EGG Civil Surface UK 1U/1U 1st Press 1974 Caroline C1510 CANTERBURY Prog NM- LP

$

103

Over 100 rare vintage PROG, Krautrock, SPACE ROCK and Electronic Music LPs in this Auction series.
from 50+ years collection of decades-long radio DJ, Record Store associate and dedicated Vinyl Collector.
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All Auctions in this series start at 99¢ opening bid!
Everybody should have a good chance at taking a few of these treasures home.
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Mostly 1st PRESSING Vintage imports, including a few Private Press and Promo LPs
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A lot of 1st Press CANTERBURY, KRAUTROCK and Euro-Prog LPs - some SIGNED - this time around, plus much more.
including some VERTIGO Swirl, Green BRAIN, OHR, PDU, Deram, Crypto, Harvest, Cobra, Spalax, Caroline, Charisma, etc. labels.
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Many still in SHRINK WRAP. Several STILL SEALED.
Quite a few Sterling, Masterdisk and Monarch (USA) pressings in the mix!

SECURE, TOP LP Packing and Materials - 40+ years experience.

This listing is for:
EGG
The Civil Surface
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CAROLINE Records C 1510
Original 1974 issue Stereo LP
FIRST PRESSING • 1U/1U Matrix
w/Original 1st Press Sticker
Original 1st EMI Pressing

VINYL is NEAR MINT-
Gleaming full gloss, exceptionally clean. a few ultra-light sleeve wisps only, viewed under hard bright light. LP plays superb. Labels super clean both sides - faint spindle traces inside center circle seen when viewed at angle to light.
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COVER is VG (+)
Crisp and clean matte cover would rate a SOLID VG+ except for dark line and wear spot at bottom right edge of front. Otherwise mighty nice - with a couple of lightly bumped (still sharp) corner tips and a few mild edge creases. Small, light ring wear crescents at top/bottom edges only. No other significant wear; no writing, soil or other marks. Seams and spine completely intact with no splits.


STRICT CONSERVATIVE GOLDMINE GRADING
NM / EX(VG++) / VG+ / VG

Rare TRUE 1st PRESS!
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MATRIX NUMBERS -STAMPED
SIDE ONE: C 1510 A-1U    T (sideways)    1
SIDE TWO: C 1510 B-1U    P (sideways)   1

Other TRUE FIRST PRESS indicators - all present:
all verified and checked as/per DISCOGS "How to identify a first pressing:" on this title/issue.
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√Matrix numbers are C1510 A-1U/B-1U = EMI Pressing: better sound quality than later reissues).
√Back cover has EJD printed in lower left corner.
√Labels do not have rights info rim text.
√Cover has the Caroline logo sticker w/ introductory "Recommended Price £1.46".
√Catalog # on spine and back cover is 'C1510'. on labels: 'C 1510'.

Recorded at Saturn Studios, Worthing, August 1974.
℗ & © Virgin Records Ltd.
Cover Printed by E.J. Day Group
Pressed by EMI Records
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First achieving prominence with seminal progressive/Canterbury group EGG, it was with Hatfield and the North that British keyboardist DAVE STEWART matured into a more jazz-centric writer/player. That said, EGG's first two discs—Egg (Nova/Deram, 1970) and The Polite Force (Deram, 1971)—demonstrated a remarkably mature voice for someone who, alongside equal contributors Mont Campbell (bass, vocals, French horn) and Clive Brooks (drums), was still on the cusp of his twenties. With Egg's unfortunate demise in 1972, some of its best material remained undocumented, barring a now-lost BBC date. Thankfully, when Hatfield's 1974 eponymous debut garnered significant attention, Stewart was able to convince Virgin Records' Richard Branson to let Egg regroup in the studio to commit that material to tape.

THE CIVIL SURFACE reflects widening interests, with Stewart's greater jazz-centricity and wryly melodic Canterbury flavor most notable on the longer tracks "Germ Patrol", "Enneagram" and "Wring Out the Ground (Loosely Now)" featuring Stewart's former ARZACHEL, URIEL and KHAN bandmate STEVE HILLAGE on lead guitar. That "Enneagram" and "Wring Out..." - the only vocal track for Campbell, seemingly reference "Lobster in Cleavage Probe" and "Gigantic Land Crabs in Earth Takeover Bid" from Hatfield's debut is only a matter of timing: these were, after all, originally written - for EGG - before Hatfield's first album, just recorded afterwards. And the same sense of creating arcing musical threads that would define Hatfield records surfaces here, with "Enneagram" ultimately back-referencing one of the key motifs on "Germ Patrol".

The complex writing—episodic tracks filled with complex meters, rich harmonies and tight arrangements, as well as some strong solos—bears an unmistakable link to Hatfield but, with Campbell's rigorous classicism an equal part of the equation, it still sounds like Egg. A number of guests—including bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper and clarinetist Tim Hodgkinson from Henry Cow, and The Northettes (Amanda Parsons, Barbara Gaskin and Ann Rosenthal), who lend their near-angelic voices to the pensive "Prelude"—also expand Egg's textural landscape considerably.

Campbell's classical proclivities are even more apparent on "Wind Quartet 1" and "Wind Quartet 2". These two miniatures, along with "Nearch"—a curious piece that proceeds largely in near-silence, with riveting sharp punctuation at seemingly unpredictable intervals—were originally written for and performed by The Ottawa Company: the Egg/Khan/Henry Cow big band that Stewart led with Cow's Chris Cutler in the early 1970s.

