Description "THE WIDE EYED BOY FROM FREECLOUD" (David Bowie, 1969) The village settles down, Undetected by the stars, And the hangman plays the mandolin before he goes to sleep, And the last thing on his mind, Is the Wild Eyed Boy imprisoned, 'Neath the covered wooden shaft, Folds the rope, Into it's bag, Blows his pipe of smolders, Blankets smoke into the room, And the day will end for some, As the night begins for one. Staring through the message in his eyes, Lies a solitary son, From the mountain called Freecloud, Where the eagle dare not fly, And the patience in his sigh, Gives no indication, For the townsmen to decide. So the village Dreadful yawns, Pronouncing gross diversion, As the label for the dog, Oh, It's the madness in his eyes, As he breaks the night to cry. It's really 'me', Really 'you', And really 'me', It's so hard for us to really be Really 'you', And really 'me', You'll lose me, though I'm always really free. And the mountain moved its eyes, To the world of realise, Where the snow had saved a place, For the wild eyed boy from Freecloud. And the village dreadful cried, As the rope began to rise, For the smile stayed on the face, Of the wild eyed boy from Freecloud. And the women once proud. Clutched the heart of the crowd. As the boulders smashed down from the mountain's hand, And the magic in the stare, Of the wild eyed boy, said; "Stop, Freecloud,wild eyed boy, They won't think to cut me down." But the cottages fell, Like a playing card hell, And the tears on the face, Of the wise boy, Came trembling down, To the rumbling ground, And the missionary mystic of peace /love, Stumbled to cry among the clouds, Kicking back the pebbles, From the Freecloud mountain track. DAVID BOWIE: "Space Oddity" LP, UK VERY FIRST PRESSING ON THE RCA ORANGE LABEL, 18th NOVEMBER, 1972 INITIAL VERSION OF THE NOVEMBER,1969 UK "David Bowie" LP, ORIGINALLY ISSUED ON THE PHILLIPS LABEL. Obviously the 1969 first pressing was completely differently presented in a completely different era for David Bowie, the album title, the cover artwork and for some copies, a poster featuring Bowie's current Ziggy Stardust persona. I honestly feel I am between two different albums in terms of the pressing and printing details, plus this is such a well known and loved version of "David Bowie," it will not require too much background info. The ultra rare 1969 album failed to sell and today commands really high prices regardless of the condition, a Mint copy would attract extremely high bids on ebay! My concern with all David Bowie albums I used to sell at record fairs and then onto ebay, has always 100% concentrated on the condition of the vinyl, covers and any inserts etc. This is the first time I am offering the very first pressing of the 1972 version, by that I am referring to the machine stamped maitrix with the ending of '1E' on both sides. The album was re-titled as "Space Oddity, re-issued and re-packaged by RCA, the passage of 46 years has drastically affected the covers, lyric inner sleeves and where applicable, the superb posters. Last but not least, the records, 3 years after the first Phillips pressing in 1972, this RCA orange label LP was of course riding on the huge success of "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars," issued earlier in June, 1972. Such was the impact of Bowie then, an album with mostly acoustic based, psychedelic music from the late 60's, was being heard in the era known as 'Glam Rock.' That descriptive term was a personal opinion, I loved the 1969 Bowie music and it was when I first bought the "Space Oddity" single, but even more, I heard similarities to the Strawbs in the same period. Tony Visconti also produced the Strawbs and contributed to the recording, Rick Wakeman was also involved with the Strawbs, so acoustic folk / psychedelia is an accurate term common to the music on "David Bowie" and the early Strawbs albums. That means the condition of those 1969 first pressings and 1972 versions are essential to the delicate music, not forgetting at least 2 tracks on "David Bowie"/"Space Oddity" are intensively personal Bowie compositions and performances. Breaking up with his girlfriend was the reason for that and the strong Bob Dylan influence on the passionately emotional "Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed," created the singer/songwriter intensive feel, that clearly explains why the