GRAVY TRAIN - STAIRCASE TO THE DAY 1st UK press 1974 DAWN Vertigo EX

	£		143
	$		189

GRAVY TRAIN - 

STAIRCASE TO THE DAY

 DAWN

6360 023

1st Press UK

 1974 Ultra Heavy vinyl

Machined first press matrices

THE FOURTH ALBUM MADE BY THIS FANTASTIC AND OVERLOOKED GROUP CLEARLY INFLUENCED BY THE AMERICAN PSYCHEDELIC/PROGRESSIVE FUSION BANDS OF THE LATE 1960s  BUT STILL WITH THAT NORTHERN ENGLISH PASTORAL FOLKY FLAVOUR EXPERIMENTAL TWIST WITH SOME SUPERB SONGS COVERING A VARIETY OF MOODS INCLUDING GREAT VOCALS BY NORMAN BARRATT, EXCELLENT GUITAR WORK AND FLUTE PARTS - SERIOUSLY RARE TO LOCATE SO LATE IN THE DAY AND TOTALLY ! IT'S THE FIRST COPY I HAVE FOUND IN 25 YEARS! IT IS INDEED MEGA MEGA RARE

THIS LP IS ONE OF THE HARDEST TO FIND ON THE DAWN LABEL AND HAD VERY LITTLE ATTENTION OR SALES 46 YEARS AGO AND WAS DELETED WITHIN A FEW MONTHS OF ISSUE! THE ALBUM WAS ONLY ISSUED IN THE STEREO FORMAT.

FLAT AND THICK VINYL WITH VERY CLEAN LABELS WITH NO WRITING OR STAINING.  THIS ALBUM HAS GLEAMING SURFACES WITH JUST A COUPLE OF FAINT PAPER RETRACTION TYPE TRACE LINES VISIBLE ONLY UNDER STRONG LIGHT! HARDLY ANY SURFACE NOISE. STRICTLY GRADED AS EXCELLENT CONDITION! STORED AWAY FROM LIGHT AND HEAT FOR OVER 40 YEARS HAVING CLEARLY ONLY HAD A FEW CAREFUL PLAYS! WOW! JUST TRY AND FIND ANOTHER COPY AS GOOD AS THIS FANTASTIC EXAMPLE! 

Machined First UK press matrices, the earliest possible issue and according to the mother stampers this copy is one of the very first issued in the first few days.  It is a very rare item which does hardly ever come up included in the auction when this album is listed. This copy  will be an upgrade for any serious collector. Please read on ...

This album certainly does not have the feel of a band bidding farewell, indeed it is generally hailed as their best. The Roger Dean gatefold sleeve offer folks from these parts the firm hope that the contents will be of a similar quality, and the opening "Starbright starlight" immediately reassures us that this will be the case. There are distinct echoes of Uriah Heep in the high vocal harmonies, and while the synthesiser sounds may now sound a little dated, they add some fine colours to a superb opening song.

Things get even better on the following power ballad "Bring my life on back to me", a song full of emotion and strength, with delightful guitar and gospel style choruses. The 7½ minute title track retains the softer, more melodic style, the high vocals alternating with harsher rock ones. The track features some fine lead guitar work and delightful flute playing by JD Hughes. This song above all others really is a delight, with high harmonies uplifting us towards its conclusion.

The relatively brief "Evening of my life" is a soft piano ballad featuring a superbly emotional vocal. It leads into the final song "Busted in Schenectady", an 8 minute burst of blues rock.

There are a few more prosaic numbers, such as the blues rock "Never wanted you", but even here we find some decent mellotron phases and Arthur Brown like screams. Likewise, the non-band composition "Going for a quick one" reflects its rather tacky title.

Overall, it is difficult to argue with those who cite "Staircase to the day" as the band's best album. Yes, things can occasionally dip, but by and large the songs here are of a high quality, with excellent arrangements and fine execution. The album does indeed warrant the "forgotten gem" tag it so often carries. (review from: progarchives.com)

 Gatefold Sleeve:  EX.  The classic early Roger Dean sleeve is in STUNNING condition with  NO Tears , NO seam splits, NO Scribbles and NO unwanted writing of any kind!!! The spine is largely unworn which is unheard of for this vulnerable matt sleeve.  All writing is fully legible!! The bottom edge is practically unmarked with barely any wear at all. The top edge is EX with only light wear. The opening is still sharp. An absolute upgrade for any obscure prog collection, it will be nearly impossible to find this again!!

Vinyl: VG+ to EX.  Both surfaces retain their original deep, glossy over the counter sheen. Two tiny scuffs on side 1 which have barely any impact on the audio apart from a few low level pops at the end of track 2 and beginning of track 3. Side 2 is absolutely unmarked and near pristine. It has always been stored away in its protective polythene outer sleeve in a purpose built record storage unit and kept at the ideal temperature for many decades. The beautiful glossy sheen should be observed in the flesh in order to fully appreciate this beauty. This album is part of an important early seventies prog collection which I acquired from a serious collector who appreciated well crafted music. More LP's will be auctioned in weeks to come.
 Outstanding audio delivery in all respects with a crystal clear, deep, rich, warm and detailed sound and on playback at a loud volume (which is how I always listen to my LPs prior to listing and it's always an immense pleasure to return to this one) there are no scratches, no sticks or jumps, no clicks or pops and barely any surface noise (really hardly anything worth a mention and to be incredibly picky, maybe just a touch on the run-ins). This is a beautifully clean pressing (and I must emphasize again how difficult it is to find a copy which plays this well). The whole LP sounds absolutely stunning and plays to an extremely high standard with superb clarity, no groove-wear and no distortion and is very strictly graded a strong EX, a great copy!! Of course, NO skips, NO jumps, NO ticks. This will be an upgrade for most experienced collectors and is warmly recommended to my regular buyers.

Important : International postage will be registered and insured if over GBP 20.00.  Please wait for my invoice before paying. Postage will be according to Royal Mail rates. Postage is NOT a money spinning exercise for me.

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.