Free Jazz, Space Jazz, Psychedelic Jazz, Sun Ra, Improv, Space, Psych, Cassette, Orb Tapes - New
In November 1964, a number of New York musicians (including Sun Ra) formally banded together as the Jazz Composers Guild. Under JCG sponsorship, the series “Four Days in December” ran from December 28 through 31 at Judson Hall. Sun Ra and his Arkestra appeared on the 31st, along with the New York Art Quartet.
All of the music from the Four Days in December series was recorded by the JCG for its own label; a December 1964 announcement in Down Beat indicates that a sampler LP was planned as the first release. However, the Guild broke apart early in 1965, so this never came to pass. Later there were plans (again abortive) to issue the concerts on the Fontana label. Almost a dozen years later (1976), Sun Ra issued the LP "Featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold" [comprised of tracks 6–11 of this digital edition].
Ahmed Abdullah (and the first edition of The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra) gave the location and date as Cellar Café, New York City, June 15, 1964, but this cannot be right because at that time tenor saxophonist John Gilmore was still in the Arkestra. [Gilmore left the Arkestra in summer 1964 to go on tour—as Wayne Shorter's replacement—with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers; Gilmore is not on the Judson Hall dates.] The album serial number ["JHNY 165"] was clearly meant to indicate a concert at Judson Hall, New York City, in January 1965, and a copy in Alden Kimbrough’s possession bears the title Live at Judson Hall written on the cover in longhand. On Kimbrough’s copy Pharoah Sanders’ name is written on the label for Side A and Black Harold’s is written on Side B. The January '65 date seems to be a slightly inaccurate reference to the Four Days in December concerts. (1968 is incorrectly given as the date in some discographies.)
Basic personnel derived from a list given by members of the Arkestra to Bob Rusch. However, they forgot about Robert Northern. A review of Four Days in December by Don Heckman (Down Beat, February 11, 1965) gave a slightly different personnel list that referred to Pharoah as “Farrell Saunders,” added Ronnie Boykins (bass) and Jimmy Johnson (drums), and subtracted Cummings (bass clarinet) and Northern (French horn). Most likely Heckman was relying on a printed program (always dangerous with the Arkestra—there is no audible evidence that Ronnie Boykins was there, whereas Cummings and Northern definitely were). Heckman mentioned the titles “Other People’s Worlds” and “Water Lilies on Mars.” A.B. Spellman’s review of the concert indicates that “Water Lilies on Mars” was sung—which means it was not included on the 1976 Saturn LP. The Arkestra and the New York Art Quartet split the evening; the concert began no earlier than 8pm and finished at midnight. Most likely, then, some material from the Arkestra’s set remains unissued. [N.B. The full performance is included on this digital release.]
British discographer Mike Hames also mentioned a “Space Mates” from this session, but this was included on the LP (thanks to Julian Vein for this information). In the first edition of The Earthly Recordings, the Heckman and Hames information was thought to describe a different recording and was listed as a separate session.
According to Ra biographer John Szwed, Black Harold (or, as he was known in 1964 and identified by Heckman, Sir Harold) was formerly known as Harold Murray. He also played a large drum with the Arkestra (considerably larger than Jacson’s Ancient Egyptian Infinity Drum; regrettably, it does not appear on any known recordings). Harold also recorded in 1968 (as Sir Harold) with Galt MacDermot and (as Black Harold) with Big Black. According to Donald Leigh, he later changed his name to Brother Atu, and still later appeared as Atu Murray. Obviously a believer in having many names.
