The ‘Von Grossenshush – Teufel Folk Songs’ Paper Label

(Fake) titles listed on side 1:

1: Sei Gegrusst, O Jungfrau Fuehrer [in corrected spelling]
2: Maria Zu Bequem
3: Wir Beten An
4: O Unbefleckt Empfang’ness Herz
5: Grosser Gott!

(Fake) titles listed on side 2:

1: Braut Lied
2: Schoene Gute Nazi
3: Die Abreis Von Riga
4: Sitzen So Froelich
5: Du, Du Liegst Mir Im Herzen

While the label name is fake, some of these titles were taken from real existing German folk songs (the label was still entirely fake though, meaning no accompanying record ever existed). This has to be one of the wildest fake bootleg labels out there. The producer is credited as “Klaus von Schmidt” and an address of 1009 South Summer Lane, Boise, Idaho is included.

I first stumbled over this label recently while researching Wizardo titles – like KO-404 Bottom Apples – and it immediately reminded me of the perverse sense of humor that Larry Feign and John liked to indulge in, see “Billy Wizard and the K-Mart Studio Orchestra”.

However, this label, which is easiest found on the 1978 Sex Pistols bootleg First US Show! on the ODD label, which I assume to be just another Wizardo Records spin off:

can also be found on TMoQ re-issues (see below). It is safe to say that you will find a bootleg on any of the other known label variations before you will find it with a green VON GROSSENSHUSH / TEUFEL  label.

Wizardo titles I have found with this label so far (I suspect there are more:)

– An obscure LP by Cream titled ” TOGETHER AND APART ’64-’68” – “Cream!!! Live in concert, studio outtakes, plus solo efforts. STEREO 366” [However including very different tracks to WRMB 366 – insert showing a cartoon image of Little Orphan Annie reading a newspaper with title of the album as the headline]

Label says: Von Grossenshush
Teufel Folk Songs
1009 S, Summer Lane
Boise Idaho

LP Tracks:
Side 1 –
Anyone For Tennis – [Cream]
Early In The Morning – (live) – [Graham Bond Organisation?]
Highfalootin’ Son Of A Gun – unknown title/best guess – [Jack Bruce?]
Sweet Music – unknown title/best guess – [Jack Bruce?]
N.S.U. – (live) – [Cream]
Side 2 –
The Coffee Song – [Cream]
Take Me Away – [?]
Hear Me Calling Your Name – unknown title/best guess – [?]
unknown title – [?]
Wrapping Paper – [Cream]
Meet Me At The Bottom – (live) – [Cream]

– KO 404 The Beatles ‘Bottom Apples’     

– WRMB  507/8: Jefferson Starship ‘Live’  [label image on top taken from this LP] and Kiss unnecessary evil. shown here [almost all copies play Jefferson Starship as the inserts received numbers corresponding to the masters of the other artist]

– WRMB 510: The Runaways ‘Live In Concert’                                                                                                  

– WRMB 515: The Monkees ‘Concert’:

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– death 533: Tangerine Dream ‘Netz-Lautstärke!’:

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– A copy of the Beatles As Sweet As You Are album on Pumpkin Eater Wreckords with the matrix #s BBL 513-A & B:

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VON GROSSENSHUSH on TMoQ re-issues:

– Bob Dylan …early sixties revised! – the insert  reissue, pressed from the same master plates as the slightly differently titled Early 60s Revisited on TMoQ 71083. “There was a completely different cover with a blue insert that was pressed with the same master plates, but issued by
Teufel Folk Songs ref. # BD-554” [This and all following quotes referring to Dylan titles come from bobsboots.com]

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– Bob Dylan Isle Of Wight : “In 1974 TMOQ issued this piece in a white jacket with a Xerox of the original insert and fake labels thar said ‘Teufel Folk Songs’. “

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– Bob Dylan Let Me Die In My Footsteps : “In 1978, Ruthless Rhymes reissued an abbreviated run of the same LP that had been released by TMQ. The vinyl is translucent red, with yellow Ruthless Rhymes labels. The cover is a blank white sleeve, with a yellow TMOQ-2 insert. “Collector’s Edition Colored Vinyl” is stamped in red on the insert. There was also another release the following year on black vinyl, and one on colored vinyl. The cover is blank white with a yellow TMOQ sideways pig logo. The labels are green fake “Teufel Folk Songs”. Both versions are pressed from the original second “POPO” master plates, and are identical in sound quality.”

