TRUE MYTH original 1979 Canada prog rock debut LP with insert & rare unseen OBI

$

30

Original 1979 Canada press of LP on custom WB label (#)
TRUE MYTH self titled debut
includes rare ~ "almost never seen" OBI & comes complete with lyric insert sheet ~ see pix
CONDITION:
gatefold cover: Excellent+ / Mint-
still has original cellophane wrap ( small tear / bit loose upper at back) ~ see pix
cover is clean & sharp ~ see pix
OBI: Excellent+ / Mint-
tiny tear/crease upper front ~ has cello tape stain on back ~ see pix
english / french language insert: Excellent+ / Mint- (formatted like old style printer sheet)
clean & sharp
Size: approximately 11 3/4" x 34 1/2" ( 11 3/4" folded twice ) ~ see pix
vinyl: Excellent+ / Mint-
clean & glossy ~ just a couple of tiny minor lite paper sleeve lines/ smudges &
a couple of very faint hairlines ~ all very superficial ~ no affect on audio
plays excellent, with just 1 or 2 odd occasional very quick lite ticks
recorded at Soundstage,Toronto
PERSONNEL:
Tom Treumuth ~ Electric / Acoustic Piano, Fender Rhodes Synthesizer, Clavinette, Mellotron
Tony Cook ~ Acoustic Guitar [6 And 12 String], Electric Guitar [6 And 12 String]
Steve McKenna ~ bass, slide guitar
Brian Bolliger ~ drums
Bruce Cumming ~ lead vocals
SELECTIONS:
Reach For The Heavens 6:06
Light Years Before 6:05
It's Got To Be 3:13
Time And Time Again 4:45
Space Promenade (Instrumental) 4:28
In The Mist 4:56
Song Of The World 4:21

Ultimate copy includes insert & "almost never seen" OBI
( + no " promo / delete / discount bin" punch hole
(most copies have this punch hole through cover & insert)

see my other auction today for their rare 2nd LP release "Telegram"
~ STILL SEALED!!

here's some bio information on the band:
True Myth was formed in London, Ontario as an offshoot of a class project by students at Fanshawe College -- a music school. Tom Treumuth was the keyboardist and helped the band secure a deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979. Their debut album was the first digital album recorded in Canada and the second in the world (the first being Stevie Wonder's 'Secret Life Of Plants'). Treumuth soon opened his own record label, Hypnotic, and the band switched for their follow-up album 'Telegram' in 1981. In the meantime, Treumuth had been moonlighting with another Toronto studio project The Fictions on their debut album in 1980. Treumuth would go on to produce the likes of Honeymoon Suite and dozens of other Canadian acts during the 1980's many of them on his surviving indie label Hypnotic.

for those with the time & inclination, here's a couple of reviews on this release, gleaned from the 'net:

#1:

Canadian act formed in 1977 in London,Ontario and led by keyboardist Tom Truemuth.The band's name was actually a paraphrase of his surname,while the band started as a quintet with also Bruce Cummings on vocals, Tony Cook on guitars, Steve McKenna on bass and Brian Bolliger on drums.The band's debut was released in 1979 on Warner Bros,the first digital album recorded in Canada and the second worldwide after Stevie Wonders' ''Secret Life Of Plants'' from the same year. The compositions are mainly led by Truemuth's efforts along with strong guitar moments and heavy use of sensitive vocal lines,always in an Art Rock mood like a cross between SUPERTRAMP, SYMPHONIC SLAM and even early IRRWISCH, MACHIAVEL and KAYAK.Short tracks with some frenetic groovy parts featuring plenty of keyboards,melodic guitars and a rockin' rhythm section often flirting with jazzy or even funk vibes.Depending on the track Truemuth uses the electric piano for jazzy-flavored compositions,his clavinet for funky grooves,the mellotron for his orchestral moves and the synthesizers for the catchier parts.Most of them follow a fast tempo with the musicianship being quite accesible,yet rich and melodious.A couple of them though are more in a ballad style,maintaining a high level of artistic nature with fine acoustic passages and spacey synths.The vocals are a very strong point.Catchy and sensitive at the same time, Cummings vocal lines fit perfect in the overall style presented. A very decent release,much a product of its time and balancing perfectly between captivating and accesible rock music.Not essential,but definitely warmly recommended.

