Caravan- In the land of grey and pink, Dbl SWIRLY GREY & PINK VINYL 387/500 only

	£		37
	$		49

 

HELLO AGAIN!!

After quite a long break from selling (nearly two years!) im back to do a major ‘slim down’ of my collection and other lps which have made it into my household. Please note the below:

·        I’m not a record dealer or business, my record collecting is just a hobby (I have a full time career elsewhere!) and therefore fit in selling with work and family life.

·        I sell like I buy- please look at my feedback- I pay quickly, like to resolve any issues swiftly and in a ‘honest, straight forward way’. If I send out a record which doesn’t live up to expectations then I will GUARENTEE that the issue will be rapidly resolved to the buyers satisfaction in a friendly manner- I ALWAYS endeavour to get it right when grading a record but we are all human.

·        I only clean vinyl if I consider it necessary as everyone has their own preferred method; I will endeavour to play every lp in entirety on my Project Deck with Ortofon cartridge through a Cambridge audio amp & pre amp and Tannoy revolution speakers prior to listing. I will state in the listing if this HAS NOT happened or if the lp is SEALED.

·        I will describe every aspect of the package but without writing endless description- obviously a rare or unusual item requires more information and detail!

·        Please contact me if you have any questions, queries or want more photos.

CARAVAN- IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK, DOUBLE LP 4OTH ANNIVERSARY RE-ISSUE ON SWIRLY 'GREY AND PINK' VINYL. NUMBERED 387 OF 500 ONLY WORLDWIDE, DERAM/UNIVERSAL 533 420-0 RELEASED IN 2011

Caravan:  In The Land Of Grey & Pink
Cat No: 533420-0 Release Date: 30.05.2011
To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the release of Caravan’s In The Land Of Grey And Pink, Universal is pleased to announce a special double lp edition of the album. The original multi-track session and album masters have been revisited by Steven Wilson (of Porcupine Tree and Blackfield) who has prepared new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes. 


Like Soft Machine, Caravan was born out of Canterbury based band Wilde Flowers, a group subject to many line-up changes. At various times the outfit featured Kevin Ayers (guitar), Richard Sinclair (guitar), Robert Wyatt (drums), and Hugh Hopper (bass). The band was augmented in 1965 when Hopper invited trainee dental technician and drummer Richard Coughlan to replace Robert Wyatt, who had chosen to sing rather than play drums. Shortly afterwards a new guitarist was also recruited, Pye Hastings, born in Banffshire, Scotland (but living in Canterbury since the age of twelve). Originally an R&B band, Wilde Flowers were developing towards more of a soul direction when Dave Sinclair joined, originally playing bass, but soon switching to keyboards. Both Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt then departed just a few months apart, both later re-emerging in Soft Machine.
By 1968, changing their name to Caravan, the classic first line-up comprised Pye Hastings, guitar and vocals; Richard Sinclair, bass guitar and vocals; Dave Sinclair, keyboards; and Richard Coughlan, drums. Caravan soon developed a unique style, having begun to write their own material, and began to perform outside of Kent. An appearance at Middle Earth in Covent Garden in June 1968 eventually led to Caravan becoming the first British band to sign to the New York-based Verve Records. The album Caravan appeared on Verve Forecast in October 1968 and stands creatively along side classic early British psychedelic recordings like Pink Floyd’s Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Family’s Music in a Doll’s House and Traffic’s Mr. Fantasy. Unfortunately, the album was only in the shops for a matter of months before Verve Records ceased operations in the UK. 

Caravan soon found a new home, signing to Decca Records and recording their second album in September 1969. The irreverently titled If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You was released a year later. By then, Caravan had already written the new material that would make up the bulk of their next vinyl outing. In the Land of Grey and Pink was the result - arguably, their finest hour. 

