KIM FOWLEY Day Earth Stood Still 1970 SWEDEN ONLY PSYCH

$

93

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

KIM FOWLEY "The Day The Earth Stood Still"

Original 1970 LP on the Swedish MNW label, STEREO MNWP7

COVER:  EXCELLENT shape

VINYL:  CLEAN, plays VG++ with occasional light pops

Kim Fowley was in Sweden when he recorded this solo LP, 1970’s The Day The Earth Stood Still, easily his rarest offering.  Finally away from the Sixties Sunset Strip scene, Kim was soaking up some very different European prog/psych sounds working with bands like Wigwam, Scorpion and the Van-less Them, otherwise known as the Belfast Gipsies.  As a result, The Day The Earth Stood Still shows a remarkably mature, polished and melodic Kim Fowley that hadn’t really been heard from before (or since), most notably on the beautiful jazzy prog rock of “Pray For Rain,” which sounds very influenced by the Wigwam album Tombstone Valentine he was producing.  That also goes for the piano-based “Birth Of A Nation,” which speaks to America from Sweden by an American, go figure. 

That’s a theme throughout The Day The Earth Stood Still that seems a little strange.  Kim speaks to America more than ever before, certainly more than Born To Be Wild did.  On past albums, he was more occupied with documenting the seedy underside of his L.A. home, or promoting some sort of ambiguous uprising.  But here, speaking like some enlightened exile outside his homeland, he preaches political awareness and peace on songs like the extended Seeds-like garage punker “Man Without A Country,” and then begs the question “Is America Dead?” on the 8-minute closer.  Which gives Kim a good three minutes or so to ad-lib on America’s future during the midsection, and comes off sounding like a slightly more coherent political cousin to Jim Morrison’s “Rock Is Dead” and makes me wonder who may have had access to whose song first.  I also like how he ends the song with a spoken “I am it, and you are it, and she is it, and that is that.”  If that ain’t a great little dig at “I am the lizard king, and I can do anything,” then it should be.

True, Kim is still a bit of a goof-off on a few tracks here – “The Final Ocean” is a throwaway, and the track called “I Was A Communist For the FBI” simply doesn’t exist (the album side lists 6 tracks but there are only 5).  And what might be Kim’s most serious political rant on his homeland begins with a pre-Clash rockabilly take on “Cadillac” that has nothing to do with what follows.  Even so, you get the feeling that The Day The Earth Stood Still is probably Kim Fowley’s finest hour, a dash of frantic soapbox outsider Kim filtered through a new, more refined, more European Kim we’ve never heard before.  Why, he even looks like a dandy prophet on the back cover.  Odd that Kim’s best (and rarest) album should be recorded in Sweden.  Maybe it’s got something to do with the girls there.

HEAR IT!

UPDATE:  SORRY, I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).

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. 

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.