Vinyl: FRANK ZAPPA Lumpy Gravy 1968 UK VERVE 1st *STEREO* - 1/G 1/G - NEAR MINT

FRANK ZAPPA
Lumpy Gravy

UK VERVE (SVLP 9223) FIRST *STEREO* PRESSING (October 1968)
AN OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL COPY
ONE OF THE HARDER TO FIND ZAPPA ORIGINALS AND IN BEAUTIFUL CONDITION

PRESSED WITH THE FIRST ISSUE BLACK/SILVER VERVE LABELS WITH "SOLD IN THE UK..." STATEMENT
MATRICES: V6 8741 A-1G / V6 8741 B-1G
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1/G and 1/G (one of the first 300 or so copies made)
THE RECORD IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL OUTER LAMINATED GATEFOLD SLEEVE WITH VERY WIDE SPINE AND INTERNAL FLIPBACKS "Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd."
COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL PLAIN WHITE INNER SLEEVE

Lumpy Gravy, Frank Zappa's first solo album, was released months before the Mothers of Invention's third LP (even though its back cover asked the question: "Is this phase two of We're Only in It for the Money?") and both were conceptualised and recorded at the same time. We're Only in It for the Money became a song-oriented anti-flower power album with one contemporary/musique concrète/sound collage hybrid piece by way of conclusion. Lumpy Gravy collaged bits of orchestral music, sonic manipulations, spoken words, and occasional pop ditties into two lumps of 16 minutes each. This album presents Zappa's first recordings with a decent orchestra, the 50-piece Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra. His symphonic writing was very much influenced by Stravinsky and Varèse. It still had to lose its sharp edges and find the lushness found in 200 Motels. The segments of music are loosely tied together by bits of dialogue from inside the piano. MOI members and friends were invited to talk with their head inside a grand piano with the sustain pedal depressed (the technique was immortalised in the song "Evelyn, A Modified Dog"). The reverberating space gave the voices an eerie quality, but made it very difficult to convincingly edit the material. Thus, the plot emanating from these portions remains very vague (it was clarified 25 years later in Civilization Phaze III). The song bits include "Oh No," "Theme from Lumpy Gravy" (aka "Duodenum"), "King Kong," and "Take Your Clothes off When You Dance," all in instrumental versions, all making their first appearance on record. The starting point of Zappa's "serious music," Lumpy Gravy suffers from a lack of coherence, but it remains historically important and contains many conceptual continuity clues for the fan. The opening line of part one ("The way I see it, Barry, this should be a dynamite show") became a classic reference.

Side 1: Lumpy Gravy - Part I (15:45)
Side 2: Lumpy Gravy - Part II (15:56)

LABELS: NEAR MINT
The labels are clean and unmarked and carry just one or two spindle traces per side.
This copy has clearly seen little play
VINYL Visual: NEAR MINT
Both surfaces shine like new with nothing but harmless wispy hairlines under bright light
VINYL Audio: NEAR MINT
My play-check at volume found nothing to fault the crystal clear, clean fresh sound on this first pressing.
No clicks, ticks or pops or even any surface noise.
A fantastic copy which plays just as it did way back in 1968
SLEEVE: EXCELLENT
Apart from some creasing/bumps to the corners the cover is in great condition with the laminated outer surfaces having a deep gloss and the inner surfaces clean and unmarked. All text on the wide spine is clear and bold

POST & PACKING:
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, NEW ANTI-STATIC LINER, QUALITY BOX (NOT ENVELOPE) MAILER AND AMPLE STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY
UK: £5.00 (Recorded Delivery)
UK: £9.00 (Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day by 1pm)
EUROPE: Airmail: £15.00 (International Signed For delivery)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £18.00 (International Signed For delivery)

Combined Post: for items purchased within any 10 day period - additional records £1 (UK) £2 (Europe including Russia) £3 (International)
Guarantee: all records are unconditionally guaranteed (including sealed and/or unplayed) and I will offer a complete, no quibble refund upon return of the item should you not be pleased with it in any way