[Adapted from The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra, 2nd ed., 2000, by Robert L. Campbell and Christopher Trent]
Recorded at Judson Hall, New York on December 31, 1964, as part of the Jazz Composers Guild's Four Days In December festival
Sun Ra: piano, celeste
Pharoah Sanders: tenor sax
Marshall Allen: alto sax, flute, percussion
Danny Davis: alto sax, flute, percussion
Pat Patrick: baritone sax
Robert Cummings: bass clarinet, percussion
Teddy Nance: trombone
Bernard Pettaway: trombone
Robert Northern: French horn
Al Evans: trumpet, flugelhorn
Chris Capers: trumpet
Alan Silva: bass
Clifford Jarvis: drums
Black Harold [Harold Murray]: flute, log drum
Art Jenkins: space voice, percussion
Mastered by Michael D. Anderson of the Sun Ra Music Archive from the master tapes
Nasty, Gore, SOV, German, Bloodthirsty, Short Films, Snuff, Underground; Blu Ray - Ex Used condition
Quote: "Me and my girlfriend have killed dozens of people over the last years, worthless pieces of filth that won't be missed by anyone. We also captured some of our murders on video for a small group of like-minded people. But killing started to get boring, and so I decided to make my last dream become reality and have my girlfriend video tape it. For ages, I have been dreaming of inflicting actions of hatred and lust on a corpse, and then getting buried next to this last victim. So I kidnapped a 21 year old whore yesterday. I will kill her, bleed her, then let her ripen for four months, in order to commence with my final masterpiece. These are the videos leading up to my last, most depraved act. There is no dialogue in any of these shorts, which tell this story of madness through the actions of the killer. They consist of the following shorts: Snuff Tape 0 - Black & Died (4 min) Snuff Tape 1 - Red (6 min) Snuff Tape 2 - Red & Yellow (10 min) Snuff Tape 3 - Dead, Red & Brown (24 min) Snuff Tape 4 - Dead Fast Food (8 min) Snuff Tape 5 - Final Extreme Suicide (11 min) Snuff Tape 6 - Organ Trade Autopsy (6 min) Snuff Tape 7 - Gore (20 min) The Lost Snuff Tape - Dead Body (7 min)"
Japanese, Psych, Psychedelic, Japan, Guitar, Rock, Heavy, Rare, Import; 2xCD set - Ex Used condition
While the Sundays & Cybele of today is a very contemporary creature, integrating influences from both the then, and the now, "Gypsy House" reveals a band revelling in the trappings of the late sixties to the extent that it could quite convincingly be passed off as an artifact from that time. Group leader Kazuo Tsubouchi has stated in interviews that one of the main goals that he hopes to achieve through Sundays & Cybele's music is an increased awareness of classic Japanese psychedelia, and "Gypsy House" should certainly pique the curiosity of younger listeners, who haev yet to discover the delights of Blues Creation, Speed, Glue & Shinki and the likes. And likewise, listeners who are already fans of those artists will freak out when they hear this. A six track release, trimmed down from a longer digital release, this more streamlined version of the album is a heavy psych-lovers dream, with an exremely pronounced Jimi Hendrix influence, which I've rarely heard done better, aside from the maestro himself of course. Led by Kazuo Tsubouch's inspired guitar work, these six tracks have an average running time of around seven minutes, but never show signs of floundering. It's rare to hear a record where the jamming is this focussed. Tsubouchi's guitar takes the lead here, more often than the vocals even, with "Saint Song"s electric slide playing providing one of the album's most memorable riffs - think David Gilmour's playing on "One of these Days" given a kick in the pants. Psychedelic guitar lovers will be in absolute Heaven with this album.
Prog, Progressive, Robert Fripp, Art rock, Live, Box Set, Essential, Rare; 4CD + 72 page book Box Set - Ex Used condition
"The Great Deceiver" is an edited collection of tour material 1973-1974. Almost five hours of 47 selections are included in a handsome box, with a 72-page booklet full of relevant information. Many of the cuts are 9-12 min. long, with 4 around a minute. This means long, extended plays giving David Cross, Robert Fripp, John Wetton, and Bill Bruford plenty of space to stretch out in. There is a fifteen-minute song "A Voyage To The Center of the Cosmos," which will be sure to please. King Crimson's strongest line-up, they were even better on stage and this box set is perhaps the best representation of that, making it an essential purchase for King Crimson fans.
