Sold Date: June 30, 2017
Start Date: June 23, 2017
Final Price: £170.70 (GBP)
Bid Count: 7
Seller Feedback: 4454
Buyer Feedback: 78

"FATHER AND SON" (Cat Stevens, 1970)

It's not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy,
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want, you can marry,
Look at me, I am old,
But I'm happy

I was once like you are now,
And I know that it's not easy,
To be calm, when you've found,
Something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Well, think of everything you've got,
For you will still be here tomorrow,
But your dreams may not.

How can I try to explain?
When I do, he turns away again,
It's always been the same,
Same old story.
From the moment I could talk,
I was ordered to listen,
Now there's a way and I know,
That I have to go away,
I know I have to go.

It's not time to make a change,
Just sit down and take it slowly,
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to go through, (desisions....)
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want, you can marry,
Look at me, I am old,
But I'm happy.

All the times that I've cried,
Keeping all the things I knew inside,
It's hard, but it's harder,
To ignore it.
If they were right, I'd agree,
But it's them they know, not me,
Now there's a way and I know, That I have to go away,
I know I have to go.
CAT STEVENS: "Tea For The Tillerman" LP, FIRST UK PRESSING ON THE PINK RIM ISLAND LABEL, THE RELEASE
FELL PRECISELY IN THE MONTH THE PINK ISLAND LABELS WERE RE-DESIGNED TO THE PALM ISLAND / PINK RIM
  ISLAND LABEL.  ONLY A FEW OF THE VERY FIRST PRESSINGS USED UP THE FEW REMAINING  PINK ISLAND LABELS
AND THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY BECAME THE FIRST WITH THE THE PALM ISLAND / PINK RIM LABELS, LIKE
THIS RECORD HAS.   THE ACTUAL RELEASE DATE OF "Tea For The Tillerman" WAS 21st NOVEMBER, 1971.
I recently sold a fantastic condition, first pressing of "Teaser And The Firecat," Cat Stevens' third album on the Island label,
from the same immaculate collection, was this first pink rim label pressing of "Tea For The Tillerman." The sheer intensity and
beautiful melodies blended together with Cat Steven's genius, to create one of the greatest albums ever recorded.  Even if I
put aside my personal bias, "Tea For The Tillerman" is an album where every track is beyond even naming 'great,' how could
one single album contain songs of this magnitude?  He wrote them all, with "Wild World", "Where Do The Children Play?",
"Father And Son", "Longer Boats" & "Into White" etc. "Tea For The Tillerman" was, and still is unsurpassed.  Every artist of
true greatness. will only record one album so special, they could never reproduce that spark of genius and inspiration again.
Cat came close with "Teaser And The Firecat," that followed in 1971 and that pair of first pressings were the first I have seen
genuinely unplayed.   With only a year separating the album, there are many similarities for the first made records, covers and
inner sleeves, but.... label re-designing was happening so fast , three designs within one year happened in 1969, so only two in
1970 was moderate!  'Same records, different labels', sums up the few pressed with pink Island labels with a white "i" logo, they
are very rare if undamaged......but so are the genuine first pressings on the pink rim labels in true Mint condition like this.

"Tea For The Tillerman" was a big selling album, but not as extensive in late 1970 as believed, peaking at No.20 was commercially
successful, but like "Teaser And The Firecat," the initial gatefold covers were textured / embossed.  "Teaser And The Firecat"
had the texturing on the outside, the inside had standard matt panels, why the incredible condition of the 'as new' cover was
so rare when it was just listed and sold.  "Tea For The Tillerman" had the same texturing but this time it was the inside panels,
in theory, this also unused album's very first gatefold cover with deluxe laminated outside, would be unaffected by standing in
storage.  As I consistently write, even a laminated gatefold cover with an unplayed record, will have the traits of standing and
the force of gravity to account for.    I have a genuine unplayed 1967 first pressing of "Sgt. Pepper" finishing tomorrow, I wrote
exactly the same about an unavoidable record impression, with related laminated edge lines....especially next to the spine, this
"Tea For The Tillerman" is only three years younger and 47 years in storage is no different to 50 years of standing in storage.
"Sgt. Pepper" was laminated on the outside and the inside and "Tea For The Tillerman" was softly embossed inside, most wore
against the record's shape, but this gatefold cover has a Mint inside without any impact from the record... because the deluxe
thickness lamination absorbed all of the record's weight and shape.  Please my full scale picture of the inside panels and a close
up picture of the track list inside, fantastic condition.  There are some laminate lines outside and light spine tip rubbing from
standing and slight pressure on the bottom edge, the inside rib of the hinging inner spine, does not have any form of rubbing
on the softly embossed material.  That says it all, I had better move onto the pressing details and indexing, oh yes, like the
rare textured "Teaser And The Firecat" first edition gatefold cover, this very first edition "Tea For The Tillerman" cover has a
square shape or book style spine. Further common features, was this textured inside cover was also printed by  'E J. Day', but
some like this, did not have their credit inside the cover.  This also has an unused, Mint first issue blue Island Records inner
sleeve and an unplayed very first pressed record with the maitrix hand scibed in "Sterling Sound" in New York, only the very first
editions have that and the "Sterling" stamp and mastering logo.


