NICO "The End" 1974 UK ISLAND 1st PRESS

	£		31
	$		41

 
NICO "The End" 1974 UK ISLAND 1st PRESS TOP COPY SUPERB LP, DEEPLY GLOSSY 'ROBOR' SLEEVE, STUNNING AUDIO

NICO
The End

HERE WE HAVE A SUPERB, UK ISLAND (ILPS 9311) FIRST PRESSING (October 1974) OF NICO's DEFINITIVE "The End" LP - A STUNNING PIECE OF WORK WITH ENO, PHIL MANZANERA AND JOHN CALE

THE RECORD IS IN LIGHTLY PLAYED EXCELLENT+ CONDITION
THE FULL LAMINATED, AND DEEPLY GLOSSY "ROBOR" SLEEVE IS SIMILARLY EXCELLENT +

It is one of the most entrenched visions in the rock critic's vocabulary; Nico as doomed valkyrie, droning death-like through a harsh gothic monotone, a drained beauty pumping dirges from her harmonium while a voice as old as dirt hangs cobwebs round the chords.
In fact she only made one album which remotely fit that bill -- this one -- and it's a symbol of its significance that even the cliché emerges as a thing of stunning beauty. Her first album following three years of rumor and speculation, The End was consciously designed to highlight the Nico of already pertinent myth.
Stark, dark, bare, and frightening, the harmonium dominant even amid the splendor of Eno's synthesized menace, John Cale's childlike piano, and Phil Manzanera's scratchy, effects-whipped guitar, it is the howling wind upon wuthering heights, deathless secrets in airless dungeons, ancient mysteries in the guise of modern icons.
Live, Nico took to dedicating the final cut, a sparse but heartstoppingly beautiful interpretation of the former German national anthem, to terrorist Andreas Baader, even as the song itself conjured demons of its own from an impressionable Anglo-American audience. Nico later admitted she intended the performance in the same spirit as Jimi Hendrix rendered "Star Spangled Banner." But "Das Lied der Deutschen" -- "Deutschland Uber Alles" -- has connotations which neither tribute nor parody could ever undermine. It is only in the '90s that even Germany has reclaimed the anthem for its own. In 1974, it was positively leperous.
Former lover Jim Morrison haunts the stately "You Forgot to Answer," a song written about the last time Nico saw him, in a hired limousine on the day of his death; of course he reappears in the title track, an epic recounting of the Doors' own "The End," but blacker than even they envisioned it, an echoing maze of torchlit corridors and spectral children, and so intense that, by the time Nico reaches the "mother...father" passage, she is too weary even to scream. The cracked groan which emerges instead is all the more chilling for its understatement, and the musicians were as affected as the listener. The mutant funk coda with which the performance concludes is more than an incongruous bridge. It is the sound of the universe cracking under the pressure.
But to dwell on the fear is to overlook the beauty -- The End, first and foremost, is an album of intimate simplicity and deceptive depths.
Nico's voice stuns, soaring and swooping into unimagined corners. No less than "Das Lied der Deutschen," both "Valley of the Kings" and "It Has Not Taken Long" make a mockery of the lazy critical complaints that she simply grumbled along in a one-note wail, while the arrangements (most of which were Nico's own; producer Cale admits he spent most of his time in the studio simply marvelling).
The End doesn't simply subvert categorization. It defies time itself.

