NUCLEUS - DIRECT HITS VERTIGO 1st UK Press Fantastic NM cond. Archive Ian Carr

	£		22
	$		29

NUCLEUS -

DIRECT HITS

VERTIGO

9286 019

1st UK Press 1975

Matrices: 1//Y 1  and 2//Y 1, first mothers  1 1  7 and 1 1  1 6

This auction is for the absolutely gorgeous Nucleus album direct hits reprising some earlier gems from previous albums.  This is an original 1st UK pressing grading NM and probably unplayed. This is a proper jewel of an album in a close to museum like condition and very very collectible.

When NUCLUES left the Vertigo label after the studio album "Alley Cat" , Vertigo decided to release a retrospective album giving us one track from each of their first seven albums. A taste of the band as it were from over those years. So not really a greatest hits album at all but an overview of this legendary band. I should mention that the only way to get "Direct Hits" or "Alley Cat" new, is to get them together as a double cd package.

"Song For The Bearded Lady" is classic NUCLEUS from the "We'll Talk About It Later" album. This is all so intense until before 2 minutes when it calms down. It kicks back in after 6 minutes to the end. Not worthy ! "Crude Blues Pt. 1 & 2" is from "Elastic Rock" and it opens with Karl Jenkins on the aboe with gentle guitar helping out before it kicks in at part 2. Marshall leads on the drums before a full sound joins in fast.The horns (Carr & Smith) sound great on this one. "Suspension" is from "Belladonna" and features Alan Holdsworth on guitar while Babbington plays bass. Brian Smith opens with bamboo flute as electric piano joins in then bass. A beat and flugelhorn (Carr) follows.This is a relaxing and interesting ride.

"Torso" is from "Solar Plexus".This is uptempo and intricate with percussion and horns over top. So good. "Bull Dance" is from "Labyrinth".The bass and percussion create a great sounding rhythm as the horns join in.Vocal meldoies come and go. Fantasic sound here. We get a bass clarinet solo and a trumpet solo on this one. "Taste Of Sarsaparilla" is a short pastoral piece from "Under The Sun".

"Roots" is the title tracks from the "Roots" album.This is uptempo with some great sounding drum and horn work. It calms right down before 2 minutes then kicks back in with drums, bass and electric piano. Horns follow. "Untitled Track" isn't mentioned at all in the liner notes but i'm going to try to find out where it's from because it sounds incredible and has to be from one of their studio albums. A beat with electric piano and bass as the horns join in. They create a cool mood here.This is laid back with atmosphere. It does pick up at times. Just a killer track. 4 stars from this fanboy. (review from "Progarchives")

This is probably one of the best condition super scarce vinyl I have listed this year. Its condition is nothing short of awesome. A super upgrade for all jazz/prog collectors.

The record labels are in SUPERB condition (see pictures) with NO wear, NO writing, and NO spindle marks AT ALL!!!!  IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT THIS RECORD HAS BARELY BEEN PLAYED AT ALL!!!!  The vinyl is in AWESOME condition!!!!  Most of these 60s/70s LPs had been to a lot of wild parties and are usually found totally worn out, and almost unplayable. This one is NOT and has NO scratches, NO hairlines, NO scufflines!!!!  ITS AS SIMPLE AS THAT!!!!  THE RECORD STILL RETAINS ITS ORIGINAL 'JUST PRESSED' LOOK AND LOOKS AMAZING!!!!  It is also great to find that the record plays as STUNNINGLY as the visual with NO pops, NO sticking, NO jumps, and NOT ANY crackle AT ALL!!!!  The sound quality is simply SUPERB with NO distortion and NO groovewear either!!!!  The record must grade NM AWESOME RECORD!!!!  Believe me this record is NOT overgraded in ANY way!!!!  I use STRICT RC grading standards - it is not in my interest not to!!!! Brilliant!!!!    It has NO sticker marks, NO splits, Hardly any edge wear  NO rips, NO tears, NO spinal wear (side words PERFECT! cover is VERY flat looking indeed!), NO ringwear,  NO sticker tears, and NO writing!!!!  The opening edges are beautifully straight without any feathering AT ALL!!!!  Even the inside of the cover is in BRILLIANT condition with NO grubbiness, NO ringwear, NO rubbing AT ALL, NO yellowing, and NO writing!!!!  The cover must grade EX to NM!!   BRILLIANT COVER!!!! 

SO HARD TO FIND THIS ALBUM IN THIS FANTASTIC CONDITION . THIS WILL BE AN UPGRADE FOR MOST SERIOUS COLLECTORS. IT IS VERY HARD THESE DAYS TO STILL FIND THIS GEM IN THIS SMASHING CONDITION. IT WILL BE A LONG TIME BEFORE THIS TURNS UP AGAIN IN THIS SPLENDID CONDITION WITH AGAIN MORE TAKERS THAN EVER BEFORE. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT INVESTMENT PIECE.

I AM OFFERING ANOTHER HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER PROG / PSYCH ROCK VINYL RARITIES FROM MY COLLECTION OF SIMILAR ITEMS !! A FANTASTIC ALBUM BY IAN CARR'S NUCLEUS,  STUPENDOUSLY CREATIVE MUSICIANSHIP . A MUST FOR ANY PROG COLLECTOR.

Vinyl: NM.  Probably unplayed. There are actually no spindle traces at all. There are NO hairlines and NO retraction traces at all!! Audio is sublime and this vinyl sounds out of this world, a majestic album that went unnoticed. Anyone who loves the early psych/beat scene of the Netherlands will be delighted to hear this quality album. The audio has beautiful separation and there is no background noise. I played this twice in full and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a crime so few people know about this gem!! I was even tempted to keep this as it will be very hard to find this again, it is indeed megarare now and always has been. Needless to say NO jumps, clicks or ticks. This will be a fantastic upgrade for most long time collectors!!

  Sleeve: NM.  Splendid without any creases and always kept in a protective sleeve. Fantastic looked after sleeve without any wear or damage.  Beautiful deep unfaded colours. Impossible to find this very scarce album in this well preserved condition. Beautiful spine and super crisp opening, you won't better this one!!  No writing, no marks , no creases, the best I have come across!! This is an upgrade archive copy!! 

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.