Spring. SUPER rare first pressing UK prog from 1971 w/cover/vinyl strong VG+/VG+

$

280

Original UK issue with the astounding triple gatefold cover photo taken on the River Monnow by renowned photographer Keith (Keef) MacMillan known for his eerie, atmospheric covers for Black Sabbath, Bowie, etc. Comes with the original paper inner sleeve, sorry white not black. A one-off band from Leicester, the same hometown as Family. At least to me, there are some hints of Family’s sound – another favourite of mine – to be heard at moments in here. This record covers a range of styles from pretty straightforward rock and roll (e.g. parts of Inside Out), to pastoral acid folk (Boats). However, in the main it is a classic of early 70’s prog characterized by mellotron and treated guitars. The lead track, The Prisoner (Eight by Ten), is a stone-cold classic that brings to mind the absolute majesty (sorry, bad pun) of the title track on In the Court of the Crimson King. About the triple gatefold cover. It is not perfect, but in the main is actually really solid considering it is 55 years old. A solid VG+. The main flaws are a patch of combined price sticker tear and sticker residue on the top right of the front cover. About 4 cm above and to the left of those there is also a much smaller tear, as seen in the photos. There is another small tear on the very top left corner of the front cover next to the Neon label logo. It looks like someone tried to fill that in, rather unconvincingly, with green magic marker at some point (see photo). If not for the small front cover tears and sticker residue I would put it VG++. Other than those wee flaws the heavy cardboard cover is rock solid all the way around and has full gloss, save some minimal age-related fading and some minor corner/edge bumping and flaking, all shown in the photos. The artist/label info on the spine are clear with only tiny flaking visible along the edges. No hint of any seam splits and the spine itself is not faded (see photos). Actually, there is not even any ringwear on any of the three inside or three outside panels. I have tried to show this by taking close-up photos in chunks of 1.5 panels each. Since I only played this once to record it to cassette some 40+ years ago, I listened to the whole LP all the way through just now after putting it through my Moth-MKII Pro Record Cleaning Machine. Here are my notes upon a thorough listening and viewing under a very bright light with a magnifying glass. No spindle marks on either side and the spindle hole itself shows no wear. However, the vinyl is not perfect and shows some marks from use, which I tried very hard to show in the photos. It still has full gloss, as well as the usual spider traces from the paper sleeve, and several random marks and light nicks typical for a 55-year old record. There are a few quiet clicks during the opening 20-30 seconds and the last few seconds of Grail (Track 2 on Side 1). There are another 40-60 seconds of pretty quiet clicks about 5 minutes into Golden Fleece (Track 1 on Side 2). Finally, some light clicks at the beginning of Song to Absent Friends (Track 3, Side 2), which is anyway a quiet song. None of these are too distracting, but all must be noted for a record of this exteme rarity and value so that there are ZERO suprises for potential bidders. There is a small smudge-like mark covering about 1/3 of the beginning of Golden Fleece (see photo) but it has absolutely NO effect on sound and I suspect it must be from the pressing since it does not look like a stain or scratch. I have chosen The Prisoner (Eight by Ten) for the video/sound file to show how quiet the vinyl is on the lead in and during the first track on Side 1 of the LP, which is mind blowing. As usual, hard to part with this one and I hope it goes to a good home!

I am planning to list some ultra-rarities from my personal trove of vinyl LPs and 45s over the coming months. These have been painstakingly collected since the late 1970’s. Included are the absolute crown jewels of psychedelia, garage, prog, acid folk and folk-rock, all ranked 3-6 stars in Hans Pokora’s books. Artists like Vashti Bunyan, The Haunted, Fresh Maggots, Kaleidoscope, Plastic Cloud, Loudest Whisper, Reign Ghost, Synanthesia, Blues Section, Jormas, Mighty Baby, Sunforest, Trees, The Folklords, Anne Briggs, Kak, Moving Sidewalks and countless others. Most are stupidly rare, especially in such jaw-dropping condition. All have been extremely well cared-for across 4+ decades, and some are nearly un-played. In many cases, I also have the accompanying 45s for sale, including insanely rare non-LP tracks for e.g. Vashti Bunyan, Reign Ghost, Kak, Kaleidoscope, etc. These are not “spare” copies, these are THE copies from my personal collection. I am selling these only reluctantly, and if the first few samples do not attract an appropriate level of interest, I will simply return the rest of them to storage. All records have been dust vacuumed on a Moth-MKII Pro Record Cleaning Machine. 

My vinyl rankings are only slightly modified from Goldmine Standard for grading Please read them (below) carefully. I will describe every LP and 45 in detail and include photos as well as sound files. If you pay close attention to the cover/vinyl condition descriptions, check the photos in high-resolution and listen to the sound files, then you should know exactly what you are aiming for before you start bidding. I try to carefully note any flaws with the disc and the cover so that there are no surprises when the box arrives. I have 100% positive feedback on eBay and want to keep it that way. If there is ANY issue after receiving a shipment, please let me know immediately so we can resolve it before sending any feedback. 

Please do not pay before confirming your preferred shipping method and total shipping costs!! The domestic shipping costs to US are NOT real since the item comes from Finland! The international shipping costs also depend on the buyer’s location and preference in terms of service used. NOTE for US and Canadian buyers: Apparently, I CANNOT ship to Europe as eBay US only recognizes the buyer’s official eBay address. Otherwise they hold my payment for 30 days and I cannot do that. 

Buyer pays packaging, which costs $5 USD. I use top quality packaging and need to cover those costs, which will be included in the invoice. Vinyl will be packed extremely securely and LPs are double-boxed with cardboard stiffeners added inside the inner Euromailer to increase stability to avoid any damage in transit. The discs are always removed from the jackets to prevent seam splits, and all albums and 45s come in plastic outer sleeves. Each LP itself comes in a VRP rice paper-style inner sleeve. UPS and DHL Global Express Shipping from Finland are both available with or without insurance. Finnish Posti service is available to everywhere except the US, albeit without insurance. Posti no longer sends packages of any kind to the US, only documents/letters. 

Be sure to check my other listings now and in the coming months as these items almost never turn up for sale, much less in this condition!

I do not use Mint (M) unless the album is sealed. Near Mint (NM) means I literally unsealed the record myself and played it once or twice to record it to cassette. Any surface noise is therefore a function of the pressing and not due to wear and tear. I do not use EX. 

Very Good Plus Plus (VG++) will show only very minor – if any – wear, has been extremely well taken care of and plays with top-notch sound. The cover is crisp with minimal defects, and the record label shows very few spindle marks or other signs of wear or damage. The vinyl retains full gloss and for 45s the picture sleeve is mostly intact. This is as close to NM as it going to get for 99% of rare vintage vinyl for sale anywhere. 

Very Good Plus (VG+) will show minor yet visible cover wear, has been well taken care of and still plays with generally excellent sound. Spindle marks on the label may be more pronounced, yet vinyl gloss and sonic clarity both remain solid and surface noise minimal. For 45s the picture sleeve is intact but has significant defects, such as seam splits, age-related discoloration, wrinkling or visible rubbing.

Very Good (VG) will show visible wear and tear on the cover, have significant spindle marks on the label and the vinyl will have lost some of its gloss and/or sonic clarity. Surface noise is evident. I will offer almost no LPs or 45s rated VG as I simply do not own them, except a very few that are exceptionally rare in any condition.