PINK FLOYD, BAKERLOO, KEVIN AYERS, PRETTY THINGS, PETE BROWN – PICNIC on HARVEST

	£		41
	$		54

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.75. Europe (including Russia) £12.50. Rest of World £16.50. All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all. More details on this 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 ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible even yet another Royal Mail price hike, I will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably a little heavier.

Artist or Band: VARIOUS ARTISTS on HARVEST

Album Title: Picnic (A Breath of Fresh Air)

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: 1. Into the Fire (Deep Purple); 2. Mother Dear (Barclay James Harvest); 3. Embryo (Pink Floyd); 4. Twisted Track (The Battered Ornaments); 5. Glenlogie (Shirley & Dolly Collins).

Side 2: 6. The Good Mr Square (The Pretty Things); 7. Song of the Ages (Roy Harper); 8. The Worried Feeling (Bakerloo); 9. Eleanor’s Cake Which Ate Her (Kevin Ayers); 10. Again and Again (The Greatest Show on Earth).

Side 3: 11. Water (The Third Ear Band); 12. Terrapin (Syd Barrett); 13. A Glade Somewhere (Forest); 14. Golden Country Kingdom (Pete Brown and Piblokto); 15. Round and Round (Panama Limited Jug Band).

Side 4: 16. Black Sheep of the Family (Quatermass); 17. Postcards of Scarborough (Michael Chapman); 18. Maybe My Mind (Tea & Symphony); 19 Old Gopher (Edgar Broughton Band).

Cat Number: SHSS 1/2.

Label/Format: Harvest – Orig Pre-EMI format with ‘The Gramophone Co Ltd’ text on rims.

Label Conditions: All four are in lovely clean and fresh condition. Spindle marks are on all four are only very light and few and without any doubt, both discs have hardly been played to offer a near perfect Picnic.

Cat Number: SHSS 1/2.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of these Records: 135 / 135 grams. a very good weight for this pair.

Rarity: Quite scarce, I would think this was only available a fairly short time and never (as far as I know anyway) issued on CD. This classic Harvest sampler with it’s bizarre artwork is almost certainly unique to the vinyl format, side one has the prized 1 G mother and stamper code.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: SHSS 1 A-2, SHSS 1 B-1 / SHSS 2 A-1, SHSS 2 B-1

Stampers: 1 G / 1 TG / 1 RA / 2 RR

Brief Artist & Album Info: No, not just another sampler, far from it, this picnic serves up a feast of entertainment from beginning to end. Every collector will know those interesting black and white Harvest advertising inner sleeves with those rather more obscure (and magnificent) early Harvest bands album covers printed on them. All the super rare ones that sold modestly (or less) between 1969-1970. This double sampler set has a track by them all and many actually feature the best track too from the representative album. It has a wonderfully unique Hipgnosis designed gatefold cover, and like the early and elusive albums, this one shows up all too rarely these days. Not only great bands here, there are some mighty fine producers too including: Norman Smith, Andrew King, Peter Jenner, Gus Dudgeon and Johnathan Peel. Apart from some superb progressive music by all the band’s, serious prog collectors want this set because it includes a rare Pink Floyd track - ‘Embryo’ that was unique to this double set. It must rank as Floyd’s rarest song, never a single (or B-side), and not issued on any official album bar this. It’s a lovely song too, written by Roger Waters, this would have been perfect on the More or Ummagumma albums, it was produced by Norman Smith. Delicate and atmospheric, this is a quiet song and very delicate. Here it plays beautifully with practically nothing unwanted as does the whole album which sadly is not often the case. Devoid of distortion that is so often rife on some of the more prone tracks like Kevin Ayers and Syd Barrett. The bands featured on this superb and highly collectable early Harvest sampler are listed above with their appropriate track. I am a huge fan of this classic progressive label and I search for any item that is available if the conditions are right. Don’t take this as an ordinary sampler, this is a very collectable set and should be included in any serious Harvest or progressive rock collection. This example is a very fine one with two superb clean records, both appear very little played and sound great. The cover is also impressive and largely devoid of the grime formation on the laminate ends that most seem to attract. I am certain this has never been issued on CD making the vinyl original unique, it gives more than an insight into the early Harvest catalogue, but beware, this could prove addictive.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): a gatefold format, laminated front and back, designed by Hipnosis. The laminate ends on the inside top edges. Printed and made in England.

