RARE BIRD AS YOUR MIND FLIES BY 1970 A1+B1 G/FOLD LP

£ 38

$ 50

£ 38 Sold For

Jun 30, 2012 Sold Date

Jun 20, 2012 Start Date

£ 10 Start price

9 Number Of Bids

Great Britain Country Of Seller

eBay Auctioned at

save auction

Description

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

RARE BIRD ‘AS YOUR MIND FLIES BY’ ORIGINAL 1970 1st PRESSING A1 + B1 STAMPER CODES PINK SCROLL CHARISMA VINYL LP IN TEXTURED GATEFOLD SLEEVE

Sleeve Condition: Light fading round the edges. Otherwise Ex condition at least and free from stickers, tears, writing, damage or defect.

Record Condition: A few light, handling marks here and there. Occasional light surface ‘ssh’ in quiet passages and between tracks but the music is unaffected by any groove damage or distortion and overall the condition is Ex-. The vinyl is still shiny and has been well-cared for.

The legendary Charisma label's first signing was a Rare Bird indeed, a prog rock band without a guitarist in sight. The quartet's 1970 debut eponymous album launched the label, while "Sympathy" gave it its first hit.

As Your Mind Flies By soared into the shops later that year, sadly the original lineup's swan song. Boasting the rhythm section of lead singer/bassist Steve Gould and drummer Mark Ashton, and keyboardists Dave Kaffinetti and Graham Field on electric piano and organ, the group was far removed from the showboating likes of Yes and ELP.

Obviously, however, the group were keyboard driven, and boasting a surprising diversity of sound and style. The gentle, dreamy "Down on the Floor," for instance, is offered up in Baroque fashion, with the keyboards imitating harpsichords. In contrast, the triumphant "Hammerhead" was a heavy hitting hard rocker, interlaced with airy flute passages and what sounds like, but isn't, wah-wah and soaring guitar solos. In places, "I'm Thinking" was almost pop-flecked, and slips around a number of styles, all of which perfectly dovetail Gould's blues belting vocals. The opening "What You Want to Know" even boasts a riff ripped straight from "Sympathy from the Devil," another power-packed bluesy number with a difference.

But it was the epic, side-length "Flight" that really sent Rare Bird soaring. Here the band showcased its distinctiveness, as the almost-20-minute song courses along Gould and Ashton's driving rhythm. Divided into four sections, the piece takes to the sky on a series of stunning arpeggios, quickens, then darkens. Organs burst out of the shadows, a church choir sails in, a phenomenal dual takes place between the surf guitar-ing electric piano and the psych-mad organ, before the Bird flitters into experimental avant-garde territory, then brings it all home with a flourish of vocals and organ.

Very hard to find in any condition, As Your Mind Flies By is one of those Rock World oddities that sold only moderately well at the time and has only since been recognised for its ground-breaking, Prog Rock qualities. A magnificent album.

Tracklist

Walk Away