PRETTY THINGS SF Sorrow & Parachute Harvest 75 N/M LPs.

	£		19
	$		25

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: PRETTY THINGS

Album Title: SF Sorrow & Parachute.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: S.F. Sorrow is Born; Bracelets of Fingers; She Says Good Morning; Private Sorrow; Balloon Burning; Death.

Side 2: Baron Saturday; The Journey; I See You; Well of Destiny; Trust; Old Man Going; Loneliest Person.

Side 3: Scene One: The Good Mr. Square; She Was Tall, She Was High; In the Square; The Letter; Rain; Miss Fay Regrets; Cries From the Midnight Circus.

Side 4: Grass; Sickle Clowns; She's a Lover; What’s the Use; Parachute.

Label/Format: Harvest ‘Heritage’ series (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: All four very clean and attractive with only light and faint spindle traces and no wear around the hole area. Both these records look hardly played and sound superb.

Cat Number: SHDW 406.

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 these Records: 130 / 130 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: Moderate+.

Original Year of Release: This set 1975. (SF Sorrow originally issued in 1968 on Columbia and Parachute in 1970 on Harvest).

Matrix Nos: YAX 3738-1 / YAX 3739-1 & SHVL 774 A-2 / SHVL 774 B-2 (error corrected).

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 H / 1 O & 1 GA / 1 GG

Musicians: Phil May - vocals; Dick Taylor - lead guitar, vocals; John Povey - organ, sitar, percussion, vocals; Wally Allen (aka Waller) - bass, guitar, vocals, wind instruments, piano; Skip Alan - drums; John Charles Alder (Twink) - drums.

Brief Info: Two classic ‘progressive’ albums packaged into one and a great chance for the vinyl-lover to enjoy what are two scarce albums as originals. SF Sorrow particularly so, Columbia originals command huge prices in conditions like this pair and are elusive and rare. The was the Pretty Things changing direction totally, not all fans approved especially initially but this pair are highly sort-after. SF Sorrow is a rock opera of sort and one of the earliest albums of its type. Parachute is more progressive still and many consider it their best album ever. Both these mid-70s repressings on Harvest sound superb, neither have been played many times and sound quality is practically perfect for both. In terms of value-for-money, these are unbeatable. With original copies of SF Sorrow changing hands for £300 to £700 for near mint copies in stereo and mono, prog lovers can sit and enjoy this pair in the knowledge the bank balance has not been broken. Nothing beats owning an original of course, but this set is ideal for those who just want the music (and to hear it play perfectly too).

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High.

Cover Grade and Format: Nr EX, it has some mild ringwear which for black, double album unlaminated gatefolds is hardly unusual, more the normal infact. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse.

Cover Front: A few light surface marks and mild ringwear at the top and bottom. A few light edge hairline creases but clean with minimal rubbing.

Cover Back: The back is largely the same with the ring arcs slightly heavier but far from excessive on either side.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Devoid of any noteworthy wear - what may appear like rubbing on my picture is NOT wear, it’s the design of the artwork.

Top Edges: Tiny faint rub traces only.

Bottom Edges: The top edges are black, the bottom white, these appear to heave little wear either.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little wear and no feathering. Records entered on these right outside edges.

Spine and Text: A fine spine too: Solid, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up perfectly together. All text is near practically perfect and unworn and any wear to the surface is tiny and faint.

Corners: Small tip rubs but all all retain excellent shape and fine definition.

Cover Summary: A solid EX or near all round example of this wear-prone mid-70’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find much better. This example should please many collectors but not the perfectionists.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Both records Mint(-) with just a tiny surface blemish mark on side two of Parachute with NO sound. A superb visual pair that are super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A pair with minimal plays on all the evidence. Visually super records that should please most-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: Both records play up to their 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. Any surface sounds barely even registered and no pops or clicks were noted and these are exceptional clean pressings. Few copies will outperform these Harvest repressings. I am certain both records have been played very lightly and have been clearly well stored and carefully handled. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading these fine records. The Harvest Heritage series albums did not suffer any lessening in quality, and in terms of fidelity and clean sound, these will match the earlier pressigs. Even the final sound on Parachute where the note gets higher and higher until it goes out of range for the human ear, is crisp and sharp and devoid of crackle and distortions. Few originals will match or better this. As I have often stated regarding later repressings, they had a far better chance of avoiding needle abuse from the past and more likely to have been played on better, more suitable and lighter-tracking equipment. This set will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

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’.