PINK FLOYD, BAKERLOO, PETE BROWN, BATTERED ORNAMENTS et al - 1970 HARVEST PICNIC

	£		171
	$		227

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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 arrived damaged in them at some time. More details on my packing 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 to keep things moving – cash-flow is important to 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 will now be blocked 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: 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, these have matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: All four are in superb clean and fresh condition. This is a compilation that often took a lot of usage and seldom is it seen this clean. Spindle marks are on all four are very light and very few – indeed a couple have only one or two, the others not a great deal more, 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 / 141 grams. impressive weights for this pair.

Rarity: Quite scarce, especially like this. Although popular and great value at the time, 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 double-set with it’s bizarre artwork is almost certainly unique to the vinyl format, all four sides play superbly. Due to the inclusion of a unique Pink Floyd song entitled ‘Embryo’ without the band’s permission, it was fairly quickly removed from sale.

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 RA / 1 RM / 1 RH / 2 GA

Brief Artist & Album Info: Not just another sampler (some consider it a compilation), far from it, this ‘picnic’ serves up a feast of entertainment from beginning to end. Every collector will know those interesting black and white 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 from the representative album. It has a wonderfully unique Hipgnosis designed gatefold cover, and like the early and elusive albums, this one shows up less often 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 the impressive music on offer, serious prog collectors want this set because it includes a rare Pink Floyd track called ‘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, The Third Ear Band and Syd Barrett. The artists 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 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 impressive with two superb clean records, both appear hardly played and sound terrific. The cover has aged well with little wear, it has avoided 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 and Floyd’s ‘Embryo’ worthy of the price alone.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: a gatefold format, laminated front and back, designed by Hipnosis. The laminate ends on the inside top edges with all folds covered. Printed and made in England. The original polylined plain inners are included.

Lamination – Front & Back: It has been suggested the mysterious gas-masked foursome on the front are Pink Floyd, but that has been largely dismissed. 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 fine shine and clarity with any dulling around the rims seen under angled light. Gentle rim impression is near impossible to avoid totally as double sets press more against each other, this pair being quite thick as well. The odd tiny surface chip and mainly very faint edge creases with barely any on the main areas. The lack of lifting always good news as well.

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

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

Bottom Edges: Practically the same again.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both these entrance edges are in clean and sharp conditions. Even the laminate ends have avoided the grubbiness they usually attract and both are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way. Any traces of thickening or burring are tiny, few and faint as seen critically end-on, but these will prove immensely hard to find better when left natural.

Spine and Text: Solid and straight with a some compression, this cover always forms a natural central ridge purely from opening. This often results in the laminate peeling and that is hard to avoid. A high percentage of the laminate is intact, but shed near the bottom with traces of flaking. But the surface and its text (PICNIC) have not worn and still look clean and neat. This one is folded square, so the edges meet up flush and parallel. This in way better condition than a number I have seen before and still looking impressive for a spine that is always challenging.

Corners: Any tip rubs are tiny and light, very fine or better shape retained.

Cover Summary: A very fine all-round example of this scarce Harvest early 1970’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find significantly better. So many are seen very tired, badly dulled and creased with ugly grime on the laminate ends – this has little of any – a little light dulling, but avoiding that totally is near impossible. This attractive gatefold cover will please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeves: NEAR EXCELLENT: a pair of polylined white inners that are a mirror-image pair. Both have pristine window circles and very clear unfogged linings. A little crinkle but no hard creases as such, all edges are unsplit with no repairs. One darkened tape mark on each and one has ‘SHSS 1/2’ on one corner.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): with four impressively attractive playing surfaces. These are very clean with fine shine and pressed on very solid vinyl. Even under bright light, hardly any surface marks or traces at all, I have rarely seen this pair look so unused or abused. Very slight dulling near the rims, possibly from the polylinings, but with NO sound issue or affect at all. Lovely records with no stylus marks at all, they will take some beating and most collectors will enjoy them.

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 barely anything to fault. The prized and delicate ‘Embro’ by Pink Floyd, then unavailable elsewhere, plays very cleanly with very little unwanted – that some achievement for such a quiet and delicate piece. The same 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 that often suffer distortion and are highly prone to it – here there is none whatsoever. 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 – apparently it was issued on Picnic without permission. A haunting track very much in the ‘Cirrus Minor’ and ‘Cymbaline’ mould from More and is a beautiful track all Pink Floyd fans will want - 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. Considered by some as a compilation rather than a sampler – what is for sure, it is one of the very best of it’s type ever issued.

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/compilations 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 compilation, it’s an important, even vital album in it’s own right, I have rarely heard all four sides better, 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’.