HIGH TIDE Sea Shanties ORIG 1st Press N/M LP

	£		190
	$		252

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: HIGH TIDE

Album Title: Sea Shanties.

Producer: Denver Gerrard.

Engineer: George Chkiantz.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Futilist’s Lament; Death Warmed Up; Pushed, But Not Forgotten.

Side 2: Walking Down Their Outlook; Missing Out; Nowhere.

Label/Format: Liberty – Very rare ORIGINAL blue format.

Label Conditions: I have never seen this album with such incredible labels: both are super clean, fresh and highly attractive with ultra few and faint spindle traces and no wear around the hole rims. The spindle use only really shows under angled light and NO ink has been chipped or removed, this pair look amazing and have clearly hardly ever been handled or the record likely played.

Cat Number: LBS 83264.

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: 138 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rare: this landmark incursion into heavy progressive music did not sell well and this title has now justifiably become one of the most sort after albums within its genre. Most seen are on the black label, the blue originals were only available briefly and few made it out of the shops. A magnificent album and record, the world was not quite ready for this one and it has always remained elusive.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: LBS 83264 A 1 1 1 3 / LBS 83264 B 1 1 1 3 (the ultimate first pressing) [Note: the more often seen black label repress, but still rare in its own right, has the matrix numbers: LBS 83264 A-2U / LBS 83264 B-2U]. A blue label A-1/B-1 pressing is one of the rarest, best and most treasured albums on the Liberty label - its failure to sell was a travesty.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Within the field of UK progressive rock there can be few better kept secrets than the magificent High Tide. A band that only made two albums and both are astonishingly brilliant. A four piece heavy band, that the world was not ready for. This was their debut and a prelude to the mind-numbing High Tide (also on offer). Hardly Sea Shanties but blistering electric guitar and violin with plenty of fuzz and wah-wah – both titles are early prog nirvana. The four members were: Tony Hill - guitar, vocals; Simon House - electric violin (later of Hawkwind); Peter Pavli - bass and Roger Hadden - drums. This quartet made truly inspired doom laden heavy prog not totally disimilar to early Amon Duul II. Hill has a Jim Morrison type voice which complements the sound of this band perfectly. Heavy guitars go head-to-head to battle for supremacy with House’s electric violin with awesome results. A barrage of electric-fuzz frenzy with heavy pounding rhythm, the excitement goes into overdrive on the breathtaking ‘Death Warmed Up’. This was Simon House at his very best and this band should have gone on to superstardom within this field but alas not the case. A copy of this ‘lost’ progressive classic (and I mean that in every sense of the word) is rare and very rare indeed on the original blue original label, it will be seldom found or offered. This is up there with the vintage heavy classics like early Black Sabbath titles, Amon Duul II’s Yeti, and the early acid Hawkwind albums – even better still for my money. Unleash this best kept secret now with this awesome display of dark, heavy, progressive rock - brilliant is too small a word for this one and it will seldom be heard better than on this copy. The labels and playing surface along with flawless sound will prove this copy has barely even been played and not even ‘run-in’ in vinyl terms.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High+. Rarely even seen one EX, few avoid sticker damage and severe grubbiness and this has a little of both but is still probably the best I have seen thus far as I hope my picture close-ups will reitterate.

Cover Grade and Format: EX(-) and given just how uncompromising this one is, it’s arguably undergraded at that. Clearly one that will always age and wear badly. The centrefold is a superb EX++. The outer faces being predominately white, they have little chance of avoiding grubbiness and handling use discolour. It’s a gatefold format, unlaminated and clearly vulnerable – the inner has the lovely coloured artwork as my pictures clearly show. Printed in England by MacNeill Press Ltd, London.

Cover Front: The front is in quite splendid and still attractive condition, on its own, a fine VG+. That’s a proper VG+ not tatty, filthy dirty, heavily creased covers that are threadbare or falling apart. It has some mildish discolour/grubbiness/set-off on the white ‘border’ areas, mostly near the sides but few of these ever avoid it. The intricate and quite superb artwork (please see close-up) is in fantastic condition with no wear or blemishes. Just look at the detail on those bizarre creatures of the sea. This has very few creases at all and any present are tiny and very light and confined to the edges. There is a very small sticker pull on the right edge near the corner, but being white it has barely any visual impact. Being as rare as it is, this front will prove difficult to find much better.

