WISHBONE ASH "Pilgrimage" 1971 UK MCA 1st PRESSING

	£		83
	$		110

 
WISHBONE ASH "Pilgrimage" 1971 UK MCA 1st PRESSING 1st DECCA LABEL TEXT, SOFT R. STACE GF, EX++ TOP COPY

WISHBONE ASH
Pilgrimage



ORIGINAL UK MCA (MDKS 8004) FIRST PRESSING (October 1971) OF WISHBONE ASH'S OUTSTANDING SECOND LP, "Pilgrimage" IN SUPERB CONDITION (looks and sounds like it has hardly ever been on a turntable) AND WHEN PLAYED AT A LOUD VOLUME (which is the way I always listen to my LPs prior to listing) THE AUDIO DELIVERY IS SENSATIONAL

PRESSED ON QUALITY HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL (with a smooth outer rim and much thicker than the later pressings) WHICH DELIVERS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING AUDIO AS YOU WOULD EXPECT FROM DECCA WHO CUT SOME OF THE FINEST SOUNDING RECORDS OF THE PERIOD

THE VINYL HAS THE FIRST ISSUE (SMALL) RED/YELLOW MCA LABELS WITH THE "Made In England, The Decca Record Co Ltd" TEXT UNDERNEATH THE MCA 'ARROW' ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE LABEL (please see photos) - THIS WAS DISCONTINUED IN 1972 AND IS ONLY PRESENT ON THE EARLIEST LABELS
FIRST ISSUE MATRIX: 7-LNMG-244-3L / 7-LNMG-245-1L (w/ 'JT' TAX CODE ETCHED ON BOTH RUN OFFS)

THE LP IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL MATTE, GATEFOLD SLEEVE "Printed in England by Robert Stace" WITH THE CHARACTERISTIC FIRST ISSUE WIDE SPINE
AND THE SET COMES COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL BLUE STEREO DECCA COMPANY INNER SLEEVE WHICH IS DATE CODED '7-71'

THIS REALLY IS A SENSATIONAL UK VERY FIRST PRESSING IN SUPERB CONDITION AND DELIVERING JUST ABOUT THE FINEST AUDIO YOU ARE EVER LIKELY TO FIND - VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Wishbone Ash's second release, Pilgrimage, unveiled their creative genius after a debut that presented them as a jamming, blues-based rock outfit.
The opening track, "Vas Dis," with its jazz bassline, slicing rhythm guitar, and gibberish vocals was their answer to "Hocus Pocus" (or vice versa as both were released in 1971) and "Jail Bait" has gone on to become a Wishbone Ash staple as well as possessing one of the more memorable guitar riffs of '70s rock & roll.
A conscientious effort seemed to be in place for this band to write and perform material better suited to their gentler vocal tendencies and where Wishbone Ash essentially went full tilt throughout, Pilgrimage is a moodier affair that includes beautiful, slower melodies like the brief instrumentals "Alone" and "Lullaby" along with the chilling "Valediction," which should have been an Ash classic but is rarely featured on live and hits collections.
Even though this band toned it down a bit for this album, their impressive guitar playing was heightened due to the variance in their songwriting - Next to Argus this is the Wishbone Ash album to judge all other Ash albums by

Track Listing:
Side 1: Vas Dis / Pilgrim / Jail Bait / Alone
Side 2: Lullaby / Valediction / Where Were You Tomorrow (Live)

LABELS: The labels are CLEAN and BRIGHT with NO unwanted marks/writing and barely a spindle trace to be seen - BEAUTIFUL LABELS
VINYL Visual: The vinyl still retains its original DEEP, GLOSSY SHEEN. Under a bright light there are some light sleeve removal hairlines and one or two other light marks but these have little audio consequence - the album plays BEAUTIFULLY throughout (see detailed audio assessment below)
VINYL Audio: SUPERB - CRYSTAL CLEAR, DEEP, RICH AUDIO. FANTASTIC DECCA CUT. There are NO scratches, NO skips or jumps, NO loud clicks or pops and barely any surface noise (really, hardly any). The LP plays to a very high standard with SUPERB AUDIO CLARITY, NO groove-wear and NO distortion. Sounds SUPERB throughout - FANTASTIC LP. Must be critically graded EXCELLENT++ for audio and NOT over-graded in ANY way as I use STRICT RECORD COLLECTOR grading standards (please refer to my feedback and 'about me' page)
SLEEVE: The original gatefold sleeve being soft, delicate and untreated is normally found heavily rubbed but this one is in GREAT condition - CLEAN and BRIGHT with only some light 'ring' to to back. There is hardly any wear to the top and bottom edges and the THICK spine displays all the text SHARP and CLEAR (please see photos). EXCELLENT - VERY NICE EXAMPLE

NOTE: Let me put to rest the common misconception that the Black MCA labels are the first ones for early Wishbone Ash LPs (as cited by Record Collector Price Guide) - they are NOT. The Black MCA label was the last design Decca used for MCA for 1973/4 presses (the first pressings of Wishbone 4 released in 1973 has the black label). All pre 1973 Ash LPs have the two coloured labels in Blue/Black, Red/Pink, Red/Yellow or Red/Brown. After these came the Black label in 1973 and in 1974 MCA severed links with UK Decca and switched its licensing deal to EMI. These later labels have the rainbow insignia and are EMI, not Decca presses.


PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE ITEM
I HAVE UPLOADED AS MANY PICTURES AS I CAN BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ON REQUEST
BEAUTIFUL COPY OF WISHBONE ASH'S TREMENDOUS SECOND LP IN SUPERB CONDITION - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
AS WITH ALL MY RECORDS THIS HAS A LOW START PRICE AND NO RESERVE
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE RARE AND COLLECTABLE VINYL
AND PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUERIES YOU MAY HAVE
THANKS FOR LOOKING, CHEERS

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 307 (GS 5.3.6 (307))