Black Sabbath – Attention! 1975 Japan LP with obi

Black Sabbath attention Japan LP

Offered for sale is a copy of the rare Japan-only compilation LP Attention! by Black Sabbath, complete with original obi.

This album was released with three different covers (once in 1973 and twice in 1975.)  This is the first 1975 release and the second version overall.

About this copy:  This copy of Attention! is an original 1975 Japanese pressing on the Fontana label.

The cover is VG++ , with slight edge and corner wear and a name written in the lower left hand corner of the back cover.

The nearly-always-missing obi is M-.   For some reason, this LP is almost never found with the obi.

This LP was issued without an insert.

The disc is M- on side one and VG++ and close to M- on side two, with a minor scuff through “Behind the Wall of Sleep.”.  Clean disc!

A nice copy of a very rare Black Sabbath LP .

Background: In Japan, most buyers aren’t interested in purchasing entire catalogs of albums by English-language artists, so compilation albums are quite common there, and very frequently, the Japanese market sees compilation albums by U.S. and European artists that aren’t available anywhere else.

Attention!, by Black Sabbath, is one such album.  Originally released in 1973, the album contains tracks from the band’s first two albums (Black Sabbath and Paranoid) and includes the track “Evil Woman, Don’t Play Your Games With Me” that was not included on the U.S. version of the Black Sabbath LP.

Attention! was released three times between 1973 and 1975 with three different covers.  This is the second version.

For some reason, it is nearly impossible to find any of the three versions of this album with the obi intact.   All versions were limited editions, and all were in print for a short time only.

Tracks are:

  • Paranoid (Paranoid)
  • Sleeping Village (Black Sabbath)
  • Warning (Black Sabbath)
  • Evil Woman, Don’t You Play Your Games With Me (Black Sabbath)
  • Iron Man (Paranoid)
  • The Wizard (Black Sabbath)
  • Behind the Wall of Sleep (Black Sabbath)
  • N.I.B. (Black Sabbath)

You can listen to “Evil Woman, Don’t You Play Your Games With Me” here:

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Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Fontana
Catalog Number:
PAT-1003
Year of Release: 1975
Format: Stereo
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Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Emerson, Lake & Palmer Japan LP with Rock Age obi

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Emerson, Lake & Palmer Japan LP rock age

Offered for sale is an original Japanese pressing of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the first album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, including the rare original “Rock Age” obi.

“Rock Age” was a short-lived series of albums offered in Japan from May-August, 1971 by Warner-Pioneer, featuring artists on Warner Brothers/Atlantic/Reprise and related labels.  All had the unusual die-cut “flower” obi.  These die-cut obi were quite fragile and are usually missing.

About this copy: This copy of Emerson, Lake & Palmer is a 1971 pressing on the Atlantic label.

The cover is VG++ and close to M- with trace corner and edge wear.

The ultra-rare “Rock Age” obi is VG-, with a small missing piece on the right edge and several repaired tears and a few wrinkles.  The “hojyuhyo,” or reorder tag, is still attached.

The “Rock Age” paper inner sleeve is M-.  The lyric insert is M-.

The disc is M- with a few spindle marks on the labels, but no marks on the vinyl.  Clean disc!

A nice copy of a very rare Emerson, Lake & Palmer LP.

Background: Emerson, Lake & Palmer may have been hated by critics, but their brand of progressive rock certainly pleased the public, and their records sold well throughout the 1970s. Their debut album, featuring the track, Lucky Man, got lots of airplay and introduced a lot of listeners to both classically-tinted progressive rock and the sounds of the Moog synthesizer. Most of their albums are sought out by audiophiles, as well as prog rock fans, because they are quite well recorded as rock albums go.

Allmusic.com gave Emerson, Lake & Palmer a 4 1/2 star review:

Lively, ambitious, almost entirely successful debut album, made up of keyboard-dominated instrumentals (“The Barbarian,” “Three Fates”) and romantic ballads (“Lucky Man”) showcasing all three members’ very daunting talents. This album, which reached the Top 20 in America and got to number four in England, showcased the group at its least pretentious and most musicianly — with the exception of a few moments on “Three Fates” and perhaps “Take a Pebble,” there isn’t much excess, and there is a lot of impressive musicianship here.