PINK RIM ISLAND LABEL: ILPS 9135
 
MAITRIX;  ILPS  9135  A - 3 U /  ILPS  9135  B - 3 U
The initial mastering had  the UK 'ILPS 9154' prefix maitrix, the next stage involved one was machine stamped maitix leaving the
hand scribed unremoved.  Interestingly, in 1970 EMI's sound engineer decided to include the letter 'U' they were adding as the
final item on the maitrix, it would have been easier to etch that at the end of the 'Sterling' scribed maitrix.  Being diligent,
he used the stamping machine to add  the letter 'U,' when his other option was to just leave the 'Sterling' scribed maitrix.
All credit to such attention to detail and that was reflected on the sensational sound quality of the very first pressings, with
such sensitive tracks, that was essential.   Obviously EMI in England, added any machine stamping like the codes and the
later UK version, this very first pressing simply had to predate the machine stamped addition found on all the later records.
EMI's stamping codes must be taken in isolation because EMI pressed the records with all the initial mothers in operation, the
actual indexing is found in the maitrix itself, due to the mastering taking place in the USA.


Anticipated big selling albums were always made with a mixture of the pre-prepared 'mothers' and there are many, many examples
where EMI indexing can only be accurately taken from the maitrix, the most obvious in 1970 is the "Let It Be" album.


THE RUN-OUT GROOVES OF THESE FIRST PRESSINGS HAVE "Sterling" STAMPED ON BOTH SIDES, TO THE
  RIGHT OF THE STAMPING'S 'LH' IS HAND WRITTEN.  THE ALBUM  WAS MASTERED BY Lee Hulko IN NEW YORK'S
  LEGENDARY 'STERLING SOUND' STUDIOS.
The pictures include the hand scribed initials 'LH', the logo of the current top sound engineer in Sterling Sound studios, so the
   the outstanding sound mastered in 1971 is attributed to a combination of Lee Hulko's mastering and EMI's immaculate pressing.


UNUSED ORIGINAL 1971 BLUE POLY-LINED ISLAND INNER SLEEVE, UNWORN & UNSPLIT, WITH ONLY A
RECORD IMPRESSION AND A FEW RELATED LIGHT CREASES,  TOO MINOR TO TAKE SERIOUSLY!  I OFTEN
FIND TRUE MINT ISLAND RECORDS WITH THESE  BLUE ISLAND SLEEVES DID AGE WITHOUT USE, BUT NOT
HERE.   IT WOULD EASIER FOR ME TO SAY THIS HAS 'AGEING' BUT ACTUAL AGEING FOR 46 YEARS OF AGE
VIRTUALLY DOES NOT EXIST.  THE GLUE USED TO STICK THE POLY-LINING TO THE MATT, ABSORBENT PAPER
IS NOT 'AGEING'.
The exceptional cover's condition establishes the long term storage had to be as caring as possible for a 47 year old, easily
yellowed inner sleeve, an unplayed record also added to the sleeve's condition.
THE INNER SLEEVE IS IN MINT CONDITION.


SUPERB DELUXE LAMINATED OUTSIDE GATEFOLD COVER, AS MENTIONED, THE INSIDE HAS A SOFT TEXTURED TOP
  SURFACE, BUT NO AGEING, WEAR OR RUBBING WHICH IS VERY RARE.
Like the just sold "Teaser And The Firecat" cover, this was standing in storage in a plastic outer sleeve, so no fading or ageing
  The slightest possible standing pressure simply had to be there after 47 years, the same comment refers to a record impression
  and a few related laminate edge lines, mostly next to the spine.  With an unplayed record and having described the cover above,
  straight to the grading, a grading that must and will be given with good old common sense,my pictures speak for themselves.
  THE  'E J. Day' PRINTED, TEXTURED INSIDE  COVER IS IN NEAR MINT CONDITION.


THE PRISTINE LABELS DO NOT HAVE ANY SPINDLE ALIGNMENT TRACES AND THERE ARE NO MARKS ON THE VINYL.
  I ALWAYS FEEL OBLIGED TO STATE THE OBVIOUS, RECORDS LEFT THE PRESSING PLANTS WITH  FAINT HANDLING
  TRACES OR THE IMPRINT OF THE METAL STAMPING DISCS AS THEY LEFT THE MOLTEN VINYL.   FACTORY SEALED
  RECORDS PROVE THAT, AS IT HAPPENS, LIKE THE "Teaser And The Firecat" COVER , I COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING!
  THE RECORD IS IN VERY RARE, UNPLAYED, MINT CONDITION.
SIDE 1
"Where Do The Children Play?"
"Hard Headed Woman"
"Wild World"
"Sad Lisa"
"Miles From Nowhere"

SIDE 2
"But I Might Die Tonight" "Longer Boats"
"Into White"
"On The Road To Find Out"
"Father And Son"
"Tea For The Tillerman"


 Cat Stevens - lead vocals, classical guitar, acoustic guitar & keyboards
  Alun Davies - acoustic guitar, & backing vocals
Jack Rothstein - violin
John Ryan - double bass
Harvey Burns - drums, congas & tambourine

  All songs written by Cat Stevens
  RecordedMay - July 1970 at Morgan Studios, Island Studios & Olympic Studios, London
  Produced by Paul Samwell-Smith
I will of course keep the second part of this amazing pair of Cat Stevens masterpieces, unplayed, I fell in love with album in
1970 and still find it a profound experience.  "Mona Bone Jakon" was a debut LP, in spite of releasing two albums on the Deram
label when he was still young enough to need guidance in record studios.  A long illness was a turning point when he set his
focus onto meaningful lyrics and melodies that left you in wonder....cue Island Records to sign Cat Stevens.  The composer of the
magnificent, "The First Cut Is The Deepest", a musical genius ready to express himself like never before.  Earlier in 1970, he
recorded the wonderful  "Mona Bone Jakon," however much you enjoyed that album, nothing could possible prepare you for
"Tea For The Tillerman," the second you heard Side 2 finish, the record was turned over....and over again!  Why nearly all the
genuine November, 1970 pressing are unlistenable anymore, I was very proud to offer a true Mint "Teaser And The Firecat," but
just a little bit more for an unplayed first pressing of, "Tea For The Tillerman."
{Roy}
  R & M RECORDS.

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