PRESSED ON QUALITY MID-WEIGHT VINYL WHICH DELIVERS A SUPERB CLEAN, CLEAR IMPRESSIVE LOUD CUT - BEAUTIFULLY RECORDED
THE RECORD HAS THE FIRST ISLAND RECORDS PINK RIM LABELS
MARTIX: ILPS 9311 A-2U / ILPS 9311 B-3U (first UK pressing)
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1/L and 1/R
AND IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL SINGLE FULLY LAMINATED AND DEEPLY GLOSSY SLEEVE, "Printed in England by Robor Limited"

NICO – Vocals, Harmonium
ENO – Synthesizer
PHIL MANZANERA – Electric Guitar
JOHN CALE – Bass Guitar, Xylophone, Acoustic Guitar, Synthesizer, Organ, Marimba ,Triangles, Cabasa, Glockenspeil, Percussion, Piano, and Electric Piano
VICKI WOOD – Backing Vocals
ANNAGH WOOD – Backing Vocals

Track Listing:
Side 1: IT HAS NOT TAKEN LONG / SECRET SIDE / YOU FORGET TO ANSWER / INNOCENT AND VAIN / VALLEY OF THE KINGS
Side 2: WE'VE GOT THE GOLD / THE END / DAS LIED DER DEUTSCHEN

LABELS: The labels are CLEAN and BRIGHT with NO unwanted marks/writing and barely any spindle traces
VINYL Visual: The surfaces have their original DEEP, GLOSSY SHEEN with a few superficial light marks which have little audio consequence
VINYL Audio: OUTSTANDING audio - CRYSTAL CLEAR, DEEP, RICH SOUND. Plays BEAUTIFULLY throughout to a very, very high standard with NO groove-wear and NO distortion (its barely been played). TREMENDOUS, IF QUITE SCARY RECORD - EXTREMELY UNCOMPROMISING BUT HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL. There are NO sticks, NO jumps, NO scratches, barely any clicks/pops (really, hardly any - just a couple at the very beginning of the LP but otherwise, the playback is SENSATIONAL) and must be graded overall, EXCELLENT+ BEAUTIFUL COPY - you would be hard pressed to find one much better
SLEEVE: The original DEEPLY LAMINATED AND GLOSSY sleeve is in GREAT shape. CLEAN, BRIGHT and FRESH with just the lightest touch of ring wear. The edges are SHARP and the spine (pinched at the top and bottom) is straight and true with all text CLEAR and BOLD. EXCELLENT SLEEVE

PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE ITEM
I HAVE UPLOADED AS MANY PICTURES AS I CAN BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ON REQUEST
SUPERB COPY OF NICO'S DEFINITIVE MASTERPIECE - VERY STARK - VERY UNCOMPROMISING - EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL - VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
AS WITH ALL MY RECORDS THIS HAS A LOW START PRICE AND NO RESERVE
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE RARE AND COLLECTABLE VINYL
AND PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUERIES YOU MAY HAVE
THANKS FOR LOOKING, CHEERS

PLEASE REFER TO MY 'ABOUT ME' PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO ON MY PLAY-GRADING, EQUIPMENT USED, P&P etc

POST & PACKING
UK: 1st Class: £4.00 (Recorded Delivery)
EU: Airmail: £5.00 (Insured & Signed For: £8.50)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £8.00 (Insured & Signed For: £11.50)

UK bidders: PayPal or Cheque
INTERNATIONAL bidders: PayPal ONLY

REDUCED POSTAGE FOR MULTIPLE ITEMS (UK: £1.00, EU & INTERNATIONAL £2.00)
I will combine postage for items purchased within any 10 day period. However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you. Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period. I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Insurance: In the unlikely event anything should go wrong I can only try to claim up to the standard compensation rate of £30. Therefore if your item is worth more than £30 I strongly recommend you take out the insured/recorded option.
Guarantee: If any winning bidder feels that the description is inaccurate I will offer a complete refund (through Paypal) upon return of the item.
ALL RECORDS ARE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED BEFORE DISPATCH AND PACKAGED WITH THE VINYL OUTSIDE OF THE SLEEVE TO PREVENT ANY 'KNIFING' DURING TRANSIT.
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, QUALITY CUSTOM WRAPRO MAILER AND STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY


I will email you when payment has been received to let you know when the item will be posted. Please leave feedback upon receipt of the item so that I know you have received it safely. Any problems please email me. Thanks

 301 (GS 5.3.1 (301))