EARTH AND FIRE - ORIG UK 71 NEPENTHA N/M LP

	£		531
	$		704

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering the Rarest Progressive Rock to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down with Picture & All Shipping Rates.

“A sometimes shady person is wandering along the shore,

I think it’s the twilight dreamer,

Who probably knows more,

The old bearded man is now watching the twilight time.”

Artist or Band: EARTH AND FIRE

Album Title: Earth and Fire.

Producer(s): Fred Haayen.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Wild and Exciting; Twilight Dreamer; Ruby is the One; You Know the Way; Vivid Shady Land.

Side 2: 21st Century Show; Seasons; Love Quivers; What’s Your Name.

Label/Format: Nepentha (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both very clean and attractive with only light and mostly faint (short) spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. These only really show under light and all evidence suggests modestly light use (reitterated by two stunningly clean, barely even marked playing surfaces and pristine sound).

Cat Number: 643700.

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: 136 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 & Overview: Very Rare indeed, and one of the most sort-after progressive rock albums and labels ever issued. This has to be the rarest (using the term correctly) ‘prog-rock’ album I have offered since my near mint ‘Changes’ by Catapilla a few years ago. Rarely seen or offered as a UK first issue with one of Roger Dean’s most elusive and most prestigious covers. The text on my intro is taken from the cover front. Also one of the most fragile and delicate too. This has 16, yes 16 die-cut windows on the front and few survive without major tears or damage. This beauty has just two tiny nicks on the one with the title as seen in ultra close-up to show just how minor they are, they barely even show. ALL others are immaculate, little short of pristine infact, and this super-fragile cover looks lovely and does, what arguably is one of Dean’s best-ever covers, maximum justice. This was a very poor selling album: being a newcomer Dutch progressive act, few, if any in the UK had even heard of them. Of course, many albums can be justifiably be labelled ‘rare’, but so often rarity meant they did not sell because the content is not up to much. But this one does NOT fall into that category. Earth and Fire is a genuine ‘lost’ prog-rock masterpiece and issued on one of the most collectable labels ever made – the visually beautiful Nepentha – also designed by Roger Dean. The label is a close relative of the cult collectable label Vertigo and only a mere handful of records were issued on it, just five albums in total, all immensely rare, sort-after and highly collectable. The label came and went almost overnight which was such a shame as it’s gorgeous. What a joy, but more accurately, privilege, to to be able to offer such a beautiful copy. The cover is so ‘Vertigo’ and is almost a missing link for collectors of them. It has little wear and looks really lovely, any present mostly confined to the edges. The record itself is outstandingly fine with barely a noteworthy mark or blemish to be seen to the playing surfaces. Sound quality is immaculate and has nothing to fault at all, this too being play-graded on one of the world’s most respected turntables, the near legendary Linn LP12. It sounds incredible, the music being sublime with lovely vocals by Jerney Kaagman, the new lead female singer who replaced Manuela Berloth. Wonderful, slightly catchy, melodic progressive music, that with justice, should have sold in far larger numbers. Their later albums were noticed far quicker and sold relatively well within the genre, but his debut sunk almost without trace and originals are up there with the rarest ever (better) Vertigos like the Catapillas and Gravy Train. This being my first one ever and I am unlikely to ever find a better one – it pains me somewhat to even put this out on offer, but with gritted teeth, I do so. An album for the prog connoisseur (and any serious collector really) and even the more discerning collectors will enjoy this one. A major rarity that can be enjoyed visually and aurally, such items are better than money in the bank, we all know what a waste of time that is these days with interest rates at little short of zero. Rare? – I should say so!

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: 6437004 1Y * 1 420 1 1 & 6437004 2Y * 1 420 1 1 [Both sides are heavily corrected].

Musicians: Jerney Kaagman – lead vocals, electronics; Hans Ziech - bass guitar; Tom van de Kleij - drums; Chris Koerts - lead guitar; Gerard Koerts - organ and piano.

Brief Info: I have outlined this record above, but again I state what a brilliant album this is. Musically it blows away most of the Vertigos and this is THE Vertigo album that ‘never was’ and as rare as most the progressive titles on that label. All the lyrics are sung in English and there are few clues to Earth and Fire being Dutch. A massively collectable title for years, seldom seen or offered, especially in this condition. The chances of finding an almost perfectly intact sleeve and a perfect playing record nearly 40 years after issue, is immensely unlikely – but this one ticks all the boxes. It even includes it’s original date coded inner, aged a little yes, but guaranteed original. A serious progressive giant and one of the very best ever, do not this wonderful piece slip the Net.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High++. The die-cut windows mean there are narrow channels of card holding them together, much more fragile than ‘Stray’, and how often do you find that in one piece? A thing of delicate beauty and nice to see looking so nice. I have taken close-up pictures of all the windows, the ‘title’ one with the two small nicks in super-close-up to show how minor the blemishes are. Few surviving, available ones will be a great deal better, of that, I am pretty sure.

