NIGHTCRAWLERS Little Black Egg '66 ORIG GARAGE PSYCH LP

$

82

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

THE NIGHTCRAWLERS "The Little Black Egg"

Original 1966 white label pr0m0 LP on the KAPP label, KL1520

COVER:  VG, top seam 5" split, light ringwear, "5151" written on both sides of label

VINYL:  Still shiny, light handling scuffs only, very nice, plays VG+ to VG++

“Little Black Egg,” of course, is a jangle garage pop classic, heavily comped and known by pretty much every music fan in the world except those who worship Lady Gaga and Dashboard Confessional.  Sung in a hysterical backwoods drawl that occasionally hiccups into something akin to the Fendermen’s “Mule Skinner Blues“ crossed with a Buddy Holly impersonator, and produced with the budgetary restraints of Rip Taylor’s $1.98 Beauty Show, “Little Black Egg” sounds like good ol’ Southern backporch folk garage at its finest.  So I’m shocked to hear that it was, at the time, perceived as a call for interracial sex – “my little black egg with the little white specks” I guess.  I’ve never read it that way myself and still don’t.  I just think it’s a guy in overalls with a wheat sprig hanging out of his mouth who’s just found a weird bird egg and doesn’t want his friends to find out.  I did that with a Gardner snake once.  It was black with white specks.  And no one accused me of promoting interracial sex.  That wasn’t until much later when I first saw Pam Grier.

Little Black Egg, the motion picture – er, I mean the full album – has a few more garage surprises up its sleeve.  “Cry” is a great snotty punker that breaks into a delirious “Psychotic Reaction” gallop halfway through, with the singer imploring his group “faster, faster” and “a little more soul” inbetween yelps and screams like a hayseed Isley Brothers.  “Who Knows” is a moody, somber garage punker with an ominous, percolating dark vibe and a singer who sounds like he’s planning a murder.  And what has to be the single most inept guitar solo in the history of music.  Only the jangly and trippy “Basket of Flowers” – which, by the way, single-handedly supplies the template for REM’s first three albums – warrants the crude psychedelic album cover.  But then again, the Nightcrawlers aren’t supposed to bend your mind.  They’re supposed to make you get up and dance.  And drink lots of moonshine.  Then, while you’re passed out or too tired to notice, they start hitting on your black girlfriend.  Little white specks, indeed.

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.