ROTOMAGUS Fightin' Cock 1971 KILLER PUNK PSYCH 45 HEAR

$

80

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

ROTOMAGUS "Fightin' Cock" b/w "The Sky Turns Red"

Original 1971 45 on the French BUTTERFLY label

Picture sleeve is in VG+ shape, small tear on back

Vinyl:  Plays VG+

GET READY TO HAVE YOUR SOCKS ROCKED OFF, sez acid rock expert Julian Cope, and he should know 'cuz he paints his face and worships the druids.  The very essence of rock and roll, mind you.  Well, he wasn't kidding, because even though it took me the better part of a decade just trying to FIND this tiny label European single (it's so hard to find, it makes finding their first rare single EROS like looking for WHIPPED CREAM AND OTHER DELIGHTS at your local thrift shop), Saint Julian was RIGHT - this thing really DOES rock your socks off.  And then peels the skin from your ankles too, just for the hell of it.  I mean, it's called "FIGHTIN' COCK" forgodsake - that ALONE makes it rock harder than a Ronnie James Dio sleeveless T-shirt.  Still, even THAT won't prepare you for the full-on murky sonic assault of the SONG, a blitzkrieg of sludge metal that kicks off with a rooster crow and never lets go.  Surely there was NOTHING else like THIS in France back in 1971, and even then the Stooges and Hawkwind were just getting started elsewhere.  This is punk long before the Dolls and Sex Pistols, with the non-production skills to match, and I know it stings like heck to even THINK the French might've gotten to punk rock before anyone else but you gotta give these guys their props here.  "Sky Turns Red" is a much slower, much moodier and much more Hendrix-influenced burn, and as such is satisfying but not groundbreaking, especially for 1971.  But by the time you get to it, you'll still be picking up your eardrums and your socks from the neighbor's house next door.  So don't worry 'bout it. 

In case  you're curious, here's how it blew Saint Julian's mind many years ago.  Slightly censored for the family-centric website here:

Get ready to have thy sox rocked well and truly off, for these Rouenese cocksparrers let loose with one insane track that will make you question why this song is absent from the first chapter of every tome written on the roots of punk Rock, I kid you not. The first time I heard this track, I did not freak out. I merely walked into a nearby closet and screamed my head off for a minute solid, beat the floor and ripped my t-shirt. I think I also broke something, but I didn’t hear it crash due to the raging blastitude emanating from outside the door. Then I cowered when it hit me: This thing came out in 1971? Insanity. Before “Damaged”? *I* felt damaged. Before “Raw Power”?! I just lost my mind. Frig, this steamin’ side was recorded even before the SESSIONS for “Raw Power” that birthed “I Got A Right” and “Gimme Some Skin” so it was even before THAT? The only thing that predates this monster in terms of being a full-on amassing of all things heavy is “Pumped Up” and all the other many key points on Sir Lord Baltimore’s “Kingdom Come” LP and THAT’S it, brother. This track is so good; it scares me into a stupefying state. Three and a half minutes of to the point, snotty as frock and out there in your face PUNK. Like Greg Ginn before he had a bellyful of his Dad’s psychedelic spaghetti and started bonging it up to umpteen spins of “Steal Your Face” and Sabbath’s “Born Again” Dio-saster, combining his playing on “Rise Above” with James “Strait” Williamson and managing to sound like a revved Tony Iommi simultaneously. Incredulous, I know...only it ain’t. Glib? Nope: The solo is SHREDDING. Especially when the guitarist momentarily trips up on maintaining top speed when he’s tripled the velocity and a note cluster goes AWOL and totally out of reach because his wrist and knuckles are seizing up -- but keeps powering it onward regardless; going for broke even (especially) when it’s JUST out of reach. MERDE: it’s this sort of will to Rock it out that casts the enter thing with a special momentum unto oblivion. And the vocals are spat out so Ur-Oi Gestalt, I always give the “V”s along to it, 77 ‘punk unity’ stylee: “FIGHT! / COCK! / ’E WUZZA FIGHTIN’ COCK!” And the drumming is fantastic, too -- with one snare, hi-hat, bass drum, two toms and two trashed cymbals that sound flat as pangs or maybe rusty tin garbage can lids given the thrashing of their short-lived existence. The extended “Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown” bass zooms are nuts and when they set up the guitar solo it’s as though it’s just gotten caught on electrified razor wire and just stays there frying interminably. And the fake rooster caws fore and aft are truly raving, drooling and cock-a-doodle-doo’ing as if heralding the dawn of punk...for it is right here. Pre-Skydog, too.

HEAR IT!

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First class shipping is $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  Delivery confirmation included in the shipping costs.  Air mail shipping to Canada starts at $6 US, each additional record $2 shipping.  Air mail shipping everywhere else in the world starts at $8 US, with each additional record only $3 shipping.  Proof of shipment REQUIRED for all foreign orders, an extra $1.10.  

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.  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.