ILLES Nehez Az Ut 1968 HUNGARIAN SGT PEPPER Beatles ACID SITAR PSYCH LP LISTEN

$

52

ILLES "NEHEZ AZ UT" LP

ORIGINAL 1968 LP ON THE Hungarian QUALITON LABEL, STEREO LPX 17391

COVER IN VG shape, ringwear

VINYL is clean, no marks, plays VG to VG+ with some scattered pops

If you can get past the Hungarian lyrics, and you should, Illes’ debut album from 1968 Nehez Az Ut is considered the Eastern European Sergeant Pepper.  Me, I find that comparison a little off – it would be the Eastern European Sergeant Pepper if George were given two or three slots instead of just the one.  There are quite a few trips into the land of “Within You Without You” here, all snaky Indian rhythms and bellydance snake charmer vibes – notably the full-on psych-o-delic magic carpet ride “Szerelem” (“Love”) with its distorted brown acid vocals, and the mellow head trip title track “Nehez Az Ut” (“The Road Is Difficult”), sort of like a cross between a Bollywood soundtrack and the Beatles’ “Ticket To Ride.”  The other non-George tracks are excellent as well – “Eltavozott Naap” (“The Sun’s Gone Down”) is a killer slab of Hungarian blues garage punk with bumblebee fuzz and demented tone-deaf female backing vocals.  And the groovy “Mondo, Hogy Nem Hiszed El” (“Please Say You Don’t Believe It”) is like some lost British Swinging London mod freakbeat nugget passed over, a big catchy bit of Carnaby Street psychedelia that, for some reason, reminds me a lot of Tomorrow’s “Revolution.”  Not only that, the whole album’s tied together by some in-between-track banter by Hungarian Sixties DJ Cintula in true acid “concept” album fashion.  The Beatles fixation is clear here, but on the whole, the heavier and headier sounds and between-track banter reminds me more of a Hungarian version of the Move’s Shazam.  And who else would ever think of psychedelicizing a steamroller anyway?

HEAR IT!

PLEASE NOTE I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).  BUYERS FROM ITALY AGREE TO PAY FOR GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL INSURED ONLY!

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.  Overseas shipping has, unfortunately, gone way up in the fast few months, which translates to $15 for the first LP to Canada ($3 each one thereafter) and $24 for the first LP everywhere else in the world, with each add'l LP an extra $5 (so it pays to buy more, nudge nudge wink wink).   I accept payments through Paypal. 

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. 

 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.