Sessions for the album began at Decca Studios in West Hampstead in September 1970 where Caravan worked on first versions of what would become legendary songs in their repertoire. On this occasion, Pye Hastings' sole songwriting contribution was Love To Love You. He explains his relative lack of material thus: “For the first two albums I wrote most of the material, and Dave Sinclair also wrote a lot. When it came to Grey and Pink the others had a big backlog of material. Dave especially was advancing way ahead of the rest of us in terms of musical development, so he had a lot of say on the album. Richard Sinclair also had a pile of good material. I only contributed one entire track, but offered bits to some others.”

The first song recorded was Richard Sinclair’s Group Girl, aka Golf Girl. Another Richard Sinclair composition to grace the album was Winter Wine, a song of fairy tales and dreams. “We tended to come up with the music first and the lyrics were usually the last thing to be finished,” explained Pye. “I think Winter Wine is probably the finest song Richard Sinclair has every written.” The remaining sessions in September 1970 were dedicated to Dave’s Thing, a major composition that became Nine Feet Underground. The 22-minute opus was recorded in five distinct sections and skilfully edited by David Hitchcock and engineer Dave Grinsted. In December 1970 the band moved to the newly opened Air London studios in Oxford Street. These AIR sessions saw Golf Girl re-recorded, with a superb piccolo solo from Pye’s brother, Jimmy Hastings, plus the remaining titles, including Grey and Pink and Hastings' Love To Love You. The work at Air also produced Richard Sinclair’s long unreleased “Frozen Rose (I Don’t Know It’s Name Alias The Word)”, now one of the bonus tracks on Disc Two.
The album’s final mixing was completed at Decca studios in January 1971, with its initial single, released on February 12th 1971, coupling Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) with Golf Girl. In The Land Of Grey And Pink followed in April 1971 on Decca’s progressive rock label Deram. It was the inaugural release in Deram’s “deluxe” series, its gatefold sleeve featuring a striking Tolkien-esque illustration by Anne-Marie Anderson. Both the music within and the album sleeve created a stunning impression but, despite failing to register on the official UK album chart, In The Land Of Grey And Pink has remained on catalogue since its 1971 release and is Caravan’s biggest selling album. It’s splendid fusion of folk, jazz and rock - tinged with the band’s humour - created an album that is still highly regarded. Forty years on, In The Land Of Grey And Pink is, perhaps, Caravan’s defining moment.

CONDITION: Sleeve: Nr Mint; opened, no longer in shrink but

Inner Sleeves: Nr MINT (discs are provided in plain white inners for protection of discs and inner sleeves)

Labels are: Nr MINT

Vinyl is: Nr MINT; played once.

POSTAGE COSTS: 

All lp's are sent in manufactured cardboard record mailers with bubble wrap and cardboard stiffeners to protect the LP's; the discs are separated from the sleeve (and often in a brand new paper inner with original included) to avoid damage in transit. I always get a proof of postage receipt for all packages sent.

 

UK Standard (2nd class) postage is £3.75 for the first single LP or £4.50 a double LP; £1.00 per lp up to 5 lps per package.

UK Recorded delivery postage is £4.75 per first lp or £5.50 for a double lp with £1.50 per single lp up to 5 lps per package.

 

Items of over £20.00 in value will only be sent by recorded delivery.

 

Will post to Europe (including all EU countries & Russia, Poland, Ukraine, etc.) and Rest of the World (USA, Japan, Australia, Korea, etc.), but IMPORTANT NOTE* Due to a significant increase of lost mail all items to Russia, Ukraine, USA and South America will only to be sent International recorded delivery, please wait for the invoice.

ALSO NOTE: Airmail is limited to packages of 4 or 5 lp's due to Post Office weight restrictions.

Europe, 1 LP £8.00, extra single lp's £2.50. Countries noted above (Russia, Ukraine) will add on £6.00 for international recorded delivery.

Rest of the World, 1 LP £12.00, extra single lp's £5.00. Countries noted above (USA, South America) will add on £6.00 for international recorded delivery.

 

All Vinyl Strictly Graded according to ‘RECORD COLLECTOR’ Grading System as set out below:

 

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, discoloration, 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.

Please see my feedback and comments and bid with absolute confidence!