Original USA 7"
Rock and Roll Records (R-002)
Super rare and legendary holy grail USA punk single. Only two of these have surfaced on Ebay before this one. Only two known copies of his first single survive, and this second single isn't far behind. An unsettling 7 minute journey through a homicidal/suicidal fantasy that builds and pushes to the limit of a tortured mind. The b side tracks are his odes to life in and out of psychiatric hospital but are more in the loner style than punk.
I'd like to thank Victim of Time for this introduction to the incredible story of John Timmis:
"Chicago's most notorious and elusive loner punk from the golden era, J.T. IV has been evading the spotlight since his first primordial crawl back in the late 1970s that spawned his unearthly brand of psychotic desperation. He brazenly meshed trashy punked-out glam, creepy outsider folk, and noisy basement experimentation into a pattern of controlled chaos that defies all feasible geographical logic. With only one seemingly solid friendly musical relationship in the loosely-knit Chicago "scene" with Sundog Summit's Lee Groban at the time, everything about the J.T. IV saga seem to perfectly encapsulate the "loner/outsider punk" motif, as a poignant example.
As the story goes, Timmis was institutionalized in 1976 at Menninger Clinic for schizophrenia, and from the sound of "In The Can," it's evident that his inner torment from living life in the gutters, struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism, truncated his mental state and he literally has the songs to prove it. His debut single, "Waiting For The CTA" saw the light of day in 1980, and like the rest of the J.T. IV releases, was produced in a tiny run of less than 200 copies, thereby isolating his influence almost by default. The song still rings true as anyone who's ever had to wait on the buses or trains here knows, and plays a cheesy homage to The Velvet Underground's "Waiting For My Man" with a clowny yet perfect sax track. But it's just the tip of the iceberg as tracks like "Monitors" "Out of the Can," and "Song for Suzanne" really cut beneath the surface of the tortured soul at hand and reveal a genuine vulnerable honesty that seems so out of place in today's music. Timmis died in obscurity in rural Pennsylvania in 2002, with very few people aware of his music or his story.
The single was never released with a picture sleeve.
The labels are in near mint condition. There is some light spindle wear but no spider marks and no writing.
The record still has its original sheen. It does not seem to have been played very often but does have some light scuffs/marks. The contact we bought this from found it unsleeved which would explain the scuffs. There is nothing that can be felt and playback is great.
Please note that we grade all records the same way, whether they're 40 years old or one year old.
CONDITION
Sleeve: N/A
Record: VG+ (still has it's original sheen with light signs of play, No scratches but does have some scuffs from being stored unsleeved)
