'Twas Brillig Promo 45 Date 1550 V+ Cond. Dirty Old Man/This Week's Children

$

81

Greetings everyone! Thanks for stopping by another of my record auctions! I appreciate that you made the time in your busy schedule to check out the goods! I’ve been doing this on ebay for the past 8 years of so, and it’s always fun to have folks show up and see what’s available…though it’s more fun to get what I have sold, and into your hands! Your business is always appreciated, and that’s not just lip service! So let’s see what I’ve got for you folks this time.

Folks, tonight's (as well as all auction listings this week) listings have one request from yours truly. I will be away for a week from March 4 through 11, and due to that, if you have the winning bid, I ask that it gets paid for by no later than March 3, so I can get it mailed out in a decent amount of time. Any payments made later mean that it won't be until I return that I can get items mailed out. I know it's a bother, but I do hope this will be okay. Thanks!

This time up, I have a Promotional 1967 7” 45rpm release on the Date records label, label #2-1550, by ‘Twas Brillig. This is their single of “Dirty Old Man” b/w “This Week’s Children”. This is not the first time I’ve been around this single, as I had sold a copy of this on ebay about 4-5 years ago when I was doing some side work for another business, so I am familiar with these tunes. I don’t know how long ‘Twas Brillig was around, but for a band out of Minnesota, these guys have a sound that you’d think was from the pacific northwest, as these guys’ sound is straight out of the Paul Revere & The Raiders’ playbook. Both of these tunes have much in common with each other, as they both are heavy on the organ, fuzzed-out guitar, steady rhythm section of bass and drums, and the lead singer sounds emotional as all heck! This is some really nice garage music in every sense of the word. It’s rock, it’s got a nice dose of psychedelia, and the singer, as well as the rest of the band seem to be really into both tracks, so much so that both songs have one other thing in common-the sides fade out as the singer’s still going as well as the rest of the band. I sure wouldn’t mind finding any LPs by this group if they’re around, just to see if the rest of their musical arsenal matches up! The playing surface though….I was having my doubts, as this is NOT visually appealing at all, especially on “This Week’s Children” as both sides have storage/play wear, scuffs, needle marks of varying degrees, and yes, some scratches. The marks on “This Week’s Children” look hideous, though they proved to be mostly benign, as both sides did play through for me without the needle getting stuck at any point or skipping, though there was crackling while playing, but much of this didn’t really affect the sound as the music and singing are so strong, they overpower the worn spots. This looks V, heck V-, but played at an E to E- level. So for this, I am going to split the difference, and though anyone who is a member of the “Looks Matter Gestapo” would most likely kvetch about the looks, am still giving this my less than average grading of V+ overall. That’s my grading though, and my grading is considered non-standard. If you are considering placing a bid, please read the paragraph that follows this one, as it will show you the gradings and their respective descriptions. It won’t take long to read, please do. The labels show storage wear, staining and discoloration, however, the text is still clear enough to read easily. If you need more pictures or description, I can and will be happy to provide. If you have any comments or questions, please send them to me, and I will reply as soon as possible.

My Grading is as follows: M (Mint)-ONLY for Still Factory Sealed Records ONLY! No 45 nor 78 will ever get this grading. E+, minimal wear, perhaps only needs cleaning. E, a few light marks, maybe some minor background crackle and/or hiss. E-, light marks, crackling (nothing major), scuffs, etc.. Not great, but still quite playable. V+, More marks, scuffs, needle marks, scratches-but nothing that would make the needle skip. Will have background noise that even with a cleaning will still be around. V. Worn. Scuffs, scratches, can be noisy, but still (probably) won’t cause the needle to skip nor get stuck. V-, Noisy? You bet! Worn? Oh yeah. Playable? Sure, but don’t expect it to sound all peachy keen. P. Bleah! Playable perhaps, but do so at your own risk. Don’t trash a new needle on it. Only used on records considered rare enough for “fill in” purposes to a collector-or to those who do digital restoration. 

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IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NON-U.S. BUYERS!!!!
All items I sell will be sent with postage printed up from eBay. This way, the prices are automatically listed for customs purposes and cannot be altered. Yes, this does mean that the customs people will know the value, but since I get a bit of a price break on postage, I can keep the prices low for you-the buyer.  I will not "mark item as a gift", just so you can evade import rules.  The people at my post office know me, and they will check overseas packages for inspection.  I hope you will understand my position about this, my apologies if you are not able to comply.

Also, international bidders, the price listed for postage on my listings are for domestic mailing.  I wish I could send overseas for that price, but reality speaks different.  I place a fair price on all international postage.  Watch for the invoice if you win.

ALSO-I need to let international bidders know of a certain problem that doesn't always happen, but will arise from time to time.  All International mail sent from this region has to go through the U.S. Postal Service sorting center in Sandston Virginia, by our local airport.  This sorting center has been named the least efficient sorting center in the entire U.S. Postal Service.  They prove this from time to time by mis-routing packages.  If this happens-and I will monitor the delivery-usually it will add at least an extra week for it to arrive.  If there are any problems, please contact me first, and I will do what I must to make sure you are satisfied with the order.
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Folks, I have lots of records for sale/auction here on ebay, but I also have another outlet that I use as well, where items I haven’t listed elsewhere, and occasionally things that have been listed (but not anymore) here as well. I work for a record store as you may already know, and my boss has been putting out one of the largest, if not the oldest record auction in the Mid-Atlantic area. If you look online for RecordSmith auctions in Richmond, VA, you can easily find the site. If not, or if you’d like any information, you can always contact me through the ebay message system, and I will be glad to get that information for you. Hey, I love my boss, and love working there. So I don’t mind doing some “shilling” for him, and I’m certain he (and I!) would enjoy your participation and business!