Outsider Street Jazz 10" LP, Moondog, Snaketime Series, Crescent

$

823

Moondog, Snaketime Series, on Crescent 1931.  Although lots of people know Moondog's LPs on Prestige, his earlier output is less well-known, and this 10-inch release is so rare that only a handful of people have ever seen it.  Later issued on Moondog records, this is the first pressing--probably from 1953--of Snaketime Series, and for reasons unknown it is nearly non-existent.  Were only a handful pressed?  Were copies pressed and then destroyed for some reason?  No one is sure, but supposedly this is only the third copy of the record ever to turn up.  Though I have owned other Moondog records over the years, I didn't know this one existed until I came across it.  Most of what I know about it comes from the fabulous research done by the ebay seller who sold one earlier this year.  I don't feel right about reproducing someone else's words here, but I highly recommend you read that material on either Collectorsfrenzy or popsike (it's the one that sold for $3,950).  That copy had a cover with it, partly printed and partly hand-drawn.  It's not known if there were covers for the other disks or that was the only one produced, but neither this copy nor the third known copy have a cover.

Side 1 of this disk has full original gloss.  About two-thirds of the vinyl looks strong VG with only light marks, but there are also several scruffy patches.  Between about the 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions on the disk, the surface looks hazy and dull, like it's been exposed to heat or something, though the issue is strictly cosmetic--there's no damage to the grooves themselves and there is no audible sign of any issue.  Between the 10 o'clock and 11 o'clock position is a series of scratches, a couple of which can be felt with a fingernail.  One or two of the scratches tick a bit, but the others don't.  And there's some scuffing around the 4 o'clock position, though it seems to be strictly superficial and doesn't sound.  Side 2 is similarly glossy, and has a patch of light scuffs and scratches between the 6 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions.  These are very light and not intrusive.  Both sides play loud and clear with superb fidelity and some clicks and pops throughout (more on Side 1 than Side 2).  There are no skips or sticks, no gouges or other issues with the disk's structural integrity. 

This is an impossibly rare record by the strange and brilliant progenitor of American urban street jazz.  It looks both shiny and scruffy, but it plays decently throughout, and it a major historical artifact of the genre.

Grading

MINT-  Perfect or virtually perfect.  

VG+ Light marks, full shine, great looking record

VG  Still fairly shiny but clearly a used record, light scratches, will play well but with some surface noise

VG-  Played or used more heavily, lots of scratches, more pronounced surface noise, but still plays through okay

G  Rough record