CHER w/THE SWAMPERS 3614 JACKSON INSANELY RARE '69 WHILE LBL PROMO-ONLY MONO LP

$

53

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  MORE THAN 400  LISTED ITEMS

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·       CHER featuring the legendary SWAMPERS (THE MUSCLE SCHOALS STUDIOS CRACK BAND) - 3614 JACKSON HIGHWAY - - ORIGINAL 1969 ATCO RECORDS MONO LP 33-298

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·       *** ULTRA-RARE PROMOTIONAL-ONLY MONO COPY; MONO VERSION OF THIS  ALBUM WAS NEVER COMMERCIALLY RELEASED IN ANY WAY OR FORM ***

·       TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, THIS IS THE LAST CHER ALBUM TO BE RELEASED IN MONO

· *** WHITE LABEL PROMO ***

·        THIS IS A MONSTEROUSLY RARE “DEDICATED” PROMO-ONLY MONO MIX (BASS LINES ARE MUCH MORE PROMINENT THAN ON THE STOCK, COMMERCIALLY RELEASED PRESSING).

·       ORIGINAL ATCO LABEL, WHITE PROMO VERSION.

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       ORIGINAL UNIPAK-STYLE COVER (ONE SIDE OF THE GATEFOLD OPENS, THE OTHER ONE IS A SINGLE-PLY CARDBOARD)

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS (ALTHOUGH WITH "PROMOTIONAL COPY - NOT FOR SALE" BANNER SCRATCHED OUT ON BOTH SIDES)

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

·       MONO version of this album has NEVER been available on legitimate Compact Disc or in any other digital format.

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you'll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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THE WHITE LABEL PROMO, RADIO STATION-, AUDITION OR DEMONSTRATION COPIES AND RELEASES (such as the one we have here) were often distributed to the radio stations before the record was released to the public, sometimes as much as four months ahead. These records are generally considered to be the "first among equals": the VERY FIRST generation and the VERY FIRST pressings of the particular title; a PROTOTYPE and the earliest known official pressing of the record.

In this case, though, this is a rather moot point,  since this rare promo-only MONO version of the album was never commercially released to begin with.

***

When Sonny & Cher first hit the charts in 1965, Sonny Bono was the brains of the outfit, producing their records and writing the bulk of their material. So after both the duo and Cher's solo career went into a tailspin in the late '60s, their record company proposed a little experiment -- giving Cher some new collaborators in a new surrounding. Under the guidance of producer Jerry Wexler, who had famously kick-started Aretha Franklin's career when she signed with Atlantic in 1967, Cher recorded 1969's 3614 Jackson Highway in Alabama with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (Jimmy Johnson on guitar, Barry Beckett on keys, David Hood on bass, and Roger Hawkins on drums), the same band that backed Aretha, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, and many others on a string of classic soul hits. With ace guitarist and songwriter Eddie Hinton sitting in and Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin helping with the production (Sonny received a producer's credit, but didn't actually work on the sessions), Cher cut what was arguably the finest album of her career; it's no great surprise that the arrangements on 3614 Jackson Highway lean towards Southern soul, but the music nods politely to Cher's pop instincts as well, and the sidemen deliver the sort of straightforward but rock-solid support that was their trademark.Cher was given some weightier material than she usually handled, including no fewer than three Bob Dylan covers and some classic soul numbers, and if "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" and "For What It's Worth" don't seem like ideal choices today, she sounds mature, forceful, and authoritative on every track. And while Cher doesn't quite come off like a soul diva on these sessions, she welcomes the opportunity to dig deeper into the songs in a way she couldn't on many of her early hits, and she rises to the challenge posed by her collaborators -- she rides the slinky funk of "Lay Lady Lay" beautifully, knows just how to fill the quiet spaces of "Please Don't Tell Me," and belts out "Cry Like a Baby" with the same punch as the Memphis Horns. 3614 Jackson Highway was a commercial disappointment and it would be another two years before Sonny & Cher would return to the limelight with their television variety show, but Cher was rarely given a better showcase for her talents as a singer, and the album still sounds like a revelation four decades after it was released.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY MARK DEMING, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

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·                               CONDITION:

·                               RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL AS STRONG VERY GOOD+(+) . CAUTION: The vinyl is NOT MINT or NEAR MINT, but is nevertheless in a very nice and clean condition. There are some surface marks and abrasions, mostly light and superficial, although some may be longer than 1.1/4 inches (1 inch = 2.5 centimeters)

(b)          The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

(c)           White Promo Label version of this title is much rarer that a regular, commercially released, version of this title. We estimate that stock copies of this album outnumber promo copies by a ratio of at least 50:1.

(d)          In addition, Mono pressing of this title is much rarer, and by far more  preferable to its stereo counterpart. We think that the mix is more natural, humane, "organic" and that the mixes are somewhat different than on the stereo version. We estimate that stereo copies of this album outnumber mono pressings by a ratio of at least 300:1.

(e)           Stock (commercially released) mono copies of this album are NOT known to exist.

(f)            Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

·       COVER

THE COVER IS NICE --- ABOUT VERY GOOD++ (VG++).

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-        Cover has some writing on its front side (format ("mono") of the recording written in thick black marker, about ½ x 2 inches in size); large check mark on the other side.

-         Cover has some light ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 3

-         Back cover has circular tarnish (grayish, dust-covered sections, which closely follow the contour of the record),  probably caused by friction or by rubbing against other covers during the storage. The tarnish is similar in appearance to a common ring wear, but, UNLIKE ring wear, these grayish areas may be possible to clean up with a minor effort and with a right cleansing solution.

-         Cover shows some light yellowing on both sides, apparently from aging   (nothing significant).

-         Cover has a small, sticker residue (small, sticky yellowish discoloration from the removed promo sticker)

-         Visible shelf wear noted on the spine

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE COVER:

-        No split seams

-        No cut-out (drill) holes.

-        No cut-out corners

-        No saw-marks or indents

-        No dirt/dust rubbing stains (friction marks caused by rubbing against other covers)

-        No stamps

-        No tearing: no chips, dents or nicks on the seams

-        No peel-off marks

-        No mold or mildew spots

-        No stickers or labels

-        No water damage

-        No razor marks, scratches, pressure marks, lines, streaks, or  cuts.

-        No warping

-        No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover

-        No glue traces or wax residue.

-        No bar codes

-        No RIAA stamps or stickers. 

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