Lot 86PRINCE AND THE NEW POWER GENERATION-DIAMONDS AND PEARLS (2LP'S)-1991-FIRST PRESS UK/EU-GERMANY-WARNER-NMINT/NMINT

NIRVANA -LOCAL ANAESTHETIC-1971-THE FIRST UK PRESS-VERTIGO-SWIRL-6360031. A mega rare original of one of the masterpieces of the British rock prog. Originally released on the Vertigo label in 1971, Local Anesthetic was the first album released under the NIRVANA name featuring only half of the original songwriting duo, Patrick Campbell-Lyons, who had been left alone after amicably parting ways with Alex Spyropoulos a few months earlier, disappointed by the band's lack of success, especially after the disastrous previous opus, and decided to pursue a career as a composer for the television and film industry. On Local Anesthetic, Campbell-Lyons chose a more “progressive” direction: the album consists of two long suites featuring saxophonist Mel Collins (KING CRIMSON) and the band JADE WARRIOR, among others. To be fair, it's worth noting that this CD wasn't a success either. The first track was a kind of psychedelic trance, with rather nondescript arrangements and the absence of any highlights, which cannot be said about the second side. The epic ”Home", consisting of five parts, is simply amazing, with its signature melodic lines and musical diversity - hard rock, blues rock, and psychedelia have not gone away, and the influence of jazz is palpable. A true feast for fans of the so-called proto-prog! ...more

DEEP PURPLE-WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE-1973-THE FIRST JAPAN-WARNER PRESS.-P-8312W. A rare Japanese original of a cult album. Who Do We Think We Are is the seventh studio album by the British band Deep Purple, released in 1973. Deep Purple's last album with vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover before the release of Perfect Strangers in 1984. The CD was recorded in July 1972 in Rome[4] and in October of the same year in Frankfurt using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.At that time, the band was torn apart by internal conflicts and the recording of the album turned into a nightmare[4]. Ian Gillan later compared this album to The House of Blue Light in 1987: "It's the same: great songs, but a complete lack of mutual understanding among the musicians and ... weak morale."Who Do We Think We Are did not rise above the 4th position in the UK and 15th in the US charts. Nevertheless, Deep Purple remained one of the most commercially successful projects in the world thanks to the albums Machine Head and Made in Japan, as well as numerous tours. ...more

BEGGAR'S OPERA- ACT ONE-1970-THE FIRST UK PRESS-VERTIGO SWIRL- 6360018. A very rare original of a cult album.  Act One is the debut album by the Scottish progressive band Beggars Opera. The debut album of Beggars Opera, variously classified as symphonic rock, progressive rock or proto-progressive rock, has been compared to the works of The Nice and Deep Purple MK I (sometimes described as a "derivative" of them). It was published by Vertigo (which at that time introduced its legendary label swirl) in 1970 and features a cover by renowned surrealist photographer and artist Marcus Keefe (the same one who created the covers for the first three Black Sabbath albums). ...more

QUEEN-A NIGHT AT THE OPERA-1975-FIRST PRESS UK-EMI - EMTC103.Matrices A-4/B-4. A rare British original. A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by the rock band Queen, released on December 2, 1975. The record was a great success: its sales reached three million, and in the UK charts it held the first position for four inconsistent weeks. The title of the album — "A Night at the Opera" — as well as the subsequent one, is taken from the repertoire of American comedians of the 1930s by the Marx brothers, namely from the film of the same name. At each Queen concert, several songs from A Night at the Opera were necessarily performed (while "Love of My Life" was never performed in the album version). It is considered that the song "Death on Two Legs" is dedicated to the former producer of the band. "Bohemian Rhapsody" brought the band a resounding success and in 2000 was recognized in Britain as the "song of the millennium". The final album "God Save the Queen" is the anthem of Great Britain arranged by Brian May; it was this composition that invariably completed each concert of the band. The album was ranked 230th on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and 128th on the 2020 list. ...more

SPOOKY TOOTH-IT'S ALL ABOUT-1968-THE FIRST UK-ISLAND PRESS-ILPS9080 Matrix A/B is a very rare British original of the cult band. A wonderful debut album by the British band. Spooky Tooth is one of the bright bands that emerged at the turn of the decades and during the transition period from pure psycho, or blues, to new musical forms. The beautiful, "elegant", interesting music of Spooky Tooth is very good. Despite the quite mainstream nature of this band, they failed to achieve any significant commercial success. But the records they released are still listened to with pleasure today. In general, the group turned out to be a kind of star factory. After the breakup of ST, the band members scattered to quite famous and pretentious teams - guitarist Luther Grosvenor worked with Stealers Wheel and Mott the Hoople, bassist Ridley organized Humble Pie, the rest also did not get lost in the musical world, continuing to play with varying degrees of success. ...more