BILL NELSON ? NORTHERN DREAM ? EX 1971 Smile UK ? acid psych ASTRAL NAVIGATIONS

$

80

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Original first press of his extremely limited solo debut. Written, produced, sung and harmonised by Nelson, with the musical auteur also playing the lion’s share of the instruments, it was recorded on the most basic of equipment and thus enjoys a rawer, more honest sound than anything he would release afterwards. 300 copies of the album were originally pressed, the sessions funded by Nelson’s local record shop in Wakefield. It took the intervention of legendary radio DJ John Peel – as was so often the case – to bring Northern Dream to a wider audience and set young Bill on a road that would lead to the forming of unconventional prog act, Be-Bop Deluxe, and numerous other successes thereafter. Nelson's hometown of Holyground was a meeting place for Wakefield's beat scene, and he was invited to play on records released by the studio's own label, also called Holyground.  He played guitar on a track on the 1971 album, A-Austr, as well as on three songs on Astral Navigations, a similar LP assembled by the Holyground collective, together with Preston heavy rock band Thundermother.  The albums were sold through the Record Bar, but their tiny pressing runs led to them fetching huge sums on the progressive rock market by the mid-1980's. His next endeavor, Northern Dream, transverses various styles, soaking up the psychedelic, folk, blues and even a smattering of country rock. As the artist himself states, he “wandered the fields of Yorkshire trying to live the ‘peace and love’, post-hippie dream… some sort of psychedelic troubadour or something.” Choppy, psychedelic folk guitars reinforce this self-declared hippie fiefdom on the exhilarating ode to Mother Nature’s handiwork, ‘Rejoice’. And it’s Nelson’s guitar that provides the signature for Northern Dream, whether flying off at a tangent with some fancy finger-work at the close of ‘Everybody’s Hero’, or through the reversed looping which acts as the midsection on the album’s extended and progressive swansong, ‘Smiles’. Bill Nelson’s debut is a charming collection of unassuming gems that actually benefits from its economical approach to production, with Nelson using the limited tools at hand to create a full sound, which, at the same time, remains unpretentious and warm. Keyboardist/drummer Richard Brown played on the entire record, as did two local musicians, Gareth Elledge and Leom Arthurs, who played bass on four tracks in total.  Nelson himself played the other instruments.



Artist: BILL NELSON

Title: NORTHERN DREAM

Year: 1971

Label: Smile

Catalog Number: LAF 2182

Mono/Stereo/Quadro: mono

Country: England

Dead Wax Numbers:  HG+116+N+A  /  

HG+116+N+B  (stamped)

Weight: 153 grams

Cover Format: glossy gatefold with large flaps inside which hold the LP & booklet (not included) in place

Cover Condition: EX (sharp, crisp, vivid & tight,

light corner bumps & a few tiny edge-creases, slight ring wear & asmall piece of dymo tape on back)

Vinyl Condition: EX (perfect gloss, no groove wear, close to NM with a handful of inaudible hairlines, really couldn't be much nicer & plays flawlessly)

Label Condition: one faint spindle mark per side

We clean every record on a VPI HW-17F using Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions multi-step process (every disc goes into a brand-new poly-lined inner sleeve).

Everything is strictly graded using the classic Goldmine Standards that we have been applying since 1983: 

M / NM / EX / VG+ / VG / VG- / G+ / G  (please see bottom of auction for specific grading information).

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We will always work with you no matter what the circumstance.  We make ourselves readily available to all of our customers, and look forward to any and all questions or concerns you may have.  We have satisfied many thousands of online customers alone over the years, we hope to add you to the list.

We visually grade all records using the classic Goldmine Standard, to which we have added EX (as have many others), but we do not use any other variant from the classic scale.  No NM- or EX+ (which are both EX), EX- VG+++ or Near Excellent (which are all VG+), or any such other nebulous grades here!  We feel that nearly every collector will be more than pleased with anything listed EX or above in our auctions; they will all be top-shelf, archive quality items which will play M- throughout.  A VG+ record will truly satisfy all but the most critical curator.  On the very rare occasion we actually grade an opened LP as straight MINT, we can guarantee you’ll never find a nicer copy anywhere!

We will play-grade any LP if there is any reason to do so; any questionable mark, scuff or noteworthy artifact of any kind will be sampled to determine its true significance (which may obviously impact the grade ).  We will also gladly play-grade anything upon request; if you are curious about the actual pressing characteristics or any have other questions about its actual performance please feel free to ask.

MINT :  Absolutely perfect.

This record looks like it has just left the plant, with no flaws whatsoever.  It appears unhandled and unplayed, with no marks of any sort.  Usually only sealed or (sometimes) unplayed LPs will warrant this grade.

The cover does not appear to have had a record inside it; there is no wear or distraction of any kind.

 NM : Virtually flawless, top copy.

The record is virtually identical to the moment it was opened, but may have a few faint paper, packaging or pressing scuffs which will produce no sound whatsoever and are very hard to see without critical inspection.  It was very carefully handled and played, likely only once or twice.

The cover is as close to perfect as can be expected given its age.  There may be minor impressions due to the outer edge of the vinyl (no ring wear), the lightest possible corner bumps, or a few tiny laminate creases (mainly on imports), but no wear or whitening of any kind whatsoever.

EX : A beautiful specimen, which will please most critical collectors and not need to be upgraded.

The record has no scratches or significant blemishes, and will play NM throughout.  It retains 100% of the gloss, sheen and luster, but may have a handful of faint superficial scuffs, hairlines or light spindle marks which will not produce any sound whatsoever.

The cover is nearly perfect.  There may be the absolute faintest suggestion of ring wear or possibly a light touch of dulling on the corners (nothing wrinkled or obtrusive in any way), but no notable seam or spine wear, writing or sign of tape anywhere.

 VG+ : Plays perfectly nearly all of the time, with only a few minor distractions.

The record still retains nearly all of the gloss, sheen and luster, but there may be a handful of inaudible superficial marks or scuffs, a mild scattering of light hairlines (which would only be faintly audible between tracks or in some very quiet passages), or a few stray marks which may mildly sound for a few revolutions. Each flaw is very minor, barely noticeable to the naked eye, and will not detract from the enjoyment in any way.

The cover is still very clean and crisp, but may look slightly more aged and have a few minor flaws such as small unobtrusive writing, minor wear to the seams and spine (no splits), slightly worn corners, very light ring wear or minor creasing.  No flaw is at all distracting in and of itself.

 VG : A nice play copy, which will perform without much significant distraction.

The record appears well played, but still has the majority of the luster.  It will not have been abused, though there will be some audible sound defects which will not overpower the dynamics of the music, such as mild surface noise in the quietest sections, a handful of stray isolated pops and clicks (which are brief and occasional), or possibly some very mild groove wear; still no skips, repeats, or anything deep or seriously pronounced.  It will play through quite nicely most of the time, with very minimal distraction.

The cover looks somewhat used and shows some mild wear.  There may be some minor seam splitting, ring wear (which still doesn’t overwhelm the cover), discreet writing (not large magic marker), or mild yellowing due to air contaminants. It is still nice, just a few notable flaws away from VG+.

We will never sell anything less than VG, so the rest of the scale is unnecessary.  We absolutely detest groove wear, so we will almost never list anything lacking the overwhelming majority of the luster, sheen and gloss.  Anything of significance will always be noted. 

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