BERTIE - algy lord gray (1971, uk) vinyl lp sclp 014

BERTIE - algy lord gray (1971, uk)

gatefold sleeve

Fmt: LP Ltd 500   sclp 014   5033281011392  

Tracklist

The greatest lp ever made, a gloriously mad Kinks-influenced underground edwardian progressive

masterpiece, bertie is a deranged subversive and witty concept album about a man’s descent into ruin,

‘Dragonfly Wings’ combines proto Motorik drumming predating Neu with Hawkwind and Incredible

String Band influences, finished off with Noel Coward-y nuances. The surefire future hit ‘Would You

Like a Brown Ale?’ is pure Ray Davies filtered through the demented minds of this ex-Etonian band

of dissipated Aristocratic youths mangling La Bamba into a Kinksian breakdown, ‘Would You LikeTo

Score? says it like it is, without the wishy washy metaphors of the proletarian bands of the time, there is

no ‘purple haze’ here, only, ‘where can we buy drugs’. Post Hellfires, Bertie ends trouserless and ruined

on the streets in the ultimate track. Far better than SF Sorrow, Tommy or Arthur, Bertie is a powerful

argument for the return of a feudal system and a new British Empire. To reiterate, Bertie is the greatest

LP ever made, and we wish to the gods we could press it on Shellac. Only 2 or 3 original lps are known to

exist, with fabulous hand sprayed covers. It’s as if Noel Coward, Hawkwind, The Incredible String Band,

Neu, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and The Kinks were scrambled together in a disastrous Star Trek

Teleportation accident. THE BEST LP IN THE WORLD. In 1970 the Berties took over a crumbling

mansion in the wilds of Wales, they made this lp, sent it to John Peel (whose letter of reply is reproduced

on the sleeve), and never left. They remain in Wales to this day. Originals valued at over £4000.