Cover Back: The back is very similar to the front but even better with no sticker blemishes or even ringwear which is also near impossible to find. The odd light surface crease and the odd tiny mark and any grubbiness here is a shade lighter too. There is a four digits written on the top right corner area ‘2514’, why? don’t know, but only very small and non obstrusive anyway. My best guess, a shop code. Also worth mentioning, is the lack of stains and waviness from which this cover always seems to attract. My theory, some try to clean this cover up with water or even detergents - never a great idea as the card will react and distort, curling into major waviness spoiling its appearance still further. This one lies practically dead flat and there is no evidence of this here.

Inner Gatefold: Whereas the outer faces have little chance of avoiding wear, damage and grubbiness, the inside more than compensates. In an ideal world the artwork would have been better transposed. This centrefold has beautiful artwork and this is in the most lovely of conditions and up there with the best I have seen. Devoid of any noteworthy wear or blemishes and retaining fine freshness. The lovely ship artwork still floats on that High Tide with full rich splendour.

Top Edges: Some rubbing on the front edge, slightly darkened with age but being white any wear shows modestly.

Bottom Edges: Similar again but here on the back edge. This has been folded slightly off-square in manufacture and the proud edges are the ones that have rubbed in storage over the years.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Quite neat and fairly sharp with little real wear and no feathering. Record entered on right outside back edge.

Spine and Text: To my surprise, this spine shows little real wear. It remains straight and solid and even reasonably white with minimal compression. Even better news is the text is fully present with any clipping to any characters being tiny. Folded slightly off-square as mentioned above.

Corners: Moderate rubs but again, being white, this has minimal visual impact.

Cover Summary: More than a respectable example of this very difficult and rare cover, still not for the perfectionist but sufficiently rare enough for most to consider – logic and common sense will tell collectors just how wear prone this one is and I feel even with the blemishes, it will beat many, if not most.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Whereas the cover gives clues to its great age, the vinyl itself does not and I have no hesitation whatsoever in grading this stunning original copy Mint(-). A truly impressive looking copy. Clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed on top-quality vinyl. This has nothing more than a tiny few light hairlines that few records this great age ever avoid and this viewed under the most critical of lights - direct sunlight that has suddenly appeared through my window. Very clean playing surfaces on a record that has been hardly even played. This very rare genuine blue-label pressing will be nearly impossible to find much better and only an unplayed one will offer a challenge - really likely isn’t it?

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 snippetts 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This very rare record plays up to its visual grading. An album of very high volume and intensity, the odd quieter passage but not too many. Pretty much devoid of surface sounds and supreme powerful sonic power on the masterful analogue recording. This is not for the faint-hearted, a blistering barrage of sound that must have blown the original owner away. This was a very different type of sound for this time and many were not ready for it. I noted no pops or clicks and the absolutely vital fact is, this plays totally devoid of distortion, high frequency clipping or inherent pressing sounds. With loads of manic electric guitars, fuzz effects and wah-wah doing battle with House’s electric violin this is imperative and so often these critical high-end instruments will break up and echo with groove-wear distortion – NOT ON THIS ONE. I played this one at high volume and quite honestly it send shivers down the spine and gave me that all too rare ‘tingle factor’ – this is one hell of a listen. The power and slam in these vintage grooves with the dueling strings is breathtaking. Still a mystery why this brilliant band did not go on to be mega stars. Prog lovers who have yet to discover this band and their two albums should do so immediately. Both this title and High Tide, the follow-up (also on offer) should be in any serious rock collection, unfortunately there are not enough to go round. With a better-than-average cover and a record that is exceptional, most vinyl rock fans will treasure this.

End Piece: In terms of hard rock, I have heard few I like more than High Tide. Already established in my personal hall of progressive rock fame, this is simply brilliant, any fan of Spiral era Black Sabbath, acid era Hawkwind, early Atomic Rooster and the heavy Krautrock bands will revel in this. Play this loud and be prepared to be captivated. Loud electric guitar and violin go into hyperdrive with pulsating venom, with no quarter given – with a Jim Morrison soundalike vocalist – who could as for more? This record encaptures this battle perfectly and High Tide must have been awesome live. The analogue format gives that extra bass power and drive this type of music needs, this needs to be on a deck and enjoyed as soon as possible. Obviously very rare with guide prices high (and they undervalue everything), and lately they cannot even give a fixed price as demand grows ever Hider as the Tide goes out. One to enjoy, get this fired up immediately – it’s truly awesome, unreservedly recommended.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth 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.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within 48 hours maximum. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO thick stiffners for even extra protection. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity and well as sender label. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 4,000+ items sold in over 7 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

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 & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£39).

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.