Ben Harper
Harper, Ben - Bloodline Maintenance
Artist: Ben Harper
Album: Bloodline Maintenance
Vinyl LP pressing. 2022 release. "It was like I was moving forward and venturing into places I had never been before. Taking everything I've learned from every other record and kind of setting fire to it all and starting over," Ben Harper says of his new album Bloodline Maintenance. "And I knew the sounds I was hearing in my head were so unorthodox that I had to do most of it myself." The result is a fearless and immensely soulful work largely inspired by the loss of a longtime friend and the lingering influence of a mercurial and charismatic father. Along with guitar and bass, Harper als o played the drums including an eclectic assortment of percussions. The deliberately open spaces and accented beats influenced in large part by the exploratory rhythms of the hip-hop he has loved since his teens. The result is less a direct influence than the applying of hip-hop's inventiveness to longstanding paradigms of soul, blues and jazz, spinning it all forward into a reconfiguration of a new black Americana. "If this is my Mule Variations, then hallelujah." Harper says, referencing the groundbreaking Tom Waits record. Bloodline Maintenance is both a political and personally revealing work. It is soul music, but never a stylistic tribute to some bygone era. The sound and words are essential and undeniably timely. Harper acknowledges that much of the exploration on the record was fueled by an awareness of time. "It's this notion of mortality and the people we have lost. The way I hoped it would all turn out and the realization that, as beautiful as it all can be, perhaps none of it matters beyond these moments."
UPC/ISBN: 810098500326
Release Date: 09/30/2022
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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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:
- Â CBCS Comic Grading Scale
- Â Overstreet Comic Grading Standards
- CGC grading standards
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.
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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.