NICK DRAKE - Bryter Layter 1970 UK 1st Press ISLAND A-1U, B-1U EX+ ARCHIVE

	£		529
	$		701

NICK DRAKE -

BRYTER LAYTER

ISLAND

1st UK Press 1970

ILPS 9134

Machined matrices:  A-1U  B-1U

Mother stampers:  incredible earliest day one stampers

• Published By – Warlock Music
• Produced For – Witchseason Productions Ltd.
• Printed By – E.J. Day Group
• Made By – E.J. Day Group

Credits

• Arranged By [Brass, Strings] – Robert Kirby
• Design [Sleeve Design], Photography By [Front Cover] – Nigel Waymouth
• Engineer – John Wood
• Photography By [Back Cover] – Keith Morris (8)
• Producer – Joe Boyd
• Vocals, Guitar – Nick Drake
• Written-By – Nick Drake

Notes

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, stamped): ILPS 9134 A-1 U
• Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, stamped): ILPS 9134 B-1 U

One of the very rarest psych folk albums from the UK and any time this album comes up for sale there is a sense of excitement. This one is nice, very nice, please read on . Nick only sold 4000 copies for all three albums he did before his untimely demise. It is becoming nearly impossible these days to still find copies of the original first issue of this timeless album. This is one for the collectors as it is probably the very best copy which has come to Ebay over the last  year. This copy is unsurpassed for its sheer quality.

 For auction is a rare and all round excellent condition 1st U.K. press of Nick Drake’s second album Bryter Layter from 1970 on the Island label.

Matrices A-1U, B-1U.

Original Ernest Day textured sleeve is in really excellent condition with a fully intact and readable spine and scarcely any wear marks. No writing or tears and no creases. Rare to see copies in such condition.This has been archived from day one and will be impossible to find.

Record itself in normal daylight is clean with a bright sheen. Even under a strong light this is fantastic without any lines visible at all.

Labels clean and unmarked and NM. Just one spindle trace on side A, no spindle traces on side B at all. This has probably just had one spin.

Play test showed superb clear sound and this album has clearly barely been played at all.

Here is a chance to own a super copy of a very rare and desirable album. 

Musically haunting,  some strangely-strange melodies and great improvisations. This has long been a connoisseurs prog-folk album and highly sought after. I have always found this much harder to find than the first album and only ever seen two copies before and none even in the same class or league as this stunning example. These acid-folk albums are hard to find like this with nowhere for unwanted sounds to hide amongst the delicate acoustic and vocal music, this gave a fantastic performance throughout. Seeing is believing – this amazing and quite beautiful cover is truly as wonderful as it looks.  

This is one that will stick in my mind for sometime long after its gone. rarer even, in my opinion than his first album which I have come across a few times in my collecting time. This album has been truly elusive and I have only once ever seen a copy before. Do not let this most prized Island classic slip the net.

Vinyl: EX++.  Barely played as you will not be able to find anymore. This looks pristine, even under a very strong light there are no flaws. There are NO hairlines or marks. Under a very strong light just a few paper retraction traces which even new vinyls would have. This vinyl sounds out of this world, a majestic classic. The audio has beautiful separation and there is barely any background noise. This vinyl looks and sounds great with a beautiful "just over the counter" sheen. I played this in full on my Linn Sondek/Rotel system and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was even tempted to keep this as it will be impossible to find this ever again, it is indeed mega rare these days. Only two or three went up for sale this last year. Needless to say NO jumps or clicks. 

Sleeve: EX. Fantastic looked after matt textured sleeve without any issues. Beautiful deep unfaded colours. A superb iconic sleeve with the fantastic artwork. A  superb 100% legible spine with barely any storage wear on the sharp edges. NO tears and NO splits The album has been kept in a protective sleeve from day one!!  No marks no stains etc. just a small owner's name to the top left, not intrusive at all. The opening is as crisp as it can possibly be and the top and bottom edges have virtually no wear. This is an upgrade copy. Probably one of the best you will ever find for this insanely rare album. A phenomenally scarce album and rumoured to only have been pressed in a quantity of 900 to 1000. This is such a vulnerable sleeve and for that reason it is quite remarkable that this copy has remained in such superior condition. How many would have survived over the last 50 years??

With even more of the Fairport Convention crew helping him out -- including bassist Dave Pegg and drummer Dave Mattacks along with, again, a bit of help from Richard Thompson -- as well as John Cale and a variety of others, Drake tackled another excellent selection of songs on his second album. Demonstrating the abilities shown on Five Leaves Left didn't consist of a fluke, Bryter Layter featured another set of exquisitely arranged and performed tunes, with producer Joe Boyd and orchestrator Robert Kirby reprising their roles from the earlier release. Starting with the elegant instrumental "Introduction," as lovely a mood-setting piece as one would want, Bryter Layter indulges in a more playful sound at many points, showing that Drake was far from being a constant king of depression. While his performances remain generally low-key and his voice quietly passionate, the arrangements and surrounding musicians add a considerable amount of pep, as on the jazzy groove of the lengthy "Poor Boy." The argument could be made that this contravenes the spirit of Drake's work, but it feels more like a calmer equivalent to the genre-sliding experiments of Van Morrison at around the same time. Numbers that retain a softer approach, like "At the Chime of a City Clock," still possess a gentle drive to them. Cale's additions unsurprisingly favor the classically trained side of his personality, with particularly brilliant results on "Northern Sky." As his performances on keyboards and celeste help set the atmosphere, Drake reaches for a perfectly artful reflection on loss and loneliness and succeeds wonderfully. (allmusic.com)

International postage will incur an extra fee for tracking if over £30.00. Please wait for me to send you an adjusted invoice before paying. The tracked fee will be at actual Royal Mail grade. I do not profit from postage and actually undercharge.

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!!

P.s. Ebay only allows for 12 pictures to accompany any listing. If you would like extra pictures , another angle etc. please do ask me in the message box and I will try to supply more shots.