Sold Date: July 10, 2016
Start Date: June 30, 2016
Final Price: £18.00 (GBP)
Bid Count: 2
Seller Feedback: 9545
Buyer Feedback: 96

BERT SOMMER - THE ROAD TO TRAVEL, US CAPITOL ST-189, 196?

ORIGINAL US ISSUE, Original Black/Rainbow Label.

Superb US Psych/Folk Psych…Sommer’s rare debut album which is full of haunting, melancholic songs/music.

Highlights are “And When It’s Over”, “Jennifer”, “Tonight Together”, “The Road to Travel” & all of side 2, “She’s Gone”, “Hold the Light”, “A Simple Man”, “Brink of Death” & “A Note That Read”…all topped off with Sommer’s wonderful vocals. His later albums were still pretty good but not a patch on this.

Here’s the review from the rare CD issue on Rev-Ola: ‘Major labels were taking all kinds of chances on untested talent in the late '60s, but although his name may have been unfamiliar to most in the industry, Bert Sommer was hardly untested. By the release of The Road to Travel, his 1968 debut, he had already written five songs for the Vagrants (founded by a pre-Mountain Leslie West, Sommer's schoolmate) and sung lead vocals on the Left Banke's single "Ivy, Ivy" through a friendship with that band's Michael Brown. The Road to Travel shows that his well of inspiration had not yet run dry. With help from a conglomeration of friends and studio professionals, Sommer proved he was facile in a variety of styles -- orchestral pop, acoustic folk, and some of the most sensitive singer/songwriter material heard before the style had fully flowered (with apologies to Tim Buckley). All of this was delivered in Sommer's plaintive voice, although he was more convincing when he really let go than when he tried to rein it in. Anachronistically, he began the LP with the words "And when it's over" (the title of the opener), moving quickly on the song from eerie Baroque pop to bombastic, brass-led art rock. That was a mere taste of what was to come, encompassing the hippie-dippie end of folk on "Jennifer" (the song Sommer gained raves for at Woodstock), straightforward sunshine pop for "Things Are Goin' My Way," and a curiously aggressive falsetto take on art rock for "Tonight Together." Sommer's power as a songwriter and performer was clear, but he was incredibly difficult to pin down. That may be what doomed The Road to Travel, but it has an undeniable flair.’

Condition is VG+/EX- (cover/record), cover has slight wear/ringwear, no cutout.

POSTAGE:

If you win more than one item please wait for your invoice for the correct combined postage amount.

UK: £4 for the first 2 or 3 single LPs under 1Kg (signed for add £1.20), then £6 for 1 to 2 Kg with a value up to £50, £8 for weights 1 to 2Kg with a value up to £100.

For 2 to 5 Kg prices range from £7 for values up to £50, £9 for values up to £100, £10 for values of £250.

For urgent/high value items, special delivery is reasonable for weights up to 2Kg, cost is £12 for values up to £500.

CDs & 7" Singles are £1.35 for the first then 50p each after. Thicker CD Box Sets are the same as LPs due to the size/weight.

For items outside of the UK, Royal Mail now use a pricing scale which increases for every 250g instead of 100g previously.

EUROPE: 6.50 GBP for the 1st LP (under 500g), then additional single LPs are 2 GBP each up to 5 or 6 LPs in total (under 2Kg).

2LP sets: 8.50 GBP, additional LPs are 2 GBP.

1st CD/Single is 4.50 GBP then additional CDs/Singles are 1.50 GBP each.

For larger orders over 6 LPs, it is now cheaper to send altogether in one package by courier rather than separate packages but depends on the destination.

Generally the basic cost for 7+ LPs (over 2Kg, under 10Kg) to most EU destinations is around 25 GBP plus any extra for insurance (50 GBP of insurance is inclusive, higher insurance works out at 1 GBP extra for every 20 GBP of value).

REST OF WORLD: 9 GBP for the 1st LP (under 500g), then additional single LPs are 3 GBP each up to 6 LPs in total (under 2Kg).

2LP sets: 12 GBP, additional LPs are 3 GBP each.

1st CD/Single is 5.50 GBP then additional CDs/Singles are 2 GBP each.

For larger orders over 6 LPs, for many countries, it is now cheaper to send altogether in one package by courier rather than separate packages but depends on the destination and weight.

Surface mail is available on request for cheap LPs only, to the Rest of the World but delivery times are 6 to 8 weeks minimum!

Insurance/Registered Mail outside the UK is extra: 5 GBP for values up to 50 GBP, 8 GBP for values over 50 GBP.

NOTE: Ebay now levy an extra 8% charge on all postage amounts...so please realise the actual postage cost is: the actual cost of shipping + the ebay 8% charge + paypal fee + other smaller costs such as petrol, cost of mailers etc where appropriate...

PAYMENT:

PERSONAL CHEQUES IN UK STERLING/ PAYPAL.

GRADINGS:

I DO TRY TO PLAY/TEST GRADE ALL THE LPs I SELL.

MINT:

RECORD: PERFECT....AS NEW CONDITION, SO NO DETEORIATION IN THE SOUND QUALITY…..bear in mind that not all ‘new’ LPs are Mint because of the quality of the pressing etc....also SEALED/UNPLAYED LPs are sold as is.....

COVER: AS NEW CONDITION WITH NO OBVIOUS DEFECTS.......except maybe a deletion hole/cutout on a SEALED LP.

M- :

RECORD: SLIGHTY WORSE THAN M, LP may have several surface marks due to removal from it's sleeve etc....but certainly NO audible scratches....LP may have the occasional light crackle/hiss...but still in great condition.

COVER: SHOWS SIGNS OF BEING HANDLED WITH SLIGHT CREASING/WEAR...or may be a M cover with a very slight split seam or very slight showing of ring wear or a very slight sticker tear, but not all of these together.

EX:

RECORD: MOST REGUARLY PLAYED LPs KEPT WITH CARE FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY....LP may play with more hiss/crackle but not louder than the music......sometimes it may be a M or M- LP with one slight audible mark or a very slight edge warp but not affecting it.

COVER: SLIGHTLY MORE WEAR/CREASING/BENDING even some slight ring wear.....or may be a M or M- cover with a split seam(s) and minor sticker tears, but still nice.

VG+ :

RECORD: LP PLAYS WITH MORE NOISE DUE TO EITHER DIRT OR SLIGHTLY STRONGER SURFACE MARKS BUT STILL IS IN A VERY LISTENABLE CONDITION.....or it may be an LP which plays say M- but has one or a few audible marks/slight warp etc.....but still no skips/jumps.

COVER: HAS QUITE A LOT OF CEASING/BENDING often with FADING/RING WEAR/ STICKER TEARS/TEARS....or may be an EX cover with a split seam(s), but still acceptable.

VG:

RECORD: THE SOUND QUALITY OF THE LP IS AFFECTED BY SURFACE MARKS/ AUDIBLE MARKS or DIRT etc....but still plays through and is still in quite a REASONABLE condition.....it may be an LP which plays EX but has audible marks.....

COVER: PLENTY OF CREASING/BENDING/FADING/RING WEAR but still in one piece.

G: LP still plays through but is very noisy due to scratches/dirt etc....but still not totally trashed!!!

COVER: AS VG BUT TORN and starting to fall apart.

F/P: LP is trashed...for ornament purposes only...

+/-: Slightly better/worse than stated.