PARISH HALL 1970 HEAVY GUITAR PSYCH LP BLUE CHEER HEAR

$

83

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

PARISH HALL "Parish Hall"

Original 1970 white label pr0m0 LP on the FANTASY label, STEREO 8398

COVER:  VG++, light ringwear

VINYL:  Light handling scuffs only, plays VG+ to VG++ but what surface crackle there may be you won't over this din!

Another copy right now selling online for $351.90 (buy it now if yer impatient!)

Obscure 1970 heavy riff rocker from Parish Hall looks like an introspective folkie album by the looks of the pensive guy on the front cover.  But rest assured it’s as far removed from Cat Stevens and Phil Ochs as Maroon 5 are from creativity.  Maybe frontman Gary Wagner fancied himself the next hard rock poster boy or something – which ain’t too hard considering your two bandmates look like Kurt Russell and Gary Dell’Abate.  But folk music this ain’t.  If Bob Dylan got flack for plugging in his electric guitar, these guys would’ve gotten driven out of Newport with flaming torches and vampire stakes for this ruckus.  If they didn’t blow the speakers outright.

It helps to notice this album was released on the Fantasy label, home to fellow guitar rockers Creedence Clearwater Revival, who had a way with the riff too.  But even then, the powerhouse proto-metal guitar riff that bursts out of the speakers 15 seconds into Side 1 Track 1 (“My Eyes Are Getting Heavy”) has more in common with Motorhead and Blue Cheer than the Fogerty boys.  This is one piledriver of a song, that massive stutter-step riff is so devastating it almost sounds distorted, and that might either be because it is, or because human ears aren’t designed to take that kind of abuse.  Poster boy Gary Wagner wrenches all kinds of pyrotechnics out of his guitar on this one, and the verses are there only to frame his double-tracked Hendrix meets Wayne Kramer soliloquoy.  It’s an air guitarist’s dream.  Or a good way to get back at your neighbors.

“Skid Row Runner” is just as heavy, just as pummeling to the old skull cavity, and the grooving “Dynaflow” is blues rock at its finest, and had me rocking back and forth in my chair while I was writing this.  The band calm down only towards the end, when the piano-based, jazzy “Take Me With You When You Go” creeps in on a groovy little British blues vibe, sorta like Cream covering the incidental music from the Peanuts cartoons.  And I mean that in a good way.

It’s surprising Parish Hall didn’t go on to bigger and better things, like labelmates CCR did.  I could only imagine the folkies who picked this up based on the pensive flower child on the cover, or the Tiger Beat reading teen girls who picked it up ‘cuz Gary looked so drea-a-a-my, were both a little shocked when those bloozy Godzilla riffs came roaring out of their speakers one after the other.  Don’t rule out the Christian rock crowd either, who might’ve been attracted to the band logo, housed inside a church, and Gary’s reflective Jesus pose.  To that I say, if Eric Clapton can be God based on what he can do with a guitar, surely Gary and Parish Hall can be the Holy Ghost. 

HEAR IT!

UPDATE:  SORRY, I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).

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.