GRAVY TRAIN - GRAVY TRAIN - 1971 POLYDOR RECORDS 24-4056 - CUT-OUT

$

65

PURCHASED BRAND NEW and stored in a plastic bag since purchased, this Polydor 1971 release is a CUT-OUT with the top front corner cut off(see picture). The cover shows no wear and has good corners, edges and spline with lettering being centered. Back cover top right corner has a slight "pinch" to it (see picture).
The original inner sleeve has two sides of Polydor releases images and has some wrinkling on one top corner front and back(see pictures). There are no splits, rips or tears but has some wear starting to show on the bottom center edge.
The vinyl is in excellent condition with only some very minor and slight "surface scuffing" visible in the critical sunlight. THIS MAY OF BEEN PLAYED ONCE but looks like it may not of because there are no spindle marks on the labels. Labels look brand new. I used to buy multiple albums weekly and not get around to spinning them at all. From my research, their first two albums were released on the Vertigo label but it seems for US release, it was put out by Polydor Records.
Side One: The New One(5:15) - Dedication to Side(7:17) - Coast Road(6:46) - Enterprise(6:20) Side Two: Think of Live(5:10) - Earl of Pocket Noot(16:11)
Gravy Train was a progressive rock group from Lancashire, England, formed by vocalist and guitarist Norman Barratt in 1969. Also featuring J.D. Hughes (keyboards, vocals, wind), Les Williams (bass, vocals) and Barry Davenport (drums), the band would record four studio albums. The first two were released on the Vertigo label, the remainder by Dawn Records. The band's influences mined a richly varied canvas: The Beatles, Jethro Tull, Roland Kirk and John Coltrane (J.D. Hughes), Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles (Norman Barratt), and The Beatles again (Les). For Barry Davenport it was jazz drummers Art Blakey, Buddy Rich and Joe Morello. Gravy Train signed a contract with Vertigo Records, the in-house progressive label run by Philips Records (now Universal Music). Jonathan Peel produced Gravy Train's first three albums — Gravy Train, Ballad of a Peaceful Man and Second Birth. The first record was preceded by a single, the J.D. Hughes/Norman Barratt collaboration "So You’re Free", recorded at Olympic Studios, London and also produced by Jonathan Peel. "I wrote the chorus, and Norman wrote the rest," Hughes remembered. Citing Vernon Johnson's inestimable "Tapestry of Delights" on the Progressive Rock Archives website, Marcel Coopman described Gravy Train as follows: "Starting like your typical Vertigo act, Gravy Train's first album sounds faintly like early Jethro Tull mainly due to similar flute lines, but without a dominating personality likeIan Anderson. Hard-rock riffing is alternated with more quiet and melodic moments and the flute is high in the mix throughout." Part of my personal collection.