EQUIPE 84 Stereoequipe RARE 1968 Italy FREAKBEAT PSYCH

$

50

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

EQUIPE 84 "Stereoequipe"

Original 1968 LP on the BRAZILIAN RICORDI label, 83-8059

Cover:  EXCELLENT, really nice!

Vinyl:  Clean, plays VG+ to VG++

The crown jewel in the discography of Italian prog psychers Equipe 84, 1968’s Stereoequipe, and it’s easy to hear why.  Or see why, in the case of that arresting reverse image orange on silver jacket that grabs  your attention immediately and tells you exactly where their heads were at when they recorded this (miles away from their bodies, apparently).  And as you’d expect, the music inside is just as mind-bending – a product of the times, and occasionally a little bit ahead of those times.

Turns out, they’re listening to the Beach Boys Pet Sounds, the Small Faces Ogden’s Nutgone Flake, the Beatles (of course), and probably even Blood Sweat and Tears Child is the Father of the Man.  They also LOVE themselves a LOT of psychedelic sound effects, which they use so liberally you’d sometimes swear Alan Parsons was behind the mixing board.  And if all that sounds like a delicious recipe for some homemade Italian popsike like Momma used to make (and it is), then get your bib on and let’s dig in.

The album opens with a big dramatic string intro, because hey, Italians also love opera, right?  And making a grand entrance too, Tony Soprano-style, cellos a-blazing, like the Al Kooper-led BS&T’s “Overture” mixed with a bit of “Eleanor Rigby.”  It’s the kind of opening that says “this is gonna be one BIG production, kids, so grab some popcorn and brownies and prepare to have your minds blown.”  So it’s only fitting that, in another flash of Michaelangeloan bravado, Equipe 84’s cover of Honeybus’s relatively sedate “I Can’t Let Maggie Go” should naturally begin with the sound of a violent windstorm.   Can we be absolutely sure Roger Waters didn’t hear this sometime in the early 70’s?

They also cover the Small Faces “Every Little Bit Hurts,” but this time they turn it into an outtake from Brian Wilson’s Pet Sounds sessions performed by the Teatro Alla Scalla Opera Company.  Later on, some George Harrison sitar creeps in, and somehow morphs into some weird Lewis Carrollian hookah-fried warbly noise while some way faroff distant Valkyries moan above the crowd below.  Meanwhile, Bruce Haack wheels his giant bank of synthesizers onstage in a giant paisley gondola and starts whipping off large flurries of random squiggles and warbles from the two hour pilot episode of Star Trek, while the entire stage is bathed in liquid slides and full-figured, gyrating, naked hippie girls.  This, my friends, is the Equipe 84 experience, and it makes a show at the UFO Club seem like Bingo Night at the retirement home.  Any resemblance to the original Small Faces song is, as you’ve probably already guessed, a complete f**ing accident.

But these messed-up maestros aren’t just another heady cover band – the Equipe 84 originals are just as acid-fried.  The best one, “Hey Ragazzo,” takes a great chunky freakbeat drumbeat and mixes in some groovy wavering early Roxy Music saxophone – now that’s an instrument you don’t often hear in psychedelia and it gives the band a unique spin from their less adventurous European counterparts.  Imagine “Tomorrow Never Knows” with a young Andy MacKay sitting in, and you’ve either got a good idea of what this song sounds like or a headache from trying.

No doubt about it, from the cover art to the monumental operatic mind-twisting sounds inside, Stereoequipe is an album designed to challenge every sense you have.  It’s big and loud and it’s got more sound effects and production tricks than a Pink Floyd discography.  It lives up to the hype.  That’s more than we can say for the last season of the Sopranos, right? 

click below to hear what pauly walnuts used to smoke weed and listen to in his room:

The less exciting stuff

Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS REQUIRE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION, WHICH IS AN EXTRA 75 CENTS.  Air mail shipping to Canada starts at $10 US, each additional record $2 shipping.  Air mail shipping everywhere else in the world starts at $16 US, with each additional record only $3 shipping.  ALL FOREIGN ORDERS REQUIRE CERTIFICATE OF SHIPMENT, WHICH IS AN EXTRA $1.10.  I accept payments through Paypal, or you can send checks and money orders made out in US dollars.  Items paid by check are held 14 days for the check to clear.

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

And finally, I include delivery confirmation on all shipments inside the US.  This is my proof of shipment, and also helps us to track your package if it doesn’t arrive when it should.  I will email you within 2 days of shipment and give you the confirmation number at that time.  Insurance is always optional, but for larger orders, it’s highly recommended.   I DO NOW REQUIRE THAT ALL FOREIGN BUYERS PAY AN ADDITIONAL $1.10 FOR PROOF OF SHIPMENT.  IT'S A NOMINAL FEE AND THE CHEAPEST WAY FOR ME TO PROVE THAT I ACTUALLY SHIPPED YOUR PACKAGE AND DIDN'T JUST POCKET YOUR MONEY AND SKIP TOWN.  For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.