Saturnalia's album Magical Love is a UK picture disc from 1971.  It has 3D centre labels - on the A side a blue background with five white swirls morph into a white centre with the word 'magical love' in green and pink; the B side has a blue background with moving white swirls and stars.  The B-side also has interesting pictures of various occult/tarot-type figures.  This is a beautiful example of one of the earliest rock picture discs and was made through building up various layers within the wax.  Hence it is quite a thick album as picture disc technology was in its infancy; so the disc looks absolutely stunning but it doesn't play so great!  Personally, we have a huge soft spot for this album just as a thing of beauty to look at - very much a beautiful piece of art.

LP format, picture disc - Stereo

Label:  Matrix Records

Condition:  EX

3D centre labels

Amazing Blondel's album The Amazing Blondel and a Few Faces was issued in 1970 on the Bell label.  This version is the original UK issue.

LP format

Label:  Bell  Catalogue No:  SBLL 131

Condition:  VG/VG

Brian Auger & The Trinity's album Definitely What! is the US pressing of Auger's 1969 album issued in the UK on the Marmalade label.  Gatefold sleeve containing a photo of the group and some words on the inspiration for the tracks.  Even the paper inner sleeve is interesting containing small adverts in colour for other albums issued around the same time - albums like Sonny and Cher 'In Case You're in Love', the filmtrack for 'The Long Duel' starring Yul Brynner and Trevor Howard, Bee Gees 'Horizontal' - there's a couple of hours interest just flicking through these ads!

LP format

Label:  ATCO  Catalogue No:  SD 33-273

Condition:  NEX/EX

Alan Bown's album The Alan Bown is the original UK issue from 1969 on the red and white Deram label.  Additional interest for this album is this is an early outing on vocals for Robert Palmer.

LP format

Label:  Deram  Catalogue No:  SML 1049 (Stereo)

Condition:  VG/EX

Argent's album Argent is the original UK issue of the first Argent album issued in 1969 on the orange CBS label.  Could be considered the follow up to Odyssey and Oracle by The Zombies.

Gatefold sleeve where the album slides in from the centre fold and it contains the lyrics and also a photo of the band. Even the inner paper sleeve is of interest with the black and white adverts of other albums - these small adverts include Leonard Cohen 'Songs from a Room', Andy Williams 'The Andy Williams Sound of Music', Johnny Cash, Georgie Fame, The Tremaloes and many, many others.

LP format

Label:  CBS  Catalogue No:  SS 63781 (Orange label)

Condition:  VG/EX

Dr Strangely Strange's album Kip of the Serenes is the original 1969 UK pressing with the pink Island label with the red ball.  This is a top-rated acid folk album - as is illustrated by the front cover showing the band sitting playing in a river with one member wearing a chicken-head mask, and the fantastic ship illustration on the reverse of the ship 'The Serene Boy' with lots of crazy characters even with a Rupert bear peering from the deck.

LP format

Label:  Island label (pink with red ball)  Catalogue No:  ILPS-9106

Condition:  VG/EX

Graham Bond's album Holy Magick - this is the original 1970 UK issue on the collectible Vertigo label with the famous swirl.  Bond was obsessed by the occult and this album very much has an occult theme - sadly, he died under the wheels of a Tube train.  This has a really interesting gatefold sleeve and the colourful inner gatefold has a very occult theme with an Ankh, Pentacle, and occult pyramid with eye.  The reverse cover dedicates the album to the True seekers of the Light and provides an incredibly interesting description of the inspiration and purpose of the album.

LP format

Label:  Vertigo 'Swirl'  Catalogue No:  6360 021

Condition:  VG/EX

Back Door's album of the same name is the original 1973 debut album from this jazz/prog band featuring ex-Eric Delaney Band members, including future Miles Davis sideman Colin Hodgkinson on bass.  This is a gatefold sleeve and the album 'art' is themed around the Lion Inn on the Yorkshire Moors at Blakey Ridge which formed the inspiration for the album.  The inner gatefold shows various photos from around the Inn including the old Inn sign showing it has been around since 1553, even the Inn's ginger cat gets a picture.  But the descriptions in the inner gatefold are well worth reading to get a full understanding of what inspired the music.

LP format, Stereo

Label:  Warner Brothers  Catalogue No:  K 46231

Condition  EX/EX

Back Door's album Another Fine Mess is the original UK issue from 1975 from the jazz/prog band featuring future Miles Davis sideman, Colin Hodgkinson on bass.  The sleeve artwork is fantastic showing child-like drawings of men jumping from a yellow plane with one shouting 'another fine mess' as they land in the trailer to a red car.  But the reverse drawings are the most interesting showing various drawings of the song titles.

LP format

Label:  Warner Brothers  Catalogue No:  K56098

Condition:  EX/EX

Back Door's album Activate is the original 1976 issue from the jazz/prog band, featuring future Miles Davis sideman Colin Hodgkinson on bass.  Album cover jogs the memory being inspired by graph paper!

LP format

Label:  Warner Brothers  Catalogue No:  K 56243

Condition:  NEX/EX