BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST Once Again RARER Harvest Pre-EMI

	£		46
	$		61

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST

Album Title: Once Again

Producer(s): Norman Smith.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: She Said; Happy Old World; Song for Dying; Galadriel.

Side 2: Mocking Bird; Vanessa Simmons; Ball and Chain; Lady Loves.

Label/Format: Harvest – Rare original first pressed format with no EMI logo. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both in stunning condition, ultra clean and fresh and both could almost pass for new. I am struggling to find any spindle marks and without doubt, this amazing record has barely been played (if indeed at all).

Cat Number: SHVL 788.

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: 140 grams. A very good, above average weight for it’s era.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: The album itself is not too difficult to find, this sold fairly well, and so it should have done, it’s a brilliant set and one of the finest albums from the early Harvest catalogue. What sets this copy apart is the fact it is a pre-EMI labelled copy and very early pressed. Most-all found or offered include the small EMI logo on the 9 o’clock position of the labels and only a small number of these were pressed without it. Indeed I consider this a fairly rare album as a genuine first pressing. And, as the more serious collector would expect, the sound quality of a first run copy is simply outstanding. Some copies of this album I have heard have suffered crackle and distortions within the pressing, this copy plays to absolute perfection with details and clarity the beautiful music demands. Yes even the serious audiophile enthusiasts can apply, and, do not underestimate how hard this one is to find.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: SHVL 788 A-1 / SHVL 788 B-1

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 P / 1 M

Musicians: John Lees – vocals, guitars, recorder; Les Holroyd – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards; Stuart ‘Woolly’ Wolstenholme – vocals, mellotron, keyboards; Mel Pritchard – drums, percussion. With Alan Parsons – jaw harp and The Barclay James Harvest Symphony Orchestra.

Brief Artist & Album Info: An album is immense beauty, early ‘BJH’ were ethereal with hauntingly beautiful, sometimes solomn music. I remember hearing this band on The John Peel and Alan Freeman shows from way back and could hardly wait to get this album. It’s eight songs are all sublime, beautifully orchestrated and produced by Norman Smith of Pink Floyd debut fame. A band, often known for being downbeat but this one is more uplifting and oozes beauty and class - I saw them many times and they always played magnificently. ‘Once Again’ features the evergreen ‘Mocking Bird’ but the hauntingly beautiful ‘Galadriel’ is worthy of special mention as is the delicate ‘Vanessa Simmons’. The opener ‘She Said’ features some real quality guitar sounds too proving BJH were varied and versatile. With gorgeous cover artwork, this set will grace any collection and is in super condition. This pre-EMI, early-pressed example is simply stunning and the sound takes you directly into the recording studio itself. Totally devoid of those annoying crackles and pressing sounds some examples emit – those invisible flaws that ruin the more complex recordings, this is highly intolerant of less-than-worthy equipment with delicate strings and some quiet passages. This 40-year-old record blows-away this great age and the simply reminds of new for looks and sound. So not lose this one, my best ever original example by some distance.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a gatefold, laminated front and back. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd.

Lamination: Front & Back Both sides fresh, clear and very shiny and all is fully adhered. Barely any traces of friction rubs or dulling and marks are very few indeed. A couple of light pressmarks on the front seen under angled light. Barely any creasing at all and what a difference that makes, a tiny half moon on the back is the only one away from the edges, and any edge hairlines are few and very fine and faint. The gorgeous butterfly artwork looks stunning and will seldom be seen more attractive. The laminate ends short in manufacture on the opening edges (right) and bottom pair, the laminate not quite ‘crisp’ on the bottom front towards the right corner. A minor blemish being somewhat critical.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Any traces of grubbiness or marks to the white surfaces is minimal, little and faint. Finding the centrespread better will prove immensely difficult.

Top Edges: Barely any wear, mild thickening being ultra critical to the right where the card is a fraction proud of flush.

Bottom Edges: Little wear at all, very light and minor burr traces, again being very critical.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with barely any traces of wear and guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on the back edge, the front being closed.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression and folded square. The text is unworn under the solid and clear, unpeeled laminate that has only a natural central crease but no cracking at all.

Corners: Any tip rubbing or wear is very light indeed and all retain very fine to excellent shape.

Cover Summary: One of Harvest’s most colourful covers and seen here to near maximum advantage. One that does full justice to the magnificent first-pressed record inside. It should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): the early copies of this album included the Harvest promotional inner that advertised those rare very early albums on this new progressive label. Seldom seen this clean and still fresh looking. This has aged little and shows little of that usual glue darkening on the seams that all remain unsplit. Polylined, the only blemish, one side has become detached, but still neat, and few will store the record inside this inner these days, so of little real issue. Still very clean with barely any creasing and one of the best I have seen for a while.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(-): with two very clean and two practically unmarked playing surfaces – any surface traces are tiny, few and very faint. A superb visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence, I would be confident my play-grade was probably only it’s second. Visually a super record that should please most collectors again.

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 B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This rare first pressing plays up to its high visual grading with nothing to fault – and very rarely have I ever been able to state this for this album. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is fantastic with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Beautifully crisp and focused with detail and openness that will be apparent to any familiar fan of this album. Any surface sounds barely even registered and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing overall (and I use the word ‘exceptional’ meaning just that). Few copies will match or outperform this I feel sure, this is simply a stunning record. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this Harvest prog classic. This copy will prove immesely difficult to find better and the record especially merits my highest possible recommendation. Clearly one for the serious Harvest collector, do not lose this one.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded 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 as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will 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 its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 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 D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or prompt payment is a problem, please do not bid.

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.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied. If you cannot pay, DO NOT BID.

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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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, actually 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.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.