DR. Z - THREE PARTS TO MY SOUL SPIRITUS, MANES ET UMBRA UK 1ST PRESS VERTIGO SWIRL RECORD IN VG CONDITION
INFO:
Up for sale is this very nice copy of the ULTRA RARE monster prog album Dr. Z - Three Parts to my Soul also known as Spiritus, Manes et Umbra , released in 1971 on the VERTIGO SWIRL label with catalog number 6360 048. According to the Vertigo Swirl Label Record Collector Guide LESS THAN 100 UK COPIES ARE KNOWN TO EXIST. This copy is in VERY DECENT CONDITION and plays very well through without any major issues. This album is a genuine UK 1ST PRESS, as indicated by the labels, as well as the matrix numbers: 6360048 1Y//11 1 mirrored 3 and 6360048 2Y//11 1 mirrored 2. This 1st press version of this monster prog record is IMPOSSIBLY HARD TO OBTAIN IN ANY CONDITION CURRENTLY, THIS IS THE ONLY UK COPY OF THIS ALBUM FOR SALE However, THE RECORD OF THIS COPY IS IN VERY NICE CONDITION WHICH IS EVEN HARDER TO FIND It s a pity that the sleeve of this copy has seen better days, however the record is just fine and this is likely to be YOUR CHANCE to obtain this monster prog album at a bargain price with a starting price as little as 1 GBP NO RESERVE HAPPY BIDDING :
DATA:
Artist: Dr. Z
Title: Three Parts to my Soul also known as Spiritus, Manes et Umbra
Released: 1971
Label: Vertigo
Catalog number: 6360 048
COMMENT BY THE VERTIGO SWIRL LABEL RECORD COLLECTOR GUIDE :
Reputedly, there were less than 100 copies sold of this keyboard-dominated prog LP. The record is clearly built upon a concept: the thesis that inner human life is divided into three parts which are in continuous discord with one another. This philosophical point of view dominates the whole album, and brands the music strongly. Where the subject is the dark side of the soul, the music is pervaded with a gloomy, menacing atmosphere of aggression and despair. Furthermore, it is very soberly arranged. The lack of guitars is compensated for by the intelligent use of different keyboard timbres. Drums are treated like a percussion group, to fill in the inevitable spaces - although there is one completely useless drum solo. Nevertheless, Keyes writes good material, and the overall musical impression is undoubtedly better than the meagre sales would suggest. Near Mint value: 3000 - 4000 EUR
CONDITION: Please note I use the Record Collector s grading guide standards - see below
RECORD:
The record is overall in strong VERY GOOD PLUS condition and looks actually more like if it were excellent The record has kept most of its original black glossy shine and has some tiny hairlines from sleeve removal, which are only visible under a strong light The record plays great without any major issues and still has very nice, rich sound with some slight background noise in the quiter parts of the record... The background noise seems to be a slight bit more prominent than one would expect when grading the record visually, but some research learnt that this seems to be a regular problem with almost all copies of this album However, while I mention the previous as a matter of completeness, the record is still VERY ENJOYABLE to listen to and the background noise doesn t distract much from the rich keyboard sounds
The record only has some minor hairline scratches from sleeve removal as mentioned before, however there is ONE SLIGHTLY DEEPER SCRATCH ON THE FIRST TRACK OF SIDE B SEE PICTURES . This scratch causes some minor clicks THAT ARE BARELY AUDIBLE on track B1 and the beginning first rotations of track B2. It is worth mentioning that the clicks caused by this scratch are not as prominent as one would expect by inspecting the scratch visually
CONCLUSION: Overall this record visually looks almost in excellent condition, with only some minor hairline scratches from sleeve removal and only one slightly deeper scratch which causes almost inaudible clicks. Apart from this single issue the record has some minor background noise in the quieter parts. Therefor the record is graded conservatively as VERY GOOD PLUS. Absolutely a VERY DECENT COPY of this ULTRA RARE ALBUM that has well stood the test of time and that PLAYS VERY NICELY.