Lamination – Front & Back: . It has been suggested the mysterious gass-masked foursome on the front are Pink Floyd, well I for one would not rule it out, what I do now for certain, both front and back will prove difficult ever find better much better. This gatefold cover does not wear well and most are seen with heavy dulling and ring wear, so often also, the laminate ends are blackened with grime. Here the laminate retains a lovely shine, freshness and clarity with any dulling around the rims only light as seen under angled light. The odd corner crease or two and a tiny lift near the top front left corner which shows little against a pale backdrop. Hardly any creasing at all away from the edges with any fading on the unprotected strips on the opening edges light. This has aged little compared to many I have seen and this has survived the years well overall.

Cover Gatefold Inner: Both faces are very impressive, the laminate ends on the top edges and is clean and lacking the dust and grubbiness most seem to attract, this makes a massive difference for visual satisfaction, and neither have pulled which is another common trait.

Top Edges: Barely worn with smooth laminte, both fairly thin but mainly very straight.

Bottom Edges: A rub on the right front corner area, less so on the back. This apart, both practically as above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both these entrace edges are in clean and sharp conditions. Even the laminate ends have avoided the grubbiness they usually attract and both are guaranteed untrimmed. Any traces of thickening or burring are tiny, few and faint as seen critically end-on.

Spine and Text: Very solid and straight, minimal compression and folded square with the edges meeting up very close together and parallel. The word ‘PICNIC’ is fully intact and unworn under the solid spine laminate that is FULLY intact with no peeling, never take that for granted on a cover that often sheds it’s laminate freely. Any natural centre foldline is very light and there is no sinkage of the text. This is almost as good as they ever get and again looks impressive.

Corners: The spine corners are very neat and show barely any wear at all, they retain excellent shape. The right ones are also neat with the aforementioned rubs on the bottom pair.

Cover Summary: A lovely all-round example of this scarce Harvest early 70’s cover, one that will prove difficult to find significantly better. This wonderful fresher-looking item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeves: EXCELLENT(+): at least. A pair of heavy-duty polylined white inners that are a mirror-image pair. Both have pristine window circles and very clear unfogged linings. Minimal creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs. These are still clean and fresh looking also.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): with four impressively attractive playing surfaces. These are very clean and shiny, pressed on very solid vinyl and remain a lovely intense black. Any fine surface blemishes are ultra fine, faint and whispy, as seen close-up under bright angled light. Super-fine and totally harmless probably from dry-cloth cleaning, there are no penetrating scratches on any side and this pair will never prove easy to find much better.

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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: All 19 songs on this great set play superbly with little to fault. The prized and delicate ‘Embro’ by Pink Floyd, then unavailable elsewhere, plays very cleanly with barely any unwanted sounds. The same goes goes for practically the whole album and this is no easy task as there are some difficult songs included. None more so than Kevin Ayers and Third Ear Band tracks often suffer distortion and are highly prone to this – here there is none. The quieter folky songs also play supremely well too. For those who have just seen the inners and never the albums, Picnic gives a great insight into these lesser-known, early and highly collectable Harvest artists. It still remains a mystery to me why the rare Floyd cut was never included on a full album. It’s very much in the ‘Cirrus Minor’ and ‘Cymbaline’ mould from More and is a hauntingly beautiful track - can your system, reveal the fine details of sound near the song’s end? Most collectors will appreciate this set, a gateway to the early Harvest world, and it really is not that common to find with records like this. I regard this as possibly the greatest sampler album ever made.

End Piece: A great introduction to some rare bands and tracks. A stunning array of cult talent, some classic songs and with the hugely important, unique Pink Floyd song, ‘Embryo’ it should appeal to the Floyd officianados too. Only rarely do samplers include ‘unique’ tracks and they seldom get better or more significant than this. Some of these originals are largely ‘lost’ now - how often will Pete Brown, Battered Ornaments, Bakerloo, Greatest Show on Earth, Forest, Panama Limited, Quatermass and Tea & Symphony items appear on vinyl these days? It’s just great to hear them again on the format they originally were released on. This is NO ordinary sampler, it’s an important, even vital album in it’s own right, do not miss this one, unreservedly 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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium 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 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. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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 stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. 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 FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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’.