A great copy of a record that sounds terrific.

Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Atlantic
Catalog Number:
P-8033A
Year of Release: 1972
Format: Stereo
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Ten Years After – Undead Japan LP with obi

Ten Years After - Undead Japan LP

Offered for sale is a Japanese pressing of the live album Undead by Ten Years After, including the original obi.

About this copy: This copy of Undead is a 1978 pressing on the Deram label of an album that was originally released in 1968.

The cover is M- with two tiny corner dents.  The obi is M-.  The insert is M-.

The disc is M- and looks unplayed.  Clean disc!

A nice copy of a terrific live album.

Background: Released in 1968, Undead was the first live album by Ten Years After and their second album overall.

The album reached #26 on the UK album chart and #115 on the U.S. chart.

Allmusic.com gave Undead a 3 star review:

Recorded live in a small London club, Undead contains the original “I’m Going Home,” the song that brought Ten Years After its first blush of popularity following the Woodstock festival and film in which it was featured. However, the real strength of this album is side one, which contains two extended jazz jams, “I May Be Wrong, But I Won’t Be Wrong Always” and Woody Herman’s “Woodchopper’s Ball,” both of which spotlight guitarist Alvin Lee’s amazing speed and technique.

Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Deram
Catalog Number:
K16P-9072
Year of Release: 1978
Format: Stereo
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Steppenwolf – Steppenwolf Japan LP with obi

Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf Japan LP

Offered for sale is a Japanese pressing of Steppenwolf, the self-titled debut LP by Steppenwolf, including the original obi.

About this copy: This copy of Steppenwolf is a 1985 pressing on the MCA label of an album that was originally released in 1968.

The cover is M-.  The obi is M-, with a very tiny (1/16″ or so) tear at the top edge.  The insert is VG, with a number of wrinkles and quite a bit of foxing.

The disc is M- with a couple of spindle marks on the labels, but no marks on the vinyl.  Clean disc!

A nice copy of a scarce Steppenwolf LP, as their albums sold quite poorly in Japan.

Background: Released in 1967, Steppenwolf was the debut album by Steppenwolf.

The album reached #6 on the U.S. album charts, helped by the single “Born to Be Wild,” which reached #2 on the U.S. pop charts.

Allmusic.com gave Steppenwolf a 4 star review:

Steppenwolf entered the studio for their recording debut with a lot of confidence — based on a heavy rehearsal schedule before they ever got signed — and it shows on this album, a surprisingly strong debut album from a tight hard rock outfit who was obviously searching for a hook to hang their sound on. The playing is about as loud and powerful as anything being put out by a major record label in 1968, though John Kay’s songwriting needed some development before their in-house repertory would catch up with their sound and musicianship.

 

Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: MCA
Catalog Number:
P-5936
Year of Release: 1985
Format: Stereo
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Jethro Tull – War Child Japan LP with obi

jethro tull -war child japan lp

Offered for sale is a Japanese pressing of War Child by Jethro Tull, including the original obi.

About this copy: This copy of War Child is a 1977 pressing of an album that was originally released in 1974.

The cover is VG++ and close to M-, with slight edge and corner wear.  The obi is M-.

The lyric insert is M-.

The disc is M- and looks unplayed.  Clean disc!

A beautiful copy of a rare Jethro Tull LP.

Background: Released in 1974, War Child was the seventh studio album by Jethro Tull.

The album reached #2 on the U.S. charts and #14 in the UK.

Allmusic.com gave War Child this review:

War Child was Jethro Tull’s first album after two chart-toppers, Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play, and was one of those records that was a hit the day it was announced (it was certified platinum based on pre-orders, the last Tull album to earn platinum record status). …”Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day” is a beautiful, largely acoustic number that was popular in concert, but “Bungle in the Jungle,” with a title that went over well, got most of the radio play. “The Third Hoorah” is really a follow-up to “War Child,” and opens with one of the prettiest progressions on a folk tune in Tull’s repertory, with some lovely harpsichord from John Evan evolving into a powerful rock number with a surprising orchestral break and what has to be the most successful appearance of bagpipes in a mainstream rock song.

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Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Chrysalis
Catalog Number:
WWS-40049
Year of Release: 1977
Format: Stereo
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Grand Funk – Live Album 1978 Japan white label promotional 2 LP set with obi

Grand Funk - Live Album Japan promo lp

Offered for sale is a Japanese white label promotional copy of the double album Live Album by Grand Funk Railroad, including the original obi.

