr0m0 sticker on front

Vinyl:  Light handling scuffs, plays VG+ with consistent but light surface 

What are these guys, Harvard English majors with fuzz guitars?  C’mon, Ivory, you’re not fooling me – I know this is 1968 and all, but “free your mind” and “tune in, turn on, drop out” is still a FAR cry from “penetrate through your nebulous skies”, from Side 1 closer “A Thought.”  I mean, no one talks like that except for Ivy League English majors and meteorologists.  It’s a good thing that Chris Christman, Ken Thomure and Mike McCauley back up their Deans List approved lyrics with some major mind-melting FUZZ guitar, otherwise poetry like this might only be appreciated by the latte-sipping turtleneck-wearing crowds at Starbucks.  And so lines like “Essence of the sparrow is in my blood today” (from “All In My Mind”) can be easily glossed over when they’re backed by some of the trippiest, most psychedelic music the West Coast ever created.

 Ivory had the musical chops and then some – guitarist Ken Thomure LOVED his fuzz pedal and made sure it was mixed up front and LOUD, keyboardist Mike McCauley played like Ray Manzarek with a soul, and Chris Christman had a beautiful but very forceful, dramatic voice, compared often to Grace Slick but not often enough to Dorothy Moskowitz of the United States of America, who I think she sounds like even more.  Plus she was a hot blonde, which always helps draw crowds.  With all this talent, and a near-perfect debut album on the Tetragrammaton label (a Harvard word if there ever WAS one), there were big things in store for Ivory, but sadly, McCauley was drafted and sent to Vietnam, where he was wounded and unable to return to the band.   Which means that Ivory’s sole album is all you get, unfortunately, until someone opens the vaults and finds a storehouse of unreleased tracks on unmarked reel-to-reel. 

But still, what an album this is – a deliriously lysergic organ, fuzz and femme slice of West Coast psychedelia – again, compared to Jefferson Airplane and rightly so, but also sounding an awful lot like the United States of America, the Ill Wind, the Art of Lovin’, and the American Genesis, thrown into a blender with a bargeload of fuzz guitar.  Which blares out of the speakers and gets right in your face during the opening to “A Thought”, while Chris Christman gets all mensa meteorologist on your a**:  “So open your mind, close your eyes, penetrate through your nebulous skies, until you discover your heavenly star.”  She also makes the point that the continued existence of the human race is dependant upon  our own compassion, or possibly sexual passion, when she sings “Love so we’ll never cease,” and judging from her photo, I’d like to offer my help in preserving our species. 

“All In My Mind” sounds like the Doors with breasts, a moody, creeping sinister beast dominated by organ and a great staccato bassline.  It also contains the line “Essence of the sparrow is in my blood today”, which just made even the dead Jim Morrison giggle.  There’s more BLISTERING FUZZ guitar and heavy organ on the KILLER “A Light”, which also contains the album’s catchiest pop melody, and if Tetragrammaton had pulled a hit single off this album, this’d be it.  Things turn darker again for the album closer, “Grey November”, a slow, ethereal funeral march that almost sounds like an elegy for the band’s ill-fated career.  Chris is in fine form here, as the slower tempo gives her a chance to really belt out the lyrics, and she wrings forth every nuance of pathos from a line like “Spring soon fades, and di-i-ies”, holding the final syllable as if simultaneously wringing the life from it with her voice.  And just because it’s a slow, sad song, doesn’t mean there’s no place for a fuzz guitar here, as the occasional mortar shell explosions of fuzz that punctuate Chris’s somber vocals finally erupt into a LOUD, mindblowing solo near the end.

 I bet Ivory were a force to be reckoned with live, but alas, those of us who missed them in 1968 will never know.  But fortunately, you can still enjoy both their beauty and their power here, for one shining but brief moment.  Let this album penetrate your nebulous skies, and feel the essence of the tufted titmouse permeate your inner sanctum.  Trust me, it sounds better than it reads. 

 HEAR IT!

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.  ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS REQUIRE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION, WHICH IS AN EXTRA 75 CENTS.  Air mail shipping to Canada starts at $10 US, each additional record $2 shipping.  Air mail shipping everywhere else in the world starts at $16 US, with each additional record only $3 shipping.  ALL FOREIGN ORDERS REQUIRE CERTIFICATE OF SHIPMENT, WHICH IS AN EXTRA $1.10.  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. 

And finally, I include delivery confirmation on all shipments inside the US.  This is my proof of shipment, and also helps us to track your package if it doesn’t arrive when it should.  I will email you within 2 days of shipment and give you the confirmation number at that time.  Insurance is always optional, but for larger orders, it’s highly recommended.   I DO NOW REQUIRE THAT ALL FOREIGN BUYERS PAY AN ADDITIONAL $1.10 FOR PROOF OF SHIPMENT.  IT'S A NOMINAL FEE AND THE CHEAPEST WAY FOR ME TO PROVE THAT I ACTUALLY SHIPPED YOUR PACKAGE AND DIDN'T JUST POCKET YOUR MONEY AND SKIP TOWN.  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.