Item Description
THE MASTER S APPRENTICES A TOAST TO PANAMA RED LP ORIGINAL 1971 LP on the UK REGAL ZONOPHONE label, STEREO SLRZ 1022 COVER IN EXCELLENT shape, real nice VINYL has a slight warp at the start of the album side, didn t do a thing on my turntable, and as you can hear below, it plays a very nice VG to EXCELLENT throughout.
Nice play copy of this MONSTER GRAIL A Toast To Panama Red turned out to be Aussie garage psych legends the Masters Apprentices swan song in 1971.
They went off in style, recording in London s prestigious Abbey Road studios, and the influence shows.
Not only in their Beatlish songwriting Beneath The Sun has a nice circular guitar pattern that makes it sound like an updated-for-the-Seventies version of Dear Prudence but also in their liberal use of the studio s sound effects library.
Specifically the sonic pings, whoops, bells and whistles taking place behind the beautiful No Thyme To Rhyme, an ethereal ballad from one of Ray Bradbury s electronic veldts.
Pink Floyd also recorded at Abbey Road and no doubt raided the same sonic embellishments.
But despite the freakish bulldog-on-brown-acid album cover, this album isn t all trippy freakouts.
Southern Cross is a big hairy guitar rocker s delight, a hotwired electric showcase for wringing out all the Hendrix like riffs you can muster.
And the simple heavy riff that drives The Lesson So Listen is supposed to be a tribute to Robert Fripp the band says so but to me, it sounds more like a loving ode to Norman Greenbaum s Spirit In The Sky than, say, 21st Century Schizoid Man.
The acoustic singalong Love Is is a strummin good instantly likeable treat, and with the added help of some groovy Mariachi horns, sounds like something off Love s Forever Changes, or what the Beatles might ve come up with if they were asked to score a Sergio Leone Western.
Games We Play, meanwhile, is clearly supposed to be the band s major statement a 13-minute epic finale divided into Parts 1 and 2 like they were trying to steal Roger Dean for their next album cover which, admittedly, would be a significant upgrade .
Part 1 starts out with a big heavy mastodon guitar riff which no one could possibly withstand for the entire 13 minute duration, so thankfully things pipe down after a few minutes, and it turns into something that sounds like a folky interlude on a Jethro Tull album.
Part 2 brings back the big doomy apocalyptic backing band again, only this time we get a spoken word recital from Kahlil Gibran not him, of course, but someone in the band reading his poetry.
It all sounds like the Moody Blues if they weren t so damned hippie-dippie all the time.
And even though the band claim none of the panama red they honor was consumed during the recording of this album, I betcha it was consumed en masse on the cab ride to the studio.
Whatever, A Toast To Panama Red is clearly the sound of a band finally living out their dream.
Getting to record in the world s most famous studio, knowing it would be their swan song and laying down the kind of stuff they always wanted to record, charts be damned.
No wonder it s now considered their finest and heaviest moment.
As such, the final track here, No Thyme To Rhyme, becomes their de facto farewell a haunting, solemn sendoff for Aussie s finest.
Using all the pings, zips and birdcalls Abbey Road could offer, they ride off into the sunset like the sonic cowboys they always wanted to be, channeling Syd Barrett and John Lennon on a search for more of that groovy Panama Red.
They didn t last as long as they should ve, but they left us with some great music.
And a freakish, defiant and powerful finale.
What a short, strange trip it s been.
HEAR IT ...
PLEASE NOTE I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM THERE, NOT HERE .
BUYERS FROM ITALY AGREE TO PAY FOR GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL INSURED ONLY 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.
Overseas shipping has, unfortunately, gone way up in the fast few months, which translates to 15 for the first LP to Canada 3 each one thereafter and 24 for the first LP everywhere else in the world, with each add l LP an extra 5 so it pays to buy more, nudge nudge wink wink .
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.
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.
