PHIL OCHS All The News That's Fit To Sing ELEKTRA RARE UK 1st Press EX Audio

	£		35
	$		46

A BREAKDOWN OF THE ARTIST/S :-

Born 19 December 1940, El Paso, Texas, USA, d. 9 April 1976, Far Rockaway, New York, USA. A superior singer-songwriter, particularly adept at the topical song, Phil Ochs began his career at Ohio State University. He initially performed in a folk-singing duo, the Sundowners, before moving to New York, where he joined the radical Greenwich Village enclave. Ochs' early work was inspired by Woody Guthrie, Bob Gibson and Tom Paxton, and its political nature led to his involvement with the Broadside magazine movement. The singer was signed to the prestigious Elektra Records label, and through his initial work was hailed as a major new talent. He achieved popular acclaim when Joan Baez took one of his compositions, "There But For Fortune', into the pop charts. Ochs" own version later appeared on his In Concert, the artist's best-selling set which also featured the evocative "When I'm Gone" and the wry "Love Me I'm A Liberal'. Ochs" move to A&M Records in 1967 signalled a new phase in his career. Pleasures Of The Harbor, which included the ambitious "Crucifixion", emphasized a greater use of orchestration, as well as an increasingly rock-based perspective. He remained a lyrical songwriter; his sense of melody was undiminished, but as the decade's causes grew increasingly blurred, so the singer became disillusioned.

Although Rehearsals For Retirement documented the political travails of a bitter 1968, the sardonically titled Phil Ochs Greatest Hits showed an imaginative performer bereft of focus. He donned a gold lam‚ suit in a misguided effort to "wed Elvis Presley to the politics of Che Guevara', but his in-concert rock 'n' roll medleys were roundly booed by an audience expecting overt social comment. This period is documented on the controversial Gunfight At Carnegie Hall. Ochs" later years were marked by tragedy. He was attacked during a tour of Africa and an attempted strangulation permanently impaired his singing voice. Beset by a chronic songwriting block, Ochs sought solace in alcohol and although a rally/concert in aid of Chile, An Evening With Salvador Allende, succeeded through his considerable entreaties, he later succumbed to schizophrenia. Phil Ochs was found hanged at his sister's home on 9 April 1976. One of the finest performers of his generation, he was considered, at least for a short time, Bob Dylan's greatest rival.

Discography:
All The News That's Fit To Sing (Elektra 1964)****, I Ain't Marching Any More (Elektra 1965)****, Phil Ochs In Concert (Elektra 1966)***, Pleasures Of The Harbor (A&M 1967)****, Tape From California (A&M 1968)***, Rehearsals For Retirement (A&M 1969)****, Phil Ochs Greatest Hits (A&M 1970)***, Gunfight At Carnegie Hall (A&M 1971)**, There And Now: Live In Vancouver (Rhino 1991)***.

THE HISTORY OF THE RECORD :- All The News That's Fit to Sing was Phil Ochs' first official album. Recorded in 1964 for Elektra Records, it was full of many elements that would come back throughout his career. It was the album that defined his "singing journalist" phase, strewn with songs whose roots were allegedly pulled from Newsweek magazine. It is one in a long line of folk albums used to tell stories about everyday struggles and hardships.

Among these stories was that of William Worthy, an American journalist who traveled to Cuba in spite of an embargo on the country who was forbidden to return to the United States. Civil rights figures Medgar Evers and Emmett Till were lionized in "Too Many Martyrs" (alternatively known as "The Ballad of Medgar Evers".) Two "talking blues" using the melody to the old folk song "John Hardy" jabbed sarcastic at Vietnam and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Even a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Bells", was set to music. "The Thresher" was an ode to the sinking of the nuclear-powered American submarine, the USS Thresher: "And she'll always run silent/And she'll always run deep." Also included was one of Ochs' widest known songs, "Power and the Glory".

The title references the motto of The New York Times, "All the news that's fit to print." The Times was founded by Adolph Ochs (no relation to Phil), so this may be a joke or allusion to the coincidence

THE COVER :- Single laminated sleeve

THE LABEL :- Elektra labels

THE VINYL VISUALLY :- On initial inspection of this piece of vinyl there are a few areas worthy of pointing out. The vinyl sits perfectly flat on the turntable so there are no nasty warps to worry about. There are 3 or 4 light scuffs on Side One and 4 or 5 on Side Two, there are also a couple of small light scratches on either side of the vinyl. None of these marks are deep though The vinyl does show lots of original shine still. Graded as Very Good visually

THE VINYL PLAY GRADED :- The playgrading of the vinyl reveals only a slight lessening in the sound quality. It plays far better than the visuals might suggest. There is only some light surface noise in the form of a little crackle. What crackle that can be heard is very low level and does in no way spoil the enjoyment of the album. It is mainly confined to inbetween tracks. There are no pops, jumps or skips. The sound quality is still very high with a full dynamic range and very detailed sound. It is a thick piece of vinyl and the general rule is that the thicker the vinyl the better the sound quality and this album is no exeption. I would grade the audio playback as Near Excellent to Excellent condition.

THE SLEEVE FRONT CONDITION :- This is the very earliest 1st press laminated sleeve. The front of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or evidence of previously removed stickers. The sleeve reveals only extremely light ringwear and no creases. There is some light laminate lift on the opening edge at the top which goes about a third of the way down. The four corners are showing bumps, none too bad with the top left being the most significant. The colours are still bright and crisp with only the surface of the laminate showing a little pitting. I would grade the front of the cover as Excellent condition for its age. 

