KEVIN AYERS Bananamour SCARCE UK 1973 Harvest EX++ LP

	£		113
	$		150

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Artist or Band: KEVIN AYERS

Album Title: Bananamour.

Producer(s): Kevin Ayers.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Don’t Let it Get You Down (For Rachel); Shouting in a Bucket Blues; When Your Parents Go to Sleep; Interview; Internotional Anthem.

Side 2: Decadence; Oh! Wot a Dream; Hymn; Beware of the Dog.

Label/Format: Harvest – original format with ‘The Gramophone Co Ltd’ on the label rims. Also ‘The Gramophone Company Limited’ text at the 9 o’clock position. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both little short of immaculate: very clean and attractive with only ultra light and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. This superb album looks hardly played.

Cat Number: SHVL 807.

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: 131 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Originals of this one are moderately scarce especially in very fine condition. The cover is incredibly wear-prone and is rarely seen without significant ringwear of which this one has little. Special mention must be made on a booklet that (possibly) came with a tiny (TINY) few initial pressings. This seems a little uncertain due to its massive rarity. It may have even been a promotional booklet or only available with ‘demo’ copies. Whatever it has 16 pages and it’s a lovely item. Although listed in the price guides with the book at crazy, almost ridiculously low values, making such a copy seem achieveable, the truth is, the book is one of the rarest inserts ever made. Just about everyone I have asked about this have never seen one before and many even doubt if it even exists. Well it does, I actually acquired one last year (at vast cost) and decided to make a repro for myself. I know of only two people, both very serious collectors who actually own an original, and the times I have seen this album on ‘wants lists’ with the book is almost countless, almost proof itself this book is massively rare and close on impossible to find. So with this very early-pressed copy of this record I include a repro of the original booklet as a FREE example to the winning bidder to make this album like complete. You, the collector are bidding on the album itself, nothing else, this is a giveaway book, made slightly small than the original. Finding the original book is truly a near impossible task, and that is using the word ‘impossible’ in its correct context. Why the price guides are misleading people into thinking a ‘Bananamour’ book is only a scarce item is beyond me. When was the last time anyone actually saw one?

Original Year of Release: 1973

Matrix Nos: SHVL 807 A-3 / SHVL 807 B-3

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 R / 1 G

Musicians: Kevin Ayers – Guitar, Vocals; Archie Legget – Bass, harmony vocals; Eddie Sparrow – Drums; Steve Hillage – Lead Guitar; Mike Ratledge – Organ; Robert Wyatt – Harmony Vocal; David Bedford – Orchestral Arrangement; Howie Casey – Tenor Saxophone; Dave Caswell – Trumpet; Tristan Fry – Cymbal; Lyle Jenkins – Baritone Saxophone; Ronnie Price – Piano; Barry St. John – Vocals; Liza Strike – Vocals; Doris Troy – Vocals.

Brief Info: The former Soft Machine man, this was Ayers fourth ‘solo’ album that ended his first series of Harvest titles. Vastly undervalued and rated, this being slightly more accessible than his more experimental early works and including some lovely haunting songs that pays tributes to Nico (Decadence), the pivitol track on the album and ‘Oh! Wot A Dream’, for Syd Barrett. Now featuring a new band, this has a different sound but Ayers distinctive vocals are dominant throughout. Last year, I offered a copy of this album with an ultra rare promotional ‘Family Tree’ insert, a totally original insert that few people would have even knew existed. Do not confuse that with the 16-page book that also exists but is rarely, if ever seen. This copy does NOT include an original book and only one in many thousands (or less) ever will. What is included is a FREE repro version taken from the original, just a little piece of icing on the cake for the winning bidder. The book has pictures of Nico and Syd Barrett with some interesting artwork. This is superbly printed to professional standard and stapled but is made slightly smaller than the original.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High++. Within the Harvest catalogue, few are more wear-prone than this. The deep purple ink is totally unforgiving and most seen are badly rubbed and ringworn. Worthy of a second look I feel, not perfect but it has little wear and looks lovely.

