GRATEFUL DEAD 1973 Test Pressing "BEAR'S CHOICE" LP
$
330
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Description
GRATEFUL DEAD 1973 Test Pressing "BEAR'S CHOICE" LP FROM RALPH J. GLEASON COLLECTION/SEE OUR OTHERS Here is an exceptionally rare test pressing of the Grateful Dead's album "Bear's Choice: History of The Grateful Dead Vol. 1." This is the only Dead Warner Bros. test pressing we've ever had, and it's a beauty, in Mint to NM condition, with the original generic sleeve (featuring notes and track listing.) Ultra ultra rare. Here's a Wikipedia explanation of the album: History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice) is a live album by the Grateful Dead. It offers concert highlights from the Grateful Dead's February 13 and 14, 1970 performances at the Fillmore East. Dick’s Picks, Volume 4 also chronicles these performances. The album was released on July 13, 1973 and is a tribute of sorts to Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who died while the album was being prepared. The "Bear" of the title is Owsley Stanley, underground chemist turned Dead sound man. Fans often simply refer to the album as Bear's Choice.[1]
The album was originally intended to be a first in a series, but Volume Two never came to be because this was the band's last album on their deal with Warner Bros. Records.
This record was from the collection of the late Ralph J. Gleason (1917-1975;) one of the most influential jazz and pop music critics of all time. He was a central figure in the San Francisco rock scene, helped organize the Monterey Pop Festival, co-founded Rolling Stone magazine, and was a cofounder of the Monterey Jazz Festival.
When Gleason joined the San Francisco Chronicle in 1950, he initiated the first regular coverage of jazz and pop music in the mainstream US media. Gleason was the first critic to review folk, pop, and jazz concerts with the same attention and space as was given to classical music. Gleason was one of the first critics to perceive the importance of Lenny Bruce, Bob Dylan, and Miles Davis (all of whom became close friends of his.)
Gleason was one of the first to write supportively of the San Francisco scene and it’s bands, including the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead (his 1969 book The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Scene, was the first serious study of the subject.)
Bill Graham himself credited Gleason with suggesting the Fillmore Auditorium to him as a site for concerts, while the Family Dog met with Gleason at his home to discuss their idea to stage dance concerts, prior to their first show at the Longshoreman’s Hall. When the organizers of the Monterey Pop Festival had trouble recruiting the San Francisco bands, they turned to Gleason and Bill Graham, who were able to convince the major acts to come on board.
Gleason wrote liner notes for hundreds of albums, including “Jefferson Airplane Takes Off” and “Bitches Brew” by Miles Davis (for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award.) His articles also appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Times, New Statesman, Evergreen Review, American Scholar, Saturday Review, New York Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun Times, Sydney Herald, Playboy, Esquire, Variety, and Stereo.
Gleason produced a series of twenty-eight programs for public television on jazz and blues, Jazz Casual, featuring John Coltrane, B.B. King, Dave Brubeck, and Sonny Rollins, among others. His two-hour documentary on Duke Ellington was twice nominated for an Emmy. He also produced a four-part series on the Monterey Jazz Festival, the first documentary for television on pop music, Anatomy of a Hit, and a two-hour performance and documentary on San Francisco rock, Go Ride the Music and A Night At The Family Dog. We are proud to offer this and record and many more we’ll be selling over the coming months from the Ralph J. Gleason collection.
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We are EBAY Powersellers and have been buying and selling music collectibles for nearly 35 years via our website, Ebay, and mail-order.
RECORDMECCA'S Jeff Gold was named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 5 "Top Collectors of high-end music memorabilia" (there is a link to this article on our "ME" page.) Gold is a frequent consultant to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the Experience Music Project in Seattle, was a featured appraiser on the VH1 television show "ROCK COLLECTORS," and was profiled in the book "Vinyl Junkies" by Brett Milano.
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US & Canada Shipping: $9 for 1-2 LP's by insured Priority Mail (Ebay’s recent rule change requires us to offer Media Mail shipping for records, at $4.00 for 1 LP. As this is a very slow method of shipping and uninsured, we cannot guarantee safe delivery by this method and strongly recommend paying extra for the much quicker and safer Priority Mail.) $17 for 1-2 posters, shipped priority mail in a new mailer/tube & US orders are automatically insured for up to $200 in value. Calif. buyers add 8.25% sales tax (calculated automatically by Paypal.) All other items shipped at cost.
International Shipping: $16 for 1 LP airmail without insurance. $4 for each additional LP; $21 for 1-2 posters. All other items shipped at cost. Because of problems with the Italian Post Office, we highly recommend either insured or registered mail for all Italian orders and cannot be responsible for any order shipped to Italy without one or the other of these.
306 (GS 5.3.5 (306))
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