PINK FLOYD - UMMAGUMMA 1st UK Press 1969 EX++ GAND VIZIER misspress

	£		140
	$		186

PINK FLOYD - 

UMMAGUMMA

SHDW 1/2

Harvest  (no EMI)

1st UK press 1969

ORIGINAL UK EARLIEST 1ST PRESS FROM 1969 ON THE ORIGINAL UK HARVEST RECORDS LABEL without the EMI BOX!!
ORIGINAL UK 1ST PRESS LAMINATED FOLD OUT COVER made by E.J. Day.

INCLUDES THE ORIGINAL 1st PRESS HARVEST ADVERTISING INNER BAGS. THESE ARE MOST OFTEN MISSING IN AUCTIONS.

Original 1969 UK Harvest SHDW 1/2   2LP with EJ Day Laminated Gatefold Sleeve , and Complete with Two Original  Harvest Liner Sleeves

Great  condition original  Pink Floyd album

All four  labels have 'The Gramophone Co Ltd' rim print 

All four labels Omit the 'EMI' boxed logo

Label four contains print error 'Gand Vizier's ...' which is really rare as this was soon rectified to "Grand"

Matrix SHDW 1  A -1 / SHDW 1  B - 2 /  SHDW 2 A - 1 / SHVL 2 B - 3

Early mothers 

The Discs have  very little use .... lovely bright surfaces  ...... no marks  or wear .... bright  clean labels , minor   spindle trace .... the discs play really  really well , outstanding  sound quality throughout, barely any surface presence  : Graded at EX ++ to NM  condition

The Gatefold Sleeve is bright , crisp and very clean   , great edges and spine : Easily Graded at EX to EX+  condition.

.  The album that will probably take most Pink Floyd fans the longest to appreciate, unless you were hoping their previous three albums to be even more experimental. Wright's "Sysyphus" is one of the most daring compositions in their catalogue, "Part Three" taking the acid-washed soundscapes of "Quicksilver" to the next dimension, and "Part Four" being possibly the best example of his ability to make the Farfisa organ, an instrument that was mainly used in pop music at the time, sound absolutely creepy. Waters' "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In a Cave and Grooving With a Pict" is even more daring, using accelerated tape loops to make some very atmoshperic and humorous musique concrete. Mason uses the same approach for his piece, "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party", coming up with a very complex, sonically treated and artistically panned drum pattern. There are a couple relatively "normal" songs on the second disc, Waters' grandly lulling "Grantchester Meadows", with some well played and recorded acoustic guitar and harmonies that always make me regret the song coming to a close. Gilmour's "The Narrow Way", in "Part Three", at least, sounds very foreshadowing of the Meddle through Dark Side of the Moon period, with an ominous chord progression, a semi-swing drum beat, and delicate, gorgeous harmonies. The live disc is very different, but just as strong, including memorably confident performances of 4 of their extended classics, and while I prefer the studio version of "Astronomy Domine", this more relaxed version does fit the ambience of the whole disc perfectly, and I do like the ending section of "Saucerful of Secrets" better here. The album is presented in a way that shows exactly what the band were made of in 1969, seperating the live and studio material into two seperate discs, making it an essential document of their early period.

 "Ummagumma" is one of the most difficult albums to rate, not only in the field of progressive rock but in music in general. The two discs are so different from each other that they are often considered separate entities; as such, public opinion on the complete package tends to be split rather evenly. Some love the album without objectively examining all parts; some enjoy the album while keeping in mind the studio disc's faults and treating it for what it is - an interesting, though failed experiment; and still there are others who loathe the album's second half and curse that powers that be that made them pay twice the money for the one disc they actually wanted. I fall into the second category; I love the live performances, and I enjoy the studio set with full knowledge of its shortcoming and accepting the fact that it could be worlds better.