#2

Surprisingly good Yes progeny that turned in a quite valid post-symphonic entry with this, their debut from 1979. True Myth mined mostly from the rounded, more pastoral vein of that band, with shades of early Genesis and the jazz fusion sounds of the time. The results are pleasing if familiar, and those fond of a lower-key but no less highbrow late 70s prog would do themselves a favor to at least consider this tasteful album. 'Reach For the Heavens' has Tom Treumuth's impressive piano and shows the unusual interplay between his keys and Tony Cook's guitar. Six-minute 'Light Years Before' tastes of jazz but maintains the prog energy all the way through, and Bruce Cummings does a fine, unobtrusive job on vocals. Lofty and Anderson-esque 'Time and Time Again' is very nice if schmaltzy and a moving set of strings - cellos, violas and violins - eases open the gentle 'Space Promenade'. Cook's web of six and twelve strings push-off the terrific 'In the Mist' showing progressively tasteful lines between bass and guitar, all peppered by Tom Treumuth's exciting piano and synth leads. Nothing to write home about but a fine group and well worth a listen.

#3
One of those completely eclipsed group from the late 70's, this Canadian group (completely unknown to this half-Canadian, until recent years) was the vehicle for keyboardist Tom Treumuth and he called the group after a deformation of his name. The quintet - standard prog quartet plus full-time singer Cummings (Bruce, not Burton), they developed an honest prog for the tail end of the decade, somewhat not far away from Rundgren's Utopia or Yes and some fiery jazz-rock. Coming in a very colourful abstract gatefold sleeve (pyramids seem to the theme), this album had a confidential distribution. This is even weirder because the sleeve claims that it was the first album ever recorded digitally If TM's music has the afore-motioned jazz-rock tendencies, you'll find them in the opening two tracks Reach For Heaven and Light Years Before and they are the better tracks and among the proggier as well. Indeed the leadoff Heavens track allows much space for interplay and Cook's guitar solo is quite enjoyable. Light Years is a much funkier piano-lead track where again Cook's guitar entertains us, though the rhythm changes and blazing fusion ala Mahavishnu. The closing track of the very short first side is an atrocious AOR filler that was best forgotten in the wastebasket, especially coming after the two preceding goodies.. Opening the flipside is the Yes-like ballad Time And Time Again, where an Andersonian delivery vocal is soaring above some trons, and an interminable outro. Don't get fooled by my description, it's nothing to alert Jon and the boys. The following Space Promenade is a quiet and serene instrumental that shares itself between Treumuth's piano and synths and a guest's violin on the other. The piano-driven In The Mist is an up-tempo track hesitating between prog and AOR, but plagued by a relatively poor drumming line (in this track). The closing Song Of The World starts on guitar arpeggios, slowly builds up into an AOR prog and again ending on a Yes touch. This second side is a rather even affair with all four tracks of a correct level, but none pushing the eyebrow-raising buttons. While anything but essential, not really being that worthy either of an extended and uncertain hunt, True Myth's debut is a typical product of its era. Their second album will be released some two years later and reputed even rarer than this one. Outside the first two longer tracks, there is not that much to really enthuse the proghead, even if the flipside holds its good moments.

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Shipping costs are additional:
Canada : $10.00 - $18.00 ( depending on Postal Code ) ( Same cost for 2 LP package )
U.S.A. : $12.50 ( 2 LPs for $18.50)
International : UK & Western Europe : $20.00 ( 2 LPs for $38.00)
International : Eastern Europe, Asia, Japan & Australia : $22.00 ( 2 LPs for $40.00)

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