PENTANGLE Basket of Light RARE UK EXAMPLE with UNIQUE GIMMICK COVER, LOVELY COPY

	£		33
	$		44

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 arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details 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 ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for 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.

FINALLY: Late payers will now be blocked at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: THE PENTANGLE

Album Title: Basket of Light.

Producer: Shel Talmy.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Light Flight; Once I Had a Sweetheart; Springtime; Lyke-Wake Dirge; Train Song.

Side 2: Hunting Song; Sally Go Round the Roses; The Cuckoo; House Carpenter.

Label/Format: Transatlantic – Original purple and white format. This issue is slightly different to standard issues with subtle differences to text and position. The most noticeable difference is the shade of purple of the rim text and logo which is considerable darker.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle marks being very few, fine and faint.

Cat Number: TRA 205.

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: 130 grams. A very good weight for this record.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity & Info: Moderate. This copy being very different with the ‘Sound Packaging Partnership’ gimmick cover, these are somewhat rare compared to the standard ‘basic’ cover. Only a very small number of albums included this somewhat ill-conceived method of storing the record. Ones that spring immediately to mind are: Colosseum ‘Live’, Mr Fox ‘The Gipsy’, Unicorn ‘Uphill all the Way’ and the sampler double set ‘El Pea’ (as well as a very small number of this album). Most-all copies of this album you will find have a standard gatefold cover. When this ‘innovative’ plastic inner sleeve was invented around 1970-1971, this cover was briefly given the treatment. Quite honestly, it proved to be a disaster – but being so idiosyncratic and not putting too fine a point on it – plain stupid – it has become collectable for specialist collectors. The idea was to include a plastic wallet inside to hold the record, the right edge included a strip of foam – the idea being to clean the record when it was insert or withdrawn. But this idea of fraught with problems. The main issue became more apparent after time: any contact with the record on this foam strip reacted very badly with it’s surface. Any area became dulled with almost a mild acid affect – and in practically all cases, any mark sounds. Avoid this reaction is immensely difficult to near impossible. Secondly, the plastic wallet’s adhesive browned, dried and so often became unstuck. Also the plastic became brittle and split, often from end-to-end. The record was never easily insert or removed either, and clearly it was better never to do so at all. Well in terms of this copy, the wallet is in very fine condition and is still very solidly adhered, the adhesive darkened, but that is nigh-on impossible to avoid. The bottom edge has a very neat and fine edge spilt, but this is largely inconspicuous. But the very best news of all is any contact with the foam on the record is minimal and avoiding the music area at all – hence the music plays without the usual hiss caused by this reaction – one of the very few I have ever heard on any record with this gimmick inner. Gentle sound heard only on the run-in grooves. So this copy has a unique cover with the card being only single thickness with one of the neatest plastic inserts you ever find, it also includes the ‘Sound Packaging Partnership’ logo. With this particular copy that only came with this cover having different label designs and darker colour, swapping the record will not fool the more experienced collector – this record has the dull mark on the run-ins and is guaranteed the correct record version for this cover. One last factor for rarity with the copy: this one as seen, includes the huge ‘Freebies’ promotional sticker. This a mail order offer using this sticker as part of the deal. Thus in most cases, this would have been removed and used, or removed, disgarded, just to see the cover in full. So I doubt if many of these will still even exist at all, it was clearly made to be removed and I have never seen one before. For good measure, this sticker is in superb condition, clearly never picked at or removed, just a hint of grubbiness being critical. With the record playing superbly with very little unwanted on a totally acoustic set, the cover almost exceptional for this unforgiving, almost bizarre format, it is one for specialist collectors and ones who enjoy magnificent classic folk music.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: TRA 205 A-1 / TRA 205 B-1

Stamper Codes: 1 M / 1 A

Musicians: Terry Cox – drums, glockenspiel, hand drum, lead and backing vocals; Bert Jansch – lead and backing vocals, guitar, banjo; Jacqui McShee – lead and backing vocals; John Renbourn – lead and backing vocals, guitar, sitar; Danny Thompson – double bass.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Classic jazz-tinged folk-rock from one of the greatest UK bands within this genre. Basket of Light was the band’s third album of the six initial albums they made – five were issued on this label. This is simply another folk masterpiece from a band who could do no wrong for me. Featuring the famous quintet of Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson (the greatest acoustic bass player ever?), Terry Cox and the fabulous Jacqui McShee on vocals. This album is arguably their very best and it even featured a hit single in ‘Light Flight’ which was used as the theme for the TV series ‘Take Three Girls’ at this time – I can just about remember it as my parents watched it. Even in my youth I was immediately attracted to his beautiful song and bought the album when funds allowed. All instrumentation on this set is acoustic, hence a very clean pressing is even more important, and this one delivers. Transatlantic pressings could sometimes be variable, but hardly any issues with this one being clean and offering very impressive sound. A couple of faint crackles on side two that come and go within an eyeblink and little else at all. As stated, this is the genuine copy that came with this rarer gimmick cover. It has a small dull on side on the run-in grooves (directly opposite each other), thus the music is unaffected – that itself is a major rarity as few will ever escape. Most copies includes a standard gatefold cover with the usual method of record storage. Only a small number included the ‘Sound Packaging Partnership’ logo and plastic fixed inner. As mentioned above, this in very fine condition when put into context. So a very fine example, these will not be seen or offered often, and seldom much better.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: this being very conservative for a cover that is usually seen in tatters. An unlaminated gatefold format with fully single thickness card, this having a smooth matt surface. The inside with the gimmick plastic sleeve inner as described further up. Printed and made in England by MacNeill and including the ‘Sound Packaging Partnership’ logo inside. Also with the rare ‘Freebies’ promotional sticker on the front as seen in close-up.

