BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST Rare 'Orig' UK Harvest 70 N/M LP

	£		63
	$		84

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST

Album Title: Barclay James Harvest.

Producer(s): Norman Smith.

Engineer(s): Phil McDonald.

Track Listing: Side 1: Taking Some Time On; Mother Dear; The Sun Will Never Shine; When the World Was Woken. Side 2: Good Love Child; The Iron Maiden; Dark Now My Sky.

Label/Format: Harvest – much rarer original format with no EMI logo and ‘Gramophone Co Ltd’ text on rims.

Label Conditions: Both ultra clean, fresh and highly attractive. Spindle marks only light few and only showing with angled viewing (please see my label scan).

Cat Number: SHVL 770.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 134 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: A moderately scarce album as an early pressing. This very first pressing with no EMI logo is quite rare, just like most of the others from within the first year of this new progressive label’s existence. All new unknown acts and somewhat different to the normal blues-based rock bands of the time. This was issued in June 1970, sandwiched between the very rare Greatest Show on Earth ‘Horizons’ and Shirley & Dolly Collins ‘Love Death and the Lady’, and closely following such treasures as Pete Brown’s Battered Ornaments, Forest, Panama Limited Jug Band, Tea & Symphony et al. Although later they went on to be come quite popular and sell well, this debut as a first pressing was one amongst others that failed to do so and is not easily found as an original. This copy also being in superb conditions with an unusually fine fragile cover and a record very lightly played, heavier pressed and with pristine sound. Another gem for the serious Harvest collector.

Original Year of Release: 1970.

Matrix Nos: SHVL 770 A 2 / SHVL 770 B 2

Stamper Codes: 1 M / 1 R

Musicians: John Lees – guitar, vocals; Woolly Wolstenholme - keyboards, vocals; Les Holroyd - bass; Mel Pritchard - drums.

Brief Info: One of the very early albums in the Harvest catalogue and typically, like the majority, not a big seller. So hard to find in top conditions, the cover suffers badly from all forms of wear and the earliest copies often the victim of harsh heavyweight tracking record players. Neither cover or disc tolerate less than careful use well. From the very modest beginnings, this band eventually became quite popular, especially in Europe, Germany in particular. Their second album on Harvest is regarded as one of the finest and sold well. This seven track debut laid strong foundations and is a fine album in its own right and this is one of the earlist and best all round examples I have ever had. A record with some very quiet passages but this one plays beautifully with practically nothing unwanted. A superb record with great sound and a cover to match and that will not be said too often. Amazing to see this band are still touring, albeit with only two of the original members, I watched them perform several times in the mid- to late 70s and they always gave a great show. Most fans of this fine quartet will be pleased with this one, still finding it hard to realise just how old this one really is.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very high indeed - it has all the ingredients for rubbing, ringwear, edgewear etc, etc and most all have it.

Cover Grade and Format: EX+. A very delicate unlaminated gatefold, made with soft card with a heavily textured front and back – the inside is smooth. This has the ‘Patents pending’ text and was printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse.

Cover Front: Lovely artwork and design, looking like a stainglass window. I cannot reitterate enough how rare this cover is when seen with so little wear. This is very attractive indeed and lacking the usual rubbing, fading and creasing that spoils so many. Any rub traces or blemishes on this front are very few and light and the lack of creasing is a major bonus too. The textured surfaces have minimal traces of any speckle (white spots on the raised areas) and that is unusual too. Very minor faint burr traces to the bottom edge, but this almost nit-picking for the sake of it. This beautiful front sets a very high standard.

Cover Back: Practically the same again and most noteworthy extra is the total lack of ringwear. All collectors will know just how few black non-laminates ever escape some rubbing and ringmarks. Indeed this back shows minimal record impression, that is how good this one is. All the fine, delicate purple text is pristine including the imprint and ‘Patents pending’ near the bottom edge which is very small and fine but totally uneroded.

Cover Inner Gatefold: One small blemish inside near the top of the middle fold-hinge. It appears to be a small manufacture flaw. Two symmetrical cut-out areas are present, only small but present nonetheless, not seen this before, but apart from one tiny faint stain on each side of the bottom edge (look very hard), there is nothing else to fault with both faces very clean and fresh. Minus this small (likely) manufacture blemish, I would have graded still higher.

Top Edges: Almost as made, any rub traces faint and few.

Bottom Edges: Similar again with just a very small dink or rub on the back near the right corner.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with practically no wear and no feathering, both guaranteed untrimmed. Record entered on this right outside back edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up near perfectly together. This vulnerable soft black spine is in very fine condition and retains most-all ink with any rubbing faint. The text also shows little wear and all characters present with just a couple of tiny chips. A spine like this is a difficult find on such a delicate cover and often seen threadbare, rubbed and tatty.

Corners: Given to how soft this card is, all corners are in very fine condition too. Odd faint tip rub is the very least that can be expected and these retain excellent shape and fine, neat definition.

Cover Summary: An exceptionally attractive example of this very delicate early 70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please many collectors and ones with fewer blemishes or less wear will never prove easy to find (especially with a first-press Harvest record inside).

The Inner Sleeve: Issued before the familiar promotional inners, slightly later pressed copies of this album included them, but the first issues had this plain white lined inner. This one being little short of Mint(-), clean, uncreased, still very white with no edge splits or gum darkening. All solid proof this record has been little played or handled and this IS the one that came with this copy.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-) and arguably undergraded at even that. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and quite heavily pressed. A copy hardly even played all the evidence with no noteworthy marks at all. The faintest of faint fine hairline or two if viewed critically but this is factory fresh and in the most beautiful of conditions. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors.

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 snippetts 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: This quality record plays up to its high visual grading with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Practically devoid of surface sounds and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing for a fairly difficult album that does have some very quiet passages. Few copies will match or outperform this one I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Superbly recorded with complex sounds embedded into totally unworn grooves, this early Harvest gem will never be easy to find like this again. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful vintage record. This record will prove very difficult to find significantly better and again can be strongly 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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: 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, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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. 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 offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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 (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

NOTE: I NO LONGER SEND TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. ANY BIDS WILL BE IGNORED.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £12. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.