CLARK HUTCHINSON Gestalt RARE Orig UK 1971 Deram N/M LP

	£		80
	$		106

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options.

Artist or Band: CLARK HUTCHINSON

Album Title: Gestalt.

Producer(s): Colin Cauldwell and Clark Hutchinson.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Mans’s Best Friend; Love is the Light; The Light Burns On; Come Up Here; Disorientated Part I.

Side 2: A Boat in the Mist; Orientated; First Reminder; Mix Elikir; Poison; Disorientated Part II.

Label/Format: Deram (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both near immaculate: ultra clean, super fresh and attractive with only two or three light and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. This barely played record has two playing surfaces and sound that could practically pass as new.

Cat Number: SML 1090.

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: 151 grams. Way above average for it’s era, this is a top quality heavyweight record as you would expect from this Decca subsidiary label.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Quite rare: just like their other two previous albums, this did not sell in any great numbers and is seldom seen or offered.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: XZAL-10665.A.P-3 / XZAL-10666.B.P-2

Mothers / Stampers: 1 C / 1 C

Musicians: Andy Clark - Hammond organ, Grafton plastic alto saxophone, piano, vocals, poetry; Del Coverly - drums; Michael Hutchinson - guitars.

Brief Info: The third album by this progressive act and for me, their very best. After the stoned-out vocal excess of the previous album, this one is far more controlled and far more enjoyable. Musically more varied and even including some haunting saxophone. The superb guitar-work of Hutchinson still stands out and an all-round super album. Of the three, I have found this the most difficult to find, and with a cover even approaching ‘respectable’, even harder. Most are seen severely ringworn with deep penetrating white circles on both sides, I prefer to leave these alone, but realistically, some wear is unavoidable. Still, any, quite mild in this case, cover wear is more than compensated by a stunning record that truly looks immaculate and plays to perfection. These albums were usually perchased by certain types initially and few survive looking almost like new and were often played with less care than they deserved on fairly basic record players. This record on offer is at the other end of the vinyl spectrum and looks and sounds stunning. My first ever copy of this on Ebay, I have never found a worthy copy before, this being exceptional and way beyond ‘worthy’. This will delight all prog and vinyl collectors.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High+: very thin, black matt card, thick heavy record inside for 40 years. All the ingredients for severe ringwear, sticker damages, tears and major rubbing. Few will avoid them.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: a single unlaminated format with matt surfaces. Printed and made in England by Moore & Matthes.

Cover: Front & Back: My grading means any real wear as such is natural, simply leaving this within a rack with the record inside for four decades will mean it will press and dull around the shape – ‘ringwear’ being the term used. My pictures may flatter this a little, both sides have dulled around the rim but barely any traces of ink has been eroded or lost and that is very unusual indeed. Matt black rarely escapes with such thin card and a 150gram record is it’s worst enemy. When viewed full on, this dulling shows little but more at an angle or course. Hugely revealing surfaces, so a tiny few light and fine surface blemishes show a tad but the lack of sticker marks and creasing is great news. The front coloured artwork looks superb and is close to perfect and given all the facts, both sides look very nice, dare I suggest exceptional. My pictures will not show the relatively mild dulling due my camera flash, but I have made is more than clear there is some present, but far, far less than will be seen on most.

Top Edge: Barely any wear, very thin and fragile too.

Bottom Edge: Some light patchy rubbing, being the resting edge and so flimsy, this can be considered by mild indeed.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering and guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Solid but very thin, due to compression?, I am not sure and that’s the truth, it could be very likely made this way. All text is near perfect with just the odd tiny clip trace. Being so thin, this is more visible via the front. With close examination, I think this has tiny corner area tip-ins, if so, barely even noticeable.

Corners: All retain excellent shape with possible tiny tip touch-ins – the previous owner’s choice, not mine.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this immensely fragile and wear-prone 70’s cover, one that will prove difficult to find significantly better. This still attractive item should please many, if not most realistic collectors. This does have record rim rub-dulling, so if this is an issue, do not bid.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): only marked down for age toning on the back. This is a Decca lined inner that includes a UK Patent number and ‘Foreign Patents Pending’ text. The window circles are pristine and lining firmly attached, all edges unsplit with no repairs and barely any creases at all.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(-): and a full Mint grading would not be unreasonable, but clearly played a couple of times, so my grading stands. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed. A copy hardly even removed from the inner on all the evidence and visually a wonderful record that should please 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 snippets 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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This top quality, barely used record plays up to it’s 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 hardly even registered and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing as you would expect from Deram-Decca. Few copies will match, let alone outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, if the vocal excess of the previous album were not for you, this one might be, a truly superb progressive album with fine production and musicianship. This record will prove near impossible to find better and can be strongly recommended. The modest cover wear is more than compensated by a stunning record.

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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 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.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

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, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. 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. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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 the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

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 (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; 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]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (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 time-wasters. 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. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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 necessarily 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’.