THE HONEYCOMBS “All Systems Go” TOP 1965 UK Pop Freakbeat lp Canada Pye M-

$

50

THE HONEYCOMBS “All Systems Go!” TOP! 1965 UK Pop Freakbeat lp Canada Pye Records M-

1965/Canada/Pye Records NPL-30073….. here’s a clean original Canadian pressing of their rare 2nd lp. The cover is in solid condition with a delete hole top left corner, the corners have light dings/wear, light ring wear on the front, small round tear on front top right side, wear on bottom seam, white back has ring wear/soiling, otherwise the actual art work is clean and there are no splits. The vinyl is in Excellent to M- condition with a handful of super super light inaudible hairlines mainly on one side. The record plays clean with little noise and clean crisp fidelity! The deep groove labels are clean with no spindle marks. The labels look washed out in the pics but they are a dark red color. A nice copy of this rare lp. Please check my auctions for other psych, garage and rock lp’s. Good luck and thanks for looking!

Dismissed by some as a novelty act for having a female drummer (bandleader Honey Lantree), they cut consistently good material at Meek’s Holloway Road home studio throughout 1965 and released their finest effort All Systems – Go! on Pye in December of that year. Mostly a mix of freakbeat and the bubblegum-pop of their singles, All Systems- Go! also features some great experimenting from a band trying to maintain their success. It’s these genre hopping tracks that make this a solid record, but also account for some of the lesser numbers. There are a few throwaways, like the light R&B fare of “Ooee Train” (which starts strong but dies at the verse) and “Don’t Love Her No More” (which has a great guitar sound but a terrible chorus). The version of “I Can’t Stop” featured here is not as catchy as the single, but the Honey-sung “There’s Something I’ve Got To Tell You Baby” has been improved from the Glenda Collins version. This time it’s slowed down and more sincere, replacing the strings with a mellow organ and classical guitar musings. “Our Day Will Come” expands on the exotica vibe of “Totem Pole” and displays Honey Lantree’s strong prowess as a drummer. The rhythm section is especially tight on this album and really pops out. “If You Should” could be mistaken for an early Brian Wilson production, and is easily among the best here. “Nobody But Me” stands out with its persistent guitar line and another solid performance from Honey, but the title track is the most single-worthy, with its anthemic full band chant of “ALL…SYSTEMS…GO!!”. Most of the songs here were written by Howard & Blaikley, with the exception of the Ray Davies penned “Emptiness”, which was never recorded by The Kinks. It’s very Kinks-like and bears a striking similarity to “Something Better Beginning” which had also been recorded by the Honeycombs earlier in the year. The disc closes with the Roy Orbison sounding “My Prayer” that works strangely well and highlights the uniqueness of Denis D’Ell’s voice. Probably the most grandiose recording here, it shows the Honeycombs as far from their core sound as they ever got, but also comes across as the most confident.

GRADING

MINT: I consider New Unplayed or Sealed items only.

M- or Mint Minus, very clean with clean visual appearance and sound, there may be a couple of light inaudible hairline scuffs or such and will be mentioned in the listing, a Mint- record looks and plays very clean. Same for the cover. Very clean with no delete or other issues.

EXCELLENT: still very collectable for most, visually and sonicly clean. A handful of light inaudible scuffs, or hairlines. Cover will be clean with little wear, or delete. No splits.

VG++ still a very nice copy with minimal wear, the vinyl will retain it's original gloss and can have some minor scuffs/scratches that don't affect play very much. Cover will have slight shelf wear, and or delete, minor split.

VG+ the vinyl will still retain much original gloss with a bit more scuffs and/or scratches I may list a very rare or desirable item with a lower grade, I will try to list all defects.

POSTAGE FOR THIS RECORD

NEW TRACKED PACKET OPTION FOR USA AND OUT OF COUNTRY PACKAGES: PLEASE INQUIRE

CANADA RANGES FROM $10 TO $14 DEPENDING ON LOCATION. PLEASE WAIT FOR MY INVOICE. APPLICABLE HST OR GST WILL BE ADDED TO YOUR INVOICE.

AIR TO USA IS $12. E-mail me for reasonable rates on larger purchases. TRACKED PACKET OPTION AVAILABLE. PLEASE INQUIRE.

ANY WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD IS $20 - $24 AIR POSTAGE DEPENDING ON LOCATION. TRACKED PACKET OPTION AVAILABLE. PLEASE INQUIRE.

I offer Combined shipping on all listings. Combined shipping rate is based on final weight of the package so if you'd like a quote prior to purchase, please inquire listing the titles you’re interested in.

I REMOVE RECORDS FROM THE COVERS FOR SAFE SHIPPING, IF IT'S SEALED I WILL LEAVE IT SEALED UNLESS YOU LET ME KNOW OTHERWISE. ALL USED RECORDS CLEANED ON A VPI RECORD CLEANING MACHINE

PLEASE PAY WITHIN 7 DAYS UNLESS DISCUSSED BEFORE AUCTIONS END. IF NO CONTACT OR PAYMENT IS MADE THE ITEM WILL BE RE-LISTED AND I WILL FILE A NON PAYMENT CLAIM TO RECOVER MY COSTS. PLEASE DO NOT USE E-BAY CHECK OUT AS THEY ARE WRONG WITH THE POSTAGE IN SOME  CASES. I WILL CONTACT YOU AFTER THE SALE. IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH YOUR PURCHASE PLEASE CONTACT ME TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO DO THE SAME! THANKS AND GOOD LUCK!!