When was the first East of Eden released?

 

I'm in the process of getting these ... this is one band in the old Hipgnosis catalogue I never got a chance to appreciate.

 

I have a friend who insists that there was nothing that sounded as modern proggy as the first King Crimson album.  That is was the next big step in Prog Rock (or in his opinion the first step).    I love ITCOKC, but trying to prove that there were other albums before it with the same bite (as Bruce Eder describes) above, and this East of Eden album is the closest I can find, but I can't find a date.

 

I think the first few songs on the Eden album might track just a bit too close to KC in overall sound experience that it may have been actually influenced by ITCOTKC.  And thus come out in Nov or Dec 1969.   But I hope not.  ALso, thats cramming a lot of recording and release into two short months (ITCOTKC came out in Oct)

I'm trying to find out when the first East of Eden was released?  ''Mercator Projected''  

 

Specifically, it was released in 1969, but what month?  Anyone know?   I can't find it anywhere. 

 

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Bruce Eder at All Music Guide says " It's also one of the most daring debut albums of its period, less tightly focused than, say, King Crimson's Court of the Crimson King but otherwise equally bold and maybe more challenging. The whole record is eerie — coming from a pop culture where most psychedelic rock tended toward the light and airy — the way the high-impact bass, drum, and guitar parts interact with the distinctly Oriental and Central/Eastern European classical influences. The title track is a surprise coming from any British psychedelic band of the period, opening with a pounding heavy metal beat pumped out on Steve York's bass and Dave Dufort's drums, while Dave Arbus' electric violin subs for what would normally be the rhythm guitar part and Geoff Nicholson's guitar twists a blues riff around before setting a Jimi Hendrix-like wave of tonal pyrotechnics ablaze for the finale. Though most of the rest isn't as hard rocking as that, it is still progressive rock with balls."