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SYL JOHNSON IS IT BECAUSE I M BLACK INSANELY RARE ORIGINAL 1970 TWINIGHT STEREO LP LPS-1002
ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING
ONE OF THE RAREST AND MOST COVETED SOUL ALBUMS IN HISTORY
ORIGINAL RED TWINIGHT LABEL WITH RED PRINT AND LARGE T LOGO
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
THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING
CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS
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
Johnson s first album Dresses Too Short was fairly innocuous good-time soul, but he d obviously been doing some thinking about the world around him in the interim between it and his second release. Is It Because I m Black is characterized by socially conscious songwriting, especially in the seven-and-a-half-minute title track, an elongated, serious statement of black pride with a sad funk-blues groove. It wouldn t be fair to call Johnson a bandwagon jumper this was before Sly Stone s There s a Riot and Marvin Gaye s What s Going On had made realistic ghetto songs chic, and it was a fairly gutsy move for a minor soul singer such as Syl to put such material to the forefront. While nothing else here matches that lost mini-classic, there are some good cuts along similar lines in which Johnson pleads for tolerance and justice, including covers of jazzman Oscar Brown s Black Balloons, and Joe South s Walk a Mile in My Shoes, and, less successfully, the Beatles Come Together. The album was reissued in conjunction with 1968 s Dresses Too Short on a single disc by Kent in 1997.
EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY RICHIE UNTERBERGER, ALL MUSIC GUIDE /ALLMUSIC.COM/
CONDITION:
THE 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 STRONG VG . A few light abrasions ARE VISIBLE, but they appear fairly insignificant relative to the overall condition of the vinyl, and are only moderately visually distracting. For most part, the vinyl looks impeccable, without any MAJOR visual flaws or imperfections. Much of the original luster is intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new. PLEASE NOTE: a long, but completely superficial, scuff extends along most of the side 1 and is not audible it is only a minor visual distraction.
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 Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording
THE COVER
THE COVER IS ABOUT VERY GOOD
The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:
- Cover has some light ring wear nothing significant On the scale from 1 to 10 1 being the least, and 10 being the most severe , we assess the severity of ring wear as 3 front side and 4 back side
- Back cover has circular tarnish grayish, dust-covered sections, which closely follow the contour of the record , probably caused by friction or by rubbing against other covers during the storage. The tarnish is similar in appearance to a common ring wear, but, UNLIKE ring wear, these grayish areas may be possible to clean up with a minor effort and with a right cleansing solution.
- Cover shows some light yellowing on both sides, apparently from aging nothing significant
- Cover has a few tiny wrinkles along the spine. nothing significant
- Cover has a small cutout hole punched IN THE LABEL AREA. This affects the record, which also has a small cutout hole in the label area.
- Front cover has a square-shaped razor-like line cut BARELY VISIBLE , as if someone attempted to cut away the shrink wrap with a razor, but inadvertently left the mark on the cover as well. The paper slick is intact and no part is missing, but the razor line is faintly visible.
- Cover has a partially split top seam between 2 and 4 inches / 5 to 10 centimeters
- Cover has a partially split bottom seam between 1 and 2 inches / 2.5 to 5 centimeters
- Cover has some fraying/wear along the top and bottom seams
