Sold Date: June 20, 2021
Start Date: June 13, 2021
Final Price: £237.00 (GBP)
Bid Count: 23
Seller Feedback: 1000
Buyer Feedback: 350

GENTLE GIANT -

  VERTIGO SWIRL

1st UK PRESS 1970

6360 020

Matrices:   1Y//1   2Y//1

On offer here is a VERY rare LP (especially in this condition!!!!) by Gentle Giant and is an ORIGINAL 1970 UK 1st Pressing on the 1st Press Vertigo 'Spiral' label!!!!  THIS LP IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND!!!!  THIS IS ONE OF THE RAREST LPS ON THE VERTIGO LABEL AND VIRTUALLY NEVER TURNS UP FOR SALE!!!!  JUST TRY AND FIND ANOTHER ONE!!!!  BACK IN 1970 WHEN THIS LP WAS FIRST RELEASED - IT ONLY EVER SOLD IN ABSOLUTELY TINY AMOUNTS, AND WAS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY DELETED!!!!  AS A RESULT IT IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND INCREDIBLY HARD TO LOCATE TODAY!!!!  NOT ONLY THAT BUT THIS LP IS IN BRILLIANT CONDITION - AND CLEARLY HASN'T BEEN PLAYED MUCH AT ALL!!!!  JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE PICTURES!!!!  THIS IS THE ORIGINAL 1970 UK VERTIGO 1ST PRESSING ON THE 1ST PRESS VERTIGO LARGE 'SPIRAL' LABEL, 1ST PRESS VERTIGO INNER SLEEVE, AND 1ST PRESS GATEFOLD COVER!!!! 

This auction is for the incredibly hard to find debut Gentle Giant album issued in 1970. Extremely hard to find debut GG album which is of supreme musical importance for any true prog lover!!

"1970’s Gentle Giant will forever be one of the greatest debut albums in the history of progressive rock. Gentle Giant’s astonishingly daring debut combines the youthful abandon of late 60’s hard bluesy rock with baroque flourishes and jazzy undertones and end up crashing down barriers and steamrolling expectations. Gentle Giant did not start their career as focused as King Crimson or even as ambitious as Yes, but the music they create is still pretty jarring. The Shulman brothers establish themselves as the greatest family band leaders right next to the Bee Gees. Kerry Minnear was perhaps the sole prog-rock keyboard player of the era to allow his synthesisers to sound natural and not mimic orchestras. Gary Green's guitars are alternately loud and brittle or soft and lyrical, and always surprising; and the presence of saxes and trumpets (courtesy of Phil Shulman) was unusual in any rock band of the era -- all of which explains how Gentle Giant managed to attract a cult following. It is a real shame that the band would never move on beyond that recognition, as they definitely deserved a spot next to the prog-rock greats of the era. "Funny Ways" was the softest prog rock song this side of Crimson's "I Talk to the Wind," but a lot of the rest is pretty intense in volume and tempo changes; "Nothing at All" being a stunning example of this. 9/10 " (from: rateyourmusic.com)

Vinyl: EX. They don't come much better than this. It has only one light wispy hairline on the last track and just a couple of wispy paper sleeve removal traces only visible under a strong light. On replay it only gets better. I subjected the full album to a spin on my Linn Sondek/Arcam set up and the experience was one to be cherished. So happy to come back to this stunner! The audio was simply outstanding. Incredible strong stereo separation with nearly silent (barely any crackle etc.) replay. I was indeed tempted to keep this fantastic album in my collection. NO jumps, NO skips, NO sticks etc.

Gatefold sleeve: EX.  Again this has to be seen to be believed. Splendid overall condition of this gatefold which also benefits a beautiful crisp opening and spine which has no lettering making it a first press proper. This sleeve has no major creases!! Rich, lush colours, a well preserved example which has been stored properly for decades, part of a great collection. Any storage wear to the edges is extremely minimal. There is nothing untoward like writing or stains. Please ask if more pictures are required. For most collectors this will be an upgrade. 

The original inner swirl sleeve is also still present. It is in great condition with the poly inner liner still firmly attached, without any splits and just age related yellowing.

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 so