But it's the longer pieces (all over eight minutes) and "Prelude" that make The Civil Surface a more satisfying and inherently less-dated effort than Egg's first two albums. It's a disc that, over thirty years later, still sounds relevant and, with the improved sonics and Powell's informative liner notes, fills an important gap in the history of both Stewart and the Canterbury sound.
 ~thanks to JOHN KELMAN.
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Organ, Piano – Dave Stewart
Bass, Voice, French Horn, Piano – Mont Campbell
Drums – Clive Brooks
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Lead Guitar - guest on Wring Out The Ground (Loosely Now) - Steve Hillage
Voicings - Amanda Parsons, Ann Rosenthal, Barbara Gaskin
Bassoon, Oboe – Lindsay Cooper


TRACK LISTING
SIDE ONE
Germ Patrol

8:31 Wind Quartet I 2:20 Enneagram 9:07 SIDE TWO
Prelude
4:17 Wring Out The Ground (Loosely Now) 8:11 Nearch 3:22 Wind Quartet II 4:48
SUPERB SOUND QUALITY on this coveted TRUE FIRST PRESSING
Great copy of a classic early Canterbury rarity!

*this album has been OUT OF PRINT for Decades
...the last VINYL Press was a Japan issue in 1980.

Vinyl inside anti-static lined inner sleeve
Album kept in a protective, poly outer-sleeve

.Please see my other listings for more Rare CANTERBURY, DAVE STEWART and related LPs
and other Vintage Collectible KRAUTROCK, PROG, PROG-PSYCH, ELECTRONIC and SPACE-ROCK Import LPs.
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From an utterly vast and deep record collection, from my life-long best friend
who was a DJ at the Radio Station I co-founded in the 1970's - and who worked for me at my California record store in the '70s and '80s.
Sadly he has now finally left this mortal coil, bequeathing me his deep Vinyl Mine.
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Several thousand records (mostly LP's, but also hundreds of 45's), several hundred collectible and Rare, Out of Print CDs and Box Sets,
plus posters and other memorabilia will all eventually be listed.

Truly a great (and enormous) collection!
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You deserve and will receive FAST SHIPPING and CAREFUL, SECURE PACKING.

My LP packing is considered to be among the very best on eBay!
All records packed (with vinyl inside inner sleeve, behind cover for open LPs) with bubble-wrap around all sides - sandwiched between stiff corrugated flats - and shipped in strong LP mailer boxes, for best protection in the mail.

SHIPPING RATES
Will usually ship within 1 business day of receiving cleared payment.
...Orders shipped out FIRST PAID/FIRST SHIPPED. a later payment may add an extra day to posting.

USA:
Media Mail: $3.82 for 1st LP // $0.50 per additional LP
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Priority Mail: $14.75 for 1st LP // $1.00 per additional LP
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for COMBINED Shipping Discount:
place all items in CART and make 1 payment for all items.
*(to accommodate eBay payment / shipping set-up ...it can only see COMBINED if you purchase all at once)..

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I Charge EXACT POSTAGE only, Worldwide.
FIRST CLASS INTERNATIONAL or PRIORITY INTERNATIONAL - Your Choice.

* I reserve the right to cancel any bids by any international bidders with poor or very low feedback.

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I do NOT EVER want to exclude all bidders from any particular country, even though a few specific countries are responsible for almost all spurious "not received" or "not as described" claims over the years. This evolves... for instance in France, buyers from Ile de France area seem, more and more, to be very prone to make a false claim. (one of my earliest, very best customers was from Ile de France but moved to Belgium some years back) ...so even there, I hate to exclude ALL buyers from there; however I cannot possibly afford to be scammed due to the unlucky result of a winning bidder being a bad actor. IF you are from that area and want to bid/buy, simply contact me first and give me good reason to trust you.

Also it seems to be the fun game recently for some in Germany, Spain and Italy to buy far more than the collector can afford and make false claims on many of them. Again I will need to know you can be trusted. Many, many great buyers in all those countries, but plenty of trouble comes from them as well. Brazil has terrible post/mail problems. Italy has long Customs hold times. In NONE of those cases is it my fault and I will not lose out because of other countries' problems beyond my control. Occasional problems from China and Russia -I reserve the right to cancel a sale or bids from any buyer, case-by-case if I note problematic behavior or red flags.

Having said that, I will not ever cancel any bidders with solid, good reputations and feedback.

I sell regularly to all those countries (though Ile de France bidders will definitely need to contact me FIRST before bidding).

I wish there was no need for this caution, but I must and I do protect myself.

If you are honest, responsible and genuine, we will never have a problem and you may bid with absolutely no worries.

*OVERSEAS CUSTOMERS:
for all packages below $100.00
I will ALWAYS offer you choices
The standard LOWEST rate that the US Postal system allows (First Class International),
or the FASTER, but higher rate, which includes Full Tracking (Priority International).

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All packages above 4 Lbs (5-6 or more LPs) can NOT ship by the low 1ST CLASS International rate.
Those must go by higher (but faster) PRIORITY INTERNATIONAL RATE with FULL TRACKING.
These are US Postal System rules, not mine.

ALL ITEMS OR COMBINED PACKAGES OF $100.00 OR OVER, SHIPPED OVERSEAS
must ship FULLY INSURED by PRIORITY MAIL INTERNATIONAL for FULL TRACKING.