Harvest made light of its affiliations with straight-laced, big boys EMI to become one of the most loved of the corporate progressive offshoots. A quick inspection of the label’s costliest collectables reveals why

The Harvest label first appeared in 1969 and was launched as the progressive wing of EMI. Its remit was to create a haven for the fast-evolving, hippy-trippy world of underground music that was deemed all rather unseemly for its buttoned-down parent label. And it’s no coincidence that many of the albums released in the label’s first couple of trail-blazing years were from scruffy bands conveniently re-homed from other EMI labels.

While Harvest will always be linked to UK-centric prog and, specifically, Pink Floyd, its diverse, unexpected and often inspired roster also housed many other shades of rock, folk, jug band music and blues. Harvest was even light enough on its feet to get in on punk early, not only signing Wire and The Saints, but also releasing the somewhat seminal Live At The Roxy in July 1977.

Mark O’Shaugnessy of Resolution Records in Bath, who flogged a Wire testing pressing of Pink Flag for £300 a few years back, knows a thing or two about shifting vinyl. When quizzed, he revealed: “We’ve found demand in the shop is still good for Harvest’s ‘better’ titles, but not at the level it was 10/15 years ago. Edgar Broughton Band albums, for example, never sit round for long when we get them, especially the first three, they seem to attract a whole new collecting fan club every year.”

For our selection, we’ve based our valuations on UK first pressing in Near Mint condition, and have valued them using a mix of Discogs’ Median prices together with info from various other sources.

RARE

Wasa Wasa
Edgar Broughton Band
SHVL 757
£90
The hard-edged debut album from under-valued underground blues rockers Edgar Broughton Band was released in July 1969 and sounded not unlike a gnarly British Captain Beefheart. The first pressing hit the racks dressed in a front/back laminated gatefold sleeve, with the green label displaying the standard Sold In The UK wording and no EMI box. The meaning of the album title varies from source to source, some claiming it’s an Eskimo phrase, others saying it’s a slangy version of ‘what’s up.’ A number of other EBB releases on Harvest are also worth looking out for include Sing Brother Sing (SHVL 772, £70), In Side Out (SHTC 252, £60) and Oora (SHVL 810, £60).

Joy Of A Toy
Kevin Ayers
SHVL 763
£100-£120
With Robert Wyatt eager to take the Canterbury scenesters into jazzier waters, Kevin Ayers left Soft Machine and embarked on a protracted solo career. Issued in a laminated gatefold sleeve in November 1969, the charming Joy Of A Toy was the first fruit of his whimsically psychedelic labours. It’s been reissued many times including a recent repress on Cherry Red in 2024 (QECLECLP2858). Other desirable Ayers/Harvest collectables include Bananamour (SHVL 807, £90) and Whatevershebringsshwesing (SHVL 800, £80).

Anthems In Eden
Shirley and Dolly Collins
SVHL 754
£100-£120
This influential two sides of traditional folk from the East Sussex siblings was a rose-scented counterpoint to the label’s trademark prog’n’patchouli roster. The first pressing arrived dressed in a laminated gatefold sleeve and no EMI box on the label. While Shirley’s recording career was already established, Anthems In Eden was the first album to be jointly credited to her and older sister Dolly. Follow-up Love, Death And The Lady (SVHL 771, £75) is a more sombre, but no less essential affair. The cover image is concealed on Discogs because of the ‘shocking’ pornographic tapestry penis on the album sleeve.

The Book Of Taliesyn
Deep Purple
SVHL 751
£130-£145
This early offering from Deep Purple was released in the US and Canada in 1968 by Tetragrammaton Records, but held over to the next year to debut as the first album off the press for the newly created Harvest label. Which makes the initial pressing (with laminated gatefold and ‘Sold In The UK’ text) not only highly collectable but also a genuine historical artefact. It wasn’t until 1970’s Deep Purple In Rock (SHVL 777, £100), with the newly-established Mark II line-up, that the band’s classic hard rock sound was ushered in.

The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett
SHVL 765
£175
Syd Barrett started work on his first solo LP a month after exiting Pink Floyd in April 1968, but, unsurprisingly, considering his fragile mental state, The Madcap Laughs didn’t hit the release schedules until January 1970. Production on the album was started by former Pink Floyd manager Peter Jenner and completed by Roger Walters and David Gilmour. Robert Wyatt sits in on drums on a couple of tracks. A laminated gatefold, first press with no EMI box on label is the one to track down.

