1970 UK TRANSATLANTIC 1st STRAY = PULVERIZING CRANKED HEAVY PROG PSYCH Hawkwind

$

150

                      "STRAY"

                        STRAY

\                                  UK - TRANSATLANTIC RECORDS - 201.052

TOP COPY !

1970 ORIGINAL first printing with elaborate die-cut gatefold cover ...

MOST surviving copies have bends and tears to the fragile custom designed lettering in the gatefold cover - here is a TOP COPY, no tears or rips in the lettering - LOOK!

 FULL TILT  high energy heavy sonic attack that drenches both sides  ...think early Hawkwind meets Neu...

LISTEN! click on this next line::::> STRAY - All in your mind

The Lp features a pulsating pulverizing attack...one that surpasses many Lp's thought to be more highly rated....so if you've the time, here's a complete overview, some interesting tidbits on this mighty LP:::

London, England's Stray yielded a prolific career yet managed to elude the fame enjoyed by contemporaries like Cream, Thin Lizzy, or even UFO. Formed in 1966, the hard rock, prog, and R&B outfit comprised of vocalist/guitarist Del Bromham, vocalist/guitarist Steve Gadd, bass... Stray stood alongside greats such Clear Blue Sky and the early UFO, but in THIS opinion, Stray – although less acknowledged now than those two bands – knocked them all into a cocked hat with their songwriting skills, roughshod instrumental talent, heaviness, and the near-psychotic streetwise abandon with which they approached their music in their brief early peak, whilst still retaining catchy tunes, almost like unused Beatles songs being handed over to a gang of crank-and-half crazed bikers’ with a penchant for jamming out and extreme fuzz. ‘All In Your Mind’ (9:25) fades in with all the primitive driving roar of early Hawkwind; drums and cymbals ticking away on a steady rhythm as harmonious, simple guitar strokes float over the top. A louder vibrato guitar enters with an introductory riff, and it all rises out of the dust electrified, chugging along on a raw boogie plod, soon joined by a catchy verse/chorus bit that would be ripe for a pop-perfection song if only it weren’t accompanied by such filthy guitar chunks. A series of thriller handclaps enthusiastically signal the entry into jam-land, Bromham soloing gutsily over a simple 1-note chug, if you squint almost sounding like Neu! meets Hawkwind’s In Search Of Space era, but without any electronics or experimentation (or sax) – just hypnotic rawk! Well, maybe more like a simpler, rawer Clear Blue Sky or UFO groove. Or somewhere between the two... Anyway, a few minutes of that then back into that sturdy tractor of ‘the song bit’ for a brief refrain, before diving seamlessly back into the 1-note jam, only now with the guitar roaming a bit more free as it all becomes a kind of primitive space rock. Near the 8-minute mark it seems to have grinded to a conclusion, only to slam straight into a new, driving heavy riff and smashing into a frenzied crescendo. ‘Taken All The Good Things’ (5:37) begins as a slowly paced drum and guitar groove, before slightly fuzzy, wiry bass slinks in and they all slide into a funky, sleazy hard riff with another incredibly catchy verse/chorus. It’s got such an easy, laid-back hard cockiness, and you can tell that these young gunslingers are in no doubt that they fill their very large boots, and can take down any man who looks at ‘em funny. A few minutes later, senses are shattered as it all kicks into total overdrive, heavy, brutal fuzzed guitar slamming out raw speed riffs as Bromham overdubs an equally raucous and savage lead onslaught. Then, after a head-smashing climax, as you pick up your hat that blew across the room, it slides with no effort back into the slow riff from before and finishes after another run-through of the lyrics. ‘Around The World In Eighty Days’ (3:40) is one of those almost Beatles-like mutations... kind of. It’s by and large the poppiest track on the album, although pop in a kind of early prog/psych way, and although the word ‘pop’ usually serves as a warning for some to steer well clear -- this is the rare kind of pop that most anyone can get into, and it sticks in the head without pissing one off. Nothing brilliant, but really nice, and having the feel of an orchestrated song but without any added horns or strings save the guitar and bass. It reminds a bit of some of the softer-edged stuff from T2’s great album ‘It’ll All Work Out In Boomland’. ‘Time Machine’ (4:44) begins like one of those West Coast-tinged Man rockers, before savage heavy fuzz guitar takes great seared slices off of your ears, and we’re treated to yet another incredibly catchy verse/chorus run, with beautiful but not wimpy vocals riding the chariot formed from a wall of guitars, soon going instrumental and picking up a manic pace, hard-driving acoustic strumming hitting harder than you’d think (like on bits of the first May Blitz album) with the bass and drums as Bromham solos electrically like mad, then all grinding into a totally nasty assault of gutbucket demon riffing that sees us to the end after going through numerous boggling changes. ‘Only What You Make It’ (4:05) starts side two like a thug-rock rip-off of Hawkwind’s ‘Brainstorm’ riff, with occasional manly “Uuuughhh!’ thrusts emphasising key beats. However it’s far from an actual rip-off of that song, swinging into a totally different pounding chorus and back a few times before the guys jam out for a bit in typical meaty, uncompromising fashion, like a meaner and more uncouth Man boogie perhaps. Repeat that all again with added harmonica (or perhaps slide guitar played to sound like a harmonica) soloing on the jam bit, and there’s that track, another winner in an album packed full of ‘em.‘Yesterdays Promises’ (4:25) is the quietest track on the album, mellow but vaguely pained melodic music riding a sad breeze punctuated occasionally with weirdly processed space plunks from one of the electric guitar lines. The vocals are, again, simple and sparse but oh-so-catchy and spot-on, but much of the track is an instrumental jam building from a very simple and repetitive structure that’s totally effective and beautiful without getting soppy. Near the end it rocks up a little but soon ends tastefully without any gratuitous frenzy.‘Move On’ (5:51) is, at least at first, kinda like Man in a fast-paced Santana-like mood, as far as the funky rhythm laid down by extra percussion and fuzzed chucka-wucka guitar and slightly jazzy soloing, broken up by more serious sledgehammer riffage, before sliding all greased into a mid-paced jazzy rock jam, but jazz in the sense of rock musos who can’t really play jazz but aren’t averse to trying to come as close as they can over a simple groove. And, they do a pretty decent job of it in the end (mainly due to Bromham’s soloing, never trying to get too fancy for his actual ability to perform, which is nonetheless fairly high for such a young gun), even if they’re no Mahavishnu Orchestra but more like May Blitz again in a jazzy mood. You don’t have to like jazz rock to like this.

