SPRING, Spring [RCA Neon NE6] PROG-ROCK MELLOTRON RARITY LP

	£		192
	$		254

NEW ZEALAND FIRST PRESSING VINYL LP IN GATEFOLD.

We won't blather on about how great this album is, if you're looking at this listing it is probably because you know that already and want to own a copy of the vinyl - but if you haven't ever heard this album yet, then we envy you - because when you do get to hear it you are in for the kind of treat one only experiences rarely in life, the first listening of Wish You Were Here, Dark Side of the Moon, Astral Weeks, Kind of Blue, etc. THAT kind of treat.

The UK pressing is a Holy Grail for collectors and mellotron/prog fans, and is, in all cases, the copy to try and track down - but they rarely come up for sale and are pricey to say the least. The Repertoire CD is out of print, but is a very decent mastered copy considering the constraints of CD, so tracking down a CD for $30 or so is a good bet if you want to listen to it - if you want vinyl though, upon which this album sounds richest and in all its glory, the problem is finding one. The Italian Arkama re-presses show up from time to time, and are on heavy vinyl with bonus tracks - BUT they are clearly pressed from digital sources and sound like they are. So, pretty pointless vinyl really as you might as well just buy a CD and be done with it.

But there is another solution, a cheaper one - track down one of the 'less collectable' foreign issues of this album, and you will find you own a very splendid listening copy. Why? Because, as is the case with this New Zealand pressing, it appears the few issues in other territories (when they turn up) are from the ORIGINAL MASTERS - i.e. - the same master tapes (and not next generation dubs send to foreign climes as happens with bigger selling artists) used for the UK pressings. This is similar to the 1960s/1970s Decca UK pressed classical vinyl on the red London label that were pressed in the UK then shipped to the USA, inserted into USA sleeves and released there - they often feature the exact same matrix and mother/stamper numbers as the UK issues, and are thus from the same UK master tapes and laquers. This New Zealand RCA pressing has the EXACT SAME matrix numbers as the UK pressing - which means that RCA just sent a set of master laquers to New Zealand cut from the UK master tape, from which New Zealand vinyl pressings were made with sleeves manufactured in Auckland. So, essentially, you are getting nearly the exact same sound as the UK pressing, but for a cheaper price. We have played this copy back-to-back with a UK first pressing (as I say, with the exact same stamper/matrix codes) and the only real difference we could notice was that the UK vinyl quality is superior and quieter to the NZ one; other than that, aurally, they sound pretty much the same. We'd say this New Zealand pressing is 90% to the UK's 100%, whereas the Italy re-issues are about 70% to the UK's 100%, if that makes any sense. This particular copy sounds vastly superior to the Italian re-issues, that much we can assure you - and the copy we are offering here is clearly cut from first generation master tapes on vinyl pressed from first matrix number mothers/stampers - it sold so little at the time of release that I doubt there was ever a second pressing run of this album, least of all in New Zealand!

Tracks: A1 The Prisoner (Eight By Ten) 5:35 A2 Grails 6:45 A3 Boats 2:00 A4 Shipwrecked Soldier 5:24 B1 Golden Fleece 7:00 B2 Inside Out 4:49 B3 Song To Absent Friends (The Island) 2:47 B4 Gazing 5:54

MATRIX NUMBERS IN RUN-OFF GROOVES: SIDE A: Machine stamped letters: AGBS-0521-A-1 / SIDE B: AGBS-0522-B-1

SLEEVE: VERY GOOD ONLY DUE TO RING, SHELF AND EDGE WEAR. FLAPS NEED REGLUING. SPINE HAS NICKS, SOME LIGHT SCORES ON FRONT, CORNER BUMPS - OVERALL A SERVICEABLE BUT NOT GREAT SLEEVE - PLEASE NOTE THIS AUCKLAND PRINTED SLEEVE IS ONLY A GATEFOLD, NOT THE UK TRI-FOLD, AND IN THAT SENSE IS UNIQUE TO THIS RELEASE.

DISC: AURALLY MOST OF THIS DISC PLAYS EXCELLENT WITH NO POPS OR CLICKS, AND HAS AN AWESOME SOUND, BUT TRACK THREE 'BOATS' ON SIDE ONE HAS A MARK IN THE VINYL WHICH PLAYS THROUGH, DOES NOT SKIP OR JUMP, BUT DOES CLICK FOR AT LEAST HALF THE SHORT TUNE DURING THE MIDDLE. THERE ARE A FEW LIGHT HAIRLINES AND SIGNS OF PREVIOUS PLAY, BUT NO OTHER MARKS OR SCRATCHES AND ONLY LESSER SPINDLE WEAR. A VERY DECENT COPY THAT HAS CLEARLY BEEN PLAYED A NUMBER OF TIMES BUT IS STILL IN SPLENDID PLAYING CONDITION WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE MARK ON TRACK THREE AS NOTED. THE ACTUAL DYNAMIC SOUND OF THIS ALBUM ON A DECENT HI FI IS AWESOME, THE MELLOTRONS SOUND LIKE THEY'RE OFF IN THE CORNER OF THE ROOM SOMEPLACE, AND THE SIMPLE BUT PERFECT GUS DUDGEON PRODUCTION MAKES FOR ENDLESS PLEASUREABLE LISTENS. WE ARE SELLING THIS ALBUM AS DESCRIBED, AS A VERY ACCEPTABLE COPY, NOT BY ANY MEANS IN PERFECT CONDITION, BUT WITH THE ASSURANCE THAT IT SOUNDS AND PLAYS REALLY WELL FROM START TO FINISH - THE OPENING BID PRICE IS APPROXIMATELY HALF WHAT A SIMILAR UK CONDITION COPY WOULD BE LISTED AT.

Paypal and eBay Buyer/Seller protection policies require us to ship all packages with signature proof of delivery. This protects both you and us in the event of damage or non-receipt. In order to comply with these policies we can only ship inside the UK by Signed-For Delivery (3-5 days average delivery time), and outside the UK by Royal Mail Small Packet Air Mail (with Tracked and Signed-For Delivery) (10-15 days average delivery time). We will enter the tracking number in your eBay purchases section shortly after your package has shipped, from which you can track it by clicking to the Royal Mail website. The shipping and handling rates quoted are non-negotiable. Please ensure that you make payment for your purchases within 5 days of the auction ending. Thanks for your interest in this listing, and good luck with your bid.