TRAVEL AGENCY s/t 1968 TRIPPY FUZZ PSYCH MASTERPIECE LP in NEAR MINT shape HEAR

$

50

THE TRAVEL AGENCY "THE TRAVEL AGENCY" LP

ORIGINAL 1968 LP on the VIVA label, STEREO V36017

COVER IN EXCELLENT shape

VINYL plays NEAR MINT

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about just WHO the Travel Agency were.  Someone at Viva Records forgot to put the band members’ names on their lone 1968 album, thereby instantly creating a tasty little mystery for collectors and archivists who need to draw rock family trees and figure out whether or not that’s REALLY John and Paul in Klaatu.  Me, I don’t really give a s**t if the music’s great, and besides - when you DO start drawing family trees for the Travel Agency, you end up at AM seventies soft pop gods Bread and the soundtrack to Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Proving that you should’ve left well enough alone in the first place.

Besides, it’s the music that counts anyway – and if the faux Peter Max cover doesn’t clue you in immediately as to what’s inside this little cardboard colorwheel, rest assured the Travel Agency album is a very good, very underrated popsike head trip.  For the music, you could certainly draw comparisons to the Beatles circa 1966-1967 – even though the lead vocals and some of the heavier tracks remind me of 1969 Guess Who.  Which means that if you’ve ever wanted to hear what Burton Cummings could’ve added to the Revolver sessions, just put the needle down on “Cadillac George,” close your eyes and think of Swingin’ Winnipeg.  And don’t be surprised when the RIPPING loud fuzz guitar knocks you off your beanbag chair, because neither the Guess Who nor the Beatles would ever THINK of mixing the fuzz  THAT loud.  But those little playful touches – like the tiny voice that keeps saying “Gotta go!” every time Cadillac George says his name – keep bringing me back to the mischievous wit and sonic detail of John Lennon and George Martin.  At least a lot more than Klaatu did.

And so, as our Manitoba Mystery Tour rolls on, the San Francisco-based Travel Agency continues to book flights between Liverpool and Winnipeg, kicking back like an American Woman outtake on the jangly “What’s A Man,” then heading into George Harrison swami head zones on the mystical “That’s Good” – lessee, that’s a 7:03 Indian-inspired song kicking off Side B – now where have we seen something like THAT before?  But before you can say “Within You Without You,” the Travel Agency make a quick stop in Glasgow and crank out the edgy “Lonely Seabird,” an ornithological rewrite of Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” with added gull sound effects.  In fact, these kids are so good at sounding like other artists, it’s making me think there’s a REASON they didn’t put their names on the sleeve after all!

Oh, by the way, in case you’re still dying to connect the dots between the Travel Agency, David Gates and Uhura, here’s the Pete Frame condensed family tree of Travel Agency rock:  The album was produced by James Griffin, who later joined Bread.  And the band’s drummer, Frank Lupica, later went on to become a solo performer in electronic music, playing an electrified I-Beam he dubbed “The Cosmic Beam” (I ain’t makin’ this up!) and landing the job of sound effects creator for the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Betcha you’re sorry you asked now, aren’t you?

HEAR IT!

PLEASE NOTE I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).  BUYERS FROM ITALY AGREE TO PAY FOR GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL INSURED ONLY!

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.  Overseas shipping has, unfortunately, gone way up in the fast few months, which translates to $15 for the first LP to Canada ($3 each one thereafter) and $24 for the first LP everywhere else in the world, with each add'l LP an extra $5 (so it pays to buy more, nudge nudge wink wink).   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. 

 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.