album has always connected with every successive generation. Personally I think a much deeper connection than the more earthed and sordid reality that first Glam Rock and in turn, Punk had. Then I prefered the 60's decade but thoroughly enjoyed the 1970's! Discussing music and how it evolved and merged, is much more fun than pressing info, for this album, either titled as "David Bowie"or "Space Oddity," there is still the matter of how after only three years, a Ziggy Stardust like double character, that leaves me constantly referring to two albums that are in fact the same...but different! The "Space Oddity" album incarnation of "David Bowie" made No.17 in the UK charts, amazing really, but as I said, it was a very special album, able to span a totally different era and continue to do so over every following decade. I sincerely believe that for truly great artists who had a lifetime in music and art, the further you go back, the more you discover how that burning genius was burning brightly right from the earliest recordings. I am letting this opening 'paragraph' go where it needs, while aware I am writing the actual album description with my usual personal input and opinion or two, without that freedom I would get bored. Not that I am about to give every scrap of pressing details, an unplayed major 46 year old record, in such a superb condition cover will next receive my fullest attention, with the music subject and even personal opinions expressed, for the rest of this description I will concentrate on the five individual very first issue only, items. I had no idea how to present this album and by just typing this opening section without any previous format in mind, I have now found the only possible way to describe one of the most important albums to emerge from the late 60's. Certainly not a "Pin-Ups" album, just a young David Bowie stretching his wings, revealing a genius that had been ignored, in the very decade that created him and the "David Bowie"/"Space Oddity" album. The most important pressing detail in mid-1972, David Bowie's music publishing company was in the process of being changed, so the earlier June,1972, "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars" album first pressings, were credited to; "Titanic / Chrysalis Limited" "Titanic" was replaced by "MainMan" not long after the album was released and that created an easy method of indentifying such a massive selling album, the slightly later 1972 pressings have "MainMan / Chrysalis Limited." Meanwhile, RCA were preparing this version of "Space Oddity" & "The Man Who Sold The World" albums for re-releasing for those who had never heard the albums. I must include "Hunky Dory" in that because the pressing details are of course identical concerning "MainMan / Chrysalis Limited" music publication and "MainMan" production, David had his own logo. For "Space Oddity," the earliest covers have two, possibly three items that once again act to identify the earliest printed. 1.) The front bottom right corner has an almost hidden acknowledgement of "Space Oddity" being a re-issue, after all, new 1972 fans found a 'new' Bowie LP cover with an intensive full scale Ziggy Stardust head picture only..... becoming a new Ziggy / Bowie album now. Placing this near the bottom in tiny printing, meant it was missed when looking through covers in record shops; Previously released on Philips Records SBL 7912 On the first printed covers, as this is, that is as typed above, but the second printed covers split the single sentence into two. 2.) "MainMan" was founded by November, but not in time to include the actual logo when these earliest covers were printed, the only mention is tiny black print as a final credit on the back, top left Track list and musicians etc. credits, almost invisible; David Bowie - A Mainman Artist Note the earliest spelling that would indeed become the logo as "MainMan" not "Mainman," the second printed covers had the large "MainMan" logo placed on the right side of the back cover. Both cover designs were sold side by side in record shops in late 1972. "A Mainman Artist" was too small to display in a photo, I'm certain many sellers will be unaware it was printed on the cover, but it was and any claims for not having that credit, are incorrect and made without looking carefully enough. 