CARAVAN In the Land of Grey and Pink RARER ORIG UK 1971 BROWN DERAM 1st PRESS LP

	£		72
	$		95

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: CARAVAN

Album Title: In the Land of Grey and Pink

Producer(s): David Hitchcock

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Golf Girl; Winter Wine; Love to Love you (and tonight pigs will fly); In the Land of Grey and Pink.

Side 2: Nine Feet Underground: Nigel Blows a Tune, Love’s a Friend, Make it 76, Dance of the Seven Paper Hankies, Hold Grandad by the Nose, Honest I Did!, Disassociation, 100% Proof.

Label/Format: Deram – original tan format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both clean and still quite fresh and attractive. Spindle marks are moderate, but t his record plays with clean and very impressive sound.

Cat Number: SDL R1.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 150 grams. A heavyweight first issue.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: SCARCE: on the brown tan format. Initially issued on this label before quickly changing to the more familiar red format.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: ZAL-10424.P-1D / ZAL-10425.P-1D

Stamper Codes: 1 G / 1 M

Musicians: Richard Sinclair - bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals; Pye Hastings - Electric guitars, acoustic guitar,vocals; David Sinclair - Organ, piano, mellotron, harmony vocals; Richard Coughlan - drums, percussion; Jimmy Hastings - fluite, tenor sax, piccolo; David Grinsted - Cannon, bell and wind.

Brief Info: Brilliant third album, and another prog favourite by the UK ‘Canterbury’ progsters. An immaculate follow-up to the majestic If I Could Do It Again, I Would Do It All Over You. Superb and melodic keyboard-driven rock with wonderful long instrumental passages, this is Caravan at their very best. Never so easy to find on the brown Deram label, these being the earliest made. The labels may suggest this one has been played a number of times, but spindle marks are often unreliable as many owners simply used the label as a guide to locate the spindle. It is sound quality that matters and this heavyweight Deram record (pressed by Decca) plays very impressively with very little unwanted. The cover is in superb condition as well.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a gatefold format that is laminated with Clarifoil front and back, the inside is matt finished. Printed in England by Robert Stace and includes the original September1971 date-coded inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: This is a stunning work-of-art and this does it near perfect justice. The laminate retains fantastic shine, freshness and clarity and has been cover-protected. The surreal pink artwork looks simply gorgeous seen through laminate that has largely avoided friction rubs or dulling. Adhesion is very near total with just a tiny lift on the back left corner and an even small trace on the top edge to the right. Clarifoil that notoriously shrinks and lifts and few of these will be seen with less or better. The lack of creasing, marks, fading and toning make for one of the most attractive examples you could wish to see.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Again, the inside is close to as made. A tiny tone spot apart, this is pretty close as-made and is more than a match for the superb outer areas.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both pairs smooth to the fingertip with full unscuffed laminate. Very straight and flush as well.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with barely any hint of wear and guaranteed untrimmed. Record entered on either edge as both are open – NEITHER have any glue line marks, so this is how this one was from new as were previous ones I have sold.

Spine and Text: Very impressive and hard to find like this. Solid, straight with minimal compression, this is also folded square which always gives greater visual satisfaction. All edges meet up closely and parallel. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid, clear and unpeeled laminate, with quite a high inner hinge, this cover often sheds its spine laminate, but not this one. A very gentle natural mild central semi-crease line has formed due to opening but the text has not sunken and still perfectly easy to read.

Corners: All are crisp and sharp with excellent shape retained, hardly any tip rubbing at all and no knocks or dinks.

Cover Summary: An VERY impressive and hardly-aged all-round example of this classic early 1970’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find better. This beautiful item should please many, if not most collectors. Indeed it could prove a significant upgrade for many.

The Inner Sleeve: VERY GOOD(+): a Decca polylined inner has aged a little with some quite mild toning of the seam adhesive and tiny nicks on the top opening edges. One small tear to one of the window circles but the lining is clear with minimal crinkle. Two corner creases, often deliberate by owners to stop the record sliding out, others are lighter, all edges unsplit with no repairs. Date-coded 9-71 (September 1971) and British patented with ‘Foreign patents pending’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: VERY GOOD(++): a fine visual copy that is clean with decent shine and heavily pressed on top quality Decca vinyl. Deram, like its parent company, Decca, pressed top quality records and this one again does not disappoint even if the close inspection visual is a little down on my usual level. A copy played several times for sure, under light there are fine whispy surface marks and patchy dulling of the vinyl possibly due to years inside the polylined inner sleeve. However, no penetrating stylus scratches and this record plays a whole grade better than the still very respectable visual. Normal room light viewing still shows an attractive looking record – it has simply been used, but not abused, the numerous fine surface marks possibly from dry-cloth cleaning. So not for the more discerning who want records that look unmarked or used, but for sound, this one really delivers, and for me, that is still the more important factor.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: A copy that plays probably a full grade above it’s fine visual grading with very little at all to fault – this prog classic was a delight from start to finish with strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies being sharp and clear. Sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound with no tracking issues*. Any surface sounds minimal and faint, little even registered and this is an exceptional clean pressing, as you would expect from Decca-Deram. Almost the most durable and reliable records for sure. A much cleaner available brown label original could hard to find that will sound much better and nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this classic prog-album. High recommendation applies, but not for the visual purists.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.