RARE 1969 ORIG 1st SKIN ALLEY COMPLEX PROG MELLOTR

$

305

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    VERY RARE 1969 EARLY COMPLEX PROGRESSIVE

                    MELLOTRON & SYMPHONIC MOVES!

          

       

                            SKIN ALLEY

                                   ((1st))

                                                       

                        

\                                                         UK - (ORANGE) CBS - 63847

 

MINTY CLEAN VINYL!

By far and away the rarest, most sought after ~ Original BRITISH 1969 first pressing vinyl of underground prog psych group, SKIN ALLEY ... this one has commanded BIG dollars in collector circles for years with its impressive early progressive flairs that include Symphonic & Mellotron injections....

Skin Alley was an early 70's progressive rock band that consisted of both British and American bands, but residing in Britain playomg all the hippie festivals and 'swinging London' hip clubs. In 1969, the band released this RARE first album on CBS and they were sure quick to hop on the progressive rock bandwagon, all in the same year of King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King, Van der Graaf Generator's The Aerosol Grey Machine, East of Eden's Mercator Projected, and Colosseum's Valentyne Suite.

So, no doubt, Skin Alley's first LP is certainly a wonderful example of early British progressive rock. "Living in Sin" is a great opening cut, with lots of nice organ work from Krzysztof-Henryk Juskiewicz, flute and reeds from Bob James, as well as guitar work, also from Bob himself. It's such a great opening cut, we could not imagine a better way to open the album! "Tell Me" is a great symphonic piece, complete with Mellotron (Mark II) with the classic strings as well asfull backing spice all enhancing the track. Starting off as a peaceful ballad, "Tell Me" soon enough morphs into a quickened pace with the organ and Mellotron! "Mother Please Help Your Child" has a more doomy, psychedelic feel with some rather dramatic vocals. "Marsha" features Skin Alley on display with complex rhythms dominated by Bob James' jazzy reeds and shuffling skilled  drum work from Alvin Pope. "Country Aire" is a nice memorable track with a baroque feel, complete with cool harpsichord and flute. "All Alone" has a blues influence, without quite being blues, with some nice trippy organ. "Night Time" is another great symphonic piece complete with Mellotron. One can really dig those jazzy tinged passages that end this cut. "Concerto Grosso (Take Heed)" is simply a short interlude on harpsichord that leads to the wonderful bluesy closer, "(Going down the) Highway". This is one of the better combinations of the blues and progressive rock.

Anyway, Skin Alley's debut is certainly one of the finer examples of early British progressive rock you can hear. Constant comparisons go to Jethro Tull and Van der Graaf Generator. There are similarities similar style to bands like Gracious, Cressida, Beggars Opera, and even Black Widow (minus the Satanic stuff), meaning if you like any of these groups, you should have no problem with Skin Alley's first Lp. Just don't expect to easily 'come upon' a copy...getting to the point of extinction by the minute with about all original copies being in private collections...

This one, also, has never been reissued...

* Thomas Crimble – bass, mellotron, vocals
* Bob James – guitar, alto saxophone, flute, vocals
* Krzysztof Henryk Justkiewicz – organ, piano, harpsichord, mellotron, vocals
* Alvin Pope – drums, congas, timpani

Living In Sin (4:39)
Tell Me (4:40)
Mother Please Help Your Child (4:13)
Marsha (7:25)
Country Aire (2:15)
All Alone (8:17)
Night Time (5:37)
Concerto Grosso (Take Heed) (0:28)
Highway (4:19)

 

CONDITION: The Cover: delicate and fragile, in pretty solid shape with the white cover clean having some light shelf wear at top area and hard to see tag pull (white on white) all which does not show up in photo - but can be seen upon close inspection or light reflection ... most all of the dominate white cover is snow white and even IF found is usually dirty and soiled more some 43 years onward...no split seams, no writing...solid VG+(+) collectible...with the minty clean vinyl, don't hope to find a better copy soon, or maybe even later....

The Vinyl: lovely shiny clean over both sides...gotta be near M- looks so nice and plays with NO audio problems ... for those into the early UK Prog scene (ala 1st Crimson, Raw Material, Cressida, etc) it is one to grab or go sadly without....

Both CBS labels are clean....

       

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

 

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

 

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record

  NOTE: All Items backed by  money back guarantee! IF you have a problem PLEASE let us solve for you BEFORE leaving ANY negative feedback. Thanks!   GRADING SCALE: M, M-, EX, VG++,VG+, VG, VG- M    Completely clean, no marks M-   Carefully used, looks clean, plays clean, shiny gloss, no marks EX   Faint scuff or superficial mark, near M-, high gloss, plays clean VG++ Glossy with minimal scuffing or light mark playing very nice, clean VG+ a bit more scuff or markls still plays well with very minimal surface at worse VG   more marks/scratches only minor, nothing deep, no loud clicks or pops         this grade is abused by many, VG here does not mean "trashed" VG-  surface noise present, will not have skips or jumps     ALL PAYMENTS SHOULD BE MADE WITHIN 5 DAYS Of AUCTIONS END   BIDDERS PLEASE = Do Not Bid If You Are Not Serious About  Following Through The Transaction!   ALL ITEMS GUARANTEED FOR WINNING BID - LESS SHIPPING!