3.) Only a few copies had the poster sticker on the front, even when the Limited Edition posters were inside the covers, due to them really made for the November, 1972 first RCA versions of "The Man Who Sold The World" covers. I will return to this subject when describing the poster, any other identification info will be given as I get to it as I work my way through the items. I prefer discussing music but when giving these intricate details, all my genuine experience and knowledge is all part of the service, regardless of being a customer. FIRST PRESSING ON THE ORANGE RCA LABEL, RELEASED 18th NOVEMBER,1972. SEMI-SHEEN, BUT TEXTURED ORANGE RCA VICTOR LABEL: LSP 4813 The first pressing records were simultaneously issued with either "Titanic Music / Chrysalis" & "MainMan / Chrysalis Limited," on the labels, just like the covers. This cover demonstrates how the foundation of "MainMan" was at the same time this album was being prepared. This record is in the first printed cover and has the rare "Titanic Music / Chrysalis" on the labels, by November, it was actually an error and the covers were made fractionally after the very first batch of labels. A really small batch because the overwhelming majority have "MainMan / Chrysalis Limited" music publishing credits after every track. I have seen the first pressing records with either type on the same record per side. Nothing new there, Beatles albums, singles and EP's regularly had different credits on each side of the same records, the sheer scale of manufacturing required printed items like labels to be made in advance of pressing the vinyl. They simply had to be prepared, printed and distributed to pressing plants before the records were pressed, boxes arrived at random and were used at random. The same applied to which records were randomly placed inside first or second made covers, only the lyrics inner sleeves remained with "Titanic Music / Chrysalis" unchanged, the cost and economics dictated that. MAITRIX: BPRS 4501 - 1E / BPRS - 1E Pressed by Pye for RCA, the maitrix began with 'BPRS 4501 - 1E / BPRS - 1E' and as you can see in my pictures, that was positively machine stamped at 6 o'clock in the run-out grooves, not handwritten like later copies. Quite how early this is can be seen by the cover's unique features and the fact this had a rare poster placed inside with the record. Even rarer, the cover has a black and white sticker stating a poster is inside. RARE LIMITED EDITION POSTER, PLACED INSIDE SOME OF THE FIRST ISSUES, ONLY SOME COVERS LIKE THIS HAD A BLACK AND WHITE STICKER STATING A POSTER WAS INSIDE. Nobody has commented this about the sticker, but it was the the exact design and size poster sticker, on the first RCA orange label pressing of, "The Man Who Sold The World" album. Both albums were released in a revived format in the same November, 1972 for the first time, the black & white stars in the background were indeed from the artwork on the cover. So not a copied design for the "Space Oddity" LP, a few of them were used from the stickers made initially for "The Man Who Sold The World" covers with posters. A matt sticker and that is in perfect condition without any lifted or worn edges, as shown in the pictures. THE STICKER AND THE POSTER ARE VERY RARE , ESPECIALLY UNUSED, I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW FIXED RULES CANNOT BE EXPECTED FROM THE 1960'S AND 1970's DECADE. FOR ALBUMS WITH INSERTS & ASSOCIATED POSTERS, THIS WAS TYPICAL OF FIRST ISSUES AMONG ALL UK & USA RECORD COMPANIES. A STUNNING SEMI- GLOSSY COLOUR POSTER MEASURING 20" x 22", OF SUCH TOP QUALITY, THE SAME PICTURE ON THE FRONT COVER IS SEEN AS THE ORIGINAL PHOTO. Not that the cover lacks any colour or clarity, these very first made covers have distinctively have incredible colours and the back background has a much deeper red/pink tone, when compared to all following covers. I must emphasise how this cover is completely unworn and unfaded, or I believe is possible for a thin matt cardboard non laminated cover after 46 years. The poster is spectacular in comparison, especially as it has never left the cover and only the original printer's folds, once again my pictures say it all and this is as close to Mint as it gets. THE POSTER IS IN UNUSED, MINT- CONDITION. FIRST ISSUE BLUE, PINK AND WHITE "Space Oddity" PICTURES AND LYRIC INNER SLEEVE,UNUSED AND UNSPLIT. ABSOLUTELY MINIMAL AGEING TO THE MATT ABSORBENT PAPER AND NO SCUFFS OR SCRAPES, JUST AN INEVITABLE RECORD IMPRESSION AND A FEW RELATED PAPER RIPPLES / LIGHT CREASES. 