GENTLE GIANT THREE FRIENDS VERTIGO SPACESHIP LABEL EX+

	£		41
	$		54

 A few words of introduction. I am not a record dealer, but have been collecting vinyl since 1972. Although an "early adopter" of the CD at its launch back in 1982-83, I never lost my love of the LP and continued to buy music on both formats, preferring the vinyl where this was the first available. My record purchasing reached fever pitch in the early 1990s while living in Edinburgh. At the time LPs were very cheap and many collections were being sold for little or no money at record fairs, car boot sales and specialist stores (such as Vinyl Villains). Buying loads of  albums was thus not a problem, but getting around to cleaning them properly and sorting them out was. I very quickly accumulated a large number of heavy cardboard boxes full of secondhand lps (often containing multiple examples of the same album)  and as I moved from flat to flat ( and city to city!) these were lugged around after me. Finally, late last year I purchased a VPI 16.5 record cleaning machine and started to clean, playgrade, organise and store my collection properly (much to the wife's relief), so gone are the boxes! The result is that I now have a surplus of records which I have decided to sell off. These will all be cleaned and play-graded (on a Linn Sondek and Naim based Hi Fi) before listing for sale. Please note that any records found to be wrecked on playing (irrespective of what they happen to look like visually) are just binned and will not appear in my listings. Any slight defects concerning the sleeve or vinyl will be honestly described and grading will be conservative. I still buy vinyl on Ebay and have quickly learned that a visual description and grading of Mint or Mint- often means considerably less. Few sellers take the trouble to give complete play-grades as it is time consuming and slows down sales but they are the reliable and useful dealers and I value their service. I will attempt to reach that level on a smaller scale here.

FOR AUCTION: A SUPERB COPY OF THE CLASSIC 1972 ALBUM "THREE FRIENDS" BY GENTLE GIANT VERTIGO SPACESHIP LABEL (VO6360 070)
Up for auction here is an early (1973) pressing of the 3rd studio album "Three Friends" by Gentle Giant. All of the first four albums by Gentle giant were originally pressed on the striking black and white Vertigo Spiral label, this being the third of those releases. All are now scarce in that format, particularly in anything like mint condition and along with many other albums on the spiral label routinely fetch high prices at auction. Three Friends was the first of two releases by the band in 1972, appearing in July just 5 months before Octopus (see my other listing) which was  released in December. In 1973 the Spiral labels were dropped in favour of the more contemporary looking and colourful "spaceship" label of which this is a very nice example. Three Friends, like Octopus and all of the early Gentle Giant albums, has many quiet passages and it is notoriously difficult to find copies that play with complete background silence.  This early pressing plays through very nicely. This is one of those albums that is play-graded through gritted teeth as you anticipate the many problems associated with the very wide dynamic range of the recording and tonal variation from delicate instrumentation through to full blown heavy guitar and organ. Thankfully about midway through side 1 I could relax as I realised that this particular pressing is extremely clean and presents no significant problems in terms of background noise pops/clicks or groovewear and distortion. Any collector would be happy to own and play this album and I doubt that it will be found much better than this. The sleeve is also very good with only slight marks on the front and no major defects.

GENTLE GIANT 4th Studio album "THREE FRIENDS"  1972 STEREO VERTIGO (VO6360 070)
Matrix Nos
SIDE 1: 6360070-1Y//2*420 142 04
SIDE 2: 6360070-2Y//2*420 135 04


SLEEVE: Gatefold unlaminated sleeve designed by Rick Breach, no printers credit . Condition is listed below:
FRONT-  No loss or fading at all. Some slight marks toward right edge.
BACK- Slight ringwear at top but no other issues VO PRICE CODE (boxed) top right
GATEFOLD INSIDE Very good indeed
EDGES- Very little shelfwear top and bottom on this one
SPINE- Slght scuffing top and bottom but all text present and legible
NO TEARS, SCRIBBLING, OWNERS NOTES OR AUTOGRAPHS
INNER-SLEEVE- Plain white poly lined inner
OVERALL GRADE FOR SLEEVE- VG++

VINYL-
Visual- EXCELLENT BOTH SIDES NICE BRIGHT VINYL WITH NO MORE THAN THE USUAL WISPY BAG REMOVAL TRACES
PLAYGRADE- SIDE ONE PLAYS THROUGH ALMOST PERFECTLY WITH ONLY ONE OR TWO SPORADIC DUST POPS.
SIDE 2 AS SIDE ONE REALLY NO PROBLEMS EVEN DURING THE MASSIVE MUSICAL PEAKS AND SOLOS.
OVERALL GRADE FOR PLAYBACK EX+ (Side 1) and EX+ (Side 2) I DOUBT YOU WIL EVER FIND A BETTER PLAYING COPY!

Overall a very strong copy of an increasingly rare (in original format) and sought after progressive gem. This copy will please almost all collectors including those with audiophile equipment.  NO RESERVE AND LOW STARTING PRICE 
Please note all albums are cleaned prior to sale and will be posted in secure cardboard mailers with cardboard stiffeners. Records will be out of sleeve to prevent damage.

I WILL BE LISTING MORE ALBUMS THIS WEEK INCLUDING MORE PROGRESSIVE ROCK SO WATCH THIS SPACE



POSTAGE & PACKING:
UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:
1 LP (First Class Recorded [signed for] Delivery with Standard Insurance) = £4
1 LP (Special [next day] Delivery [signed for] insured up to £500)  = £7.50.  MULTIPLE PURCHASES ADD £2 PER ADDITIONAL LP

EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):
1 LP (Small Packet [Signed For] with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. MULTIPLE PURCHASES ADD £3 PER ADDITIONAL LP

ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (AIRMAIL ONLY)
1 LP (Small Packet [Signed For] with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £14. MULTIPLE PURCHASES ADD £4 PER ADDITIONAL LP

PAYMENT: PAYPAL ONLY (NO EXCEPTIONS)