Cover Grade and Format: EX+. An unlaminated gatefold format with the front and back quite heavily textured. The inside is smooth. The outer card is quite soft and intensely coloured, it usually suffers all the perils of rough handling, price sticker damage, creasing, ringwear and bad storage and few will even look half this good. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse.

Cover Front: Not the neatest of construction I have ever seen on a Harvest cover, folded a fraction off-square with a minor proud edge overlap – that out-of-my-control, this is how it was made, but fairly minor anyway. The front is very clean and deeply coloured with no fading and any rubbing or marks tiny and faint. A couple of tiny and ultra light surface creases but no speckle or rubbing to the artwork. The lack of scuffing or sticker issues is a bonus too and this will never be easy to find much better.

Cover Back: The back is even more prone to wear as the record rests against the back card. Hence ringwear is so often rife on most examples seen. Here there is just the faintest of faint and small arc trace near top edge but again, that’s it. Any other rubbing is tiny and faint with just a small trace near the bottom edge. This often rubs badly against the inner flipback seams, but not this one. The lack of significant creasing is remarkable, this soft card rarely escapes it. Again the intensity of the deep purple colour has to be seen and the snazzy artwork again practically as made.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Both faces have practically nothing to fault and look superb.

Top Edges: Odd small chip or ultra faint rub trace. This slightly off-square in constuction and not quite as neat as it could have been (mentioned this already above).

Bottom Edges: These are very neat indeed and these are parallel with barely any wear. Often these rub badly and become woolly, not these.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both edges clean and mostly sharp with no feathering. A little mild burring towards the bottom but no trimming, again these pair up quite flush and neat. Record enters on this back edge.

Spine and Text: They will rarely get seen much better than this, the spine is practically unworn. Solid, straight, uncompressed and looking fantastic. There is barely any rubbing at all to the intense violet ink and ALL text is pristine perfect and unworn – almost remarkable on this one.

Corners: Small tip rubs and crease with minor tip burring on a couple. Fine to very fine shape is retained and exceptional on the spine.

Cover Summary: An age defying and exceptional all round example of this original 70’s cover, one that will prove immensely difficult to find much better. The top original top right edge construction is the only fairly minor issue but that’s how it was made. This fragile but lovely item should please many, if not most collectors. This includes the plain white unlined inner which has toned a little with age but little else.

The Book: Originals are rare beyond belief and command huge prices. This is NOT an original but made from the original but at a slightly small size. You are NOT bidding on this book, it’s FREE to the winning bidder and it’s fantastic and actually looking better than the original. Sixteen pages and the perfect enhancement for this wonderful record. Quite why so few of these were ever put out with the records I do not know but most-all of the few that were printed have been lost in the vaults of time.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX++ with just a light surface mark on side one (NO sound) and odd surface blemish on side two (NO sound). A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence, try to find a much better example. Visually a super record that should please most collectors.

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 snippetts 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This wonderful Harvest record plays even above its high visual grading with absolutely nothing to fault. 1973 was not a vintage year for quality pressings with many companies recycling vinyl and pressing very thin records to save oil, resulting in noisy inferior sound. NOT THIS ONE, this sounds fantastic with strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. No surface sounds and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing, it must rank as the best I have yet heard. Kevin Ayers albums are critically revealing and often they have surface sounds or even mild distortions, this has none at all and plays to perfection. Yes even the heavy brass parts are fully focused, precise and sharp with no clipping or crackles. Few copies will even match this let alone outperform it I feel certain. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has barely even been played and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove near impossible to find better for audiophile sound and can be strongly recommended.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon 2M moving magnet cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET - PLEASE SEE MY TYPICAL PACKING BOX PICTURE.

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 heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth 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 thick boxes (NOT Mailers or Cruciforms, these do not offer maximum protection). The record(s) 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 THREE or EVEN FOUR 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. 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. Please see my picture of a typical finished box packet that will now be used on ALL transactions as from now. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. These boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand based on over 6,000+ items sold in over 8 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. Even one of these stiffners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 neccessarily 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’.