GENTLE GIANT In a Glass House SCARCE UK 73 EX++ COMPLETE.

	£		32
	$		42

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe £12. Rest of World £16. ALL signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes.

NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible after the very significant Royal Mail price increases and will never compromise on solid, safe packing.

Artist or Band: GENTLE GIANT

Album Title: In a Glass House.

Producer(s): Gentle Giant.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Runaway; An Inmates Lullaby; Way of Life.

Side 2: Experience; A Reunion; In a Glass House.

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

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with three or four fine and light spindle marks on side two. Barely a trace of any on the other – this a fantastic example of a difficult record (and cover), this appears hardly even played.

Cat Number: WWA (Super De Luxe) 002.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 119 grams. A typical weight for this album.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Moderately scarce: and try to find a complete original much better than this.

Original Year of Release: 1973

Matrix Nos: WWA 002 1Y // 1 1 1 2 3 / WWA 002 2Y // 4 1 1 2 4

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘RAYS’ [on side one]

Musicians: Derek Shulman – Vocals, alto and soprano saxophones, recorder; Gary Green – 6 & 12 string guitars, mandolin, percussion, alto recorder; Kerry Minnear - keyboards, tune percussion, recorder, vocals; Ray Shulman - bass guitar, violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocals; John Weathers - drums, percussion.

Brief Artist & Album Info: After four albums on the Vertigo Spiral label, this was their fifth, and appeared on the brand new WWA label, one the earliest titles issued on it. The label may be been new, but still a typical Gentle Giant album and for me anyway, one of their very best. Certainly one of the more challenging progressive bands with complex music patterns with many time and structure changes. Very original and had their own unique sound and with musicianship of the highest quality. A band that had a strong following within their genre, but not everyone’s taste. This very early WWA copy is in super condition, the record offers nigh-on pristine sound that is the best I have heard for some considerable time. The silk screen cover with a lovely clean clear window shows little wear – many are seen with burred edges and tears – this has none. The perspex silk screen window front looks immaculate with barely any surface marks, scratches or scuffs and the inner sheet near Mint. Also the often missing lyric inner sleeve is equally fine and for sure is the best I have seen. The record appears hardly even played and sounds stunning with nothing to fault at all. Complete examples in this condition are very challenging to find and this shoule please most collectors.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High, an impossibly difficult sleeve to find in top conditions with every conceivable aspect within it’s format against it – it’s rarely seen even a fine excellent.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): an impossibly fragile cover this is a single matt format and unlaminated. It has moderate texturing front and back and constructed with fairly soft card too. Being so black, it shows all blemishes freely, even fingermarks will adhere and show – this looks hardly handled which is great news. If all was not fragile enough already, this has a large die-cut front window that has a perspex ‘glass pane’ that has been silk screen artworked. The insert sheet is illustrated too and when inserted into place, gives quite a strange 3D type of effect. This very specialised cover was printed and made in England. Includes the lyric ‘Giant’ inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Exceptional with little to fault, never take this for granted like this. A few fine spine edge hairline creases but little else with any mark traces tiny, few and faint. Barely a hint of any rubbing to the fragile textured surfaces of the window frame and the fine text and logo are pristine. The edge of the window rectangle is immaculate and without a single blemish at all. Ultra crisp and totally unburred or creased, not seen one like for ages. The silk screen printing on the ‘glass’ part of the window is Mint – I cannot see a single mark, hairline or scratch to the surface at all and it remains shiny, fresh and ultra clear. The delicate window and it’s screen print in this condition is what sets apart the average to the exceptional – and this front is far closer to exceptional than the former.

Cover Back: Again in almost stunning condition – the lack of rubbing and ringwear is little short of remarkable and this really does come close to reminding of new. The odd super-fine surface mark or semi-crease being critical, but like the front, it will prove beyond difficult to better.

Top Edge: Any rub traces are ultra fine and faint. Remaining very straight too .

Bottom Edge: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear and guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on this delicate right outside edge that is practically devoid of thickening or burring.

Spine and Text: This spine is folded with a very sharp fold crease, so ultra fine traces of whitening on the extreme end of this area that will prove near impossible to avoid – and I am talking mega-fine. A very fine spine overall, quite delicate with nipped ends in manufacture, these both remain neat and crisp, again retaining strong ink coverage. This is solid, straight with minimal traces of compression. All text is near perfect and unworn which will be rarely seen. There are NO tip-ins.

Corners: Any tip rubs are tiny and all retain excellent shape or better.

Cover Summary: I have rarely seen another example that even gets close to this – okay, a few tiny and minor blemishes but please put this one into context. More often seen tired and tatty, this one is superb and that fragile window looks amazing. Being honest, the WWA label is not as charismatic as the Swirls – but this album’s packaging is complex and fragile, and personally I think the music betters the earlier material. Within the Gentle Giant catalogue, I rate this as one of the best and most difficult to find in top condition. This cover should please most collectors.

The Insert Card: MINT(-): printed one side only and this shows barely any traces of ageing with any marks ultra fine and faint as seen critically under angled light. Crisp and totally uncreased, the graphic fills the window to give a 3D type effect.

The Inner Sleeve: MINT(-): with barely anything to fault unless the retailer’s WWA002X identification written on the front top left corner is an issue. This has aged little with barely any creasing, discolouration and all edges unsplit with no repairs. Printed both sides and easily, the best I have ever seen.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a super visual copy that is very clean, shiny, jet black and solidly pressed. A copy hardly even played on all the evidence and a difficult record looking impressive. Under bright angled light, a small few ultra fine and faint surface traces are seen, but how many records actually avoid these as the barest minimum if scrutinised closely enough? This one should please most collectors again.

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 fantastic album plays above even it’s high visual grading with nothing to fault – a bold statement I know for this complex progressive rollercoaster ride with varying degrees of volume and quietness – some ultra quiet passages included too. Easily in the King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator league of difficulty, this record plays with stunning rich, clean and clear sound. Strong, distortion-free playback, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds barely register and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Challenging and intricate music played with high skill and flawless performance, Gentle Giant were thinking man’s prog – original, skillful and quite different. Only top quality, well looked after and little played (on vintage record players anyway) does them justice and this WWA album is just as hard to find in top conditions as the Spiral four – arguably more so. Few copies will match or outperform this early pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful album, this is truly as clean and noiseless as any vinyl copy of this record ever will be and offers practically reference sound. This copy will prove near impossible to find significantly better for top sound and with an exceptional cover as well, this merits my highest possible recommendation. – another one to give your system a work-out.

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 Terrarium Black 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. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

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 stiffeners 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 8,000+ items sold in over 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 2 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

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] = £4.25

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16 (£17 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an 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: 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’.