SHAPE OF THE RAIN - RILEY, RILEY .. 1st UK PRESS EX PINK FLOYD 1971 VERTIGO
£
227
$
301
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Description
1st UK PRESS 1971 RCA NEON NE 7
A super rare very first day of issue RCA NEON rarity!!! Earliest machined matrices.
Credits
- Bass Guitar – Len Riley
- Design, Art Direction – Olav Wyper
- Drums – Tag Waggett
- Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar [6 & 12 String], Steel Guitar, Vocals – Brian Wood (3)
- Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar [6 & 12 String], Vocals – Keith Riley (2)
- Electric Piano – Eric Hine (tracks: A5, B1, B2, B4a, B4b)
- Engineer – Kingsley Ward
- Maracas – Len Riley (tracks: A2), Tag Waggett (tracks: B4a, B4b)
- Photography By – Keef (4)
- Producer – Eric Hine, Tony Hall (4)
- Tambourine – Brian Wood (3) (tracks: B4a, B4b), Tag Waggett (tracks: A2)
- Written-By – Wood*, Hine* (tracks: A5), Riley*, Riley*, Waggett*
Notes
Released in a non-laminated gatefold cover.Born and raised in Sheffield (as the debut album liner notes pointed out, Sheffield was also Joe Cocker's stomping grounds), brothers Keith (vocals/guitar) and Len (bass) Riley, cousin/guitarist Brian Wood and friend/drummer Tag Waggett were Shape of the Rain. Keith and Brian started out as an Everly Brothers inspired duo, eventually adding Len to the line-up and switching their musical interests. Originally known as The Gear followed by a stint as The Reaction, they eventually added Waggett to the line-up,. Years of dances, club, and university performances helped the quartet generate a regional audience. Finding a supporter in the form of David McPhie, who'd served as Joe Cocker's initial manager, they started opening for then rising bands like Fleetwood Mac, Free, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd, eventually attracting the attention of several English labels, before signing with RCA's short-lived Neon subsidiary.
The business partnership proved short - one obscure album, but what a set ! A true undiscovered treasure.
Co-produced by Tony Hall and Eric Hine (who also played keyboards on the set), 1971's cleverly-titled "Riley, Riley, Wood and Waggett" showcased a wonderful collection of English-flavored folk-rock. I'm not talking about conventional Fairport Convention, or Steeleye Span styled moves, rather their sound was seemingly influenced by American folk-rock bands like The Byrds and The Buffalo Springfield. How many UK bands do you know that embraced 12 string guitars and pedal steel with as much enthusiasm as these guys ? While it wasn't the year's most original offering, group-penned material such as 'Woman', 'Wasting My Time' and the psych-influenced 'Willowed Trees' boasted an impeccable mix of strong melodies, great harmonies and some stunning guitar (check out 'Yes'). Elsewhere, 'Patterns', 'Dusty Road' and 'I'll Be There' found the quartet aptly displaying that they were just as good in a folk-rock vein. The degree of tastefulness and care shown across these dozen tracks was simply stunning. It's one of the few albums in my collection that doesn't have a single bad performance. Yeah, that sounds like BS hype, but this is one of those LPs that sounds better every time you listen to it and after copying it over to my iPhone, I've heard it dozens of times. Over the years I've sold about a half dozen copies to folks and it's one of those albums where not a single customer has ever complained about the quality of the music. In fact one person bought a second copy for a friend (when's the last time you spent $350 to buy an album for a friend ?).
VINYL: EX++. A super heavy, exemplary, barely played copy with nearly pristine vinyl. This is out of this world and cannot possibly be found so late in the day. An upgrade for most collectors for sure. I played this on my Linn Sondek/ B&W set up and it sounded fantastic without any clicks , jumps , crackle etc. NO hairlines or marks. Only minimal paper retraction traces (even new vinyls have this), barely visible just under a strong light. This will be an upgrade for most weathered collectors of quality prog and psych.
BEAUTIFUL SLEEVE ARTWORK BY "KEEF" AND .... HARDEST TO FIND INTACT >>99% OF ALL COPIES HAVE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THEM< HOW MANY COPIES WOULD THERE REALISTICALLY BE LEFT LIKE THIS??- ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING ON RCA NEON WITH THE GATEFOLD COVER WITHOUT ANY CREASES.
Gatefold Sleeve: EX++. Matt inside and outside textured gatefold sleeve. This has barely been handled ever. The top and bottom edges have light storage wear. The spine is fully legible!!. The front is splendid with NO RUBBING TO THE SURFACE, NO UNWANTED WRITING, but has a catalogue number written in ballpoint bottom corner (see pic). NO CREASING AT ALL!! NO WRITING. The rear is also in wonderful condition. The opening is super crisp. The spine is FULLY legible and in great condition, the inside gatefold is NM.
The original black inner sleeve (polylined) with white print is still there and fully intact.
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.
price rating
![RILEY, RILEY, WOOD & WAGGETT - SHAPE OF THE RAIN - RCA NEON - [UK] (EX/M-)](https://www.popsike.mobi/php/thumbnail.php?url=https://www.popsike.pics/pix/20250107/226532766162.jpg)
