EASYBEATS Vigil orig. '68 UK LP freakbeat garage psych
$
96
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Description
ORIGINAL 1968 UK pressing of the Easybeats' 5th LP, "Vigil" on the United Artists label. Which finds our Aussie garage beat popsters rolling nicely into the late 60's, tempos getting a bit slower, rhythms a bit chunkier, and the jangle replaced with the fuzz and the drone. Even the lyrics, which once dealt exclusively with women that are fine, easy or make 'em feel alright, now seem to have regressed to playground nursery rhymes - "Sha La La", See Saw", "Land of Make Believe" and "We All Live Happily Together" (do we?). But if you prefer "Happiness Stan" to "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" and "Berkeley Mews" to "Milk Cow Blues", then this is yer Easybeats of choice. There's the upbeat "Good Times" that leads things off, a minor hit for the band in Australia but better known to the casual fan thanks to an inexplicable remake by INXS with Jimmy Barnes, whoever he is. "Falling Off the Edge of the World" is here too, another minor Aussie hit that gave its name to the US version of this album. But for fans of British toytown popsike, check out "See Saw", which will bring back fond memories of 1968 Move or the Idle Race, with its popsike orchestration and chunky British freakbeat sound. "Fancy Seeing You Here" rumbles along on a bottom-heavy Chocolate Soup bassline and a big wall-of-sound production. Here the twangy guitar that once slashed and jangled its way through early garage-beat classics like "I'm A Madman" and "It's So Easy" now does its best sitar impersonation. Hey, by 1968 the Beatles had already been to and come back from India. But the difference between the Easybeats and their British brethren lies in their working class Australian upbringing - and with that, a certain skepticism toward peace and love - so they never really buy into all that "all you need is love" stuff. So even though a title like "We All Live Happily Together" might sound like the band's gone all soft and fuzzy, rest assured they don't really believe it for a second. You can tell because it starts with an air raid siren and ends with snippets from some wartime motivational speeches. In between, it's all a big drunken pub singalong, like the Dukes of Stratosphere's "You're a Good Man, Albert Brown", which shows you just how seriously they're taking their own message of comradery. I particularly love the short trippy breaks, where the drunken tempo momentarily slows, and the drumbeat is marked out by the sound of glasses breaking in time - very clever, guys! Their raucous, ragged lo-fi garage beat beginnings were three years past, and even though time may have smoothed away their edges, it's also made 'em smarter - and more bitter - than ever. Original 1968 mono pressing on the UK United Artists label, ULP 1193. Cover's in strong VG++ shape, with only small edge and corner wear and some creasing on the front. Vinyl plays real nice VG++ too. Winning bidder pays $4.00 media mail shipping in the US, $8 air mail to Canada, $14 everywhere else. Paypal, Bidpay, cash, checks and money orders accepted. Please check out my other auctions for more Easybeats LPs and other vinyl obscurities.
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