Anime, Hentai, Porn, Ecchi, Erotic, Adults Only, Rare; DVD - Ex Used condition
Probably one of the greatest 90s hentai/ecchi anime out there. Very sexy, and both hero and heroine are both pervs at heart. Definitely not for kids. Out of print for a long time now, and not looking like getting a reissue.
Skateboarding, Snowboarding, Boozey the Clown, Fights, Drunkenness, Pranks, Punk; VHS tape- VG Used condition
Early 90's....pre internet days, prior to Jackass and future cohorts. Skating was still dangerous...Big Brother magazine was pushing the envelope and the Whisky videos were delivering generous servings of Skating, Snowboarding, filth, ridiculous stunts, drunken fights, sick pranks, and punk energy. Those who cut their teeth on these videos know the importance of these tapes. and they are getting harder to come by....
Cult, Horror, Werewolf, Gore, Monster, Punk, Christopher Lee; Arrow Video 2 disc (Bluray and DVD) + 20 page booklet - Ex Used condition
How do you follow up a film as iconic as Joe Dante’s seminal werewolf epic The Howling? With a star turn from horror legend Christopher Lee and a leather-clad Sybil Danning (The Red Queen Kills Seven Times), Howling II is more than up to the challenge! After a young woman dies in violent circumstances, her brother is approached by a stranger (Lee) who reveals that she was in fact a werewolf. The brother’s initial skepticism is quickly diffused when he encounters the fanged beasts first-hand. Now the pair, joined by a plucky journalist, must travel to Transylvania to destroy werewolf queen Stirba (Danning), and rid the world of lycanthropes once and for all. Helmed by director Philippe Mora (Mad Dog Morgan, The Beast Within), who would go on to direct the equally barmy follow-up Howling III: The Marsupials, Howling II is a campy horror extravaganza featuring killer dwarves, werewolf orgies and ‘80s punk rock galore!
Deep Red, Horror, Thriller, Giallo, Slasher, Dario Argento, Cult, Classic, Splatter; Arrow Video Blu-ray - Ex Used condition
From Dario Argento, maestro of the macabre and the man behind some of the greatest excursions in Italian horror (Suspiria, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), comes Deep Red - the ultimate giallo movie. One night, musician Marcus Daly (David Hemmings, Blow-Up), looking up from the street below, witnesses the brutal axe murder of a woman in her apartment. Racing to the scene, Marcus just manages to miss the perpetrator... or does he? As he takes on the role of amateur sleuth, Marcus finds himself ensnared in a bizarre web of murder and mystery where nothing is what it seems... Aided by a throbbing score from regular Argento-collaborators Goblin, Deep Red (aka Profondo Rosso and The Hatchet Murders) is a hallucinatory fever dream of a giallo punctuated by some of the most astonishing set-pieces the sub-genre has to offer.
Slasher, Horror, Gore, Video Nasties, Cult, Banned; 2 disc (Blu-ray and DVD) + 36 page booklet - Ex Used condition
In the early 80s the cinema screens ran hot red with celluloid crimson such as Tobe Hooper’s freaky ‘Funhouse’ and Sam Raimi’s demonic ‘Evil Dead’ and another adamantine terror title that has stood the time no less rigorously is J.S Cardone’s undeniably sinister, surrealistic nightmare ‘The Slayer’ (1982). Like a goodly few grisly epics released back then, perhaps Cardone’s fear-soaked feature was simply too effective for its own good and was only generally seen in a heavily truncated version until its recent and somewhat miraculous-looking Blu-ray restoration! Two clean-cut, well to-do couples take a brief holiday break on a palpably eerie, apparently unpopulated island in picturesque, storm-lashed Georgia, where Eric (Frederick J. Flynn) pragmatic older brother to his increasingly depressed, nightmare-riddled artist sister Kay (Sarah Kendall) optimistically rented a rather isolated house for them, the amicable, close-knit friends flown there by the splendidly archetypal, doom-auguring pilot Marsh (Michael Holmes) and it is not long after their arrival that the monosyllabic, hatchet-faced Marsh ominously foreshadows: “This island is the sort of place folk’s dream about!’ and when the plainly anxious, long-suffering Kay’s surreal, deeply felt premonitions are so vividly emancipated from her fitful womb of sinister sleep into gruesome, wide-scream, blood n’ guts reality that ‘The Slayer’ becomes a truly unforgettable nightmare! Even when only previously seen in its crudely censored version ‘The Slayer’ maintained its intrinsic darkness; the film’s decidedly oppressive location and Kay’s awful solitude remained intact, her increasing hysteria and tangible descent into despair along with the film’s robust technical merits elevated it to being one of the more memorable, independently produced 80s slashers. And some modest intrigue remains whether director Cardone’s prescient horror visions penetrated Wes Craven’s fertile imagination to the point of perhaps infinitesimally influencing his sleep-depriving, box-office smashing ‘Elm Street’ franchise? Who knows? Now finally released fully uncut, ‘The Slayer’ is a once slumbering B-Movie behemoth angrily reborn, with its murderous horns demonstratively unclipped, the burnished HD format doing much to reveal the film’s diabolical depths of psychologically disturbing, pulse-paralysing terror lurking within!
Powell, Powell Peralta, Bines Brigade, Skate, Vintage, Classic; VHS Tape - Excellent Original Used condition
Quite rare and relatively forgotten Virgin/Powell Peralta/Bomb the Bass, music/skate video from 1989. This is a really great skate vid, and even though it's only just under 20 minutes long, it is highly regarded as a classic. This is not considered in the Powell video catalogue, or a Powell film. Filmed by legend CR Stecyk and features Bones Brigade and Powell skaters form 1989 before (Per Welinder, Frankie Hill, Tony Hawk etc), including clips from other Powell videos.
Avant Garde, Experimental, Dark, Gore, Disturbing, Cult, Underground; DVD and Booklet - New
This is not a casual movie-going experience; its unnerving, dark, and filled with upsetting imagery. This film is wholly avant-garde and has a sort of evil, misanthropic feel to it that's difficult to explain succinctly. For more daring viewers, though, E. Elias Merhige's "Begotten" offers a unique and somewhat terrifying experience that is not easily forgotten. The storyline, if you can call it that, plays out in three loose acts, each personified by the brutalization and unfortunate death of the "character," who are themselves representative of an axiom and/or figurehead in any number of Judo Christean and Pagan religions. Ostensibly, the three defining characters are credited as "God Killing Himself," "Son of Earth," and "Mother Earth," with the remaining, nameless characters credited as "Theatre of Material," which apparently was Merhige's production company. The overall look of the film harks strongly of early silent films, with loose blobs of shadow predominating and copious simulated scratches and aging present in nearly every frame. Its very cool to witness the obvious hard work that went into creating such a look. The imagery itself, though, is quite brutal and strong enough to ward off nearly all of the mainstream.
Mondo, Jacopetti, French, Film, Cult, Poster, Cinema, Vintage, Shocking; Cinema Poster (1975) - Ex Used condition
Original 1975 French cinema poster for Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi's 1975 (non-mondo) feature film Mondo Candido. The filmmakers base the film on a cynical satire `Candide' from the French writer Voltaire. Directors Jacopetti and Prosperi are known for their documentaries in which they have already presented the horrors of the world: MONDO CANE (part 1 and 2), AFRICA ADDIO and the very revolting ADDIO ZIO TOM. In comparison with other shockumentaries, all these movies are very well directed, have a racy comment and contain unforgettable images. "Mondo Candido" is a masterpiece. It's sensational, sometimes shocking but you will see a series of unforgettable images, very beautifully filmed, even though they are cruel, nihilistic and pessimistic. The superb musical score from Riz Ortolani is available now, but it is very difficult to find this exceptional movie.
