PINK FLOYD, BAKERLOO, PETE BROWN, KEVIN AYERS - PICNIC

	£		48
	$		63

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World in 2010.

Artist or Band: VARIOUS ARTISTS on HARVEST

Album Title: Picnic (A Breath of Fresh Air)

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: 1. Into the Fire (Deep Purple); 2. Mother Dear (Barclay James Harvest); 3. Embryo (Pink Floyd); 4. Twisted Track (The Battered Ornaments); 5. Glenlogie (Shirley & Dolly Collins).

Side 2: 6. The Good Mr Square (The Pretty Things); 7. Song of the Ages (Roy Harper); 8. The Worried Feeling (Bakerloo); 9. Eleanor’s Cake Which Ate Her (Kevin Ayers); 10. Again and Again (The Greatest Show on Earth).

Side 3: 11. Water (The Third Ear Band); 12. Terrapin (Syd Barrett); 13. A Glade Somewhere (Forest); 14. Golden Country Kingdom (Pete Brown and Piblokto); 15. Round and Round (Panama Limited Jug Band).

Side 4: 16. Black Sheep of the Family (Quatermass); 17. Postcards of Scarborough (Michael Chapman); 18. Maybe My Mind (Tea & Symphony); 19 Old Gopher (Edgar Broughton Band).

Cat Number: SHSS 1/2.

Label/Format: Harvest – Orig Pre-EMI format with ‘The Gramophone Co Ltd’ text on rims.

Label Conditions: All four are in lovely clean condition and spindle marks range from very light to light and very few of. The one and only original owner signed his name and dated on sides two and four. The date is 6/7/70 and the text is small and very neat indeed and I truly think this enhances this set. The purist may disagree, but when a record is dated like this, it puts a definitive age on the set and I never object to this in any way (please see this on my label scan).

Cat Number: SHSS 1/2.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of these Records: 136 & 146 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).

Rarity: Scarce, I would think this was only available a fairly short time and never (as far as I know anyway) issued on CD. This classic Harvest sampler with it’s bizarre artwork is almost certainly unique to the vinyl format.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: SHSS 1 A-2, SHSS 1 B-1 / SHSS 2 A-1, SHSS 2 B-1

Stampers: 1 AL / 1 RT / 2AP / 1 AA

Brief Artist & Album Info: No, not just another sampler, far from it, this picnic serves up a feast of entertainment from beginning to end. Every collector will know those interesting black and white Harvest promotional inner sleeves with those rather more obscure (and magnificent) early Harvest bands album covers printed on them. All the super rare ones that sold modestly (or less) between 1969-1970. This double sampler set has a track by them all and many actually feature the best track too from the representative album. It has a wonderfully unique Hipgnosis designed gatefold cover too, and like the early and elusive albums, this one shows up all too rarely these days. Not only great bands here, there are some mighty fine producers too including: Norman Smith, Andrew King, Peter Jenner, Gus Dudgeon and Johnathan Peel. Apart from some superb progressive music by all the bands, serious prog collectors want this set because it includes a rare Pink Floyd track - ‘Embryo’ that was unique to this double set. It possibly ranks as Floyd’s rarest song, never a single (or B-side), and not issued on any official album. It’s a lovely song too, written by Roger Waters, this would have been perfect on the More or Ummagumma albums, it was produced by Norman Smith. Delicate and atmospheric, this is a quiet song and very delicate. Here is plays beautifully, as close to perfect as it ever will as does practically all the album. So often spoilt with distortion and noise on the more prone tracks like Kevin Ayers’ and Syd Barrett. The bands featured on this superb and highly collectable early Harvest sampler are listed above with their appropriate track. Impressive eh? – I wish I had this lot to offer, but they show all too infrequently and usually trashed when they do. I am a huge fan of this classic progressive label and I search for any worthy copies that become available. Don’t take this as an ordinary sampler, this is a very collectable set and should be included in any serious Harvest collection. This example is a very fine one with two very clean records and a very fine, unusually clean cover. I am certain this has never been issued on CD making the vinyl original and unique, it gives more than an insight into the early Harvest catalogue, but beware, this could prove addictive. Collectable label samplers that include non-album songs by major artists are rare and they hardly get bigger than Pink Floyd.

