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·
BOB
DYLAN - SELF TITLED FIRST
ALBUM (“BOB DYLAN”) – INSANELY
RARE ORIGINAL 1962 COLUMBIA STEREO LP CS-8579
·
ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING
·
MONSTROUSLY RARE ORIGINAL, FIRST
PRESSING ON RED &
BLACK COLUMBIA "SIX EYE” LABEL
·
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS
NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.
·
ORIGINAL, THICK CARDBOARD COVER (AMERICAN STYLE)
·
CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS
·
THICK, HEAVY VINYL
PRESSING
·
COVER IS STILL IN ITS
ORIGINAL LOOSE-FITTING PLASTIC BAGGT Note: the previous owner taped the edges
of the plastic baggy along the opening slot to the INSIDE of the cover by using
two pieces of clear scotch tape (essentially, the plastic baggy serves as a protective shrink
wrap). We stress that the tape is not even touching the visible,
external part of the cover. This can be easily removed, .
·
MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) ENDS WITH
'-1C/1D'. ON SOME LABELS, SUFFIX '–1' DENOTES THE VERY FIRST, ORIGINAL
PRESSING)
·
MACHINE-STAMPED MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX)
OF THE RECORD
·
MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) ENDS WITH
'-1A/-1B'. ON SOME LABELS, SUFFIX '–1' DENOTES THE VERY FIRST, ORIGINAL
PRESSING)
(►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!)
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
By know you know that the
first pressing of Bob Dylan's first album on the impossible "six eye"
label is near-impossible to find: it can easily fetch upward of $2,000.00 on
the open market. And here’s why it is so rare:
About nine years ago, we met
at one of the local record shows in New York City a gentleman named Marc (we
did not remember his last name). At the time Dylan’s first record was released,
he was about 18 and – at least so he claimed – he was working as a bike messenger
for Columbia Records headquarters in NY City and had personally hand-delivered
a production order signed by John Hammond, Sr.
for 500 stereo and 3000 mono copies of this album. We do not have any
means of independently verifying this information, but judging by the colossal
rarity of this album, we find the story altogether credible.
And those 500 stereo copies
– that was it, folks. There was no
more. No additional press runs on this particular label was ever ordered.
Columbia would soon phase out the “six-eye” label altogether and introduce the
new, black and red “360 stereo label”, and so all subsequent pressings of this
album (as well as the first pressings
of the next four Dylan albums) would appear on this, new Columbia label.
We would be willing to bet
big money that, out of those 500 copies initially produced, less than 200
survive worldwide and that, out of those 200, probably less than 100 copies can
be accounted for. Of those 100,
probably less than 70 copies are in playable condition. How many of them are
still NEAR MINT after almost half a century? Nobody knows. Our qualified guess
is less than 50. This is one of those monumentally rare pieces. A cornerstone –
if not the proverbial Holy Grail – for any Dylan collector.
Now for the music: this
truly IS a piece of history: this is an album that announced Bob Dylan’s
arrival to the unsuspecting world; the work that started the entire Dylan cult,
which would follow merely a year or so later, on the heels of his next album
(“Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”). Capably produced by the legendary John Hammond, Sr.
(who, among others, discovered such stars as Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson,
Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen and was the father-in-law of Benny
Goodman and the father of John Hammond, jr (you figured as much, didn’t ya?) ,
the album shows Bob Dylan's deep and genuine love for all forms of archetypal
musical Americana, particularly traditionals, spirituals, folk, blues and work
song, but also his evolving, maturing ability as a songwriter.
Track listing: You're no
good -Talkin' New York - In my time of dying - Man of constant sorrow - Fixin'
to die - Pretty Peggy-O - Highway 51 - Gospel Plow - Baby, let me follow you
down - House of the risin' sun - Freight Train Blues - Song to Woody - See that
my grave is kept clean.
***
Bob Dylan's first album is a
lot like the debut albums by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones -- a sterling
effort, outclassing most, if not all, of what came before it in the genre, but
similarly eclipsed by the artist's own subsequent efforts. The difference was
that not very many people heard Bob Dylan on its original release (originals on
the early-'60s Columbia label are choice collectibles) because it was recorded
with a much smaller audience and musical arena in mind. At the time of Bob
Dylan's release, the folk revival was rolling, and interpretation was
considered more important than original composition by most of that audience. A
significant portion of the record is possessed by the style and spirit of Woody
Guthrie, whose influence as a singer and guitarist hovers over "Man of
Constant Sorrow" and "Pretty Peggy-O," as well as the two
originals here, the savagely witty "Talkin' New York" and the
poignant "Song to Woody"; and it's also hard to believe that he wasn't
aware of Jimmie Rodgers and Roy Acuff when he cut "Freight Train
Blues." But on other songs, one can also hear the influences of Bukka
White, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, and Furry Lewis, in the
playing and singing, and this is where Dylan departed significantly from most
of his contemporaries. Other white folksingers of the era, including his older
contemporaries Eric Von Schmidt and Dave Van Ronk, had incorporated blues in
their work, but Dylan's presentation was more in your face, resembling in some
respects (albeit in a more self-conscious way) the work of John Hammond, Jr.,
the son of the man who signed Dylan to Columbia Records and produced this
album, who was just starting out in his own career at the time this record was
made. There's a punk-like aggressiveness to the singing and playing here. His
raspy-voiced delivery and guitar style were modeled largely on Guthrie's
classic '40s and early-'50s recordings, but the assertiveness of the bluesmen
he admires also comes out, making this one of the most powerful records to come
out of the folk revival of which it was a part. Within a year of its release,
Dylan, initially in tandem with young folk/protest singers like Peter, Paul
& Mary and Phil Ochs, would alter the boundaries of that revival beyond
recognition, but this album marked the pinnacle of that earlier phase, before
it was overshadowed by this artist's more ambitious subsequent work. In that
regard, the two original songs here serve as the bridge between Dylan's
stylistic roots, as delineated on this album, and the more powerful and
daringly original work that followed. One myth surrounding this album should
also be dispelled here -- his version of "House of the Rising Sun"
here is worthwhile, but the version that was the inspiration for the Animals'
recording was the one by Josh White.
(REVIEW REPRINTED COURTESY OF BRUCE EDER,
ALL MUSIC GUIDE /ALLMUSIC.COM/)
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·
CONDITION:
·
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 NEAR MINT.
Some VERY LIGHT AND SUPERFICIAL abrasions – mostly sleeve scuffs - are (barely) visible, but are probably
inaudible, and do not affect visual
integrity or beauty of the vinyl. The original luster is very much intact, and
the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.
(b)
The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which
was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on
such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not
expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!
(c)
Stereo pressing of this title
is much rarer, and by far more preferable to its