PENTANGLE Basket of Light SUPERB EX++ UK 1969 TRANSATLANTIC LP, FANTASTIC SOUND.

	£		21
	$		28

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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: THE PENTANGLE

Album Title: Basket of Light

Producer: Shel Talmy

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Light Flight; Once I Had a Sweetheart; Springtime; Lyke-Wake Dirge; Train Song.

Side 2: Hunting Song; Sally Go Round the Roses; The Cuckoo; House Carpenter.

Label/Format: Transatlantic – Original (deeper) purple and white format with matt, gently textured surfaces. Pressed by EMI. This version with the gimmick ‘av pak’ cover has much deeper purple labels and is very best pressed version of this album I have ever heard. Not all records are the same, this copy has ultimate detail and dynamics and put simply: sounds stunning.

Label Conditions: Both look incredible, this is the definitive copy to own. Both labels are ultra clean, fresh and highly attractive with any spindle traces minuscule and faint. This probably the best copy and sound I have heard from this classic folk album.

Catalogue Number: TRA 205

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: 131 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity & Info: Moderate in terms of copies around. But this EMI-pressed copy (most were pressed by CBS) that includes the ‘Sound Packaging Partnership’ gimmick cover, these are far more elusive compared to the standard ‘basic’ cover. Only a very small number of albums included this ill-conceived method of storing the record. Ones that spring immediately to mind are: Colosseum ‘Live’, Mr Fox ‘The Gipsy’, Unicorn ‘Uphill all the Way’ and the sampler double set ‘El Pea’ (as well as a very small number of this album). Most copies of this have a standard gatefold cover when this idea was dropped. When this ‘innovative’ plastic inner sleeve was invented around 1970-1971, this title was briefly given the treatment. Quite honestly, it proved to be a disaster – but being so idiosyncratic, and not putting too fine a point on it – plain stupid – it has become collectable for specialists, many of which enjoy collecting all the albums that included it. The idea was to include a plastic wallet inside to store the record, the right edges included strips of foam – the idea being to clean the record when it was inserted or withdrawn. But this idea proved to be fraught with problems. The main issue became more apparent after time: any contact with the record on this foam strip reacted very badly with it’s surface. Any contact area became dulled with an acid like affect as it reacted with the vinyl’s surface – and in practically all cases, any mark will sound. The only way to avoid this reaction was to not store the record inside this built-in plastic inner. But few bothered. Well this copy has NO reaction to either side’s surface, the reason? Well this cover does NOT have the foam attached to the plastic inner, and looking at it, it appears it never actually had it as there is scant evidence to suggest otherwise. Whether this was constructed and it was forgotten to be attached, who knows?, but it is the very best news possible for this version. Both sides are in superb condition and play with amazing audio quality, few EMI-pressed copies (this with the 1G matrix on side one), will be seen or heard better. Also the single thickness cover with the plastic ‘wallet’ inside has hardly aged like most do. Still very solidly attached and without the usual heavy ageing of the adhesive area into the fold. The plastic still very clear and fresh, this also rarely seen like this. Not only is the condition exceptional, it’s the only one I have ever seen without any foam attached to the right entrance area. If this had been removed by the owner (if it was actually possible), surely there would have been substantial adhesive residue attached to the plastic? There is a very fine ‘white’ line to the very top and bottom, but that is possibly a pressure mark, but I cannot be certain. This plastic wallet has also survived without any edge splits or crinkle with barely any dulling, again very unusual indeed. Anyway, study the pictures, I have not seen one like it before and it’s condition is exceptional. It’s actually quite unusual for the wallet not to become unstuck and browned, clearly this has been very well looked after inside a protective cover. This infamous gimmick inner sleeve cover was quite short-lived and it virtually ruined any record that was purchased with it, many even write offs with huge rim dulls that often encroached deep into the music with horrible sound when the stylus contacts it. Few escaped the poorly conceived idea of this cover and it was duly scrapped. But now scarce and collectable.