Matrix:  BD 001  1 / 2 POPO

3-6 stars     NMP80   (Teufel color vinyl)
3-6 stars     NMP60   (Teufel black)

 

And here found on the double set BBC BROADCAST – TMoQ 71069

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– Jimi Hendrix GOOD KARMA 2    

Seller description: “LIVE JH 549, SCARCE LIVE BOOTLEG, GREEN LABEL READS AS
VON GROSSENSHUSH TEUFEL FOLK SONGS PRODUCED BY KLAUS V SCHMIDT”

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– Frank Zappa 200 Motels – From the eBay seller description: “RELEASED ON THE TRADE MARK OF QUALITY LABEL [ TMOQ ] – FZ-503 AND THIS IS THE ULTRA RARE VARIATION PRESSED ON THE GREEN VON GROSSENSHUSH LABEL – 75001 – BOISE, IDAHO”:

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If you are aware of any others, do let me know.

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I have received the following email, which I would like to add here:

“I have to smile time and again that someone thinks about this nonsense because I do it too 😉

My theory: we know that Ken received titles originally created by Dub, probably from the ones pressed at Lewis.

I believe that the colored Wizardo LPs plus the black ones that do NOT have the blue label were also pressed at Lewis (all have that deep groove ring that was probably caused when the presses were changed as they used to be 78 RPM record presses).

In my opinion, the LPs with the Von Grossenshush label were a reissue series using stampers accessible at Lewis and done over a very limited time period only [This is also what I believe; used only during a short time (around the first half of 1978 perhaps?) and across a number of titles, not just limited to Wizardo LPs but with a focus on them]. The responsible party was either Wizardo himself or Vicky Vinyl or someone who had ripped both of them off.

 

Other titles bearing the Von Grossenshuss label that I have come across are:

– several titles on the RSVP label (Vicky Vinyl’s Rolling Stones label), for example Stereo Baby (perhaps also Jack Daniel’s On Tour and Route 76)

– Stones – 100 % Odd Lots (on Odd Lot, a Wizardo ‘in between’-label with about 5 releases [the Sex Pistols title shown here, also a Beatles title called Dec. 1963])

Similar cases exist with ‘Key’ labels found on TMOQ/Vicky Vinyl-titles. “

WRMB 366: CREAM ‘ROYAL ALBERT HALL 1968’ vs CBM 47-186

in blue:

and in red:

SIDE-A
1 Steppin’ Out (middle cut)
2 Lawdy Mama
3 Lost Love
4 Crossroads
SIDE-B
1 NSU
2 White Room *
3 Sunshine Of Your Love *

Quality rating: “Poor mono” in Hot Wacks.

A Japanese bootleg blogger believes that the first track(s) may actually be the “Amsterdam 1967” recording (they never played in Amsterdam, that recording is from the Klooks Kleek club, Hampstead, London, 15th November 1966 (where their set list was: Steppin’ Out, Sweet Wine, Meet Me In the Bottom, N.S.U., Hey Lawdy Mama, Sleepy Time Time, Crossroads (35 min)) and only the tracks marked ‘*’ are from the Royal Albert Hall.

From a Cream bootlegs site:

Nov. 26, 1968 – ‘Royal Albert Hall’ London, England (2^nd show)
White Room, Politician, I’m So Glad, Sitting On Top of the World, Crossroads, Toad, Spoonful, Sunshine of Your Love, Steppin’ Out (75 min)
Note:  There is a ‘complete’  boot and  a dub from the soundtrack of the 16mm film version.  On the soundtrack dub some tracks are incomplete and voice overs do intrude.

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CBM had issued this material as well as this double:

Matrix 47-186-A/B/C/D.

SIDE-A
1 STEPPIN ‘OUT
2 SWEET WINE
3 LOST LOVE

SIDE-B
1 NSU
2 LAWDY MAMA
3 SLEEPY TIME TIME
4 CROSSROADS
SIDE-C
3 WHITE ROOM *
4 POLITICIAN *

SIDE-D
1 CROSSROADS *
2 SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD *
3 I’M SO GLAD *
4 SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE *

Quality rating “Horrible mono” in Hot Wacks.

