FAIRPORT CONVENTION - FIRST ALBUM 1st UK Press FOLK / PSYCH MONSTER RARITY 1968

	£		172
	$		227

FAIRPORT CONVENTION

VERY RARE 1st UK  POLYDOR LABEL 

1968 PRESSING BY PHILIPS / POLYDOR 

583 035

FAIRPORT CONVENTION

1968 FIRST ALBUM

ORIGINAL FULLY LAMINATED SLEEVE - Excellent

Vinyl condition : EXCELLENT + (high gloss shine)

Play graded : EXCELLENT (hi fi audio quality. This is critical play grading using a highly sensitive Nagaoka MP10 SB cartridge fitted to an SME headshell, BBC arm and Garrard 401 deck)

This auction is for a top copy of Fairport's debut album and their only one on Polydor . An absolute rarity in its own right in any condition. This copy must be an upgrade for 99% of collectors. I have never seen this album as a very first press in such stunning condition. Barely played for sure and well looked after and archived. This has been stored under the right conditions and inside a polythene sleeve in a dust free environment for all its life. It sits totally flat on the turntable and has no faults whatsoever.

"This is the debut album by the legendary British Folk-Rock group Fairport Convention, which was one of the pioneering and groundbreaking recordings of that genre in Britain. The group was a sextet at the time and comprised of lead vocalist Judy Dyble, vocalist Ian MacDonald, guitarist Richard Thompson, vocalist / guitarist Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Martin Lamble. A band fronted by a female vocalist was a novelty on the British scene. The debut album presented twelve songs, seven of which were originals and five were American Folk-Rock songs.

The musical setting of the debut album clearly shows the band influenced by American Folk-Rock, especially early American Electric Folk-Rock bands like Jefferson Airplane, Byrds, Left Banke etc., and singers / songwriters like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Tim Hardin and others. Created at the very peak of Flower Power, the album was also influenced by Psychedelia, avant-garde Jazz and contemporary Classical music, as appropriate for the period. These influences are much more subtle that those of the American Electric Fork-Rock, but they are the reason why this album is not a stylistic carbon copy but an original attempt to find their own artistic expression and in many respects is much more complex than albums by their American counterparts.

The album was almost completely ignored at the time of its release, which prompted the band to switch to Island Records, where they subsequently released the bulk of their legendary classic material, with Dyble being replaced by the superb Sandy Denny. In retrospect the album sounds a bit naïve today, but all things considered it still is a great piece of music and a wonderful document of the times, definitely worth revisiting." Review from: rateyourmusic.com"

A splendid ultra heavy glossy vinyl .

In the last 10 years I have only come across 1 copy of this great Fairport album as a proper first press which in my opinion is the pinnacle of progressive folk musicianship in the late sixties / early seventies. This reminds of the Comus stunner for example or also Forest's Full Circle . Sensational sound quality, NO skips or jumps. NO clicks,  NO crackle. This is really a stunning SUPER vinyl with a beautiful deep gloss. This vinyl has not been played much at all !!!  A definite EX!!!  There are only paper retraction traces, not visible in the normal daylight, totally inaudible on replay.  Don't be mistaken, this is a great quality vinyl, worthy of inclusion into a great prog/folk collection!!! Inspected under an intense light source and angled.

Vinyl: EX +. A fantastic upgrade. This is a seriously desirable ORIGINAL album and very rare in this great condition!!!  It does not get much better than this. This is nowadays gold dust and very hard indeed to still find as an original!!! The vinyl has a beautiful glossy sheen on both sides and has barely seen any play. A definite upgrade for most and sensationally rare indeed!! No spindle traces on the labels which are the original first press variety.

Sleeve: EX.  A great single sleeve with beautiful artwork. This sleeve is very flimsy but is still in great shape. The front is laminated as is the spine. No major creases, just a very light thumb crease, barely visible.  The opening is still super crisp! The spine is 100% legible.This is a lovely sleeve housing a top notch vinyl.

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.