About this copy: This copy of Grand Funk Railroad’s Live Album is a 1978 pressing on the Capitol label of an album that was originally released in 1970.

The cover is VG++ with slight edge and corner wear.  The obi is M-.  The insert is M-.

Unlike earlier issues, this pressing did not include a poster.

The two white label promo discs are M- and look unplayed.  Clean discs!

A nice copy of a classic LP.

Background: After three increasingly successful studio albums, Grand Funk Railroad released a live album, appropriately titled Live Album.

Despite critical indifference, the two record set reached #5 on the U.S. album charts and reached #29 in the UK, where it was their only album to make the UK Top 40.

Site visitors at Allmusic.com gave Live Album a 4 1/2 star rating:

Either you love or you hate it. Live Album by Grand Funk Railroad was a smash when released and those who loved it played it to death. A hard rock phenomenon of the waning days of the Sixties, Grand Funk proved over and over that they were the live performing act of the time, and this album is a testament to their in-concert power.

You can listen to “Into the Sun” here:

While Grand Funk was quite popular in the U.S., they were also surprisingly popular in Japan.  There, first pressings of four of the band’s first five studio albums (all except Survival) were pressed on red vinyl, as was a Japan-only compilation called The Best of Grand Funk.

Live Album was an interesting exception.  Stock (retail) copies of Live Album were all pressed on black vinyl.

Promotional copies sent to radio stations, however, were pressed with the first disc on red vinyl and the second disc on black vinyl.

As only 100-200 copies were pressed for promotional use, the hybrid red/black vinyl copies are quite rare.

 

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Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Capitol
Catalog Number:
CP-9485B
Year of Release: 1970
Format: Stereo
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Creedence Clearwater Revival – Creedence Clearwater Revival Japan red vinyl LP with obi

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence Clearwater Revival Japan red vinyl LP

Offered for sale is an original red vinyl Japanese pressing of Creedence Clearwater Revival by Creedence Clearwater Revival, including the lyric insert, and original obi.

About this copy: This copy of Creedence Clearwater Revival is a 1969 Japanese first pressing on the Liberty label.

The cover is VG++ with trace corner wear and a bit of foxing on the back.  The obi is VG++ with a few minor wrinkles on the back.  The “hojyuhyo,” or reorder tag, is still attached.

The insert is VG++ with slight discoloration, but no writing or tears.

The red vinyl disc is M- on side one with a couple of spindle marks on the labels, but no marks on the vinyl.  Side two is VG++ with a couple of light inaudible marks on the last two tracks.  Clean disc!

A rare pressing of a terrific LP.

Background: Released in July, 1968, Creedence Clearwater Revival was the debut LP by the band of the same name. While the album only reached #52 on the U.S. album charts, it was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA, helped by the single “Suzie Q,” which reached #11 on the U.S. singles charts.

Allmusic.com gave Creedence Clearwater Revival a 4 star review:

Released in the summer of 1968 — a year after the summer of love, but still in the thick of the Age of Aquarius – Creedence Clearwater Revival’s self-titled debut album was gloriously out-of-step with the times, teeming with John Fogerty’s Americana fascinations. While many of Fogerty’s obsessions and CCR’s signatures are in place — weird blues (“I Put a Spell on You”), Stax R&B (Wilson Pickett’s “Ninety-Nine and a Half”), rockabilly (“Susie Q”), winding instrumental interplay, the swamp sound, and songs for “The Working Man” — the band was still finding their way. Out of all their records (discounting Mardi Gras), this is the one that sounds the most like its era, thanks to the wordless vocal harmonies toward the end of “Susie Q,” the backward guitars on “Gloomy,” and the directionless, awkward jamming that concludes “Walking on the Water.”

Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Liberty
Catalog Number:
LP-8707
Year of Release: 1969
Format: Stereo
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Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour Japan red vinyl Apple LP with obi COMPLETE

Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour Japan red vinyl lp

Offered for sale is a complete red vinyl Japanese copy of Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles, including the original obi and rare song title card.

About this copy: This copy of Magical Mystery Tour is a 1970 Japanese Apple label second issue of an album that was originally released in 1967 on the Odeon label.