Cover Grade and Format: Mint(-), a gatefold format, laminated front and back, designed by Hipnosis. It was printed and made in England.

Cover Lamination – Front & Back: Although protected with laminate front and back, this is a cover that does not age too well and is more often seen shabby and dulled. The inside often with ugly grime-line formation on the laminate ends. It often shows very noticeable rim dulling from the records, all too common on double sets. The shape goes and often the laminate lifts and cracks. This beauty has barely any traces of anything like this. All still ultra clear and retaining a superb shine with no lifting or blisters. A tiny few ultra small surface trace blemishes near the bottom of the back (but look hard). The lack of creasing and dulling on probably the freshest and attractive example I have yet seen is a bonus and for Harvest collectors, this sets the bar very high. The bizarre artwork still has ‘Floyd-like’ attributes to me.

Cover Gatefold Inner: Clean and attractive with nothing to fault. The laminate ends on the top are spotless and so few ever are.

Top Edges: Both unworn and very straight up to the corners.

Bottom Edges: Both near perfect.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The edges remain very sharp with little wear and no feathering, the lack of grubbiness to the ends is unusual. A small, light crease to the top of the back being critical. Records entered on these edges wh cih are guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: Very solid indeed, straight, uncompressed and square with the right edges meeting up very close together. The word ‘PICNIC’ is fully intact and unworn under the solid spine laminate that has no peeled or scuffed and even retains a super shine itself. One of the very few I have seen where NO centre foldline has formed from the cover being opened (unless unused and how likely is that?). All evidence suggests this cover and records have hardly been handled or used.

Corners: All crisp, sharp and ultra neat.

Cover Summary: They rarely get seen much better than this, a superb all round example of this scarce early Harvest 70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find significantly better. This strong item should please most collectors and even the most discerning collectors. Note: this copy has no promotional inners, it appears some examples had them, some did not.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX++ to Mint(-) with little more than the odd ultra fine hairline surface mark. These are very clean and shiny, pressed on heavy vinyl and remain a lovely intense black finish. Clearly a pair barely even played and that will become immediately apparent to any winning bidder. Both records are worthy of a home in any serious collection.

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: All 19 songs on this great set play superbly with little to fault. Just a few ticks were noted on the start of side two (around six), very light indeed and the only blemish I noted on all four sides. The Kevin Ayers and Third Ear Band tracks often suffer distortion and are highly prone to this – here there is none. The quieter folky songs also play supremely well too. For those who have just seen the inners and never the albums, Picnic gives a great insight into these lesser known, early and collectable Harvest artists. Still strange to me why the rare Floyd cut was never included on a full album, I think the band objected for some reason. It’s very much in the ‘Cirrus Minor’ and ‘Cymbaline’ mould from More and is a hauntingly beautiful track. Most collectors will appreciate this set, a gateway to the early Harvest world, and it really is not that common to find with records and cover this clean. I regard this as possibly the greatest sampler album ever made.

End Piece: A great introduction to some rare bands and tracks. A stunning array of cult talent, some classic songs and with the hugely important, unique Pink Floyd song, ‘Embryo’ it should appeal to the Floyd officianados too. Only rarely do samplers include ‘unique’ tracks and they seldom get better or more significant than this. Some of these originals are largely ‘lost’ now - how often will Pete Brown, Battered Ornaments, Bakerloo, GSOE, Forest, Panama Limited, Quatermass and Tea & Symphony items appear on vinyl these days? Its just great to hear them again on the format they originally were released on. This is NO ordinary sampler, it’s an important, even vital album in it’s own right, do not miss this one, strongly recommended, but if the writing on the labels is an issue, please do not bid.

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: 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, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). 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 VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. 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 as well as a 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 ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not 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. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

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 (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

NOTE: I NO LONGER SEND TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. ANY BIDS WILL BE IGNORED.

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 ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £12. (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 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’.