Quatermass
Quatermass
SVHL 775
£200
Power prog threesome Quatermass borrowed their name from the pit-loving scientist of a popular BBC sci-fi series broadcast in the late 1950s. The laminated gatefold sleeve of the first press with its monochromatic image of pterodactyls swarming a skyscraper is a highly-recommended early Hipgnosis classic. The album was reissued by Harvest in 1975 (SHSM 2002, £30), inexplicably, with a different cover.

Indian Summer
Panama Limited
SVHL 779
£300
On the second of their two Harvest albums the short-lived south west London outfit dropped the words ‘Jug’ and ‘Band’ and morphed from an acoustic country blues outfit into a bluesy bunch of electrified hippies. The changes didn’t make any difference to the band’s non-existent commercial success, but did leave them with two of the label’s costlier collectables. A VG+ first press of the eponymous debut (SVHL 753) will set you back in the region of £150.

RARER

Bakerloo
Bakerloo
SHVL 762
£350
Issued in a laminated gatefold cover, this cult collectable is the sum total of heavy blues-rock trio’s recorded output. The outfit were one of the first acts to sign to Harvest, and despite receiving strong reviews the album’s poor sales saw Bakerloo’s career go down the tubes. All was not lost, guitarist Clem Clempson went on to join Colosseum, while bass player Terry Poole played with the Graham Bond and Vinegar Joe. Not to be left out, drummer Keith Baker sat in with early incarnations of both Supertramp and Uriah Heep.

A Meal You Can Shake Hands With In The Dark
Pete Brown And His Battered Ornaments
SHVL 758
£350
Brit Beat poet Pete Brown went from scribbling lyrics for both Jack Bruce and Cream to fronting his own band. Battered Ornaments’ debut was an intriguing jazz-psych affair featuring a young Chris Spedding on guitar. The first press was released in a laminated fold-out cover without ‘EMI’ on the label. The follow-up, Mantle-piece, also on Harvest (SHVL 758, £250), saw Brown ousted from his own band due to his lack of musicality. Brown picked himself up and formed Piblokto!; still fond of a lengthy title the band’s Harvest debut Things May Come And Things May Go But The Art School Dance Goes On Forever (SHVL 758, £200) is a curious affair.

Full Circle
Forest
SHVL 784
£500
Forest, an acid-folk trio formed in Grimsby in 1966, are responsible for two of Harvest’s costliest and most desirable collectables. The self-titled debut (SHVL 760, £400), released in 1969, saw the band embark on the psychedelic path first trodden by the Incredible String Band. Follow-up Full Circle released a year later went further with the band expanding its otherwordly sound. Both albums were released with laminated gatefold sleeves. The latter was reissued on the Music On Vinyl imprint in 2017 (MOVLP1798, £35).

Jo Sago
Tea & Symphony
SHV  785
£700
Jo Sago is the second Harvest album release from Brummie-outfit Tea & Symphony. An ambitious concept album, the progressive-folkies attempted to relay the tale of West Indian man adjusting to life in 1970s Britain; hence the bold choice of cover art. Its rarity value is explained by the fact it was a commercial disaster on release, meaning that only a limited number made it to the record racks. There are some dodgy unofficial releases knocking around, but a vinyl reissue seems long overdue. Tea & Symphony’s debut Asylum For The Musically Insane (SHV  761, £195) is also worth picking up if you’re feeling flush.

RAREST

Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
SHVL 804
£850-£950
Until mainstream success bounced the Barrett-less band into a different stratosphere, the comfortably trippy, vaguely experimental Pink Floyd were the quintessential Harvest artist. While the album that demoed a million hi-fi systems is by no means rare, the first pressing of the band’s eighth studio LP has a significant variant from all subsequent issues to command the big money. The gatefold sleeve, posters and stickers are all a given, but it’s the solid light blue triangle on the label that makes all the difference to the value. Such was the early clamour Dark Side Of The Moon that huge numbers were pressed to meet pre-orders and there are no less than 88 documented runout variations.