Jobriath Debut LP Rare Elektra 1973 Gatefold Sleeve

$

52

Welcome fans and collectors of the great Jobriath!

This is an opportunity to acquire this hard to find record released on Elektra Records, 75070, in 1973. It comes in a gatefold sleeve. Fans and completists will want this one. See my other listings for Jobriath's 1974 follow-up. The All Music Guide says:

Grand, grandiose, obsessive, overbearing, precocious, pretentious — you could spend a lifetime browsing the thesaurus and still never put your finger on everything that makes Jobriath's debut the legend that it is. Part of the problem, of course, is reputation — after 20 years of being hammered as the hype that scuppered glam rock in the U.S., then five more of rediscovery and absolute reinvention, Jobriath is today revered as much for its maker's status as gay America's first public icon as for its actual contents. Maybe even more so. Strip away such hullabaloo, however, and you're still left with an album that merits all the applause. Of course it's rock — "World Without End" and "Earthling" are even funk rock, and so smartly shade David Bowie's "Fame" and "Stay" bookends that one cannot help but wonder — but it's so much more than that. Jobriath's voice falls somewhere between vaudeville over-elucidation and operatic emphasis; his lyrics ooze pierrots, aliens, and movie stars, and his arrangements make Queen sound like an underachieving garage band. A few years later, Meatloaf would take a similar grasp on the vastness of excess and make a million. Jobriath made a millstone, but the parallels are apparent all the same. Heartfelt ballad as medieval battering ram. The stars of the show are spotlit from the start. Eddie Kramer's production ranks among his most unrestrained ever, so that even the piano ballads are draped across the broadest of stages. Add the band to the brew, and you can hear the kitchen sinks flying in. But if Jobriath (like Bat Out of Hell) is awash in brain-charring overkill, the surfeit is by no means gratuitous — or rather, it is, but only because it needs to be. In any other surroundings, songs like "Movie Queen" and "Inside" would seem slight and trite. Here they are the shade that prefigures the light — the sun-bright blast of "Morning Starship," the Rocky Horror boogie of "Rock of Ages," the unfettered majesty of "Take Me I'm Yours." Jobriath's songs are big-screen Cinerama, the slightest motion ten feet tall, the tiniest whisper Sensurround sharp. And just when you think they can't get any bigger, "Blow Away" wraps things up with a choral concerto, a hammy hymn, an exaggeration so huge that even the lyrical lift from Three Little Piggies sounds dramatic and profound. Grand and grandiose, obsessive and overbearing, precocious, and pretentious — it's Jobriath. What else did you expect? — Dave Thompson

Tracks are: 1. Take Me I'm Yours 2. Be Still (Sibelius/vonSchlegel) 3. World Without End 4. Space Clown 5. Earthling 6. Movie Queen 7. I'm a Man 8. Inside 9. Morning Star Ship 10. Rock of Ages 11. Blow Away

PLEASE NOTE - all of our records carry a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. If you are unhappy with your record purchase we will refund the final sale price (excluding all postage) upon the return of the album. My goal is a satisfied customer. Record collectors have differing standards and grading is a very subjective practice. I have done my best to accurately describe this item. I cannot possibly play every record. I am happy to answer any and all questions prior to the close of auction. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Comments pertinent to condition are as follows: Cover has overall wear but no splits or writing ; record shows some light wear but nothing that should affect play. I have not played it to verify condition but your satisfaction is guaranteed.

This is a "No reserve" auction and it is priced to sell. Check my feedback and bid with confidence. Email any questions before bidding. Shipping and handling to U.S. residents is $5.00 for priority mail (2-3 days) or $2.50 for media mail (7-10 days). Outside the U.S., shipping is via Airmail (actual shipping cost plus $1.00 for handling and packaging) and the cost will be determined at the close of auction, dependent upon destination. Winning bidders should make contact within 3 days of the close of auction and payment is expected within 10 days. Positive feedback is always left for positive transactions. Thanks for looking in!