JIMMY CAMPBELL HALF BAKED 1970 UK Vertigo Swirl 1st press EXCELLENT VINYL+AUDIO

	£		75
	$		99

JIMMY CAMPBELL - HALF BAKED

An overall lovely condition copy, with the glossy & sparingly played vinyl and truly excellent stereo audio quality being the true highlights, of this increasingly rare and sought after 1970 UK 1st press prog gem on the iconic Vertigo Swirl label, 6360 010

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1   636 00 10 1Y 2 X?X?X?X?X?X?  420  1 1 1

Side 2   636 00 10 2Y 2  1  2

Jimmy Campbell hails from Liverpool and originally formed a band called The Panthers who played at The Cavern, often supporting The Beatles. He then went on to form a psych band called 23 Turnoff which did not receive the acclaim it deserved.  Once described by a Times journalist as "the era's lost songwriter", Jimmy Campbell wrote songs for (amongst others) Cliff Richard, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Billy Fury. There are elements of rock, psych, and folk in Jimmy's writing and playing, all included on this brilliant album.

Both sides of the vinyl gleam with the original jet black lacquered sheen fully intact. The vinyl is flat and in normal daylight appears to be in as good a condition as when it was originally purchased. Under a bright light, and with very close inspection, it is just possible to identify a few of the faintest of faint wispy hairlines and superficial paper scuffs but it is clear that this record has been only sparingly played. Truly excellent. 

The labels are pristine. If you look really closely under a bright light you may just be able to detect a small and extremely faint spindle trail adjacent to the centre hole on each label...otherwise perfect.

The impressive non-laminated gatefold sleeve, designed by Keef, is graded as very good. The edges and corners are nicely defined and firm, as is the spine, all of the colours have retained their vibrancy, and photos, art work and text each remain impressively intact. There is some intermittent scuffing on the top edges, however, along with continuous scuffing on both (front and back) bottom edges and noticeable rubbing on each corner. There is also an obvious cluster of scuff marks located at the top right corner of the front cover where an old sticker has been carelessly removed (see photos). The inside of the gatefold is excellent with just a hint of some mild grubbiness next to the edges. Still presentable and of course fully functional with no tears, no fraying on the opening edges, and no unwanted writing/doodles, but because of the aforementioned blemishes I can only grade as a "very good".

The audio quality is truly excellent.  Great tone and clarity throughout with no distortion even on the higher frequencies and at higher volume. No sticks, jumps, repeats, sticks, nasty clicks, interference or obvious background crackle. I did notice x2 very light background clicks towards the beginning of track 2, side 1, and again towards the end of track 1, side 2...close inspection revealed no obvious cause so I can only assume dust caught in the grooves through decades of storage. And during a couple of the quieter moments you may notice just the hint of some mildest of mild background crackle...nothing really. This is a very underrated LP, completely under the radar when first released some 51 years ago, which makes for a great listen with some brilliant tracks ("Dont Leave Me Now" is a true stand out).

The track listing is :

Side 1:

1. GREEN EYED AMERICAN ACTRESS

2. LOVING YOU IS ALL I DO

3,. SO LONELY WITHOUT YOU

4. IN MY ROOM

5. THAT'S RIGHT THAT'S ME

6. I DO NOT MIND

Side 2 :

1. DULCIE (IT'S DECEMBER)

2. FOREVER GRATEFUL

3. HALF BAKED

4. CLOSING DOWN THE SHOP

5. DON'T LEAVE ME NOW

A welcome addition to any serious vinyl collection - rock, prog, psych, folk...call it what you like it's all here on beautiful glossy vinyl with great audio, and only continuing to gain in value.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60's & 70's classic vinyl listings.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for more than 50 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960's and 70's origin. Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boot sales, auctions, and even through putting up a "vinyl wanted" notice in my wife's shop! I am now retired and take great delight in being able to spend more time scouring the country and attending boot sales and auctions in the hope of unearthing more vinyl gems...I am 66 years of age now and am still discovering bands and music of the 60's and 70's that I have never come across before. Wonderful! Richard

My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no quibble" refund policy. 

On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl thick cardboard mailer, along with extra protective flange edges, with at least two thick cardboard stiffeners. I take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection. 

For this item postage & packaging will be UK £4.00, Royal Mail 1st class, signed for; 

Continental Europe £13, and Rest of the World £17 respectively, Royal Mail 1st class international Airmail tracked and signed for

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding!

NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines :

Mint

The records 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, discolouration, 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 are torn, stained and/or defaced

Poor

The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents are badly damaged or partly missing.

Bad

The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler