HIGH TIDE Sea Shanties VERY RARE UK 69 Blue Orig EX+ LP

	£		160
	$		212

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: HIGH TIDE

Album Title: Sea Shanties.

Producer: Denver Gerrard.

Engineer: George Chkiantz.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Futilist’s Lament; Death Warmed Up; Pushed, But Not Forgotten.

Side 2: Walking Down Their Outlook; Missing Out; Nowhere.

Label/Format: Liberty – Very rare ORIGINAL blue format.

Label Conditions: Both clean with only spindle marks and I know for a fact, it’s barely been played. This came from a 60s Radio DJ collection I acquired early this year and is the earliest pressing of this classic album ever made. It originally had two small round factory stickers attached which were removed long ago. Hence there are small round sticker marks on each label as can be seen on my scans. Hardly major but present nonetheless. If these small visual blemishes are an issue, please do not bid.

Cat Number: LBS 83264.

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 140 to 150 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, 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 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rare: this landmark incursion into heavy progressive music did not sell well and this title has now justifiably become one of the most sort after albums within its genre. Most seen are on the black label, the blue originals were only available briefly and few made it out of the shops. As stated above, this was a BBC radio DJ’s copy and it was hardly even played. A magnificent album and record, the world was not quite ready for this one and it has always remained elusive.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: LBS 83264 A 1 1 1 1 / LBS 83264 B 1 1 1 (the ultimate first pressing) [Note: the more often seen black label repress, but still rare in its own right, has the matrix numbers: LBS 83264 A-2U / LBS 83264 B-2U]. A blue label A-1 / B-1 pressing is one of the rarest, best and most treasured albums on the Liberty label.

Brief Artist & Album Info: SURF'S UP!!!! Within the field of UK progressive rock there can be few better kept secrets than the magificent High Tide. A band that only made two albums and both are astonishingly brilliant. A four piece heavy band, that the world was not ready for. This was their debut and a prelude to the mind-numbing High Tide. Hardly Sea Shanties but blistering electric guitar and violin with plenty of fuzz and wah-wah – both titles are early prog nirvana. The four members were: Tony Hill - guitar, vocals; Simon House - electric violin (later of Hawkwind); Peter Pavli - bass and Roger Hadden - drums. This quartet made truly inspired doom laden heavy prog not totally disimilar to early Amon Duul II (please check-out my ultra rare ‘Phallus Dei’ on the same label currently on offer]. Hill has a Jim Morrison type voice which complements the sound of this band perfectly. Heavy guitars go head-to-head to battle for supremacy with House’s electric violin with awesome results. A barrage of electric-fuzz frenzy with heavy pounding rhythm, the excitement goes into overdrive on the breathtaking ‘Death Warmed Up’. This was Simon House at his very best and this band should have gone on to superstardom within this field, but alas not the case. A copy of this ‘lost’ progressive classic (and I mean that in every sense of the word) is rare and very rare indeed on the original blue original label, it will be seldom found or offered. This is up there with the vintage heavy classics like early Black Sabbath titles, Amon Duul II’s debut and Yeti, and the early acid Hawkwind albums – even better still for my money. Unleash this best kept secret now with this awesome display of dark, heavy, progressive rock - brilliant is too small a word for this one and it will seldom be heard better than on this copy. With two very clean playing surfaces and pristine sound, this will blow you and your hi-fi system, away.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High+. Prone to all forms damage and grubbiness and this has not survived unscathed.

Cover Grade and Format: VG++, the front has a sticker tear (top right corner area), but is still one of the better examples of this unforgiving cover I have seen. Visually this is better than my probably harsh grading. It’s a gatefold format, unlaminated and clearly vulnerable – the inner has the lovely coloured artwork as my pictures clearly show. Printed in England by MacNeill Press Ltd, London.