The first disc is what gets most of the praise, not only due to the strength of performances but also due to the fact that it gets closest to capturing the classic lineup's prowess as a live act. At its peak years the band in concert was as powerful and compelling a listen as the band on their studio albums, and sometimes even more so. It's a shame that the band hasn't released more of the great Waters-era live material later, but I digress ? what we ARE given is pretty damn good. "Astronomy Domine", a track penned by Syd Barrett for "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", gets a radical makeover. While the original was dominated by guitar, the live rendition is very keyboard-heavy; at one point in the middle Waters, Gilmour, and Mason drop out and let Rick solo away on his Farfisa organ. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" comes next, and for many this is the first time they heard this breathtaking song. The band had already recorded it in the studio and released it as the b-side to "Point Me at the Sky", but that version is incredibly tame compared to how they played it live. I won't spoil it for those who haven't heard it yet, but let me just say it is one of the eeriest and most trippy pieces of music of ever, and it's my favorite jam of all time. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" also gets a makeover for the better, with it taking on a more exotic, Eastern atmosphere. "A Saucerful of Secrets" sheds much of its haunting subtlety for a chaotic assault on the listener. Though "Something Else" suffers from this change, "Syncopated Pandemonium" more than makes up for this by giving the slow studio version a much-needed shot of adrenaline.

Now on to the studio disc. It begins with Rick's piece, "Sysyphus", an instrumental impression of the Greek myth. The music does an effective job of conveying the laborious trip up the hill and the ultimate descent of the boulder back down; my one real complaint is that parts of it, particularly III & IV tend to overstay their welcome and border on tedious. Roger's "Grantchester Meadows" continues the psychedelic folk style he utilized on several songs from "More". It's a nice, relaxing piece, but live versions, with the addition of Farfisa organ and David sharing vocals, are vastly superior. Water's other piece, "Several Species?", consists of Waters imitating animal noises and clapping, even shouting out in a heavy Scottish accent at one point; this foreshadows some of the material he would make with Ron Geesin on "Music From 'The Body'". Music it ain't, but it sure is entertaining. David's piece, "The Narrow Way", is the most successful in my mind. Part I is a nice acoustic-based piece with slide guitar and strange sound effects that segue into Part II, a darker, experimental piece that almost evokes images of an ancient cult ritual. Part III, the longest section, features good guitar work, though David's vocals are not very strong. The final piece is Nick's "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party", which, IMO, is the album's one true failure. The flute passages that bookend the piece, courtesy of Nick's wife Linda, are nice enough, but "Entertainment" grows tedious very fast, with percussion work that goes nowhere. With other musical backing it might have worked, but alone it is very weak.

I advise listeners to approach the album with both caution and an open mind. It is definitely not the place to start with Pink Floyd, but when you do get there it can be a very enjoyable listen. However, one has to be willing to hear the whole album out, with the mindset that it's not a group product, but instead the experiments of each member. These are not the solid band performances that one expects, but one can see that each member had plenty of creativity, if not enough skill yet to pull these pieces off. (Taken from"Progarchives")

Vinyl: EX+ to NM.  I'm very happy to be able to present this FLOYD gem in this absolutely wonderful unmarked condition. The audio is simply sublime played on my Technics deck with Linn Sondek cartridge and through my Rotel amp and B&W speakers.  This vinyl sounds out of this world. You will hardly ever be able to find this album in such fantastic condition.

 Unbelievably it has no marks or hairlines. Just a couple of paper retraction traces only visible under a very strong light! Even a new vinyl would have this. The audio has beautiful separation and there is hardly ever any background noise. This has barely been played as is evident from the lack of spindle traces and also the sublime sheen of both vinyls and indeed all sides. I played this through in full and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was even tempted to keep this as it will be very hard to find this again, it is indeed mega rare now in this kind of condition. Needless to say NO jumps, clicks, ticks or anything else untoward. It will be an uograde to most ardent Floyd collectors and definitely worthy of being called an investment piece.

Gatefold Sleeve: EX.  Fantastic looked after laminated original gatefold sleeve with beautiful rich colours and without any creasing.  It sits superbly flat and has a sharp crisp opening. This copy belongs in the top 10% of copies.The spine is fully legible. There  are no marks or writing. A very respectable original sleeve. The winner will be very pleased indeed!! No writing,  no marks, no seam splits or tears. The inside gatefold is totally unmarked without any writing. The album still has its original Harvest inner sleeves. This is an upgrade for most Floyd or prog collectors.

Labels: EX++ to NM. Unmarked, the slightest of spindle traces, hardly visible.

International postage will incur an extra fee for tracking and insurance if this sells for over £30.00. This will the actual Royal Mail fee. I do not make any profit on postage.

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

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!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

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!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.