van der GRAAF Pawn Hearts+insert Rare 1st UK

	£		71
	$		94

Formerly mpsmith...

Hi, I am Mike, I have been a music collector for over 30 years now. My Ebay name has now changed at the request of Ebay for security - little else will change I hope, I will still try to offer 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 interested collector. You may notice I only submit one or two items a day for Ebay; time rarely allows more as I Play-Grade every record I offer (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - 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. 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. A ten pounds record that plays close to new is as important to the collector as a 250 pound record that plays less well. 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. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. Good luck.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed. I also will buy quality single items or collections of original quality rock, 60s popular, folk, prog, psych and underground etc.

PLEASE READ ALL DESCRIPTIONS AND CHECK PICTURES CAREFULLY FOR ALL THE INFORMATION GIVEN.

Artist or Band: VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR

Album Title: Pawn Hearts

Cat Number: CAS 1051 Stereo.

Label and Condition: Charisma original pink scroll version. Stunning clean and fresh examples that show only light, maybe light+ spindle traces. Beautiful deep rich colour that retain amazing fresh looks. This copy was manufactured and distributed by B&C Records Ltd. (Please see label scans for all information needed).

Country of Manufacture: England, UK

Rarity Factor: This first press original copy with the very scarce insert is genuinely very scarce now.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: CAS 1051 A1-U and B1-U the small pressing numbers are: 1 CA and 2 CM

Album Information: One of the most astonishing and brilliant progressive albums ever made, it not THE best - only for me closely matched by King Crimson’s famous debut. Without doubt one of the definitive UK prog bands of the early 70s fronted by near legendary vocalist Peter Hammill. A complex and at times difficult band with vocals as intense as they can get. VDGG always had a loyal following back in those days with their live performances always among the best. This album, the band’s most famous and popular (but still did not chart) is one of their very best. Featuring their best ever line up of: Guy Evans on percussion; Hugh Banton on Keyboards; Peter Hammill on vocals and acoustic guitar and David Jackson on reeds. Robert Fripp guests on electric guitar. This copy on offer is not only the rare original, the record is super clean and looks and plays beautifully. The cover is very strong too and is only slightly marred by a couple of marks that have been cleaned up and improved, one is a sticker removal mark. Its on the top right on the black area and being black shows up little. This original copy includes the hard to find lyric insert which only came with a handful of the very first pressings - some copies, even originals completely missed out on this - it rarely shows up now (and never did). Like for like in terms of genuine rarity, this shows up far less often than say In the Court of the Crimson King on Pink Island, that album actually charted highly. I have had that album four times, this is my first ever for this one, and I this is first time I have ever actually seen the insert.

Cover Condition and Details: Excellent, maybe even EX+, because even with the sticker removal repairs this is a still a beautiful cover, take away the small flaws this would be close to mint. Its a gatefold and was printed by the E. J. Day Group in England. A really nice one, rarely seen this clean and unworn. Dark ink, no laminate = rubbing and wear - this one bucks the trend and shows almost zero.

Cover Lamination: None

Cover Front: Very attractive indeed, clean and no rubbing at all. Deep rich original colour and next to no creasing, any there are as light as they get and little shows. No nasty indentations but has the small improvements to the black ink pulls. This fine front will no be found better easily, it looks superb.

Cover Back: Very similar to front with no damage at all. No ringwear, again common on these types. Gorgeous again.

Cover Gatefold Inner: Just about perfect with no wear and super clean - this could pass as new.

Cover Edges/Corners: Top and bottom edges are stunning virtually as new with no rubbing or wear. Entry edges are straight and show little wear, minor light feathering near top if being very critical. The spine is a beauty with little wear again, all the text is pristine and unworn. Any cornerwear is light and better than most seen. Bar the light marks near the top (I know I keep mentioning these) this cover would be impossible to better - even with these its just superb anyway.

