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WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 500  LISTED ITEMS

 

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·       EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER – WELCOME BACK MY FRIEND TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS – ORIGINAL 1974 MANTICORE RECORDS STEREO TRIPLE ALBUM (3-LP SET) MC-3-200

 

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

 

·       *** PROMOTIONAL COPY; THE RECORDS HAVE STOCK LABELS; HOWEVER, THE PRESENCE OF THE PROMOTIONAL PRESS RELEASE FROM ATLANTIC RECORDS CLEARLY IDENTIFIES THE ITEM AS PROMOTIONAL ***                                                                                                                

 

·       *** THIS PROMOTIONAL RELEASE  INCLUDES  RARE PROMO-ONLY PUBLICITY (PRESS) RELEASE CONSISTING OF 2-PAGE LETTER OF INTRODUCTION FROM MANTICORE/ATLANTIC RECORDS

 

·       ORIGINAL, CUSTOM, BEIGE AND BROWN MANTICORE LABEL WITH MANTICORE (WINGED LION) LOGO

 

·       SPECIALTY RECORDS, OLYPHANT, PA PRESSING

 

·       The record has a George Piros’ name or  his initials (GP) clearly stamped or hand-etched in the trail-off vinyl (dead wax)

 

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

 

·       ORIGINAL, THIN CARDBOARD COVER (NO THICK CARDBOARD COVERS WERE EVER PRODUCED FOR THIS TITLE)

 

·       ORIGINAL “TRIPLE”  GIMMICK GATEFOLD COVER, WITH LETTERS "E", "L" AND "P" CARVED INTO THE INDIVIDUAL RECORD COMPARTMENTS ON THE INSIDE GATEFOLD.

 

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

 

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

 

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get.  GUARANTEED!)

 

 

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Upon its release, the 1973 LP Brain Salad Surgery had been hailed as Emerson, Lake & Palmer's masterpiece. A long tour ensued that left the trio flushed and begging for time off. Before disbanding for three years, they assembled a three-LP live set (something of a badge of achievement at the time, earned by Yes in 1973 with Yessongs and, somewhat more dubiously, Leon Russell with Leon Live). Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends gives a very accurate representation of ELP's shows at the time, including their uncertain sound quality. It isn't that the group didn't try hard to give a good show; they did, but left to just his two hands, without the use of multi-tracking and overdubs to build layer-upon-layer of electronic keyboard sounds, Keith Emerson was at a singular disadvantage on some of the boldest material in the trio's repertory. And even allowing how far the art and science of recording rock concerts had advanced in the 1970s, there were still inherent problems in recording a fully exposed bass -- Greg Lake's primary instrument -- in an arena setting that couldn't be overcome here. Even the most recent remastered editions could not fix the feedback, the occasionally leakages, the echo, the seeming distance -- the listener often gets the impression of being seated in the upper mezzanine of an arena. That said, the group still had a lot of fire, enthusiasm, and cohesion at this point in its history, and that does come through. And if they don't solve every problem with the sound, the remastered editions from Rhino, Japanese WEA, and Sanctuary do give Lake's voice and Emerson's piano their richest, fullest possible tone and a fighting chance in these surroundings, and bring Carl Palmer's drumming much more up close and personal than it ever was on the LP. On the down side, the division into two CDs (as opposed to three LPs) means that the 26-minute "Take a Pebble"/"Piano Improvisations"/"Take a Pebble" chain -- complete with Lake's excellent acoustic guitar spot for "Still You Turn Me On" and "Lucky Man" -- is broken up between the two discs. The song selection -- if not quite the career-ranging array of repertory that Yessongs was for Yes -- is stellar and features all the material from Brain Salad Surgery (with the exception of "Benny the Bouncer"), including a complete 36-minute rendition of "Karn Evil 9," which filled both sides of the third LP in the original set. The latter is thoroughly bracing, with a level of visceral energy that was lacking in some moments of the original studio version, and is also almost as good a showcase for Lake, whose singing and playing here are better than they were on the studio original, as it is for Emerson and Palmer. Add to that a 27-minute "Tarkus" -- complete with one Pete Sinfield-authored verse from King Crimson's "Epitaph" (which they'd been adding to the piece in concert at least since the Trilogy tour) -- and you now have three quarters of the music. Hearing any of those three pieces (and the stunning "Toccata") performed live, obviously without any overdubs, makes one realize how accomplished these musicians were, and how well they worked together when the going was good. This was the group's last successful and satisfying tour, as subsequent journeys on the road, in association with the Works album, were mired in acrimony about expenses, repertory, ego clashes, and the decision about going out with an orchestra (or not), or were motivated purely by contractual and financial obligations, whereas here they proved that even their most ambitious ideas could work musically, done by just the three of them. The sometimes disappointing sound quality should not be too much of a turnoff for fans, but newcomers should definitely start with the studio albums, and make this the third or fourth ELP album in their collection. And it should be listened to loud.

