Lot 40JOHN, ELTON-CAPTAIN FANTASTIC-1975-FIRST PRESS UK-DJM-NMINT/NMINT

ABBA-GREATEST HITS -1975-THE FIRST PRESS OF SWEDEN-POLAR-POLS266. A very rare original collection of the cult group. Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally released in Scandinavia on November 17, 1975 and in other parts of the world in 1976, notably in the UK on April 10 and September 18 in the USA and Canada. The release of Greatest Hits coincided with the beginning of ABBA's huge popularity in the UK in the second half of the 1970s, becoming the first of eight consecutive number one albums for the band. It spent eleven consecutive weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart and became the best-selling album of 1976 and the second best-selling album of the 1970s. As of July 2016, it is the 46th best-selling album of all time in the UK, with sales of over 2.6 million Greatest Hits was released in the USA and Canada in September 1976, but record sales peaked only in April 1977, when the song "Dancing Queen" took first place in both countries. "Dancing Queen" was not included in the Greatest Hits, but it was the lead single from the new studio album Arrival, and it aroused interest in the ABBA back catalog. Greatest Hits has been certified platinum in the USA and five times platinum in Canada. ...more

COLTRANE, JOHN -BYE BYE BLACKBIRD-1981-FIRST PRESS (STEREO) USA- PABLO-2308227 Rare American original of the cult album. Bye Bye Blackbird is a live album by jazz musician John Coltrane, recorded on November 19, 1962 at Konserthuset in Stockholm and released in 1981 by Pablo Records. The album was recorded during the 1962 European tour, which took place from November 17 to December 2 and included stops in Paris, Zurich, Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Graz, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, Scheveningen, Amsterdam and Milan. The Coltrane Quartet performed two concerts at Konserthuset on November 19; "Sleeping In" was recorded at the first concert, and "Bye Bye Blackbird" at the second. In a review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow wrote: "Bye Bye Blackbird contains only 36 minutes of music, but the quality is quite high. John Coltrane and his quartet... They perform extended versions of "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Traneing In", which are gradually gaining momentum. This is a well-recorded European concert... It's worth listening to, especially for Coltrane collectors who already have his more important recordings. Chris May, writing for All About Jazz, called the performances "vibrant" and stated that Coltrane's solo in "Traneing In" is "one of the most exciting he's ever recorded live or in the studio." In 1981, Coltrane was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for "Bye Bye Blackbird". ...more

WHAM (GEORGE MICHAEL AND ANDREW RIDGELEY) - MAKE IT BIG (+POSTER)-1984-FIRST PRESS UK/EU-HOLLAND -EPIC-EPC86311. Make It Big is the second studio album by English pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. Compared to their previous works, Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgely) were given more control over the production of the album, and Michael was also listed as a producer. The album was a commercial success, reaching number one on the US and UK charts and spawning four singles that reached the top three in the US and UK. Make It Big became a 4x platinum album in the USA at the time of its release and has since become a 6x platinum album in the USA ...more

GROUNDHOGS-BLACK DIAMOND-1976-FIRST PRESS UK-UA-UAS29994. Matrix A-1U/B-1U is a very rare British original of the cult prog blues band.Black Diamond is the ninth studio album by the British rock band The Groundhogs. Recorded in July-August 1976 at T.S. Studios in Haverhill, England, it was released in the fall by United Artists. This album differs from its predecessors with a much richer sound and a finely honed technique of execution. Tony McPhee tried to make the music of the album even more uncompromising, which he wanted to emphasize with a tougher sound of guitars and amplification of keyboards (synthesizers), which, of course, he played himself. A very big influence on him during this period was exerted by "King Crimson", who later, in turn, themselves learned a lot from the album "Black Diamond", when they were once again revived at the turn of the millennium. Nevertheless, the departure from a purely bluesy sound was not very liked by the fans of "The Groundhogs", which did not slow down to affect the contract with the record company. Black Diamond is the last studio album of the "Golden Age" of the band, after which the band ceased to exist and was revived with a new line-up only in 1985 (the year of the release of the new album). ...more

COCKER, JOE -LIVE-1990-FIRST PRESS EEC-CAPITOL- 164-793417-1. The original of the famous JOE COCKER live album. Joe Cocker Live is a live album by Joe Cocker, released in 1990. It was recorded live on October 5, 1989 at the Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts, with the exception of the last two tracks, which were recorded in the studio.In Europe, it received the status from gold to platinum. ...more