Insert Condition: This is a rare one and its in lovely clean condition. Just a couple of tiny creases near the very edges - you will be very lucky to find this in better shape - you will be lucky to find it at all!

Vinyl Condition: EX++, clean and super shiny and pressed on very heavy vinyl. Nothing more than a few very light surface marks, there is a couple of light ticks on one quiet piece but little else and is without doubt by far the most stunning sound I have heard for this album. A connoisseur’s record and the sound on this original mix will not be matched by the later pressings. This is another of those albums with loud and quiet passages, so a fine quiet pressing is essential. This pressing is superb, not always the quiestest pressed labels around, this one is exceptional and for the majority this plays as quiet as any vinyl can. Play-grading was a revelation, intricate music with a superb production and detail. No distortion or sound degrading at all. Just listen to the massive sound mix on the epic ‘Plague of Lighthouse Keepers’ - Jackson’s saxes blasing out of the left speaker just to then fast shift to the other channel and then explode into manic nirvana. At times this almost makes King Crimson’s ‘Schizoid Man’ sound subdued. A very lightly played record and I am sure this will be very hard to find better - an astounding copy and album - not for the faint hearted but definitely for the prog rock connoisseur and serious rare vinyl collector.

Track Listing:Killer; House with no door; The Emperor in his war-room: i) The emperor; ii) The room; Lost i) The dnace in sand and sea; ii) The dance in frost Pioneers over c.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Final Summary: Complex and compelling - daring and original - a band of high drama and entertainment, Pawn Hearts is sublime, now regarded with all justification as a classic. Always a very interesting and highly entertaining band with top quality musicianship and performances - does any vocalist come close to matching Hammill for sheer intensity and drama - I think not. This vintage album is never easy to find as an original, with that insert too, near impossible now - even the reissues are quite scarce, never massive sellers. If you want to try a VDGG album stick to this one, you just could discover one of the greatest albums ever made, I simply cannot recommend this one highly enough - Mike.

Payment Details please read carefully:

Buyer pays: (UK) £2.50 P&P , for first-class delivery with standard £28 insurance. Items that sell over £75 will be sent via Special Delivery which are insured for £250.

Europe: £4. This is covered up to £28 (45 Euros) insurance and would be sent 1st-class airmail. A recorded airmail service is now in place for Europe too: this means any item will be fully covered to its true value, No customs sticker is needed for Europe, so this is a worthwhile investment. This costs extra £3, the item is tracked and the item has to be signed for - I will use this service to Europe as standard for very expensive rare items e.g. records over £75.

USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and other Far Eastern countries etc: £5.50. This is covered up to £28 (43 US Dollars) insurance and would be sent 1st-class airmail. Please note I do not profit on postage (my packing standards are high and the package weighs a little more).

Extra insurance is available for non-UK items but will cost an extra £4, the item will be covered for up to £500 insurance.

PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT use surface mail, its too slow, with a higher risk of loss and damage.

Overseas bidders please note conversion rates for Pounds to Dollars and Pounds to Euros will be charged at 1.65 to cover PayPal or cash conversions.

PLEASE NOTE: Any PayPal user can now pay me with UK Sterling if they wish with no need to convert to US dollars (although they still can if they wish to). Any instant PayPal transaction from anywhere in the world will mean the item will be sent immediately - it makes deals fast and very efficient.

Mailing Details: All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken out of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with a minimum of TWO stiffners for extra protection. More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection and three or four stiffners. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. I now only accept PayPal, International money orders or cash from overseas bidders (UK Sterling, US dollars or Euros). Cash, cheques, postal orders and PayPal are fine from the UK. I allow maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if this does not happen I will relist the item and may send negative feedback unless an explanation is given. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask. Please keep watch on my Ebays, I have other intesting items coming very soon. Thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: As listening to every single record I offer all the way through is difficult timewise, can I make it clear if any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. I still endeavour to play all the items in their entirity for grading if at all possible and is usually the case.