FOREST -
THE FULL CIRCLE
HARVEST
1st UK Press 1970
SHVL 784
Machined matrices: SHVL 784 A-2G / SHVL 784 B-2G
Mother stampers: R and R.
NO EMI on the label.
One of the very rarest psych folk albums from the UK and any time this album comes up for sale there is a sense of excitement. This one is nice, very nice, please read on .
Very Rare and this classic early Harvest album will rarely be seen or offered in such amazing conditions again. The cover goes beyond beautiful, just look at the artwork and the stunning conditions, just a mild small spine stain stops this looking like new, it will prove near impossible to find better these days. The record, apart from a couple of odd paper scuffs as light as they ever get and storage traces yes this is rather old, but totally defies it , is wonderful and plays the same. I doubt if this has seen daylight for many years. Truly a remarkable copy and just one of several from this amazing collection. These progressive gems and classics are to be treasured, they rarely show up or made available for sale especially like this.
Earliest psych/prog/folk gem and one of the most prized and wonderful albums from the vintage Harvest catalogue, a label noted for its progressive music and one of the most difficult to find. This indeed has the earliest matrixes of A-2G / B-2G. From 1967 the psych wave was drifting into all forms of music from pop to folk and was no exception. Groups like the Incredible String Band ISB started the revolution and others like Dr Strangely Strange, Spirogyra and Forest followed their lead. They made just two albums, both on Harvest and are both extremely rare and difficult to find, they have eluded many collectors for years only selling in very small numbers. Their career was pushed forward by John Peel and eventually they got their chance with the progressive Harvest label, this debut was recorded at the Abbey Road studio, all the songs were original and brilliantly captivating. The stunning artwork was done by Joan Melville.
Musically haunting, some strangely-strange melodies and great improvisations. This has long been a connoisseurs prog-folk album and highly sought after. I have always found this much harder to find than the first album and only ever seen few copies before and none even in the same class or league as this stunning example. These acid-folk albums are hard to find like this with nowhere for unwanted sounds to hide amongst the delicate acoustic and vocal music, this gave a fantastic performance throughout. This copy includes the Harvest promotional inner, the only place you can regularly see pictures of this album these days but seeing is believing this amazing and quite beautiful cover is truly as wonderful as it looks.
This is one that will stick in my mind for sometime long after its gone. rarer even, in my opinion than their first album which I have come across a few times in my collecting time. This album has been truly elusive and I have only once ever seen a copy before which was a US version. Do not let this most prized Harvest classic slip the Net.
Vinyl: EX . Just very light spindle traces. Audio is A and this vinyl sounds out of this world, a majestic classic. The audio has beautiful separation and there is no background noise. There are no marks and only one wispy thin hairline and this vinyl looks and sounds great with a beautiful sheen. Under a strong light there are a couple of paper retraction traces, these are completely invisible in normal daylight and even new vinyls will have these. I played this in full and thoroughly enjoyed it. Just two low level pops on side 2 otherwise clean and loud audio. I was even tempted to keep this as it will be very hard to find this ever again, it is indeed mega rare these days. Only two or three went up for sale this last year. Needless to say NO jumps or clicks.
This album synthesizes both crude and astonishingly beautiful elements, the raw acoustic tunes create a weird and very enchanting experience. The music is peaceful but partly disturbing too. Bluebell is an outstanding track, and the last song Autumn Childhood is very weird with strange rhythm changes and several complex parts. The Midnight Hanging of A Runaway Serf was also quite affecting in its ancient sinister realism. Graveyard is also very beautiful and quite accessible song, but maybe best of them for me would be Gypsy Girl Rambleaway , describing a love affair via very raw medieval sounds, in the end getting lost in a psychedelic haze. Before this number there is also a fine instrumental track named To Julie , which could have been performed by real ancient bards due the authentic feeling of it. This record is recommended sincerely for fans of obscure folk psych music a la Comus or Spirogyra. A feast for the ear and an experience that will be relished long after.
Gatefold Sleeve: EX . Fantastic looked after matt textured E.J. Day sleeve without any issues. Beautiful deep unfaded colours. A superb iconic gatefold sleeve with the fantastic artwork. NO creases. A superb thick spine with just very light storage wear on the sharp edges. NO tears and NO splits The album has been kept in a protective sleeve No writing but has one small EMI Middlesex sticker to the rear top see pic The opening is still crisp and the top and bottom edges only have the lightest of wear. This is an upgrade copy. Probably one of the best you will ever find for this insanely rare album. A phenomenally scarce album and rumoured to only have been pressed in a quantity of 400 to 500. How many would have survived over the last 48 years??
International postage will incur an extra fee for tracking if over 30.00. Please wait for me to send you an adjusted invoice before paying. The tracked fee will be at actual Royal Mail grade. I do not profit from postage and actually undercharge.
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.