SLEEVE: SEE PICTURES
The ALL-ORIGINAL GIMMICK SLEEVE is in POOR condition. THE COVER HAS SOME MAJOR ISSUES and has clearly seen better days: As can be seen on the pictures, the outer sleeve is missing the two fold-out parts on either side of the main sleeve. Also the spine has been cut off the main sleeve and is not present on either side. The front cover of the main sleeve has a lot of wear and has a tear in the upper left corner and inside the red heart. There has been some red coloring of the tears inside the red heart with red marker SEE PICTURES . There is also written a number in the upper right corner of the sleeve and there are sticky residues all over the left and right edges of the sleeve. The back of the sleeve is in better condition and has only some small tears on the left side and in the upper right corner. Also, the song titles are encircled with ink and there are sticky residues along the left and right edges of the sleeve. Some could argue that the outer sleeve looks still in fair condition, but since it clearly has A LOT OF ISSUES AND IS MISSING SOME PARTS, I only grade it as a conservative POOR condition. PLEASE CAREFULLY EXAMINE PICTURES FOR A GOOD IDEA OF THE CONDITION
The ORIGINAL swirl inner sleeve is present and is in VERY GOOD PLUS condition, with some small creases and one side starting to show a seem split. The date code on the inner sleeve shows 0671, meaning the sleeve was printed in the sixth month of 1971, which corresponds to the date of release of this album and indicates THIS IS THE ORIGINAL SWIRL INNER SLEEVE, WHICH IS VERY RARE
Also included with this copy is A REPLICA of the original letter which came with some not all copies of this album when it was released. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A REPLICA OF THIS LETTER AND IT IS NOT ORIGINAL SEE LAST PICTURE
RECORD COLLECTOR S GRADING GUIDE:
MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.
EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.
VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.
GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.
FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.
POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.
BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.
As well as the above grades, NEAR MINT is often used as well this is really for a record that appears new but is known to have been played because the label has light spindle marks or because it has come from a previous owner and is assumed to have been played by them. For records which appear to fall between the accepted grades, and - are also often added to the grading. Please note this grading is placed in between EXCELLENT and MINT
OTHER AUCTIONS:
Starting from september 9th 2017, I will put up my entire Vertigo Swirl collection for sale with new records listed every Saturday and Sunday evening. EVERY auction will have NO RESERVE and will start at 1 GBP starting bid. All records are in great shape and most of them are UK 1st pressings. I have some true gems to put up for sale So keep an eye out for more RARE VERTIGO SWIRL records in the coming weeks, including: Cressida, Gentle Giant, Fairfield Parlour, Gravy Train, Dr. Z and many more :
RETURNS POLICY:
I strive to 100 buyer satisfaction and try my best to describe every record as accurately as possible, with slight precaution as to buyer satisfaction. However, IF a buyer happens to be unsatisfied with the condition of an item, returns are allowed WITHIN 14 DAYS of delivery and the buyer will receive a full refund. The returned item has to be IN THE SAME CONDITION as when it was delivered and has to be sent by REGISTERED MAIL. Shipping costs for the return of the item will not be refunded. If there is any issue, please contact me before leaving any negative feedback or before going through paypal. NO PARTIAL REFUNDS NOR KEEPING THE ITEM
SHIPPING INFORMATION:
All items are carefully packed and shipped internationally from BELGIUM by insured, registered priority mail BPost , with online track and trace code. Please, understand that PayPal and eBay require sellers to ship all items registered and insured, which costs a bit more. Please understand that all costs are as calculated by BPost and can be checked on their website www.bpost.be. PLEASE NOTE I WILL NOT USE A CHEAPER SHIPPING METHOD
Shipping costs are as follows:
UNITED KINGDOM: 9.50 GBP BELGIUM: 7,00 EUR 6.50 GBP BUYERS FROM BELGIUM: WAIT FOR INVOICE WITH CORRECT SHIPPING COSTS BEFORE MAKING PAYMENT PAYMENT UPON COLLECTION ALSO POSSIBLE FOR BELGIAN BUYERS
EUROPE USA: 18,35 EUR 17.00 GBPREST OF WORLD: 27,04 EUR 25.00 GBP