Cover Grade and Format: Critically graded EX, please take into account also just how fragile, delicate and clearly wear-prone this one is (I think it’s arguably better still). An unlaminated gatefold format with 16 separate die-cut windows, several with very thin card holding them together. These are intricately shaped and in various sizes (please see close-up pictures to show just how neat they are). Printed and made in England by Howard’s Printers and including artwork by the cult graphic artist, Roger Dean.

Cover Front: The Vertigo Spiral cover that never was and one of my favourite prog-rock covers ever made. This has eerie fascination and is now a legendary cover and without doubt, one of the most prized, coveted and rare within Dean’s famous catalogue. The 16 windows are all intact, e.g. all the surrounding strips of card is present and strong. As stated, on the title ‘window’, there are two very small nicks that have been skillfully repaired, they show little. Please see my super-close-up picture to see them (near the 1 o’clock position) - then scale the nicks on to the full-size of the cover to see just how small they are. ALL of the other 15 windows are practically pristine with the outlines sharp and practically devoid of burring and no other splits at all. just one linking piece has an ultra fine surface crease (cut look very hard). The artwork is clean and still retains a fine degree of freshness and any rubbing, marks or grubbiness barely even register. One small edge rub encroaches on the spine, this being the most significant in terms of wear on the front, emphasising just how nice this one really is. Just a couple of very fine surface hairline creases on the spine and that’s just about it. Highly attractive with no sticker marks, this will take some beating.

Cover Back: The odd tiny mark only and barely any creasing again with no ringwear, this back has aged little and can be considered exceptional.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside is little short of as made and has nothing of real note to criticise. Any marks or rubbing so light, few and faint, and again exceptional.

Top Edges: Very light traces of rubbing.

Bottom Edges: Light, certainly less than moderate patchy rubbing, this being the resting edge, few, if any will avoid this at least.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp to sharp with no wear or feathering and guaranteed untrimmed. The front ever-so-slightly thickened seen when viewed end-on. Record enters on the back edge.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with little wear and no feathering or trimming. Record enters on this edge. The front which is orange coloured (to fill the die-cut front windows) is also open, but under no circumstances, store the record here.

Spine and Text: The spine has one fairly small rub on the top fold, this apart, it has little other wear at all bar the very ends that have rubbed slightly, the top barely at all. Solid, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up quite close together and parallel. The construction means the actual ends are not quite flush, but that is ‘natural’ manufacture error and hardly uncommon on most unlaminated gatefolds. All text is perfect and unworn.

Corners: All have tip rubs but retain fine shape.

Cover Summary: A very strong all round example of this very fragile and super-rare early 70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please many, if not most realistic collectors.

The Inner: The Polydor-style polylined inner is included and guaranteed original, it is date coded 0471. This has aged in the form of darkening and has some creasing too. It has the 6437004 number and it will be more than obvious it's correct for this record. Of course, I could have swapped for a less aged one, but no, I always prefer to keep the original inners with the correct album if at all possible. The date coding is important for the serious collector and it would be more than obvious to the discerning collector if it was wrong.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: It is very difficult to grade this major rarity less than Mint(-). A truly superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence and it appears ultra carefully too as both playing surfaces look devoid of any noteworthy marks at all. An absolutely supreme record that plays to perfection. Visually a diamond Nepentha record that should please 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 marvellous 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 very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. No surface sounds or no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will even match let outperform this original pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean, sharp and fully focused, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly carefully handled. With stunning good looks and the highest level sound quality available, this leads you directly into the band’s recording studio. Nothing whatsoever spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this truly wonderful record. This record will prove near impossible to find better and merits my highest possible recommendation.

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 QED Silver terminated cable). 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.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET - PLEASE SEE MY TYPICAL PACKING BOX PICTURE.

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 Moth 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 thick boxes (NOT Mailers or Cruciforms, these do not offer maximum protection). 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 THREE or EVEN FOUR 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. 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. Please see my picture of a typical finished box packet that will now be used on ALL transactions as from now. 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. These boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners 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 6,000+ items sold in over 8 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 stiffners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

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 (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (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 [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); 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]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (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. 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 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’.