Summarized comments from the aforementioned Japanese blog: Muffled sounding, more low end, sounds like recording of a video soundtrack [which is of course exactly where this comes from]. There is cut in the later part of A-1. Overall, the blogger felt that the Wizardo release sounded a little bit better, which is also reflected in the HW ratings.

Phonygraf 1106: THE ROCK & ROLL CIRCUS :King Kong / THE GREAT ROCK’N ROLL CIRCUS :Mushroom 4

With a little help from John Wizardo, I am guessing.

 

A1     John Lennon –     Yer Blues         
A2     Led Zeppelin –     Riverside Blues         
A3     Cream –     Instrumental         
B1     The Who –     A Quick One While He’s Away         
B2     Cream  –     Everybody         
B3     Buffalo Springfield –     We Will See         
B4     Buffalo Springfield –     Down To The Wire         
B5     Buffalo Springfield –     Come On

Quality rating: ‘Gs’ and a notch below that for the King Kong/CBM release shown here:

Mushroom reissues on colored vinyl – better artwork but why show the Rolling Stones, when they are not even featured on the album?

ZAP 7865: CREAM Hello Again On Tour & CBM AMSTERDAM ’67

Source: Nov. 15, 1966 – ‘Klooks Kleek’ London, England
Steppin’ Out, Sweet Wine, Meet Me In the Bottom [listed as “Lost Love”], N.S.U., Hey Lawdy Mama [listed as “Big Mama Blues”], Sleepy Time Time, Crossroads (35 min)
Importance: 5, Music: 5, Sound: 3

Review from a Cream bootlegs site: ” “Klooks Kleek” was a club in the “Railway Hotel”, Hampstead, London. It was a popular venue on the performance circuit because of its blues aware audience. On Tuesday 15^th November, Cream performed and was recorded there.

John Platt claims that it may have been an ‘official’ attempt to record a live album. Based on the available bootleg, it was an amateurish effort, if that story is true. It is reasonably recorded, considering the era, but the mikes were continuously ‘clipping’. The engineer was also varying the volume controls to handle the volume. The stacks were turned up high! Balance is good with only the vocals slightly distant. The recording appears to be of the end of their first set and the start of their second.

Eric’s Les Paul/Marshall stack sound and playing is mature ‘Bluesbreaker’. Jack and Ginger are relatively restrained, compared to later performances, and can be accurately described as a ‘rhythm section’ for this performance. An important recording that shows that ‘Fresh Cream’ quite successfully captured their live performance of 1966.

Stepping Out (Bracken) 5.13

The opening number is close to the ‘Bluesbreaker’ album performance. The Les Paul/Marshall stack sounds magnificent even without the tonal density of the overloaded combo. The major difference is the lithe and flexible rhythm section.

Sweet Wine (Baker/Godfrey) 4.19

This shows how closely the studio version captured the live performance. Eric includes a feedback loaded passage in his fine solo.

Meet Me in the Bottom (Brownie McGhee) 4.25

Their only known recording of this blues. A clear example of their beat shuffling approach that could give a routine blues a unique tilt. Jack in shout mode.

NSU (Bruce)

Closes the 1^st set and LP side. Well reproduced in the studio but, like Sweet Wine, more of a pop performance. During the guitar solo the nascent blowing elements are present.

Hey Lawdy Mama (Junior Wells) 3.03

Eric introduces it as a Junior Wells song and it follows his arrangement. Probably the best available version.

Sleepy Time Time (Bruce/Godfrey) 6.41.

This is given an extended work out. The 1968 live recording shows only a modest development of the arrangement. A fine performance all round with Jack still developing his vocal technique.

Crossroads (Robert Johnson/ arr. Clapton)

The LP opens with Clapton’s Bluesbreaker opus and now closes with the song that was to become his Cream opus. The arrangement is complete and it was the technical development of the band, collectively and individually, that was to bring the masterpiece to finalisation.”

Contraband offered the same material as sides 1 & 2 of this set:

Lovely design but ****ty sound (Hot Wacks: “Horrible mono” – compared to “Vgs” for the ZAP LP). Still, I do have a soft spot for CBM titles and will try to cover all of them in the future and pinpoint the release dates of their output.

Attributing this to Amsterdam was just something CBM had made up.