THE SLEEVE REAR CONDITION :- The rear of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or evidence of previously removed stickers. There are no creases on the rear of the sleeve and no ringwear. Just some very light corner and seam wear. I would say the white has gotten slightly grubby but all the album notes are clearly legible. I would grade the rear as Excellent condition for its age.

THE LABEL SIDE ONE CONDITION :- Original Elektra textured 1st Press label in excellent order free from stickers or writing and no damage at all, light signs of play around the spindle hole. Excellent condition.

THE LABEL SIDE TWO CONDITION :- Original Elektra textured 1st Press label in slightly damaged order free from stickers, light signs of play around the spindle hole. Very Good condition.

THE SPINE CONDITION :- The writing on the spine is crystal clear, no spine splits at all just very light signs of shelfwear in the two corners. Excellent condition

THE INNER SLEEVE CONDITION :- Generic white inner in Very Good condition, slightly yellowed

THE EXTRAS :- No extras were given with this album

THE CATALOGUE NUMBER :- EKL 269

THE YEAR OF RELEASE :-  1965

THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN :-  UK

PLAYING FORMAT :- MONO

THE MATRIX NUMBERS :-  EKL-269-MK-A  &  EKL-269-UK-B

TRACK LISTING :-

SIDE ONE :-

1. ONE MORE PARADE
2. THE THRESHER
3. TALKING VIETNAM
4. LOU MARSH
5. POWER AND THE GLORY
6. CELIA
7. THE BELLS

SIDE TWO :-

1. AUTOMATION
2. BALLAD OF WILLIAM WORTHY
3. KNOCK ON THE DOOR
4. TALKING CUBAN CRISIS
5. BOUND FOR GLORY
6. TOO MANY MARTYRS
7. WHAT'S THAT I HEAR

WHAT WE PLAY THE RECORD ON :- 

We use a Project 6 Perspex Turntable to play grade our records which delivers a rich authoritative sound and achieves a rich and weighty vibrancy unrivalled by the majority of decks within its price range

HOW WE CLEAN YOUR RECORD :- 

We use a V.P.I. HW-16.5 record cleaning machine to clean your vinyl. "A highly recommended machine" as quoted by Stereophile magazine. This removes any excess dirt before playing

HOW WE PACKAGE YOUR RECORD :- 

Your record will be package very securely to minimise any risk of damage during transit. We remove the record from the outer sleeve unless asked not to do so. This helps to minimise the risk of seam spliting. We use a high quality record mailer which is designed to give superior protection for your vinyl record. We place stiffeners either side of the record for added protection. The album will also be placed in a 450 gram Poly outer sleeve for even extra added protection

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING CHARGES FOR UK CUSTOMERS :-

We advise that items reaching over £50 in price to be insured and sent by Special Delivery. This protects both of us and ensures better handling of the parcel during transit.We are in no way out to make money from postage. The postage price includes the record mailer, stiffeners and plastic sleeve. We just want your item to reach you in the best possible condition. A breakdown of insured postal services are listed below. Please choose to use the relevant postal service for your own protection as once these rare records are lost they can quite often seldom be replaced

SECOND CLASS RECORDED (INSURED UP TO £50) :- FREE

FIRST CLASS RECORDED (INSURED UP TO £50) :- £0.45

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY UPTO 500g :-£3.80

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY FROM 500g - 1000g :- £5.00

(SPECIAL DELIVERY INSURES YOUR ITEM UPTO £500)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION :-    

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the European Union by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £6.22 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £11.37 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £13.97 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE USA AND CANADA :- 

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the USA & Canada by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £8.78 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £13.93 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.53 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN AND ROW :- 

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the Australia & Japan by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS :- £9.06 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £14.21 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.81 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT PROFIT FROM POSTAGE, THE PRICES WE QUOTE ARE QUITE ACCURATE AND INCLUDE THE PACKAGING MATERIALS AT COST PRICE

NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:

PLEASE AWAIT AN INVOICE BEFORE PAYING SO WE CAN WORK OUT THE CORRECT POSTAGE/SHIPPING CHARGES

BUYERS OF MULTIPLE ITEMS :- 

Postage prices and courier methods for multiple purchases will be calculated after the auction end. It is impossible for us at the pre auction stage to determine these prices as the final weight is unknown.If you are the winner of multiple items the please await contact from us or alternately contact us yourself for a breakdown of the shipping costs.You will only pay the stamp price + relevant packaging charges so there are big savings to be made with multiple purchases

HOW TO PAY FOR YOUR RECORD :-

We can accept the following payment methods

UK BUYERS :- 

• PayPal
• Personal cheque (Please allow to clear)
• Bankers Draft
• Postal Order

OVERSEAS BUYERS :-

• Paypal only

TERMS AND CONDITIONS :-

We always try to appraise the record for sale as openly and honestly as possible and provide plenty of pictures for you to look at but please be aware that errors however rare do occur and not everyone has the same audio  equipment. There is no problem that cannot be worked out in a civilised manner. We urge you to contact us so that we can discuss any small problems that may occur. We offer a refund of the purchase price for returned items within 7 days of purchase and are happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have during the auction

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