DAVY GRAHAM - THE HOLLY KALEIDOSCOPE

THE RAREST DAVY GRAHAM LP? - 1ST PRESSING

DECCA RECORDS, SKL 5056, 1970, UNITED KINGDOM

TRACKLIST: Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall/Wilt Thou Unkind/Blackbird/Blues At Gino's/ Since I Fell For You/Sunny Moon For Two/Fingerbuster/Here, There and Everywhere/Ramblin' Sailor/Mary, Open The Door/I Know My Love/Charlie/Bridge Over Trouble Water/Little Man You've Had A Busy Day

This is a BEAUTIFUL copy of what must be one of the rarest Davy Graham LPs. At the close of the 60s the folk revival had picked up electric guitars and embraced the rock revolution to the full. With compadre Bert Jansch et al joining muscular folk-rock groups, Davy Graham made a few forays into expanding his sound. 'The Holly Kaleidoscope' sees the man bolting on drums and bass to his sterling guitar work and tackling contemporary pop songs as well as traditional folk songs and his own compositions. For some reason the LP didn't sell that well (did ANY of Davy Graham's LPs sell that well?) but the music REALLY works. A great couple of Beatles covers are not even the highlights of this set: tracks like Mary, Open The Door easily give Fairport Convention a run for their electric money... especially when listened back on vinyl! It just sounds AMAZING. Elsewhere

This is a RARE LP, make no mistake. Currently UNAVAILABLE (legally anyway) anywhere, it's kind of a shame that this music is not more widely known. Pressed up on the instantly recogniseable late 60s DECCA boxed sliver label, this disc carries the matrix numbers ZAL-9853.P -1W/ZAL -9854.P -1W... indicating that this is a VERY FIRST PRESSING. Actually, I'm not even sure if there were any other pressings so perhaps all copies have these matrix and stamper numbers... so perhaps it's a moot point! The sleeve has one flip-back lamination on the side - the kind you're so used to seeing on late Decca reissues of say the Stones' back catalogue. PLEASE NOTE: there is NO RESERVE (as per usual) on this LP.

CONDITION OF SLEEVE: EXCELLENT. As you can see from the photos, this is a stunning sleeve in well kept condition. The front laminated sleeve has NO blemishes on any of the artwork.. the image is very bold. There is some minor wear on the corners but they are actually very straight and stiff. The upper right corner has a tiny tiny dog ear (like a chiuauaua?) but you can see how small and unnoticeable this is from the photos. I only mention these things so you know EXACTLY what you are buying! On the 'lip' of the sleeve, where the record is removed, there is a small break in the laminate near the bottom: this is NOT a rip but a tiny, near invisible bit of wear. The largely unlaminated rear sleeve also looks great, but has some discolourations due to its being matt. This discolouration manifests itself at the top and bottom edges but I believe this can be smartened up with an office eraser. There is some sticker residue near the bottom and some general age wear. I've taken the best photos I can to illustrate this: it's not very prominent! The SPINE is NEAR MINT: stiff and legible with even the characteristic pinches at both ends still intact! This is a beautiful sleeve for a beautiful record!!

CONDITION OF VINYL: EXCELLENT. This is really a BEAUTIFUL copy. Before playback I thoroughly cleaned the surfaces carefully with a non-abrasive professional cleaner fluid and anti-static cloth. I have played through both sides and firmly grade this LP as EXCELLENT. The PLAYBACK is lovely... all the tracks play clean and with no skips or jumps or any other major surface noise. There is a small amount of crackle and pop at the beginning of each side but this clears up when the music comes in... there's maybe a pop or two on the intros but nothing to worry about! Between each track there's a static pop but once again the audio is really chunky and quiet on my deck during the solo guitar pieces. VISUALLY the vinyl is totally STUNNING. SIDE A is NEAR MINT: there's not one detectable paper scuff or blemish. These Decca pressings are so great! The playing surface has a lovely sheen you find on a NEW record! The run in and off grooves are perfect! SIDE B is EXCELLENT -, with some very light paper scuffing and one tiny scratch at the end of 'Here, There and Everywhere.' As mentioned above there is NO surface noise during this scratch at playback... it is purely superficial! Ironically, side B has almost NO pops between tracks and sounds NEAR MINT. Aside from these scuffs the side is lovely to look at and sounds even better! The labels are in LOVELY condition, with no spindle marks on side A and only one on side B. Please refer to the photos for inspection: YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!

I am an avid collector of many, many genres and keep my records in IMMACULATE condition. I grade according to the Record Collector Price Guide 'Ready Reckoner' and almost NEVER sell anything which is below EXCELLENT condition. Rest assured that my EXCELLENT is bloody EXCELLENT! Oh yeah and I NEVER GRADE ANYTHING MINT THAT IS NOT SEALED!! Near Mint is the highest grading I use for unsealed records.

All records will be sent within two days MAXIMUM of receipt of payment (usually within 4/5 hours of payment received). Your record will be expertly packed in a professional brown mailer, using one or two stiffeners and housed in a PVC 12" sleeve with the record in a paper inner placed outside the sleeve as is standard practice. I've pretty much always been lucky when buying records from ebay (save the odd occasion) and would like all buyers of my records to be 100% SATISFIED!

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