 

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY FRANCOIS COITURE, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

 

The PROMOTIONAL, RADIO STATION-, AUDITION OR DEMONSTRATION COPIES AND RELEASES (such as the one we have here) were often distributed among the radio stations before the record was released to the public, sometimes as much as four months ahead. These records are generally considered to be the "first among equals", which is to say the VERY FIRST generation and the VERY FIRST pressings of the particular title; a PROTOTYPE and the earliest known official pressing of the record.

 

Among the promotional releases, those that come with publicity kits (various packages comprising of photo inserts, letters of introduction from the label; typewritten biographies and/or discographies, decals, badges and alike) are generally recognized as the earliest, and most important specimens of a given title; with some  commanding astronomic prices on collectors’ market. 

 

For additional historical information on this album, including track listing ►

 

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THIS GROUP OR ARTIST ► 

 

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·       CONDITION:

 

·       THE RECORDS

 

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

 

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL AS EXCELLENT. This is one of those albums that are somewhat difficult to grade. It is somewhere between VG++ and NEAR MINT, just a notch below NEAR MINT. A few light abrasions ARE visible, but they are extremely shallow, superficial  and only moderately visually distracting (nothing significant).For the most part, the vinyl looks impeccable without any MAJOR visual flaws or imperfections. Much of the original luster is intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

 

(b)          The records come in their original, custom , all black, inner sleeves which are unique to this title.

 

(c)           The album comes with the original press release (for details, see above)

 

(d)          The records are   pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

 

(e)           Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

 

 

·                               THE COVER

 

THE COVER IS ABOUT VERY GOOD+ (VG+)

 

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

 

-        Cover has some ring wear.  On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 4  (front side) and 5 (back side).

 

-        Cover has visible "wrinkles"(creases)  along all three seams.

 

-        Cover has all four corners slightly worn / dinged / bent.

 

-        Cover shows JUST A HINT of yellowing on both sides, apparently from aging.

 

-        The cover has a few tiny scratch marks on the back panel (nothing significant)

 

 

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

 

 

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

 

We offer THREE postage rates for both Domestic and International Mail: Media Mail, Priority Mail and Express Mail for domestic, and First Class, Priority International Mail, and Express International Mail for international orders. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND that you pay for USPS International Priority Mail OR International Express mail when making a payment in order to obtain tracking information, which is NOT available for First Class International shipments.

 

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates ►. While you can be rest assured that ►, please note that damage, loss or theft in transit is always possible, and in the case of some countries even PROBABLE. To discuss this potential problem and ensure flawless delivery, please contact us thru eBay BEFORE placing a bid.

 

 

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

 

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED (THE BUYER PAYS FOR THE RETURN POSTAGE); Still sealed items MUST be returned sealed in order to be eligible for a refund Some restrictions apply. Please read our complete refund policy before placing a bid. ►  for the full text of our policy

 

 

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