The cover is in great condition with the spine very legible. The labels are excellent and the vinyl has a lovely sheen and plays really well with a nice rich sound.

VINYL: Ex

LABEL: Ex

COVER: Ex

Side 1

1. Ideal love
2. Yangtse gangster
3. The mind parasites
4. Wet Mexicans
5. As I see you
6. Punchline

Side 2

1. Too much thinking
2. Maidstone
3. Undertones
4. Crawling away
5. Lemming’s lament
6. When the sun sets on the sage

This was Simon Boswell’s first and only solo album before forming the band ‘Advertising’, who went on to support Blondie on tour. Simon then became a record producer, joining one band ‘Live Wire’ after first producing 2 of their albums. He then went on to carve out a great career as a film/TV score composer. Simon had, before releasing this album, studied English Literature at Cambridge. So it should come as no surprise that the lyrics on the album are excellent. But the surprise is the avante garde nature of the music. There is a great blend of acoustic and electric guitars on the title track ‘The Mind Parasites’ with Simon playing all instruments, including a Stranglers type bass line before the Stranglers had recorded anything. ‘As I See You’ is another great track with Simon playing lead electric guitar to great effect, with great lyrics delivered really well by Simon, as he ends a difficult relationship. The piano driven ‘Undertones’ has to be seen in the context that it was written over 40 years ago, but would be a bit close to the line, if not over, these days as declaring love for a school girl is always risky (great song though). The acoustic number ‘Maidstone’ is another love song with Simon accompanying himself, giving another dimension to the album. ‘Crawling away’ has some great lyrics where his relationship with a girl does not go as planned, Simon’s vocals reminded me a bit of Al Stewart on this one. All in all, this is a rare album that is another forgotten gem. Also worth mentioning is that the artwork of Peter Brookes on the cover is excellent. Great album.