Cover Front: Clean, fresh and attractive, the rare and huge sticker very impressive. Any rubbing or marks very few and light, Just a couple of light surface creases near the right edge area, being such thin card, this has escaped well.

Cover Back: The back is similar again, the lack of ringwear is always a bonus on this one.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The card is clean and attractively fresh with only a gentle semi-crease near the left edge. These covers have to be opened and such minor issues seldom avoided. The gimmick inner is in very fine condition and are rarely seen better these days. I have already described it in some detail further up. But briefly: the plastic is clear and fresh with any dulling light. The foam strip fully intact and undamaged. Some darkening to the wallet’s hinge adhesive, but is still very firmly attached to the cover and as neat as they get. Also these tend to get affected with mildew which this has largely avoided. One fine and neat bottom edge split hardly even registers. I have seen several of these gimmick inner covers, mostly on other albums, I have seen few better than this.

Top Edges: Minimal wear with any thickening or burring only light.

Bottom Edges: These storage edges have thickened more, clearly more fragile than the standard cover with two thin card only for both. Generally, even these have faired well.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both sharp with little wear at all, the record enters on the right inside the gimmick inner (but this is NOT recommended). As usual, I have supplied a brand new lined inner, best kept outside of the cover at all for safety.

Spine and Text: Solid, but quite thin with minimal compression and folded square, so the edges are neatly flush and parallel. Any rubbing light with all the text intact and present. Very slight rubbing to the fold hinge being critical.

Corners: Any tip rubs are small and mainly light, fine to very fine shape retained.

Cover Summary: It is really nice to see this bizarre and badly designed gimmick cover looking so neat. Almost laughable and naive in design, but such items are always of interest for collectors and if one is wanted, they hardly get a great deal better than this. The idea was not around for long and dropped quickly, hence albums including it are fairly hard to find, this one especially so with most-all not including it at all. With the collectable sticker as well, this is a must for specialist cover collectors.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: or thereabouts. Not easy to put a grading on this one as it has the mandatory dull spots on the run-in grooves, but missing the music area, hence of little to no consequence. The record is clean with overall fine shine and solidly pressed. It does have a few fine surface marks and very fine ones seen more under bright angled light, but none sound. The gimmick inner does the surfaces no favours, these always being tight, hard and having to negotiate the foam strip. So overall, this copy has survived well – the main issues are, this IS the genuine dark labelled copy with subtle design variations that is perfectly correct for this version. And the record plays very well indeed with little unwanted.

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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This super copy plays even above it’s visual grading with very little to fault. Transatlantic were often a little inconsistent in pressing quality, but this is a very fine one. An immaculately produced album and the sound takes you into the recording studio itself. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - the audio quality is astonishing with a wide dynamic range and very rich and detailed sound, this is a super-fi recording. The start of side two, with a solo glockenspiel is beautiful and the instrument could actually be in the room with gorgeous clarity and precise sharp ‘tings’. Jacqui McShee’s crystal clear vocals send shivers down the spine, any groove wear or distortion echo would destroy this beautiful recording but all is sharp and focused and every instrument from the gorgeous vocals to the deep double bass of Thompson are clear and precise. A couple of milli-second crackles were (just) heard on side two, but little else. Few copies will much play better and still gives the most wonderful sound and detail and any surface sounds registering little – this too on very revealing equipment as listed further down. Both channels are clean and sharp and stereo imagery from the acoustic instruments is sublime. The natural sound of the ‘real’ instruments via analogue will never be beaten, even with the odd tiny blemish. Nothing of any real spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this folk classic – yes you could say I rather enjoyed this one. With the rare cover, sticker and lovely music, this copy could prove difficult to find significantly better and merits strong recommendation. Such a complete copy of this version will not be seen or offered often.

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 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’.