BLOSSOM TOES We Are Ever So Clean V. RARE UK STEREO

	£		410
	$		543

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4. Europe £10. Rest of World £14. ALL signed for. – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: THE BLOSSOM TOES

Album Title: We Are Ever So Clean.

Producer(s): Giorgio Gomelsky.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Look At Me I’m You; I’ll Be Late For Tea; The Remarkable Saga of The Frozen Dog; Telegram Tuesday; Love Is; What’s It For; People of the Royal Parks.

Side 2: What On Earth; Mrs Murphy’s Budgerigar; I Will Bring You This and That; Mister Watchmaker; When The Alarm Clock Rings; The Intrepid Balloonist’s Handbook, Volume One; You; Track For Speedy Freaks (or Instant LP Digest) .

Label/Format: Marmalade (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle traces minuscule, I can see one small fine one on side two but little else. Barely discoloured or aged and without doubt, this incredibly rare record has hardly been played and came from a top quality collection. Being critical, there is slight ‘ghosting’ (or fine set-off) of the black text in manufacture, this purely natural and nothing to do with any wear of course.

Cat Number: 608001.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm. NOTE: the cover spine has the mono 607001 number.

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: 138 grams. A very good weight for this and any record.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Very Rare: and getting massively difficult to find, the stereo pressing even rarer than the mono. A poor selling psych classic that went almost over-looked at the time. The country immersed in ‘Peppermania’, few new acts making real psychelic music at this time got noticed and this is now massively in demand by serious collectors of the genre. Like Kaleidoscope (Tangerine Dream also on offer), whose music was fairly similar, this has almost been lost in the mist of time and rarely will a hardly played stereo copy surface to be offered on the open market. An English treasure of wonderful pop-psych and heard very impressively on a very clean example. Ultimately clean, sharp, focused and devoid of crackle or distortion, this will prove immensely difficult to find better. The cover is equally impressive with minimal traces of any ageing or blemishes. A rare opportunity for the discerning collector.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: 608001 A 1 1 2 3 / 608001 B 1 1 1 4 [these are error corrected]

Musicians: Brian Belshaw – bass, vocals; Jim Cregan – guitar, vocals; Brian Godding – guitar, keyboards, vocals; Kevin Westlake – drums. Orchestration by David Whittaker.

Brief Info: A British four piece band that came and went largely unnoticed in 1967 to 1969, they made just two albums. This being the first and far more psychelic than the more rocky second – both are rare. Very difficult to find and so highly regarded, this has near legendary status within the English pop-psych genre What makes this even more appealing is the fact it’s on one the most visually attractive 1960s labels, Marmalade – what better label for psych music than this? My first ever stereo copy and I could wait forever to find another as nice. A pleasure from beginning to end with any audio blemishes minimal. For collectors seeking this ‘lost’ album treasure, well (to say the least) a very rare opportunity.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a fully laminated single format. Printed and made in England by the Upton Group with Polydor distribution credits.

Lamination: Front & Back: Both sides look fantastic with lovely shine, freshness and clarity – hardly aged at all in fact. The only reason this just missed my highest Mint(-) grading is of a light crease on the spine edge corners – they are fine and show little. On these minor creases slight lifting has occured but only small and hardly even showing against the white backdrop. There is minimal traces of any record rim impression or dulling, even under light and I can hardly imagine finding oneof these better. This cover has the mono 607001 number on the spine, this the only reference on the entire cover. As this is my first and only stereo copy of this album, I do not even no if there was a specific stereo cover made for this album. It sold so little, possibly not, but that is a pure guess. A lovely example – YES, this is EVER SO CLEAN – and attractive too.

Top Edge: A white edge with no laminate, it looks little worn at all.

Bottom Edge: This one has laminate and is almost as made.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with barely any hint of wear, thickening or burring. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A lovely spine too: solid, mainly straight, uncompressed, the ends gently tapered in manufacture. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate that is totally scuff free and ultra clear and like the rest of the cover, it has not yellowed or darkened.

Corners: Any tip rubbing is tiny and being white, barely even registers. A little light creasing on the spine tips but all retain excellent or better shape.

Cover Summary: A very impressive cover, a work of art and setting a standard most covers this age would dream of. With so few of these even sold or existing, only a small percentage of those will have been treasured and stored to this level. I state again, this has the mono number on the spine and is the only reference on the entire cover. This truly beautiful item should please most-all collectors. Even grading Excellent(++) is being somewhat harsh I feel. The Polydor-style inner sleeve is polylined and clear as seen through two crisp and sharp window circles. Some discolour to the adhesive areas of the edges and and crinkle near the corners but the edges are unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): and a superb visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and quite heavily pressed. A copy without any doubt hardly played, NO piledriver stylus have ruined this priceless gem. Any surface marks or blemishes are tiny, few and faint, a 44-year-old record in very impressive condition. This should please most-all collectors.

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 snippets 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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This much sort-after psych album plays up to and most-all even exceeds it’s high visual grading with very little to fault. Strong, totally distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds barely even register and this is an exceptional clean pressing. The sound is simply wonderful, fully focused and precise with not even a trace of high frequency clipping or stressing. Few copies will match, let alone outperform this early pressing I feel sure. NO pops and just the odd light tick throughout it’s duration, if only all vintage records could perform like this… alas few ever do, especially when played on highly revealing clinical stereo equipment. With both channels so clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played extremely lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. Great imagery and separation which adds to the psych feel and presentation of this album. This copy will prove immensely difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. A very special album and another psych classic to sit along Kaleidoscope on Ebay (for a while anyway) – do not lose this one.

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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

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, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. 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. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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 the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

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 (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; 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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (Royal Mail insurance is an 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: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. 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. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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 necessarily 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’.