FAMILY Entertainment RARE Orig UK 69 EX+ LP with POSTER

	£		77
	$		102

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: FAMILY

Album Title: Family Entertainment.

Cat Number: RSLP 6340.

Producer(s): John Gilbert and Glyn Johns.

Engineer(s): Glyn Johns.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Weaver’s Answer; Observations From a Hill; Hung Up Down; Summer 67; How-Hi-The-Li.

Side 2: Second Generation Woman; From Past Archives; Dim; Processions; Face in the Cloud; Emotions.

Label/Format: Reprise – Original tri-coloured steamboat format.

Label Conditions: Both in very fine and attractive condition: clean with less than moderate spindle marks and no wear whatsoever around the hole area at all. The spindle marks are fine and only show with angled viewing. Like the rare Joni Mitchell debut I am currently offering from the same collection, this has been played less than the spindle marks would suggest. This record has ultra clean and little marked playing surfaces and plays with immaculate sound from start to finish and this is never an easy one that will.

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: 135 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce as a flipbacked original stereo, and this one comes with one of the most spectacular black and white posters ever issued. A huge item that includes the lyrics on one side the more pictures of the bizarre cover characters on the other (please see my pictures). This poster is most often missing or damaged, it only came with initial pressings and is a vital part of this classic set. Sixties records including their posters are fast becoming near impossible to find, most were put on walls and then lost, damaged or disgarded. This one is quite exceptional and remains unmounted and intact. Even slightly pressings of this album omitted the poster, instead a lyric insert was included instead. Do not underestimate the rarity of this classic album with an unmounted poster inside.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: RSLP 6340 A-2 *T / B-2 T. The tiny stamper codes are: C 1 / E 1

Musicians: Roger Chapman - vocals, percussion; John Whitney - guitar, piano, organ; Jim King - Tenor, soprano saxes, harmonica, piano; Rob Townsend - drums, percussion; Ric Grech - bass, violin, vocal.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Although Family never received huge commercial success, their standing as a premier late 60s progressive rock band is still considerable. Their blistering live shows revolved around the manic Roger Chapman, who in addition to pelting the audience with tambourines, had the most incredible vibrato and vocal range. This album, their second, following the classic Music in a Doll’s House is probably even better and is my personal favourite. Their first two albums are immense and later albums never really came close to matching them. Beautifully constructed songs that include the classic single ‘The Weaver’s Answer’. Featuring also a bizarre cover, in a similar mould to The Doors’ Strange Days - a strange mix of individuals that look like circus performers, that could be out of a David Lynch movie. As stated this early copy includes the rare giant poster and the original flipbacked ‘stereo’ cover and ‘stereo’ sticker. The record itself looks and plays beautifully and it’s been far too long since I found one of these worthy of offering. This was a thrill from start to finish and it will take an exceptional record to better this one.

Cover Grade and Format: EX(-), a single format with a laminated front. This wraps around the three closed edges on to three rear external flipbacks. Original RSLP cat number and ‘stereo’ compatibility sticker, printed in England but this one has no credits.

Cover Front & Lamination: This vintage cover does show its great age a little, just enough to remind it’s over 40-years-old. The laminate is still clear with any dulling or friction rubs modest. Very secure with no lifting or blistering, always good news as far as I am concerned. A few fine surface marks, mostly apparent under light. There are several fine edge creases and a couple on the corner areas but only one smallish half moon is seen away from the sides. The strange characters look fine on a front that has no damage and retains fine good looks - as stated, just enough to remind of its considerable vintage.

Cover Back: The back is in very fine condition and is certainly one of the better ones I have seen. Being so black and unprotected, a clear candidate for ringwear and rubbing, this has minimal traces of either, just a fine arc rub near the left edge. Few creases here at all bar a few fine surface ones on the flipbacks. These are solid and undamaged any end burrs to the ends few, small and faint. The large stereo compatible sticker is in fine condition too and has clearly never been removed or tampered with. Overall a fine back to more than complement an attractive front.

Top Edge: Unworn but a tiny corner tip ‘tip-in’ looks likely.

Bottom Edge: Unworn bar small corner chips/rubs.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with only slight wear and no feathering, guaranteed untrimmed. Record entered on this edge.

Spine and Text: Apart from a tiny tipped-in chip, this is a super spine: solid with minimal compression and all text is pristine perfect and unworn under the clear and mainly very solid laminate.

Corners: The corner tips have rubbed and the bottom right very slightly ‘rounded’ on the tip. All bar this one have been lightly and neatly tipped in for cosmetic improvement by the original owner. I emphasise quickly, this is very small indeed and most all of this cover is as nature intended it, I just choose to describe what I see in front of me as honestly and accurately as I can.

Cover Summary: A fine all round example of this fragile late 60’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find significantly better. This is one that does not wear well being so dark, black ink is ruthlessly revealing for all blemishes and all forms of wear. This is better than average and still looks nice, not for the discerning connoisseur collector but many collectors will still enjoy it.

The Poster: EX++ and very big, one of the giants of late 60s and still unmounted. No pin-holes, cellotape or blu-tack marks on this one. Although the cover has clearly been handled to some degree, the rare poster shows little signs. It remains a very attractive piece with both sides clean with barely any marks. The fragile folds still solid and unsplit, just minor tone traces in the odd place but I hope my pictures emphasise how nice this is. Neat sharp edges with no splits or tears and minimal traces of creasing. The lyrics are included one side and the characters on the other. As stated, this only came with the earliest examples making it rare. Shortly afterwards, it was replaced by a less interesting insert. This giant poster will not be easy to find much better.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX+ is hardly doing this great record full justice. A copy with just a very few light surface marks or hairlines, these have NO sound whatsoever. Let’s be honest, how many vintage prog albums from this period will be totally unmarked?, few at best, this is a lovely record and clearly modestly played. A very clean and attractive copy that is very heavily pressed, retaining a deep black colour with very fine shine. Visually a superb early stereo copy, I emphasise any marks are very light indeed and the audio quality high, this record has sensational sound and detail and this too when played on one of the world’s most respected and clinical turntables.

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 snippetts 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This superb album plays beautifully with nothing to fault. Strong and powerful distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear for all with even the difficult passages retaining full clarity and sharpness. A great pressing with no pops or clicks noted and this was a pleasure to hear again especially from an original stereo copy. Both channels are clean and clear, this vintage copy gives an open door into the recording studio and nothing spoilt my pleasure play-grading this one. Any record this age sounding so clean has to be considered exceptional and has avoided groove-damaging abuse from its distant past. I really enjoyed this one, the detail and power of this early band is all embedded well into these clean and unworn grooves. This is a strong, complete set and most fans and collectors will enjoy it, strong recommendation is mandatory and the poster is the icing on the cake.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

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 promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: 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, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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. 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 offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

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 will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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 (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

NOTE: I NO LONGER SEND TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. ANY BIDS WILL BE IGNORED.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £12. (insurance 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 timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.