Jormas. Super rare Finnish beat/mod/pop/garage LP from 1966 in GREAT condition

$

129

Super rare Finnish garage LP impossible to find in this condition. Both cover and vinyl are strong VG++/VG++. Comes with the original plain paper inner sleeve. Vinyl has some weird hazy stripes seen under bright light that because of the repeated wavy parallel pattern on both sides appear to be from the pressing itself (see photos). They look like fine scratches from the lathe that pressed the vinyl, but remarkably do not affect the sound. Some light spider marks from the original paper sleeve, seen in the photos, but also nothing audible. The vinyl still has full gloss and plays perfectly, as you can hear in the sound/video file. I just played the whole LP all the way through and found the only track with any noticeable crackle and a few pops was starting about 40 seconds into Saat Miehen Kyyneliin (the Tom Jones song). Otherwise the LP is nice and quiet both during and between tracks. The solid black labels show about a half dozen light spindle marks on each side and otherwise no wear at all. The spindle hole itself is perfect, with no wear at all (see photos). The notoriously flimsy cover is fully laminated front and back, with no breaks, and is in simply amazing shape for a 60-year old LP. The spine and seams are rock solid all the way around with no splits or and only a few small wrinkles along the narrow spine, which has no artist or label info printed. Tiny bumps are barely visible on three corners, as seen in the photos. Just a small hint of wear along the sleeve opening. Slightest rubbing, the very beginnings of light ringwear, along the top and bottom of the back sleeve – not visible unless you look for it in bright light (see photos). There is a razor thin bit of yellowing/discolouration on the front cover where the sleeve opens (see photo). An album of mostly pop covers from the era 1964-1966, plus a couple of originals, all with excellent production values in terms of instrumentation and vocals. One of the true gems of the Finnish garage rock scene in the mid-sixties. The Jormas were a home-grown Finnish beat/mod group, not imported from Birmingham like The Renegades, who were insanely popular in Finland around the same time even though almost unheard of back in their native UK. The covers here by The Jormas encompass a range of tasteful standouts from the era, such as Lee Dorsey’s Get out of my life woman, Tom Jones’ To make a big man cry, Beach Boys’ God only knows, Gary US Bonds’ New Orleans, Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man, etc. A few have been reworked with Finnish lyrics. The video/sound file is taken from my personal favourite, an astonishing cover of Bessie Banks 1964 hit Go now, which was an even bigger hit for the Moody Blues during 1964-65. While both of those are great, if you love Nordic garage rock then you will enjoy this version with crunchy guitars immensely! Very hard to part with this one. 

I am planning to list some ultra-rarities from my personal trove of vinyl LPs and 45s over the coming months. These have been painstakingly collected since the late 1970’s. Included are the absolute crown jewels of psychedelia, garage, prog, acid folk and folk-rock, all ranked 3-6 stars in Hans Pokora’s books. Artists like Vashti Bunyan, The Haunted, Fresh Maggots, Kaleidoscope, Plastic Cloud, Loudest Whisper, Reign Ghost, Synanthesia, Blues Section, Jormas, Mighty Baby, Sunforest, Trees, The Folklords, Anne Briggs, Kak, Moving Sidewalks and countless others. Most are stupidly rare, especially in such jaw-dropping condition. All have been extremely well cared-for across 4+ decades, and some are nearly un-played. In many cases, I also have the accompanying 45s for sale, including insanely rare non-LP tracks for e.g. Vashti Bunyan, Reign Ghost, Kak, Kaleidoscope, etc. These are not “spare” copies, these are THE copies from my personal collection. I am selling these only reluctantly, and if the first few samples do not attract an appropriate level of interest, I will simply return the rest of them to storage. All records have been dust vacuumed on a Moth-MKII Pro Record Cleaning Machine. 

My vinyl rankings are only slightly modified from Goldmine Standard for grading Please read them (below) carefully. I will describe every LP and 45 in detail and include photos as well as sound files. If you pay close attention to the cover/vinyl condition descriptions, check the photos in high-resolution and listen to the sound files, then you should know exactly what you are aiming for before you start bidding. I try to carefully note any flaws with the disc and the cover so that there are no surprises when the box arrives. I have 100% positive feedback on eBay and want to keep it that way. If there is ANY issue after receiving a shipment, please let me know immediately so we can resolve it before sending any feedback. 

Please do not pay before confirming your preferred shipping method and total shipping costs!! The domestic shipping costs to US are NOT real since the item comes from Finland! The international shipping costs also depend on the buyer’s location and preference in terms of service used. NOTE for US and Canadian buyers: it is significantly cheaper to ship to Europe if you have someone there to receive your package!

Buyer pays packaging and, preferably, insured shipping from Finland. I use top quality packaging and need to cover those costs, which will be included in the invoice. Vinyl will be packed extremely securely and LPs are double-boxed with cardboard stiffeners added inside the inner Euromailer to increase stability to avoid any damage in transit. The discs are always removed from the jackets to prevent seam splits, and all albums and 45s come in plastic outer sleeves. Each LP itself comes in a VRP rice paper-style inner sleeve. UPS and DHL Global Express Shipping from Finland are both available with or without insurance. Finnish Posti service is available to everywhere except the US, albeit without insurance. Posti no longer sends packages of any kind to the US, only documents/letters. 

Be sure to check my other listings now and in the coming months as these items almost never turn up for sale, much less in this condition!

I do not use Mint (M) unless the album is sealed. Near Mint (NM) means I literally unsealed the record myself and played it once or twice to record it to cassette. Any surface noise is therefore a function of the pressing and not due to wear and tear. I do not use EX. 

Very Good Plus Plus (VG++) will show only very minor – if any – wear, has been extremely well taken care of and plays with top-notch sound. The cover is crisp with minimal defects, and the record label shows very few spindle marks or other signs of wear or damage. The vinyl retains full gloss and for 45s the picture sleeve is mostly intact. This is as close to NM as it going to get for 99% of rare vintage vinyl for sale anywhere. 

Very Good Plus (VG+) will show minor yet visible cover wear, has been well taken care of and still plays with generally excellent sound. Spindle marks on the label may be more pronounced, yet vinyl gloss and sonic clarity both remain solid and surface noise minimal. For 45s the picture sleeve is intact but has significant defects, such as seam splits, age-related discoloration, wrinkling or visible rubbing.

Very Good (VG) will show visible wear and tear on the cover, have significant spindle marks on the label and the vinyl will have lost some of its gloss and/or sonic clarity. Surface noise in evident. I will offer almost no LPs or 45s rated VG as I simply do not own them, except a very few that are exceptionally rare in any condition.