Cover Front: The intricate and quite superb artwork (please see close-up). Just look at the detail on those bizarre creatures of the sea. Overall quite clean and lacking the usual grubbiness found on most. The sticker tear clearly is a blemish but being white and no ink removal, it does not stand out as much as it would have done on a coloured cover. There are barely any noteworthy creases and marks and grubbiness are few and very light and overall for this uncompromising cover, this is a nice example. If the sticker tear however is an issue, please do not bid.

Cover Back: The back is overall similar minus any sticker marks. Mild handling traces and a few small marks or light abrasions but again few creases and no ugly ringwear.

Inner Gatefold: Whereas the outer faces have little chance of avoiding wear, damage and grubbiness, the inside more than compensates. In an ideal world the artwork would have been better transposed. This centrefold has beautiful artwork and this is in very fine condition. Odd faint small crease, mild rub and handling traces only. The lovely ship artwork still floats on that High Tide with rich splendour.

Top Edges: Some rubbing but being white, these have minimal visual impact.

Bottom Edges: Similar again, slightly more but still white.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Quite neat and fairly sharp but slightly thickened, but untrimmed or feathered. Record entered on right outside back edge.

Spine and Text: Solid and quite straight and folded square. Only relatively light wear here but some rubbing on the word ‘Shanties’, the rest is unaffected.

Corners: The corners have rubbed in relation to their edges, some mild scuffing but most retain fine shape.

Cover Summary: More than a respectable example of this very difficult and rare cover, clearly not for the perfectionist but sufficiently rare enough for many to consider – logic and common sense will tell collectors just how wear prone this one is and I feel even with the blemishes, it will beat many, if not most.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Strong EX+ and arguably better. Each side has just a couple of fine surface marks that have NO sound whatsoever. A very impressive looking record and without doubt, modestly played. Clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed on top-quality vinyl. This very rare, genuine first-pressed blue-label example will be immensely difficult to find much better and only an unplayed one will offer a serious challenge - really likely isn’t it?

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 very rare record plays even above its high visual grading. An album of very high volume and intensity, the odd quieter passage but not too many. This is devoid of surface sounds and has supreme sonic power on the masterful analogue recording. This is not for the faint-hearted, a blistering barrage of sound that must have blown the original owner away. This was a very different type of sound for this time and many were not ready for it. I noted no pops or clicks and the absolutely vital fact is, this plays totally devoid of distortion, high frequency clipping or inherent pressing sounds. With loads of manic electric guitars, fuzz effects and wah-wah doing battle with House’s electric violin this is imperative and so often these critical high-end instruments will break up and echo with groove-wear distortion – NOT ON THIS ONE. I played this one at high volume and quite honestly it send shivers down the spine and gave me that all too rare ‘tingle factor’ – this is one hell of a listen. The power and slam in these vintage grooves with the dueling strings is breathtaking. Still a mystery why this brilliant band did not go on to be mega stars. Prog lovers who have yet to discover this band and their two albums should do so immediately. Both this title and High Tide, the follow-up should be in any serious rock collection, unfortunately there are not enough originals to go round. With a better-than-average cover and a record that is exceptional, most vinyl rock fans will treasure this.

End Piece: In terms of hard rock, I have heard few I like more than High Tide. Already established in my personal hall of progressive rock fame, this is simply brilliant, any fan of Spiral era Black Sabbath, acid era Hawkwind, early Atomic Rooster and the heavy Krautrock bands will revel in this. Play this loud and be prepared to be captivated. Loud electric guitar and violin go into hyperdrive with pulsating venom, with no quarter given – with a Jim Morrison soundalike vocalist – who could ask for more? This record encaptures this battle perfectly and High Tide must have been awesome live. The analogue format gives that extra bass power and drive this type of music needs, this deserves to be on a deck and enjoyed again as soon as possible. Obviously very rare with guide prices high (and they undervalue everything), and lately they cannot even give a fixed price as demand grows ever Higher as the Tide goes out. One to enjoy, get this fired up immediately – it’s truly awesome, unreservedly recommended for spine-tingling entertainment.

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’.