This was the start of another quest, because I like obscurities and I like this album. The only problem was that this particular pressing was only sold in Greece, no export ever took place. Websites like Gemm, Discogs and Music Stack (all highly recommended for vinyl hunters) offered every version ever made, except the Greek one...
Fortunately, one of the benefits of the world wide web is that virtually everything gets put up for sale at a certain moment. So this albumhunt came to a conclusion last week when I finally received a copy of this elusive album after finding it on Musicstack. It cost me an arm and a leg (though not as much as the UK version of the original Vertigo pressing that fetches 200-300 dollars nowadays), but I'm not complaining.
In fact, I'm over the moon. Couldn't care less that the label really is not much too look at. It is the Vertigo spaceship label, although it's print quality is pretty mediocre, it's colours are a bit dull and it's not the sharpest I've ever seen. There is some scuffing on the outer sleeve, and the plain white inner sleeves need to be replaced. But the vinyl is in pretty good shape from the looks of it. Hardly any scratches, a nice rainbow-coloured diffraction of light when viewed under the right angle, and - very important - no shiny lines around the centre-hole (a dead give-away for rude treatment). Once I have washed it on my RCM, I'm sure it will prove to be in excellent shape.
There must be other copies out there, so I wish you good luck in hunting them down. Expect to pay 100 dollars and up, but in return you will receive a unique version of a genuine piece of prog history.
