HIGH TIDE Very Rare UK 1970 Liberty. EX with EX- Cover

	£		130
	$		172

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: HIGH TIDE

Album Title: High Tide.

Producer(s): High Tide.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Blankman Cries Again; The Joke.

Side 2: Saneonymous.

Label/Format: Liberty – Black format.

Label Conditions: Very clean and attractive examples with less than moderate spindle marks. These are very light and faint and only really show under angled light, no ink removed, no scuffing. (Please see label scan).

Cat Number: LBS 83294.

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: 141 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 140 to 150 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, 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 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Quite rare, seldom seen.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: LBS 83494 A-2U / LBS 83494 B-2U

Stamper Codes: 1 G / 1 G

Brief Artist & Album Info: Within the field of UK progressive rock there can be few better kept secrets than the magificent High Tide. A band that made just two albums and both are astonishingly brilliant. A four piece heavy band that totally blew me away when I first heard them. A follow up to the mind-bending Sea Shanties – hardly Sea Shanties however, blistering electric guitar and violin with tons of wah-wah – both are early heavy prog nirvana. The four members were: Tony Hill - guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar, organ; Simon House - electric violin, organ piano; Peter Pavli - bass and Rog Hadden - drums, piano pipe organ. This quartet made truly inspired doom laden heavy prog not totally disimiliar to early Amon Duul II. Hill has a Jim Morrison type voice which complements the sound of this band perfectly. Heavy guitars do head to head battle for supremacy with House’s electric violin with awesome results. A barrage of electric frenzy with heavy pounding rhythm, the excitement goes into overdrive. Latterly of Hawkwind, this was Simon House at his very best and this band should have gone on to superstardom within this field but alas not the case. The cover is one of the most difficult to find in nice conditions ever. A near impossible black, soft card, textured sleeve that will always wear unless kept in cotton wool. This has the almost mandatory edge rubbing but the main two faces are attractive with minimal wear and only some light surface creasing (please see my close-up pictures of the front artwork that I hope shows the lack of wear to the fragile surfaces. With any ringmarks very light and faint which have actually been enhanced by my camera flash, this is a more than respectable example. This truly looks much better than my pictures and the flash will always highlight the paler areas more. The record looks modestly played and sounds superb, a very few light surface marks have no sound. If any late-60s/early 70s prog rock lover has not heard High Hide or needs a copy, this is essential. A truly awesome, if a little too short album, one to totally captivate and blow you away - what a band - what an album – this could remove varnish from speakers if played loud enough. This is up there with the vintage heavy classics like early Black Sabbath, Amon Duul II’s Yeti, and the early acid Hawkwind albums – maybe even better still for my money. Unleash this best kept secret now with this awesome display of dark, heavy, progressive rock - brilliant is too small a word for this one.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High++, few will survive devoid of rubbing and ringwear and many suffer sticker damage and even tears.

Cover Grade and Format: EX(-) but in terms of standard grading, this is probably better for one of rock’s most uncompromising sleeves. A single unlaminated format with a lovely textured finished and made with very soft card. All the recipes for heavy ringwear, rubbing and scuffing, few will ever be seen with none and this is a highly respectable example. Printed and made in England by The Upton Group.

Cover Front: Retaining rich deep colour and with minimal traces of rubbing and no ring marks, this front has survived more than well. There are a number of light surface creases that have low visibility with normal viewing. None remotely heavy with no cracking to the black surface. The superbly colourful artwork looks fantastic and is practically unworn and that is very unusual to say the least. (Please see my close up pictures of the stunning coloured artwork, note the total lack of wear or ‘speckle’ even on the raised textured surfaces). Scuffing has been avoided as has sticker damage or residues and again that is great news for a cover so soft and frail it will bend in the hands – do not pick this up one-handed. Decent freshness is retained and it looks real nice.

Cover Back: In terms of what this cover is normally found like, it has the mildest form of ringwear and any other rubbing on this back registers little because there is little present. Again it has some creasing, with the soft subtle feel of the card few will ever avoid any. Practically all black ink is retained and the deep purple text, logo and circle are totally unworn. Like the front, this back is fine and nice, both sides will not prove easy to find much better.

Top & Bottom Edges: Reasonably light patchy rubbing to both, more towards the corners.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Quite neat and reasonably sharp with minimal wear and no real feathering. No tears or repairs, splits to the opening so often blights these soft card covers. Record entered on this edge.

Spine and Text: Neat but thin with only light patchy rubbing, more near the bottom corner. Having had this cover a couple of times before, I know the text was very fine and difficult to even see and often filled in on the thin textured format and here it appears to have pretty much gone. When viewed carefully some can be seen. A fragile and narrow spine and near impossible to avoid compression but this still looks okay.

Corners: All have moderate rubbing with traces of very mild erosion - again few will ever avoid it.

Cover Summary: A very fine respectable example of one of the most challenging covers of its era, one day a perfect one will come along, but I won’t hold my breath. Most are tatty, torn and threadbare, often looking more like a dartboard with more rings than Saturn. This one is hardly perfect, but will one ever be offered that is? – I doubt it. This is a very decent example and it should please many, if not most realistic collectors (but not the perfectionists).

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX / EX+ with just a couple of fine line surface marks on side one and even less on side two. These are purely superficial and have no sound at all. Very clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed and not the victim of any significant stylus abuse. This fine copy should please many 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 amazingly powerful record plays even above above its visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with an immensely powerful, very rich and dynamic sound. Any surface sounds are minimal and no pops or clicks were noted. The volume goes sky-high for a high percentage of this album and any minor surface sound blemishes would be lost anyway. But as with most prog classics, there are some quiet passages too but not too many on this powerhouse title. I found this album enthralling and it will rip off the speaker cloth if played loud enough. Sonically this is amazing and volume really pushes the system to its limits. It almost makes me cringe to think what this record could have been played on all those years ago and the damage to the fragile grooves. Electric violin and guitar could have been a mass of distortion or with high frequency clipping but this simply has NOT happened on this fine copy. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this awesome classic. This copy will prove difficult to find significantly better and is strongly recommended. ‘Sea Shanties’ coming very soon too (on the blue label), watch this space.

End Piece: Already established in my personal hall of progressive rock fame, this is simply brilliant, any fan of Spiral era Black Sabbath, Atomic Rooster and the heavy Krautrock bands will revel in this. Play this loud and be prepared to be captivated. Loud electric guitar and violin go head-to-head with pulsating venom, with no quarter given. This record encaptures this battle perfectly and High Tide must have been awesome live. The analogue format gives that extra bass power and oomph this type of music needs, who cares about the odd mild surface sound or blemish? - this needs to be on a deck and enjoyed. Obviously rare with guide prices high and they undervalue everything, they cannot even give a fixed valuation these days as title seems to have almost dried up. One to enjoy, get this fired up immediately – Surf’s Up – MEGA!

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: I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within 48 hours maximum. 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 thick stiffners for even extra protection. 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 and well as 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 NOT surface mail abroad. I never make 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, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 4,000+ items sold in over 7 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

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 & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

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 Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£39).

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’.