THE GOLDEN EARRINGS - "Winter Harvest" - vinyl - US Capitol - 1967 SHRINK

$

149

THE GOLDEN EARRINGS

“Winter Harvest”

Capitol       ST 2823

1967

IN SHRINK

ONLY COPY ON eBay as of 9-7-2016. 

THIS LP IS AS MINT AS A NON-SEALED LP CAN BE.  IT IS FLAT OUT BEAUTIFUL.  NEVER PLAYED.  STILL IN ORIGINAL SHRINK.  FIRST PRESSING.

 The Golden Earrings first US release, circa 1967.  The title of the LP does not appear on the cover but does on the labels. This original first (and only) pressing US copy is without a doubt the most difficult US LP to find by the band.  The pressing was smaller than usual Capitol LPs of the era and was never reissued with this cover.  BTW, the band was originally known as The Golden Earrings before changing to The Golden Earring and later Golden Earring.  This US copy has two less tracks than its UK/ Netherlands counterparts (missing is “Another Man In Town” and “You've Got The Intention To Hurt Me”.  This was VERY common for Capitol during the 1964-1968time frame (every US Beatles LP unfortunately had this happen).

I saw this once in San Antonio in 1967 and bought it.  Within a few months I never saw it again.  The Discogs web site has NEVER had a copy for sale of this US issue.  I did some research an found that none of the high profile LP sales web sites has this copy right now.  It is a tough LP to find and a tremendous addition to any Golden Earring collector or completest. 

Here is what the fine web site AllMusic says regarding this LP:  “Holland's the Golden Earrings still sounded like a crack British Invasion-era outfit who had made a wrong turn somewhere when they cut their second album, 1966's Winter Harvest, but they were inarguably a stronger and more ambitious group a year after releasing their debut. All 14 songs on Winter Harvest were originals (primarily written by bassist Rinus Gerritsen and guitarist George Kooymans), and the stylistic range of this collection is noticeably wider, with the Northern soul-influenced "Smoking Cigarettes," the darkly witty character study "Lionel the Miser," and the spare but sophisticated "You Break My Heart" all exploring sounds and styles the band had not pursued before. (They could also rock harder than ever before, as evidenced by the swaggering "You've Got the Intention to Hurt Me.") The Golden Earrings clearly had the confidence to try new things when they recorded Winter Harvest, and with good reason -- they sounded good on Just Earrings, but they're tighter and sharper here, hitting a more consistent groove and making the most of the possibilities of the studio. Gerritsen began playing keyboards as well as bass on these recordings, and the added tonal colors serve the material well, and vocalist Frans Krassenburg had picked up a lot of nuance after a year of steady recording and performing. If Just Earrings was the Golden Earrings' Please Please Me, Winter Harvest is their Rubber Soul, an album that masterfully consolidates their old strengths while revealing many new ones. This LP isn't quite up to the lofty level of the Fab Four's early masterpiece, but it stands comfortably beside the work of most of the better-known English acts of the period, and remains impressive more than four decades after it was released.”

Stored vertically in a smoke free environment for 49 years.  If this LP does not sell, I’m not going to re-list but rather, I am going to put it back in my collection. Its value should continue to rise in the future.  This is one of those rare LPs that actually IS a good investment.