'Creases' is over harsh when the inner has never been used and the thin paper was only reacting to holding a record for all those years. Once again the front cover's Ziggy picture has the printing imposed in really pleasing pink and blue pastel colours. The 1971 copyright to the songs and permission to reproduce the lyrics in 1972, is as mentioned being printed as; "Titanic Music Limited / Chrysalis Limited." GRADED WITH COMMON SENSE,THE LYRIC INNER SLEEVE IS IN UNUSED, EXCELLENT+++ / NEAR MINT CONDITION. "Robert Stace" VERY FIRST MADE, RARE FIRST ISSUE COVER WITHOUT A "MainMan"LOGO ON THE BACK. All the original UK covers were made from very thin cardboard and unlaminated, they wore very poorly and even as an unplayed record in an unused cover, I still expect to find the usual pronounced creases, ageing, colour fading and general storage wear after all those intervening years. While being brutally honest about the cover's vulnerability to excessive wear, this is in simply stunning condition. The perfectly clear spine's title can be seen in a close up picture, there is no wear to detail, no ring wear or the common fading or rubbing to the artwork. Just a few ripples relating to the heavyweight record's internal postion, a record impression natually forms with related tiny stress edge lines, I can and do produce ultimate condition records but nothing can prevent that happening after 46 years. Exceptions to the rule will occasionally surface but the reality of the early 1970's matt covers as flimsy as the RCA covers in and past this era, is something I never avoid, just tell the plain truth. In fact, record impression related events and the merest brushing from standing in standing in storage for all those decades, are as minimal as these earliest covers can possible be. I have only ever sold David Bowie's albums in Mint condition, so on a daily basis I am just repeating the same reality for covers, that very much includes previous experiences with first issue"Space Oddity" covers. Before ebay, in the 1980's and 90's I maintained a full David Bowie album section at record fairs and when I say 'experience' as a record seller, I go back a lot further than that and even the early 1970's, the 60's decade as a record buyer! The above has been the same pattern for every copy I have sold over many decades now, an opinion formed from only handling lovingly stored covers with 'as new' records inside. . There is no ageing, fading or wear, all colours are astonishingly bright and the artwork is as striking as the day it printed. To sum up, there are the unavoidable storage traits and initial handling traces, but minimal because the cover was never used to access and return the record, covers with unplayed record should never be compared to covers with even below average use. EVEN THE HARSHEST GRADING IS, THE COVER IS IN EXCELLENT+++ / NEAR MINT CONDITION. THE RECORD IS IN POSITIVELY UNPLAYED, MINT CONDITION. SIDE 1 "Space Oddity" "Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed" "Letter To Hermione" "Cygnet Committee" SIDE 2 "Janine" "An Occasional Dream" "Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud" "God Knows I'm Good" "Memory Of A Free Festival" David Bowie - vocals, 12 string acoustic guitar & various keyboards Rick Wakeman - mellotron & harpsichord Keith Christmas - guitar Mick Wayne- guitar Tim Renwick- guitar Tim Renwick - flute Tony Visconti - flute Benny Marshall & Friends - harmonica Paul Buckmaster - cello Herbie Flowers - bass Tony Visconti - bass Terry Cox - drums John Cambridge - drums All Songs Written By David Bowie Recorded June - September, 1969 At Trident Studios, London Arranged By David Bowie & Tony Visconti Produced By Tony Visconti My final comment is, the above musicians backing David Bowie, were extremely talented and the "David Bowie" / "Space Oddity" album was a crafted creation and stands on it's own musical merits. That includes the production, not forgetting after looking for 17 years on ebay, I have finally located an ultimate very first pressing of "Space Oddity" for the record's maitrix, the labels text, the cover, poster sticker and the poster itself. For Thursday, I feel like this is one of my Saturday 'specials'! {Roy} R & M RECORDS. My lifetime's love of music and records began at a very young age, the arrival