FAIRFIELD PARLOUR - KALEIDOSCOPE - From Home to Home VERY RARE VERTIGO SPIRAL LP

	£		236
	$		313

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrived damaged in them at some time. More details on my packing nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important to any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

Artist or Band: FAIRFIELD PARLOUR

Album Title: From Home to Home.

Producer(s): David Symonds.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Aries; In My Box; By Your Bedside; Soldier of the Flesh; I Will Always Feel the Same; Free.

Side 2: Emily; Chalk on the Wall; The Glorious House of Arthur; Monkey; Sunny Side Circus; Drummer Boy of Shiloh.

Label/Format: Vertigo – original large swirl format on side two. These have matt, smooth surfaces (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both in superb conditions: very clean, fresh and attractive with only light, fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. Side two, the white side, still very white and devoid of the grubbiness that so many acquire over time. This rare and beautiful record also plays with supreme sound.

Cat Number: 6360001.

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: 142 grams. A very good and above average weight for Swirl albums.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rare: and now getting one of the more elusive Spiral album. Also very difficult to find with anything like a decent cover. Like the majority of Swirl albums, this sold in only very small numbers and many ended up in ‘Bargain Bins’, often with large discount stickers applied to the covers, hence many are seen torn and ruined. This is a superb copy: the record appears very little played and sounds beautiful with barely anything unwanted. The fragile cover has a little mild rubbing, but compared to most seen, this is minimal and a better, available all-round example will prove immensely difficult to find.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: 6360001 1Y//1 1 1 1 & 6360001 2Y//1 1 1 ? (the ‘?’ is very small, it may not even be a number at all, it is somewhat unclear).

Musicians: Peter Daltrey – vocals, organ, piano, mellotron, harpsichord, tambourine; Eddy Pumer – classical, acoustic, 12-string and electric guitars, mellotron, organ, harpsichord; Steve Clark – bass guitar, flutes; Don Bridgman – drums, pedal tympany, tubular bells, tambourine, bongos.

Brief Info: Fairfield Parlour were previously known as Kaleidoscope and made two superb psych-rock albums on Fontana – ‘Tangerine Dream’ and ‘Faintly Blowing’ – both are considerably rare and difficult to find. So in all intense and purpose, this was the third Kaleidoscope album with the same type of psych-rock style of material, but now with more progressive elements as the above instrumentation will reitterate – again – it’s wonderful. It even includes the wonderful mellotron with his delicate haunting sound that always adds genuine beauty to songs. It proved to be their first and last album for Vertigo. A fourth album was made but with no record contract, it was shelved for many years. This album again did not sell in any great numbers and not an easy one to find. When the brief Vertigo contract was ended and no takers for the fourth album, the band folded. I consider Kaleidoscope/Fairfield Parlour one of the best bands never to really make it. Their music to my ears is superb and they really did the deserve success that ultimately eluded them, ‘From Home to Home’ one of my favourites on this most collectable label. This is my first copy of this for a considerable time, I doubt if I will ever see or hear a better copy. Any cover wear in context of it’s unforgiving format being only very light. The record little played and sounds superb, I cannot remember a noteworthy blemish at all and it was a pure joy to play-grade. Indeed this could prove to be a substantial upgrade for existing owners and for those striving to achieve a full-run of Swirls, this will fill an important gap for many. But taken purely on it’s own merits, this is a fantastic album in it’s own right. Whatever this band called themselves, they were magnificent and unfairly, were not heard enough – all three of their albums are essential – if you can find them.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: this hardly doing this hugely wear-prone cover full justice, worthy of a (+) put into context. An unlaminated gatefold format with the outside faces being textured. The inside is smooth. Printed and made in England with the original ‘Vertigo’ copyright warning inside. The 1970 Spiral inner sleeve is also included.

Cover Front: Even with a little gentle surface rubbing near the left edge, this is the best example of this very difficult cover that is prone to just about all forms of wear. Very dark artwork with no protection and textured, all sure-fire recipes for significant wear that few will ever avoid. The graphic is very clean, fresh and attractive with barely a crease to be seen. A mere sliver of a tiny rub on the right edge and a possible tiny tip-in to the bottom corner tips – present when I bought it, but very small and quite discrete. The lack of heavy rubbing to these ungiving surfaces is very unusual to say the least, and this has no price sticker issues. Very small tip rubs on the top pair. Not quite perfect, but it sure will take some beating.

Cover Back: The back is very similar with even less rubbing, that some feat for a dark cover. The lack of ring wear is a massive bonus, such covers rarely avoid it totally, and this pretty much has. A little gentle speckle to the textured surface, but will any truly not have any at all? Again, this has barely any creasing at all.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Very faint surface rub traces near the bottom edges, little else bar the odd tiny tip rub. A lovely eerie graphic that will again rarely be found better.

Top Edges: These edges have little wear at all and both are straight. Most of any present near the very ends.

Bottom Edges: Light to moderate patchy rubbing, storage edges of this type will rarely escape even this well.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, crisp and sharp with very little wear. Any thickening minimal and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on the back edge, both guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. All text is present, strong and unworn, this another massive bonus as this is fine and often erodes away. The wrap-around graphic is pretty much fully intact and even the folds retain most-all ink with any rubs on these vulnerable areas very light.

Corners: The bottom pair to my eyes have has small tip-ins, as stated, present when I bought this record. Small and quite discrete, and I will always mention what I suspect of see. Small tip rubs on the top corner tips. All retain fine to very fine shape.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this hugely uncompromising early 1970’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. Of the small few of these I have seen before, most have been quite badly rubbed, tired-looking and even damaged by stickers. This the first I have seen without ring wear and although this is not ‘perfect’, it will take a huge amount of beating. This beautiful item should please many, if not most realistic collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): just a little aged with the usual darkening of the seam adhesive. This is still quite fresh and attractive with barely any creasing and two undamaged window circles and clear lining. All edges are unsplit with no repairs. This one date-coded 0970 (September 1970). No writing, tears and I would think, the record not removed many times at all.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a very fine and impressive visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and solidly pressed on top quality vinyl. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface trace marks very light and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. Most even finer than hairlines, there are NO penetrating scratches on this record at all. Visually a super, rare record that should please most 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 wonderful, but somewhat ‘lost’ psych-prog album, plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Strong, 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 are minuscule and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will match, let alone outperform this ultimate first issue significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. Rare and poor-selling records are often as such because the music is not so good – well this mini-classic is NOT one of them. With justice and possibly better promotion, this should have done well for this sadly almost ignored band. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

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 programs. 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 Terrarium Black 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 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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 2 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask 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] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced 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’.