Original Year of Release: 1969 [this less mass-produced copy from 1970]

Matrix Nos: TRA 205 A-1 / TRA 205 B-1

Stamper Codes: 1 G / 1 M [the very first mothers and the ‘G’ the ultimate first issue stamper]

Musicians: Terry Cox – drums, glockenspiel, hand drum, lead and backing vocals; Bert Jansch – lead and backing vocals, guitar, banjo; Jacqui McShee – lead and backing vocals; John Renbourn – lead and backing vocals, guitar, sitar; Danny Thompson – double bass.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Classic jazz-tinged folk-rock from one of the greatest UK bands within this genre. Basket of Light was their third album of the six initial albums they made – five were issued on this label. Another folk classic from a band who could do no wrong for me. Featuring the famous quintet of Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson (the greatest acoustic bass player ever?), Terry Cox and the fabulous Jacqui McShee on vocals. This album is arguably their very best and it even featured a hit single in ‘Light Flight’ which was used as the theme for the TV series ‘Take Three Girls’. Even in my youth I was immediately attracted to his beautiful song and bought the album when funds allowed. All instrumentation on this set is acoustic, hence pressing quality becomes even more critical. This 1970 issue was pressed by EMI and to find one with the gimmick inner without any affect of dulling (or burn) from that foam inner is very rare to find. All information on this issue and cover is detailed above in the ‘Rarity’ paragraph. This a superb all-round example, and it plays beautifully. So-much-so, I had to put this to disc for my own future pleasure to play anywhere.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): this for a very flimsy cover with the gimmick inner that rarely wears well. An unlaminated gatefold format made with single thickness card both sides, this having a smooth matt surface. The inside with the gimmick plastic sleeve inner as described further up, this one has NO foam edge, and it has scant evidence to suggest it ever had. Printed and made in England by MacNeill and including the ‘Sound Packaging Partnership’ text and ‘av/pak’ logo inside as seen in close-up. There was no standard inner sleeve included with this original.

Cover Front: A dark unprotected surface and prone to rubbing and creasing. Any rubbing to this front is minimal and faint, still clean and fresh. The lack of creasing to the thin card is unusual good news.

Cover Back: A small light crease to the top left corner, it registers little. The left edge is paler, so possibly light-faded or a print blemish. I have seen the same affect on this particular printing before and seems a common trait on it. There is little else to fault.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Both the main deep brown card surface are clean and impressive with hardly any wear at all. A fine residue mark on the right near the white top text. This probably a fine smear of glue from the manufacture of the plastic wallet. The actual plastic ‘inner sleeve’ (or wallet as I have been calling it), is in superb condition. Again I state, this has NO foam on the entrance edges, thus the record has no ‘burn’ or marks from contact. This is incredibly clear and fresh, unsplit and solidly attached with iits original adhesive into the fold. The least ageing I have seen for this gimmick cover on any album and as attractive as they are likely to be found.

Top Edges: Both single thickness thin card with minimal traces of any thickening.

Bottom Edges: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Any thickening to these fragile edges is very little and light, both guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: Single thickness spines seldom wear well, but this has little to fault apart from gentle tilt to right. But solid, straight and avoiding compression or crushing. The surface barely worn with all text perfect, also superbly centred on the narrow depth as-seen.

Corners: All the corners are neat and hardly rubbed with negligible creasing. Better than excellent shape is mostly retained with no knocks

Cover Summary: Great to see this bizarre and ill-conceived gimmick cover looking so neat, fresh and nice. Almost laughable and naive in design, but such items are always of interest for collectors and if one is wanted, they hardly get a great deal better than this – its lack of foam is the best news possible – but I still suggest not to store the record inside it. For collectors who enjoy these ‘inventive’ covers – in its own way, a piece of cover history, this will not prove easy to find better.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a very impressive visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and quite heavily pressed. A copy appearing hardly played on all the evidence with any surface traces few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Also NO residue marks, and for this cover pressing, that is near impossible to find. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most 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 brilliant acoustic album plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely 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. This has ultimate detail and dynamics, the separation fantastic as is the production. Pressed to a standard by EMI I have seldom heard on this album, any surface sounds are minimal indeed, barely anything was heard, I rare this an exceptional pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Not all were made to this standard, I have heard several copies with pressing crackle and rasps that ruin it – no such issues with this one. Few available copies will match, let outperform this I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been very well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing 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.