Sold Date: February 14, 2021
Start Date: February 7, 2021
Final Price: £22.12 (GBP)
Bid Count: 8
Seller Feedback: 925
Buyer Feedback: 59

STEAMHAMMER - 

II

REF L12

1st Press UK

 1971 

Machined First UK press matrices:   the earliest possible issue and according to the mother stampers this copy is one of the very first issued in the first few days. A-1    and  B-1 . These earliest mothers indicate a first week of issue of this rare LP! 

 Steamhammer's excellent sophomore effort came out in 1970 - a magical year for progressive rock. That was when most bands created their debuts. Something was being born. Something new was coming. "MK II" marks (a little pun for you there) the time when most blues rock bands started including elements from outside blues to their music. Steamhammer was no exception. And even though it is largely based on blues, a lot more influences are visible. An outstandingly talented flautist Steve Jolliffe (later of Tangerine Dream) joined, giving the group a much more eclectic taste. Martin Pugh's great guitar-playing taste gives you goose bumps. Kieran White's amazing voice once again doesn't disappoint. This work goes from "6/8 For Amiran", an Arabic-inspired music with great singing, guitar, flute and haunting rhythm, through folk-influenced "Sunset Chase" to full-on modern blues "Contemporary Chick Con Song". A unique work and a masterpiece that always seemed to stay in a shade of better known projects. It's a shame that it did. 10/10 without hesitation!. (From: progarchives.com)

VINYL: EX.  Both surfaces retain their original deep, glossy sheen.  There are no hairlines at all.  Beautiful labels and here it can be seen that the LP has been clearly looked after by a careful owner.
 Outstanding audio delivery in all respects with a crystal clear, deep, rich, warm and detailed sound and on playback at a loud volume (which is how I always listen to my LPs prior to listing and it's always an immense pleasure to return to this one) there is not much of surface noise. This is a beautifully clean pressing (and I must emphasise again how difficult it is to find a copy which plays this well). The whole LP sounds absolutely great and plays to a great standard with superb clarity, no groove-wear and no distortion and is very strictly graded a strong EX for audio  - great copy!! Of course, NO skips, NO jumps, NO ticks.

  Sleeve: EX.  Single front laminated sleeve. Well preserved without any storage wear to the edges. The spine is 100% legible. The opening is super crisp. The rear sleeve is matt but again in EX condition.

Important : International postage will be registered and insured if over GBP 20.00.  These fees in England have gone up significantly last May. Please wait for my invoice before paying. Postage will be according to Royal Mail rates. Postage is NOT a money spinning exercise for me.

This an excellent

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 bid lists 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!!