of the Beatles and the 1960's decade in general had a very profound effect. It was only natural to bring all my first hand experience of collecting vinyl into becoming a professional record seller. Nearly thirty years ago we entered into the wonderful atmosphere of record fairs with the highest possible standards set. When the Internet became the world's new market place for vinyl, in 2001 it was time to join ebay. Those standards were rigidly adhered to as they will always continue to be, the basics of honesty and integrity were very much part of the era the music I love originated in, so here is our friendly and very efficient service we are proud to provide; EVERY RECORD IS FULLY PLAYED AND COMES WITH A 'NO ARGUMENT' MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. I USE GOOD OLD COMMON SENSE AS WELL AS A GLOBALLY ACCEPTED GRADING TERMINOLOGY FROM THE U.K. "RECORD COLLECTOR PRICE GUIDE" BOOK. THERE IT CLEARLY STATES "Sound Quality" AFFECTS EVERY GRADING LEVEL AND THAT IS THE ONE AND ONLY POSSIBLE WAY TO ACCURATELY GRADE RECORDS. i.e. COMBINING A STRICT VISUAL INSPECTION WITH VERY CLOSELY LISTENING TO EVERY SECOND, UNLESS PERHAPS IN THE CASE OF GENUINELY UNPLAYED VINYL. EVEN THEN WE STILL TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR A RECORD WHEN A CUSTOMER RECEIVES EITHER A SEALED OR AN UNPLAYED RECORD. We take 100% responsibility after an item has been posted and offer our fullest support in the event of any problems. "There Are No Problems, Only Solutions" (John Lennon) MY DESCRIPTIONS WILL ALWAYS BE 100% HONEST AND TOTALLY ACCURATE ON ALL GRADINGS FROM 'V.G.' ( VERY GOOD), TO THE ULTIMATE 'MINT' CONDITION. ANY QUESTIONS ON OUR ITEMS ARE WELCOMED AND WILL BE PROMPTLY REPLIED TO. WE ARE FULLY EXPERIENCED AT SHIPPING WORLDWIDE AND NO EFFORT IS SPARED TO PROTECT RECORDS AND COVERS ETC. WE WELCOME BIDDERS FROM ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. ALL RECORDS ARE REMOVED FROM THEIR SLEEVES AND PLACED INTO NEW PROTECTIVE CARD SLEEVES AND THEN PLACED INTO NEW, HEAVYWEIGHT PLASTIC OUTER SLEEVES. THE GREATEST ATTENTION IS PAID TO MAKING THE PACKAGING EXTREMELY STRONG & SECURE. EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT IS MADE TO ENSURE A SAFE DELIVERY AND WE ONLY USE THE VERY BEST QUALITY PACKAGING MATERIALS, THE COST OF THE ITEM IS IMMATERIAL, EVERY RECORD IS TREATED EXACTLY THE SAME. WE DO NOT TREAT POSTAGE AS A MONEY MAKING PROJECT, POSTAGE IS LESS THAN COST, USING ONLY PROFESSIONALLY PACKED BOXES WITH SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTIVE PACKAGING THAT DOES WEIGH A LITTLE EXTRA. UNDER PAYPAL & EBAY'S GUIDELINES, ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA A FULLY INSURED TRACKABLE SERVICE. For LP's valued above £50, the cost will be £9, we are unhappy about either increase but our high standard of packaging has meant in 16 years of ebay trading, there has not been one record damaged, we are determined to maintain that in the present and future. IN THE UK RECORDS UP TO THE VALUE OF £50 WILL BE SENT RECORDED DELIVERY, OVER £50 WILL BE SENT SPECIAL DELIVERY. FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA 'INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR.' POSTAGE COST FOR LP's UK: UP TO VALUE OF £50, FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY £5.00 UK: OVER VALUE OF £50, FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY £9.00 EUROPE: FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £15.00 USA,JAPAN & REST OF THE WORLD FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £20.00 POSTAGE COST FOR EP's & 7" SINGLES UK: UP TO THE VALUE OF £50 FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY £3.00 UK: OVER THE VALUE OF £50 FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY £6.00 EUROPE: AIR MAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £10.00 USA, JAPAN ETC. AIRMAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £12.00 PAYMENT DETAILS. WE WILL SEND ALL WINNING BIDDERS AN INVOICE WITH THE FULL PAYMENT AND POSTAL DETAILS, AS NEAR TO THE AUCTION ENDING AS POSSIBLE. OUR AIM IS TO MAKE YOUR PURCHASE SMOOTH AND TROUBLE FREE. FOR UK BUYERS; WE ACCEPT: PAYPAL, CHEQUES, POSTAL ORDERS & BANK WIRES. FOR OVERSEAS BUYERS; WE ACCEPT PAYPAL, INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS IN POUNDS STERLING ONLY. OR BANK TO BANK WIRE TRANSFERS. 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