MICHAEL CHAPMAN Window RARE ORIG UK 1970 NO EMI HARVEST EX+ LP, LOVELY SOUND.

	£		51
	$		68

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Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: MICHAEL CHAPMAN

Album Title: Window

Producer(s): Gus Dudgeon

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Lady on the Rocks/Song for September; Last Lady Song; Among the Trees; An Old Man Remembers.

Side 2:In the Valley; First Lady Song; Landships; A Scholarly Man; She Came in Like the 6.16 and Made a Hole in the Wall.

Label/Format: Harvest – matt surfaces with a gentle hint of texturing, a rare original format with no EMI logo and ‘The Gramophone Co Ltd’ text on the rims.

Label Conditions: Both generally clean and still quite fresh and attractive with a hint of patchy dulling seen under light. Any of the tiny few spindle marks are very small, fine and faint. This record appears little used and plays very well.

Catalogue Number: SHVL 786

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: 144 grams. .

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce – one of Chapman’s more elusive titles and never easy to find in better conditions. The cover is massively prone to wear, being unlaminated, white and textured, it is usually seen in wretched condition, this one is very impressive indeed as-seen. The record appears little used and plays very well indeed. The first worthy copy I have seen in ages, such copies are quite rare.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: SHVL 786 A-2U / SHVL 786 B-2U

Stamper Codes: 1 G / 1 H

Musicians: Michael Chapman – acoustic guitar and vocals; P. Harold Fatt – lead guitar; Richie Dharma – drums, tambourine; Rick Kemp – bass, maraccas, vocals; Johnny van Derek – violin; Alex Atterson – piano.

Brief Artist & Album Info: A gifted songwriter and highly skilled guitarist, this is Chapman’s third album and probably his most elusive. A beautiful cover but so prone to all forms of wear: the lovely long haired girl standing provocatively in front of the window dressed only in skimpy underwear, but tastefully done with subdued lighting. Strangely Chapman himself was not totally happy with the album and it did not sell well. I like this man’s early albums and he arguably does not get the attention or praise he deserves, although always critically well received. The cover has to be one of the best I have seen, few will better it with only mere traces of age. The record is very clean indeed and plays beautifully, also one of the earliest made with side one having the prized 1 G mother and stamper code on side one – the very first in the production sequence. Even the Harvest promotional inner sleeve is nice. A rare window of opportunity for fans and collectors.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): even some faint tone spot traces, this is more than fair for one of rock’s most wear-prone covers. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt textured surfaces on the outside. The inside is smooth finished. Made with soft and quite thin card. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd and includes the Harvest promotional inner sleeve.

Cover Front & Back: A lovely cover design but so delicate and prone to all forms of wear. Both sides have no rubbing and barely any hint of creasing. The surfaces still white, not yellowed or grubby. But some very gentle, small and faint patchy tone traces, mostly on the back to very politely remind of age – this is a subtle, kind way that some collector actually like. The lack of ugly ring wear is a massive plus and clearly this has been well looked after. I know for sure this has been mostly cover-protected, and it has a done an excellent job in preserving these unforgiving surfaces. Both front and back will prove very difficult to find better, and I guarantee there has been no cleaning jobs or enhancements, being honest, it’s close to impossible to even do so.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside is close to perfect, as-issued.

Top Edges: Both straight, flat and flush, also clean and barely a trace of wear.

Bottom Edges: These are in amazing condition and barely worn at all. These storage edges will rarely be seen better, the cover protection has done a magnificent job here.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Against all odds, all are clean, sharp with little wear at all, a mere trace of thickening near the bottom with a small burr on the front edge. Record enters on this back edge, both untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: Again exceptional, clean, fresh with barely a trace of discolouration or toning. Solid, thick and straight with barely any compression. Folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. The real bonus is the text is fully present and unworn as-seen. You can imagine the state most of these will be found in these days. Only with protection for most of its time did these fragile surfaces have any chance of surviving.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, with better than excellent shape retained with no knocks or dinks.

Cover Summary: Finding this cover is really high grading condition is immensely difficult, but I think this one more than qualifies. With almost the least wear possible and any ageing minimal, this beautiful piece of Harvest art should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): the Harvest promotional inner sleeve has also only modestly aged with a little gentle discolouration of the seam adhesive areas. This has minimal creasing and is polylined, all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): a very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface traces very light, wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please many collectors.

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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This quality and elusive album plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed, the odd sporadic tick so hard to avoid totally on this kind of album, but and this is a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Few available copies will outperform this early first pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played only lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade – visuals alone do not always tell a true story. I will try to 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 it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, 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 as will any suspicious bids or bid bid retractions. 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] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 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]) = £16.50 (£17.50 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.