Burroughs, William S.

From the Archives of William S. Burroughs: "Nothing Here Now but the Recordings"

London, England, UK: Industrial Records Ltd., 1981. First U.K. Edition. Vinyl LP Record in Sleeve. "About These Recordings: The recordings on this album have been selected from a large number of reel to reel and cassette tapes stored in the William S. Burroughs Communications Archive in Kansas. Most of the tapes were made on domestic recorders and on some there was large-scale physical deterioration. Hi-Fi quality was impossible and the sound varies considerably. It is important also to understand that these are not recordings of (WSB's) readings of prose, nor were they intended when they were made to be seen as finished "works" or art. The participants were thinking about alterations and the potentialities of the taperecorder. These are primarily notes on experiments with recording and playback techniques that were first initiated by Brion Gysin in Room number 25, 9 Rue Git le Coeur, Paris in 1959 as he applied his Cut-up principle to different media." (Genesis P-Orridge, from back cover notes) A classic audio production by William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), Founding Father of the Beat Generation-&-beyond, among the greatest literary & cultural figures of all time, the very Patron-Icon of our Third Mind enterprise. Most of the recordings herein were made during the early-mid 1960s, with one ("Creepy Letter- Cut-up at The Beat Hotel in Paris") from c. 1959 & another ("We See The Future Through The Binoculars Of The People") from C. 1978. We here offer the first (UK) edition, 12" LP record in sleeve, first pressing, published simultaneously or shortly before the first American edition. With all points in Schottlaender (5.0 edition), E23(A), pg. 138. Genesis P-Orridge (b. Neil Andrew Megson, 1950-2020), the great British musician-artist who was an important WSB acolyte-collaborator, provided the sleeve notes quoted above; & his colleague Peter Christopherson (1955-2010) was the sleeve designer & photographer. Industrial Records, the publisher of this production, was also the label of P-Orridge, Christopherson et al.'s influential musical-performance group Throbbing Gristle. Acknowledgement is also given to James Grauerholz (b. 1952), WSB's companion, agent & successor; Brion Gysin (1916-1986), WSB's greatest friend & collaborator who introduced him to the Cut-up concept; & Ian Sommerville (1940-1976), an important earlier WSB associate. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed friend in the UK who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England, founded by Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American expatriate poet, publisher & bookseller). From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Unicorn proffered & published many outstanding productions by WSB, J.G. Ballard et al., some of which have become the scarcest, all-but-unobtainable Beat-&-Beyond collectibles (see for example our item No.s 8217, 8366). After prevailing against censorious harrassment efforts, Unicorn closed & Butler died in short order. Cupidi went on to found the Public House Bookshop in Brighton, which had a long & successful run but is also now closed, & he still resides there. We have been honored to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining gems (such as this) of Unicorn & Public House, some of which have become the stuff myth. Third Mind Books is in the process of reverently curating & incrementally presenting the Butler-Cupidi-Unicorn-Public House legacy that is in our custodial hands- until it passes to yours. An essential WSB collectible recording in its rarest contemporary form, with the highest & most relevant provenance. Record (which we dare not play) appears in relatively near-fine condition with minor rubbing, occasional faint scratching & slight detritus at both sides, in (presumably publisher's) clear protective inner sleeve. Outer sleeve (again relatively) good-to-near-fine with mild rubbing, light creasing, faint scratching, occasional minor "bubbling" of over-laminate, very slight age-toning & spotting to front, back covers & spine; light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same; upper edge of rear cover detached but completely intact. Outer sleeve is enclosed in previous seller's thick clear protective jacket, in fine condition with light rubbing, faint scratching to outer surfaces. Near Fine / (Sleeve) Good- Near Fine. [Item #8367]

Price: $80.00