Monday, July 17, 2017

Wagner in the D: Götterdämmerung and Die Walküre LP box sets

A couple of weeks back, in town and out on the estate sale circuit, I pulled up in front of the advertised address. A townhouse...or worse, a condo. Both are the bane of estate sale junkies....at least those looking for ancient artifacts.
Both have usually been emptied of any relics...most sane folks aren't going to drag old bottles & cans to a nice new abode.
I almost turned around at the curb...but decided I'd come too far to throw in the towel. So up the stairs I went....
Exactly what I had dreaded....clothes, art, jewelry, dishware...only the most mundane pickers enjoy this drudgery.
I'd turned on my heel....on my way to the door...when I spied a room full of old LPs....why not? I owed it to myself to at least look.
A few Lps & a bunch of box sets....checked for a price....pennies on the dollar. "Brilliant!"....I'd look for an old MOTOWN box set I'm after.....no dice. But.....2 classical music sets jumped out at me....

 Gotterdammerung & Die Walkure....both by the German classical composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner....the "Jimmy Page of classical music"....inside joke, stumblebums notwithstanding.
'Ol Wagner wrote operas....the story, the lyrics, the music....the whole shebang....a man before his time. 
The 1st a 6 LP collection....still has the cellophane wrapping on it....with the original price tag to boot.
 E. J. Korvette department store, which went out of business around 1980, was charging $25 & change for this collection...
From the looks of the boxes and LPs....neither box set have been played much, if at all....










Great booklet also with the LPS....brilliant pics & illustrations!














Some kook is presently asking $300 for this box set on Ebay.....I'll have it listed in 2.2 seconds if it sells! 
2nd box set...Die Walkure is a 5 LP set, also with great booklet....LPs are in pristine condition...















 2 brilliant collections...for less than the cost of a Big Mac...and much more nutritious, too! Just goes to show....well, at least this time