Matching Tie and Handkerchief (Monty Python) Easter Egg - 3 Sided Album

Sometime in 1979 a friend played an early Harvard's National Lampoon LP (was it called, "That's Not Funny, That's Sick!" perhaps?), that had the same feature. If I recall correctly (many brain cells ago), both sides had parallel grooves. I thought it was unique, but it doesn't surprise me that Monty Python troupe did it first.

OH MY GOD! Why didn't I think of that one? I had that album YEARS ago! Thanks for the memory burn! I remember the first time I actually figured out that the album had three sides and I wasn't really going insane. I remember telling everyone I knew about it, but no one seemed that impressed with it. I guess I was just an impressionable 11 year old at the time. Thanks again!

In 1980 MAD magazine included with their Super Special issue a (one-sided) flexi 7" with EIGHT grooves! (Maybe even nine.) The song was called "It's a Super Spectacular Day" Halfway through the disc, after a cheerful intro, the extra grooves took over and the record played a gloomy/funny description of possible disastrous events that totally ruin your day. There were 8 scenarios total & whichever one played depended on which groove the stylus happened to make contact with - totally random! I had to play the thing 25-30 times before I could hear all 8 of 'em!

O.K.....now you guys are killing me! Vonbontee, you have a bona fide easter egg there, go with it. I had that album too. I too had to listen to " ..it'll surely be, most definitely, a super spectacular day...until..." at least 10 times to get them all. Then it would start the new scenario such as, "quarter past eight you pick up your blind date, you really go ape with her fat little shape....". Wow...memory burn!!To both of you , thanks for the memories.

I believe there was an album put out by Mad Magazine that had a third, possibly a fourth side as well.

Just one more example: At a garage sale years ago, I saw a bizarre "Horseless Horse Racing" family game. It consisted of fake racing forms and, of course, another of those multi-grooved records. Each groove featured a different victorious horse & bets were placed on them all, etc. The rest is obvious...

also, the original cover actually came with a tie stuffed into the cover so you could see it on the outside, unfortunately, due to costs it was cut early on. even worse, at about the same time, they put it into a regular jacket and used only two sides. i have an original though, i NEVER found this out until i bought the Monty Python autobiography, very funny!!!

Cheech & Chong did something similar with the "Rip-Off Album". Each side had two grooves. One was the album, and the other was a groove that went the entire length and simply said "You've been ripped off" over and over. This made it entirely possible that no matter where you put the needle, on either side, you could get the second groove. If memory serves me right, this was accompanied by a huge advertising and marketing campaign for the album, which consisted mostly of C&C saying not to buy the album, it's a rip off, etc.

This phenomenom also appeared in a free flexi 7", which was given away on the cover of NME (if memory serves). On one groove was The lumber jack song, and I think the other was the election results sketch. Forgive me if the facts aren't entirely accurate but it was a hell of a long time ago.

About the MAD LP. You can hear all eight endings on the Totally MAD CD 4, "Somewhere in the Middle Years".

didn't k-tel do this as well? a 7" with multiple grooves? "it's a smash", "it's a hit", and whatever the other ones were?

LL Cool J did it too. A 10" single with the tracks Goin' Back To Cali, Radio and Jack The Ripper on it.

I don't think anyone mentioned this one. I used to have a jazz album from around 1975 called "The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color" by Rahsaan Roland Kirk. This was a double album with side 4 apparently blank. Unless you were patient and heard something like giggling near the end. Turns out this was another case of doubling grooves and something I didn't know until just now. There was also a 12 minute song there :) By the way, this sucker jams!!! Also, Kirk was a multiple wind instrumentalist who was known for playing more than one at a time. Very strange. He also had a lively sense of humor.