JOHN MARTYN "Solid Air" 1973 UK ISLAND 1st PRESSING

	£		26
	$		34

  JOHN MARTYN "Solid Air" 1973 UK ISLAND 1st PRESSING w/ISLAND PALE BLUE INNER, EXCELLENT AUDIO, SOUNDS GREAT
JOHN MARTYN
Solid Air

ORIGINAL UK ISLAND (ILPS 9226) FIRST PRESSING (February 1973) OF THE JOHN MARTYN'S SUPERB "Solid Air" LP - THIS COPY HAS BEEN WELL PLAYED BUT IT STILL DELIVERS SUPERB AUDIO AND PLAYS BEAUTIFULLY THROUGHOUT (see detailed audio assessment below)

Solid Air (whose title track was written for John Martyn's friend, songwriter Nick Drake) is one of the defining moments in British folk, in the same league as Fairport Convention's Liege & Lief, Richard & Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights, and Michael Chapman's Rainmaker. Martyn stepped out of his comfort zone to record and produce it, including not only jazz and blues but rock and plenty of sound effects, and featuring Rhodes piano on some of its tracks, dismaying some fans while winning a ton more for its genre-blurring presentation. A number of its cuts -- such as the title track, "Over the Hill," "I'd Rather Be the Devil," and "May You Never" -- remained staples in his live sets until the end of his life.

PRESSED WITH THE FIRST ISLAND PINK RIMMED LABELS
FIRST PRESS MATRIX: ILPS 9226 A-1U (stamped "STERLING") / ILPS 9226 B-1U (stamped "STERLING")
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1/GD and 1/A
THE ALBUM IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL, MATTE GATEFOLD SLEEVE "Printed and made by MacNeill Press Ltd., London, S.E.1"
AND COMES COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL PALE BLUE. ISLAND COMPANY INNER SLEEVE
VERY NICE ORIGINAL, AND MUCH SOUGHT AFTER UK FIRST PRESSING WHICH EVEN THOUGHT WELL PLAYED STILL SOUNDS GREAT

SIDE 1: Solid Air / Over The Hill / Don't Want To Know / I'd Rather Be The Devil
SIDE 2: Go Down Easy /Dreams By The Sea / May You Never / The Man In The Station / The Easy Blues

LABELS: The labels are CLEAN, BRIGHT and UNMARKED but they do have quite a few spindles only really evident when angled to the light
VINYL Visual: The vinyl surfaces have numerous light hairlines (under a bright light) but are otherwise, UNMARKED and these have little audio consequence - the record plays extremely well throughout
VINYL Audio: CRYSTAL CLEAR, DEEP, RICH, BEAUTIFUL SOUND. When play-graded at a LOUD volume there are NO scratches, NO sticks, NO jumps and barely any clicks/pops (really, hardly any) with just some light surface noise/crackle on 'Go Down Easy' but little anywhere else. Plays extremely well throughout with NO evident groove-wear or distortion and is very critically graded VERY GOOD++++ for audio - an all round extremely acceptable playing copy which I could quite happily live with and I am sure you will be far from disappointed
SLEEVE: The matte gatefold cover is in EXCELLENT condition. There is some rubbing to the outer surfaces (with light ring on the back) but the inside is CLEAN and FRESH and the spine is straight and true with all text CLEAR. Very nice example of this incredibly easily worn sleeve (being mostly black and untreated)
The ORIGINAL PALE BLUE ISLAND COMPANY INNER has some marks and corner creases but it is good and solid with NO edge splits - EXCELLENT

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
SCARCE UK FIRST PRESSING OF JOHN MARTYN'S MASTERPIECE WHICH STILL SOUNDS GREAT
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

PLEASE REFER TO MY 'ABOUT ME' PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO ON MY PLAY-GRADING, EQUIPMENT USED, P&P etc

POST & PACKING
UK: 1st Class: FREE (with no compromise on packaging)
EU: Airmail: £5.00 (Insured & Signed For: £8.50)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £9.00 (Insured & Signed For: £12.50)
***Any record (or combination of records) which sells for more than £40 MUST be sent by a trackable method ie INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR

UK bidders: PayPal or Cheque
INTERNATIONAL bidders: PayPal ONLY

REDUCED POSTAGE FOR MULTIPLE ITEMS (EACH ADDITIONAL LP: EUROPE & INTERNATIONAL £2.00)
I will combine postage for items purchased within any 10 day period. However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you. Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period. I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Guarantee: I try to be as accurate and honest as possible when describing the condition of any LP but of course if you feel that I am mistaken and the description is inaccurate I will offer a complete, no quibble refund (through Paypal) upon return of the item.

ALL RECORDS ARE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED BEFORE DISPATCH AND PACKAGED WITH THE VINYL OUTSIDE OF THE SLEEVE TO PREVENT ANY 'KNIFING' DURING TRANSIT.
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, QUALITY WRAPRO MAILER AND STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY
I will email you when payment has been received to let you know when the item will be posted. Please leave feedback upon receipt of the item so that I know you have received it safely. Any problems please email me. Thanks  307 (GS 5.3.6 (307))