‘In Reverse/Some Say’ (9:04) closes the album in full razor-rockin’ style, with a frantic progression of manic fuzzed riffs, the whole band stomping along in such easy unison there are no cracks between the seams, but plenty of steam issuing forth from somewhere, all the same. You can really tell these guys have worked hard together over the previous years to get to this point, as they’re all totally locked into each other in service of the rock. Bromham is obviously the leading light that makes it so damn good, especially given the opportunity to overdub multiple guitar lines (which he makes constant use of with mastery), but the others do a fine job of making it whole and backing him up 100%, and it’s great to come across a vocalist who doesn’t seem to want to dominate proceedings but is content to sing a few lines here and there with confidence but in the main, just hang back and listen. At around six minutes and after a lengthy jam, the song kicks up a couple of gears into massively heavy, distorted, raw doom riffing that goes for the throat before switching to another set of complex, driving parts that see out the next few minutes in dizzying fashion. I wouldn’t want to have been trying to go on stage and play after Stray back in those days! A tough act to follow, if this brilliant album is anything to go by, and if the audiences had any taste.

All In Your Mind  
  Taking All The Good Things 
Around The World In 80 Days 
Time Machine 
Only What You Can Make It 
Yesterday's Promises 
Move On 
In Reverse/Some Say

CONDITION: The cover: The fragile custom designed die-cut gatefold cover is SO HARD to find without rips or tears to the lettering (a known fact!), this copy no problems other than slight visual past use in careful hands. Rated: "EX" (excellent) considered a top copy with fresh original colors, no delete marks, no split seams, no bends, and no writing  ... collection worthy rarity ...

The vinyl: Clean and glossy over both sides, rated: M- TOP COPY expect very enjoyable =CLEAN= audio play grade throughout BOTH sides...does not have distracting surface problems ... both UK Transatlantic labels are clean!

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record