Tea And Symphony- An Asylum For The Musically Insane -Harvest UK LP 1969 SHVL761

	£		213
	$		282

Tea & Symphony – “An Asylum For The Musically Insane”

Harvest SHVL 761  Stereo 1969

 Gatefold laminated sleeve

 Matrix Numbers:-

 SHVL – 761  A – 3U

SHVL – 761  B – 3U

 Side 1

 1   "Armchair Theatre" - 3:54

 2   "Feel How So Cool The Wind" - 3:19

 3   "Sometime" - 4:14

 4   "Maybe My Mind (With Egg)" (Jeff Daw) - 3:42

 5   "The Come On" - 4:30

Side 2

1 "Terror In My Soul" (Jeff Daw, Nigel Phillips) - 6:06

2  "Travelling Shoes" (Fred Neil) - 4:25

3  "Winter" (James Langston) - 3:19

4  "Nothing Will Come To Nothing" (Nigel Phillips) - 6:12

(All tracks written by Jeff Daw except where noted.)

Personnel;

    Jeff Daw - lead guitar, flute, triangle, vocals

    James Langston - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, kazoo, bells, cymbal

    Nigel Phillips - drums, recorder, mandolin, organ, piano, vocals

with;

    Mick Hincks - bass (05)

    Bob Lamb - drums (05)

    Clem Clempson - lead guitar (05)

    Ron Chesterman - bass (07) (Track 2 of Side 2)

    Gus Dudgeon - percussion, producer[2][3]

With thanks to those at Wikipedia for the above track listing and personnel. The text on the sleeve is very curvy and arty and the devil to read! Peter Thaine did quite of LP sleeves around this time… Jody Grind’s “Far Canal” to mention one with enough double entendre.

First of two albums by Birmingham based Tea & Symphony. Hard to categorize.

I hear aspects of Beggars’ Opera, Incredible String Band and Doggerel Bank with snippets of Vivian Stanshall. It has a very theatrical feel. In fact the Brumbeat article below states that the band used to perform on stage with a mime artist. If he is on the record I couldn’t detect it.

Produced by Gus Dudgeon who produced such gems as John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, The Bonzo Dog Band’s  Doughnut In Granny’s Greenhouse, David Bowie’s Space Oddity, XTC’s brilliant Nonsuch and a shed full of Elton John albums.

http://www.brumbeat.net/teasymp.htm is a link to an excellent article by John R Woodhouse. Photos of the band, info on a single covering Procol Harum’s Boredom and a latter line up including Gerry Conway and Pat Donaldson.

You should know that this album is available as a CD. Remastered and expanded no less. Expanded means that “Boredom” is included. Remastered means that someone has cranked the bass to make it sound half way listenable on a miserable modern stereo. (Just my own view as I sit in front of 2 monolithic Cambridge R50 Speakers)

On with the main event.......

CONDITION.

The Sleeve

This is a gatefold laminated sleeve.  The laminate is complete save for one nick on the back top right.  What should say Stereo is now “Stere” with a small white patch to follow. A separate photograph of this is included.

On the inside there is the number 3 in red Biro. (Again at the top right.)

I’ve attached photos which should highlight these blemishes on an otherwise excellent* sleeve.

There is a plain paper window type inner sleeve which is fine.

The Label

Both sides have an “S” or a “5” in blue Biro. Both sides have had a matt patch about 1 by 1.5 cm where a sticky label must have been attached.  These may not be clear on the attached photographs but can be seen by tilting the label under a lamp.

There are virtually no spindle marks. There is no EMI logo on the label.

The name of the band appears above the Harvest logo. That book informs me that this is the original UK copy rather than the Dutch copy which would have had “An Asylum For The Musically Insane” above the Harvest logo.

The Vinyl

This in excellent* condition.  Under a lamp I can see a small blemish in the sheen crossing tracks 3 and 4 (Side 2) I’m playing that section as I write and can detect no effect on the quality which is excellent throughout. You would know it was vinyl but that is surely what you are seeking within this auction.

Thanks for looking over this item. I've done my best to highlight any deficiencies. Previously I’ve been able to attach a link to “Ecommerceplayer.com” to allow everyone to hear a recording. That mechanism is down at present and I am defeated by their option to cut and paste some ill-defined code into an HTML version of an Ebay listing. Pity.

This auction will run for the full time so I’d be obliged if you didn’t ask for a buy it now price.

 Apologies for any “typos” and my Cavalier use of upper and lower case text.

I am sure you will be satisfied with your copy of “An Asylum For The Musically Insane”, but should there be any issues with incorrect listing or quality, please contact me via e-mail before leaving negative feedback. If you still feel the description to be misleading, I will be happy to organise a refund, not including postage and packing, on its safe return to me.

* As per Record Collector Magazine's Grading Guide reproduced below.

Record will be send using a “Music Omax” cruciform mailer with a  cardboard  stiffener included.

Dispatch to UK E.U. & Norway, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia.

Payment by PAYPAL only. Payment within 7 days of end of auction.

For some reason Finland is in my excluded list, please ignore that.

UK Dispatch by First Class Mail (Signed For)

E.U., U.S.A.,Canada, Australia and Japan dispatch by “International Signed For” service from Royal Mail.  It’s a little more to send to Australia /New Zealand (Zone 2) than to Japan (Zone 1) Oh dear....

The package weights 410g before sealing.

Record Collector Magazine's Grading Guide:

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.