Sold Date: December 18, 2016
Start Date: December 11, 2016
Final Price: £62.00 (GBP)
Bid Count: 6
Seller Feedback: 2471
Buyer Feedback: 9

PETER BARDENS -

THE ANSWER

TRANSATLANTIC

TRA 222

      First Press UK 1970

Forget CAMEL. They still don't exist and Peter Bardens is actually influenced by his friends Fleetwood Mac and maybe the psychedelic movement of the end '60s. While Peter Bardens was releasing this album the other three future band mates were working for Philip Goodhand-Tait on an album that has some similarities but it's surely lighter than this.

This album has six tracks that are quite different one to each other:

"The Answer" has an organ sequence of chords that may remind to Doors' "Light My Fire" but slower. There's not a real relationship between the two songs. It's a bluesy song but I disagree with those who say that it's "only" blues. It's not less prog than many of its contemporaries. It's just heavy influenced by the late psychedelia.

"Don't Goof with a Spookie" is a slow blues, instead. When the blues is so slow and with all this Hammond Organ it sounds very psychedelic. Also the singing is quite weird. I think that this song can make the pair with some songs of Arzachel (same period).

"I Can't Remember" has funky influences. The way the band sings makes me think to the OSIBISA of Sunshine Day !! However it's not a bad song if you're not looking for things like Supper's Ready. It's mainly a skillful Organ performance over a funky-blues base that could have been played at Woodstock or at the UFO club.

The Side B is opened by the "commercial" track. Of course I disagree about this definition. It's not more commercial than some similar Caravan's songs. The flute makes it sound like Caravan while the guitar has a calypso mood and the choir is very hippy. Not a masterpiece but an intriguing song.

"Let's Get It On" is a standard blues-rock track like Wishbone Ash's Jail Bait. Effectively if it wasn't on the album nobody would have felt its absence.

Finally "Hommage To The Gods Of Light". This is the longest, more progressive and closer to Camel track of the album. There must be a reason why this has been performed live by Camel, too. The main theme seems to have inspired the soundtrack of Tomb Raider II. Regardless this curiosity, the track has some eastern-arabic mood that we'll find later on Mirage, while the rhythm is funky and convulse. This is really a hint of the times to come. A prequel of Camel and a great track.

This highlight is not enough to rate the album 4 stars, also because of the previous track, but I think it's a very good album that I suggest to fans of psychedelic blues. If you have enjoyed Arzachel or the early Wishbone Ash (up to Pilgrimage) you'll surely enjoy this, too. (Taken from : "PROGARCHIVES")

Vinyl: EX. A wonderful and extremely heavy Transatlantic vinyl with an as new sheen. This album has only been played very lightly. There are not even any spindle traces. Under a strong light I could only spot one wispy hairline and a few paper retraction traces which are invisible in normal lighting conditions. The audio is out of this world and very powerful, as played on my Linn Sondek/Rotel/B&W audio set up. Needless to say there NO skips, NO jumps, NO clicks etc.

Sleeve: VG.  A single front and back laminated sleeve with a fair amount of creasing around the corners. There are, however, no splits or tears and the sleeve is fully intact with some wear on the spine. The album is a total gem though and absolutely ultra rare. Only the second I have come across in 30 years! NO writing, NO marks.

***This is a unique prime investment opportunity!!! Finding this album in any condition at all is nearly impossible!!! This is  a great and seriously collectable super album!!  You will buy into a piece of  prog history.*** 

This is a unique investment opportunity!!! The next prog album to go completely through the roof. The chance of finding this album in any condition at all is negligible so late in the day.  Get this while you still can. This value of the album is only going to go one way ... up and up ... until it will be totally unavailable at all for a reasonable price.

Important : International postage will be registered and insured if over GBP 20.00.  Please wait for my invoice before paying. Postage will be according to Royal Mail rates. Postage is NOT a money spinning exercise for me.

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.