Gentle Giant - Free Hand - Third Eye

Alucard Records

Gentle Giant - Free Hand

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Artist: Gentle Giant

Album: Free Hand (Steven Wilson Mix Red Vinyl)

Red Vinyl. Free Hand was Gentle Giant's seventh album originally released in July 1975. This album was the most commercially successful of the band's career reaching the top 40 albums in Billboard Magazine. It stands as the culmination of the band's maturity, following the successes of 'In A Glass House' & 'The Power & The Glory'. Having toured Europe & North America non-stop in the years prior to this release with artists like Jethro Tull, Yes, Zappa etc, the band had gone from strength to strength. By the time 'Freehand' was released Gentle Giant' had become a major headliner in it's own right. All the members were Multiinstrumentalists. The band were never afraid of surprising an audience with a 4 part recorder ensemble followed by a vibraphone solo, all the while rocking the audience and thoroughly enjoying themselves onstage at the same time. Gentle Giant albums featured many songs with both literary subjects as well as social and personal commentary on life as rock musicians. Free Hand has more than most. The title of the album and first track were so named as the band had just changed record labels and management and felt unshackled by prior contractual obligations. Putting these issues behind them upon it's first release, Gentle Giant embarked on an extensive tour of North America and Europe, plus a short tour of the UK, to promote the album. The incredible range of Gentle Giant's music is evident hroughout this album. From the intricate vocal fretwork of 'On Reflection' and the delicatemedieval flavor of 'Talybont' the Celtic-tinged rock of 'Time To Kill' and the jagged rhythms of 'Just The Same' all those diverse elements which made the band so strikingly original are skillfully blended and perfectly executed. Award winning producer and musician STEVEN WILSON has added his delicate touch in remixing Free Hand in Dolby Atmos & 5.1 surround sound. His tonal range and painstaking attention to sound quality make Free Hand sound as fresh today as it did on first release. A fitting tribute to the compositional skills and expertise of five dedicated musicians. Steven Wilson's remixed version of 'Freehand' will be released in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround sound accompanied by custom animated visuals for each track on Blu-ray. In addition, the original flat mix, original 1975 quad mix and an instrumental mix will all be included in a Digipack CD. A double vinyl album will also be released with both the original flat mix and Steven Wilson remixed version.

UPC/ISBN: 804471000732

Product Information

Due to the nature of collectible items and ever changing market demand, we are unable to cancel pre-orders on ratio variants and select other items (1 per store variants, exclusive covers, ect) for a refund.For preorders on regular open order comics (the majority of which are normally cover price), we can cancel preorders and refund with a store credit that can be used in our brick and mortar stores or at thirdeyecomics.com

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Cover art for Comics on our website is provided to us at the time of solicit. While we do our best to keep these images up to date; some covers may be subject to change!

At Third Eye, we ship thousands of comics every week, and we know condition matters. Whether you're reading, collecting, or grading, we want you to feel confident when a Third Eye package arrives.

This policy outlines our standard for new release and shipped comics, and the industry-standard guidelines we follow.

OUR STANDARD

Books without a stated grade will be offered as Near Mint 9.4 or better. We do not guarantee 9.8 condition on any book unless specifically noted.

We use industry-standard grading guidelines from:

If you're new to comic grading, the resources above are a great place to start.

WHY WE DON'T GUARANTEE 9.8

Modern comic printing is an imperfect process. Books are printed in massive
runs, bound at high speed, and shipped in bulk to retailers. Even brand
new books off the truck will exhibit minor production characteristics,
and that's normal, and consistent with industry standards across every
retailer.

A 9.8 grade represents near-perfection, and the reality is that not every printed book qualifies for that grade no matter where you buy it from.

We can absolutely commit to NM 9.4 or better. We cannot commit to 9.8 on every book, because that's not how comics are made.

WHAT QUALIFIES AS NM 9.4

Per industry standards, a book may exhibit the following minor characteristics and still grade as Near Mint 9.4, as long as there's no accumulation of defects:

Bindery characteristics:

  • Minor to moderate corner tears
  • White edges along the spine (common on most modern printings)
  • Covers slightly offset from interior pages (common on cardstock covers)

Printing characteristics:

  • Slight color rub on back covers
  • Small paper wrinkles present from the paper roll prior to printing
  • Wavy paper texture from the printing process

Spine characteristics:

  • 2-3 small color-breaking spine ticks
  • Minor non-color-breaking spine dings

These are normal modern production characteristics, not damage from handling or shipping. They are present on books across the industry, regardless
of retailer.

OUR RETURN & EXCHANGE POLICY

We do not accept returns or exchanges on books that meet our NM 9.4 or better standard.

We will replace or refund:

  • Books damaged during shipping (clear shipping damage, not pre-existing print characteristics)
  • Books that fall below NM 9.4 standard (significant spine damage, major creasing, tears, etc.)
  • Wrong cover or wrong issue shipped

For premium variants (1:25, 1:50, 1:100, 1:250, 1:500 incentive covers, signed editions, exclusive variants), we apply enhanced QC during pull and packing. If a premium variant arrives outside our standard, contact us within 7 days of delivery and we will work with you on a replacement.

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about a specific book or want to learn more about comic grading, our team is happy to help. Reach out to service@thirdeyecomics.com.

We appreciate your trust in Third Eye Comics, and we're committed to delivering books that meet the standards both you and we expect.