Led Zeppelin - Jimmy Page - Promotional 8 x 10 Inch Bath Festival Vintage Photograph - 1970

Vintage promotional photograph of Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin on stage at the 1970 Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. This original photograph was obtained from the archives of the London Features stock photo agency, which licensed photographs to magazines and newspapers on behalf of photographers. On the back is a stamp and a later sticker from London Features, and some handwritten notes.

It is an original hand-printed photograph, made from the original negative.  In excellent condition, measures 8 x 10 inches.

Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks - Columbia Records Reference Acetate - 1974 - Unreleased Original Version

Here is one of only 3 known acetates of the original version of Bob Dylan’s 1975 masterpiece Blood on the Tracks.  Dylan originally recorded the album at A&R Studios in New York City in September 1974. When he played his brother an acetate of the record, David Zimmerman thought Bob could do better and urged him to rerecord some of the songs.  In December, Dylan went back into the studio, this time, Studio 80 in Minneapolis, with musicians recruited by his brother.  The released version of Blood on the Tracks mixed five songs from the New York sessions with five recorded in Minneapolis.

This is an extremely rare acetate of the original (and unreleased) version of Blood on the Tracks, with only versions of the songs from the New York sessions.  The versions of “Tangled Up In Blue”, “You’re A Big Girl Now”, “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts”, “Idiot Wind”, and “If You See Her Say Hello” all differ dramatically from the final, released versions (and there are some alternate lyrics).

In the 42 years since the album’s release, only three acetates of the original version have emerged, with perhaps four or five more test pressings. An extremely rare Dylan collectible.

Joseph Spence - Happy All The Time - Elektra Records - 1964 - 1st Pressing LP

Joseph Spence’s ultra rare Elektra album “Happy All The Time.” This 1964 album of folk/blues guitar with vocals by the legendary Spence was recorded in Nassau, Bahamas by Paul Rothschild and Fritz Richmond of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band.  Its reputation has grown over they years, with Spence’s unique playing acclaimed by guitarists from Ry Cooder to Henry Kaiser. One of the rarest albums on the Elektra label.

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Pregnant - Metro records - German Issue LP - 1972

German first pressing of The Mothers of Invention’s 1972 compilation album Pregnant, on Metro/MGM Records.  This compilation of the Mothers’ best Verve material is packaged in a laminated sleeve picturing Frank Zappa knitting while listening to the radio!

Most people are quite certain that there has never been a US Pregnant releaase, here are the track listings for the single LP version:

Side 1

  1. Hungry Freaks, Daddy (03:30)

  2. How Could I Be Such a Fool? (03:28)

  3. Uncle Bernie's Farm (02:09)

  4. Son of Suzy Cream Cheese (01:37)

  5. Love of My Life (03:05)

  6. Who Needs the Peace Corps? (02:46)

Side 2

  7. Mother People (02:34)

  8. Jelly Roll Gum Drop (02:17)

  9. Who Are the Brain Police? (03:30)

10. I Ain't Got No Heart (02:35)

11. Trouble Comin' Every Day (02:35)

12. Motherly Love (02:47) 

The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated Promo Only 12 Inch EP - Fully Signed - 1988

A fully autographed copy of the rare 1988 promotional only Ramones 12 inch EP featuring “I Wanna Be Sedated” (The Updated Sedated Radio Mix)/”I Wanna Be Sedated” (Ramones-On-45 Mega Mix!)/Indian Giver.

This was released to promote their first greatest hits album, Ramones Mania, and the Mega-Mix is a rare B-Side Stars-on-45 type mix combining “Sedated” with “Teenage Lobotomy”, “Rock N Roll High School”, “Blitzkrieg Bop”, “Sheena is a Punk Rocker”, and “Pinhead”.

The psychedelic cover has been boldly signed by Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Marky Ramone. Gabba Gabba Hey!

Neil Young - Re-Ac-Tor Gold Star Acetate - 1981

Here’s an ultra rare Neil Young’s artifact,Neil’s very own acetate for his 1981 album Re-ac-tor, acquired directly from photographer Joel Bernstein.

This letter is to authenticate a Gold Star acetate of Neil Young’s 1981 album Re-ac-tor. This uses the original song titles for “Opera Star” (Born to Rock) and for “Surfer Joe and Moe The Sleeze” (just “Moe The Sleeze”), and has an engineer’s notes on the label. I was working for Neil at the time, and he gave this to me. I photographed Neil Young for the first time at his first East Coast show with Crazy Horse, at the Bitter End in New York City, in February 1969. I went on to work with Neil extensively, as both his and CSNY’s tour photographer, and shooting him for eighteen of his album covers (including After The Gold Rush, Harvest, Time Fades Away, Tonight’s The Night, Decade and Rust Never Sleeps) plus numerous other official projects including publicity, advertising, songbooks and posters. On various tours from 1973-1993, I also worked with Neil as his guitar technician and served as his archivist for 20 years, researching and presenting him with every source for audio, artwork and text used in his massive box set Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972. During the course of working for Neil, he gave me various acetates, test pressings, set lists and other memorabilia. Neil knew I was a collector and he wasn’t, so once he was done with things like this, instead of throwing them away, he often gave it to me. This is one of those items, from my personal collection. Sincerely, Joel Bernstein.

Bob Dylan - 4 Dylan Owned Unreleased Acetates Ball and Stripe Rag AKA Little Sadie - 1970

A 10” acetate of an unreleased, alternate version of Bob Dylan’s “In Search of Little Sadie”
(titled here  “Ball & Stripe Rag”) from his 1970 album Self Portrait. This acetate was previously owned by Dylan and used during the making of that album. The version is just voice and guitar; it was completely unreleased until a different mix of it appeared on The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969-1971).

This acetate was part of a collection of Dylan acetates discovered this year in a five story brownstone at 124 West Houston Street in Greenwich Village. From approximately 1969 through 1972, Dylan rented the ground  floor of the building for use as a studio (at the time, he lived two blocks away at 94 McDougal St.). When the owner of the building died in January 2014, her executor found the acetates in two boxes labeled “Old Records,” in a a loft closet above the bedroom. The discovery of these acetates received extensive media coverage in publications including The New York Times, Wall St. Journal, Rolling Stone, and Billboard.

The Houston, St. Studios acetates originally belonged to Bob Dylan, who either discarded them or left them when he moved out of the building in the early 1970’s. For more than 40 years, they were carefully stored by the building’s owner, and only discovered by chance by before the building was put up for sale earlier this year. 

Article courtesy of Rolling Stone Magazine.

Article courtesy of The New York Times

John Lee Hooker - The Big Soul of John Lee Hooker - Vee Jay SR-1058 LP - 1963

This is an original Near Mint Cover/Record first pressing sample of the 1963 album The Big Soul of John Lee Hooker, on Vee Jay Records. This thick vinyl pressing has the black and rainbow Vee-Jay brackets label, and the Chicago address album cover. A beautiful example of an historic John Lee Hooker album.