EGG "The Civil Surface" UK CAROLINE 1st PRESS Nr MINT

	£		92
	$		122

  EGG "The Civil Surface" UK CAROLINE 1st PRESS Nr MINT w/HENRY COW & STEVE HILLAGE, TOP COPY, BARELY PLAYED
EGG
The Civil Surface

ORIGINAL UK VIRGIN/CAROLINE RECORDS (C 1510) FIRST PRESSING (September 1974) OF EGGS' TREMENDOUS THIRD LP RECORDED WITH STEVE HILLAGE AND MEMBERS OF HENRY COW, "The Civil Surface"
THIS COPY IS IN SUPERB CONDITION (BOTH RECORD AND SLEEVE) AND HAS POSSIBLY BEEN PLAYED JUST A COUPLE OF TIMES

After releasing two highly original albums -- their self-titled debut and The Polite Force -- the Egg cracked in 1971, and the trio went their separate ways.
In 1974, however, Dave Stewart, Mont Campbell and Clive Brooks reunited and returned to the studio. There they were joined by members of Henry Cow and old friend Steve Hillage, resulting in the The Civil Surface album.
Although Egg had presented some of the material within on their final tour, still that long ago taster barely primed fans for what was to come. For as experimental as the trio had been in days of yore, with Civil Surface the band moved almost completely into improvisational, avant-garde territory. Still, echoes of the past could be heard on "Enneagram," with its intricate rhythms and tempo changes and coursing passages counterpointed by slower effervescent segments.
"Wring Out the Ground (Loosely Now)," too, nimbly slips from jazzy improvisation into prog rock, enveloping numerous tempo changes along the way, while a variety of spacey effects and vocals also building on the past. "Germ Patrol" cuts the cords almost entirely. It begins with a clicking metronome, skittering noises, and a trumpet reveille, as the germs fall into line then march off into jazz, circle Yes territory, and assault the bastions of avant-garde. "Nearch" is even more experimental, a piece built around abrupt pauses that grow ever longer as the number progresses, with woodwinds and organ ominously building up between the empty spaces. The woodwinds are further highlighted on both the bright and airy "Wind Quartet 1" and the introspective "Wind Quartet 2," while a heavenly choir floats through "Prelude."
Far less accessible than their previous sets, Egg breaks the binds of structure, and spins off into fascinating new improvisational jazz/prog realms.


PRESSED ON QUALITY MID-WEIGHT VINYL (much heavier-weight and more robust than the later A2/B2 pressing) THE LP HAS THE FIRST ISSUE BLACK AND WHITE 'TWO VIRGINS' LABEL WITH RED 'CAROLINE' TEXT
FIRST ISSUE MATRIX: C - 1510 - A-1U / C - 1510 - B-1U
EARLY MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1/H and 1/R
AND IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL SINGLE MATTE SLEEVE

THIS REALLY IS A SUPERB, BARELY PLAYED ORIGINAL UK FIRST PRESSING OF A TREMENDOUS (AND RARE) LP AND IN ALL HONESTY I THINK A FINER COPY WOULD BE VERY HARD TO LOCATE INDEED - VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Track Listing:
Side 1: Germ Patrol" – 8:31 / Wind Quartet I – 2:20 / Enneagram – 9:07
Side 2: Prelude – 4:17 / Wring Out The Ground (Loosely Now) – 8:11 / Nearch – 3:22 / Wind Quartet 2 – 4:48
 
LABELS: The labels are CLEAN and BRIGHT with NO marks/writing and only a couple of the lightest spindle traces. This copy has clearly hardly EVER been played
VINYL Visual: Both surfaces have their original DEEP, LIKE-NEW GLOSSY SHEEN and are UNMARKED. BEAUTIFUL PRACTICALLY AS-NEW VINYL
VINYL Audio: The audio reproduction is SUPERB - CRYSTAL CLEAR, SHARP and VIBRANT. There are NO scratches, NO jumps, NO sticks and barely any clicks or pops (really, hardly any). There is also barely ANY surface noise present which is especially important on this WONDERFUL LP as it has many very quiet, even silent passages which can so easily be spoilt by any surface interruption, but on this copy these passages play beautifully with only the (very) occasional tiny patch of detectable crackle. This easily ranks as one of the CLEANEST SOUNDING pressing of this LP I have heard. Plays throughout to an impressively high standard with NO groove-wear and NO distortion (its seen very little play) and the LP is very critically graded NEAR MINT for audio. TREMENDOUS JAZZ\PROG LP AND I THINK A FINER COPY WOULD BE VERY HARD TO FIND INDEED. NOT over-graded in ANY way as I use STRICT RECORD COLLECTOR grading standards (please refer to my feedback and 'about me' page)
SLEEVE: The 1st issue matte cover is also in BEAUTIFUL condition. CLEAN, FRESH and BRIGHT with SHARP edges and spine - where all text is CLEAR and BOLD - BEAUTIFUL SLEEVE - NEAR MINT

PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE ITEM
I HAVE UPLOADED AS MANY PICTURES AS I CAN BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ON REQUEST
BEAUTIFUL UK FIRST PRESS COPY OF AN ABSOLUTELY SENSATIONAL LP WITH STUNNING AUDIO DELIVERY. IMPOSSIBLY SCARCE IN THIS CONDITION. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND ONE DEFINITELY NOT TO BE MISSED
AS WITH ALL MY RECORDS THIS HAS A LOW START PRICE AND NO RESERVE
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE RARE AND COLLECTABLE VINYL
AND PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUERIES YOU MAY HAVE
THANKS FOR LOOKING, CHEERS

PLEASE REFER TO MY 'ABOUT ME' PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO ON MY PLAY-GRADING, EQUIPMENT USED, P&P etc

POST & PACKING
UK: 1st Class: FREE or £1.00 (recorded delivery)
EUROPE: Airmail: £5.00 or £8.50 (International Signed For delivery with tracking)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £9.00 or £12.50 (International Signed For delivery with tracking)
***Any record (or combination of records) which sells for more than £40 MUST be sent by a trackable method ie INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR or RECORDED (UK)

UK bidders: PayPal or Cheque
INTERNATIONAL bidders: PayPal ONLY

REDUCED POSTAGE FOR MULTIPLE ITEMS (EACH ADDITIONAL LP: EUROPE & INTERNATIONAL £2.00)
I will combine postage for items purchased within any 10 day period. However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you. Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period. I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Guarantee: I endeavour to be as accurate and honest as possible when describing the condition of any LP but of course if you feel that I am mistaken and the description is inaccurate I will offer a complete, no quibble refund (through Paypal) upon return of the item.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to a recent spate of bidders with no feedback not paying for records I must insist that all bidders with 0 feedback contact me first before bidding to confirm their genuine intention to buy the record otherwise their bid will be cancelled and they will be blocked. Sorry to sound so authoritarian but non payers are a real waste of not only my time but genuine eBayers

ALL RECORDS ARE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED BEFORE DISPATCH AND PACKAGED WITH THE VINYL OUTSIDE OF THE SLEEVE TO PREVENT ANY 'KNIFING' DURING TRANSIT
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, QUALITY CUSTOM WRAPRO MAILER AND STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY I will email you when payment has been received to let you know when the item will be posted. Please leave feedback upon receipt of the item so that I know you have received it safely. Any problems please email me. Thanks  308 (GS 5.3.7 (308))