The cover is VG++ with slight  corner wear.  The obi is VG + + , with a couple of minor wrinkles on the hojyuhyo (reorder tag).

The original black inner sleeve is M-.   The lyric insert is VG + + with no tears, but with slight discoloration from age.

The rare song title card is M-.

The red vinyl disc is VG++ and close to M-, with an inaudible “blemish” in the first track that may be a pressing defect.  It plays fine and quietly.  There’s moderate foxing and many spindle marks on the labels, but the vinyl is clean.

A nice copy of a terrific LP and the first copy we’ve had in a couple of years.

Background:  Released in 1967, Magical Mystery Tour was a collection of songs from the film of the same name combined with some singles that had been released shortly before the album.

In the UK, the material from the film was released as a double EP set, but in Japan, the album was released in the U.S. format.  The album reached #1 in the U.S.

Allmusic.com gave Magical Mystery Tour a 5 star review:

The U.S. version of the soundtrack for the Beatles’ ill-fated British television special embellished the six songs that were found on the British Magical Mystery Tour double EP with five other cuts from their 1967 singles. The psychedelic sound is very much in the vein of Sgt. Pepper’s, and even spacier in parts (especially the sound collages of “I Am the Walrus”). Unlike Sgt. Pepper’s, there’s no vague overall conceptual/thematic unity to the material, which has made Magical Mystery Tour suffer slightly in comparison. Still, the music is mostly great.

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Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Apple
Catalog Number:
AP – 9728
Year of Release: 1970
Format: Stereo
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Madonna – Confessions on a Dance Floor pink vinyl U.S. 2 LP set

Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor pink vinyl U.S. LP

Offered for sale is an original U.S. pink vinyl pressing of the double album Confessions on a Dance Floor by Madonna.

About this copy: This copy of Confessions on a Dance Floor is a 2005 U.S. pressing on the Warner Brothers label.

The cover is M-.  There is a hype sticker on the cover that says “Limited Edition Pink Vinyl.”

The two pink vinyl disks are M- and look unplayed.  Clean discs!

A virtually perfect copy of a rare Madonna LP.

Background: Released in 2005, Confessions on a Dance Floor was the tenth studio album by Madonna.

The album reached #1 on the album charts in ten different countries.

Allmusic.com gave Confessions on a Dance Floor a 3 1/2 star review:

…It’s hard not to read its 2005 follow-up, Confessions on a Dance Floor, as a back-to-basics move of sorts: after a stumble, she’s returning to her roots, namely the discos and clubs where she launched her career in the early ’80s. It’s not just that she’s returning to dance music — in a way, she’s been making hardcore dance albums ever since 1998’s Ray of Light, her first full-on flirtation with electronica — but that she’s revamping and updating disco on Confessions instead of pursuing a bolder direction.

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Country of origin: U.S.
Size: 12″
Record Label: Warner Brothers
Catalog Number:
9362-49460-1
Year of Release: 2005
Format: Stereo
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Madonna – American Life original German 2 LP set

madonna - american life german LP

Offered for sale is an original German copy of the double album American Life by Madonna.

These LPs were pressed in Germany for worldwide distribution.

About this copy: This copy of American Life is a 2003 German pressing on the Maverick label.

The cover is M-.  The two discs are M- and look unplayed.  Clean discs!

A nice copy of a rare Madonna LP.

Background: Released in 2003, American Life was the ninth studio album by Madonna.

The album reached #1 on both the U.S. and UK album charts.

Allmusic.com gave American Life this review:

American Life is an album performed by a vocalist who has abandoned the U.S. for the U.K. and co-produced by a French techno mastermind, recorded during a time of strife in America, and released just after the country completed a war. Given that context and given that the vocalist is arguably the biggest star in the world, the title can’t help but carry some import, carry the weight of social commentary. And it follows through on that promise, sometimes explicitly and sometimes implicitly, but either way, American Life winds up as the first Madonna record with ambitions as serious as a textbook…. But, overall, American Life is better for what it promises than what it delivers, and it’s better in theory than practice.

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Country of origin: Germany
Size: 12″
Record Label: Maverick
Catalog Number:
9362-48439-1
Year of Release: 2003
Format: Stereo
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