IRMA THOMAS DOWN @ MUSCLE SHOALS RARE ORIG JAPAN CHESS/P-VINE AUDIOPHILE MONO LP

$

89

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  MORE THAN 400  LISTED ITEMS

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·       IRMA THOMAS - DOWN AT THE MUSCLE SHOALS - RARE ORIGINAL 1984 JAPANESE CHESS/BLUES INTERRACTIONS INC RECORDS  MONO LP PLP-6013

·       ORIGINAL JAPANESE PRESSING

·       JAPANESE AUDIOPHILE HIGH QUALITY PRESSING ON A VIRGIN VINYL

·       ORIGINAL BLACK, MATTE (NOT GLOSSY), CHESS MONO LABEL WITH SILVER PRINT.

·       ALBUM INCLUDES "OBI" (A SASH WITH JAPANESE ALPHABET CHARACTERS, CONTAINING ALBUM DATA)  WRAPPED AROUND THE COVER)

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

·       THICK CARDBOARD COVER, AMERICAN STYLE

·       TOTALLY UNIQUE JAPANESE COVER, DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE (EXTREMELY SHORT LIVED) AMERICAN RELEASE

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·       FAIRLY THICK VINYL PRESSING On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the thickness of the vinyl as 7.

·       MACHINE-STAMPED MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) OF THE RECORD

·       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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Chess Records signed Irma Thomas in 1966 and almost immediately sent her to work with producer Rick Hall at his Fame Studios in the world famous Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Thomas recorded over a dozen tracks while backed by seasoned in-house rhythm and horn sections, plus Spooner Oldham on keyboards. Of the tracks she recorded, Chess released only three 45s, including Otis Redding's "Good To Me", the only song from these sessions to crack the Billboard charts. Unimpressed - and despite some fine unreleased material - Chess decided Thomas was a poor seller and scrapped plans to release an LP by her. She did one more session for the label in Chicago (I'm not sure if it was ever released), then she and the label parted ways.

That none of Irma's Muscle Shoals releases connected with the public is puzzling (lack of marketing was only part of the problem). Even worse, most of her work for the label went unissued for over 20 years. The combination of her mature, soul-saturated delivery, coupled with a raw vocal grittiness, and the tight, could-only-happen-in-Mussle Shoals perfection of the band made for some of Irma Thomas' most satisfying performances. As she stated, even though the band may not have been from New Orleans, it delivered its own elegant, yet understated, funk and soul bravado to the songs, allowing Irma to connect with the material in a way most singers can only dream about. Of course, it certainly helps that the songs were of high quality, from writers such as Penn/Oldham, Otis Redding, Paul Kelly, Oliver Sain, and Goffin-King.

I'm hard-pressed to think Irma has done better pure soul than on the best of these tracks from Muscle Shoals. She's done plenty of exceptional, expressive singing, both before and after, but these sessions were as special as they come. For pure unbridled Soul, take a listen to the devastating "Here I Am, Take Me". One listen and you'll sing the praises of Irma Thomas forever.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ANONYMOUS ONLINE REVIEW)

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·       CONDITION:

·       THE 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 VG++, JUST A NOTCH BELOW NEAR MINT. A few light abrasions (probably just sleeve scuffs inflicted in storage over the years) ARE VISIBLE, but they appear fairly  insignificant relative to the overall condition of the vinyl, and are only moderately visually distracting. For most part, the vinyl looks impeccable, without any MAJOR visual flaws or imperfections. Much of the original luster is intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The record comes in a hi-grade PVC inner sleeve, which has - apparently with success - shielded the record from the harmful impact of elements over many years!

(c)           The album comes with the original Japanese obi (cover sash)

(d)          The record is pressed on a beautiful, high-quality, virgin-grade vinyl, which is usually used for audiophile, extended-dynamic-range, half-speed mastered and connoisseur pressings.

(e)           In addition, the record is pressed on a RELATIVELY  thick, inflexible vinyl. This is NOT a thin, flimsy ('dynaflex' type),  vinyl, but not the thickest, most rigid vinyl, either.

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

·                               THE COVER

THE COVER IS ABOUT VERY GOOD+(+)

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-        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 4

-         The cover has a few tiny scratch marks on both sides

-        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 back side, apparently from aging  (nothing significant).

-         Visible shelf wear noted on the seams

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

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