ATOMIC ROOSTER - SCARCE ORIG UK 1970 B&C 1st PRESS & MIX, SUPER SOUND/PRODUCTION

	£		117
	$		155

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: ATOMIC ROOSTER

Album Title: Atomic Rooster

Producer(s): Atomic Rooster & Tony Colton

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Friday the 13th; And So to Bed; Winter; Decline and Fall.

Side 2: Banstead; S.L.Y.; Broken Wings; Before Tomorrow.

Label/Format: B&C – matt with heavily textured, rough surfaces – later issues on the same label had smooth surfaces and were much lighter pressed.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a very small few light, small, fine and faint spindle marks.

Cat Number: CAS 1010

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 175 grams. Even by B&C, Pye-pressed standards, this is a super-heavyweight. Few will match or beat this, I consider any record over 160 grams heavy, and few standard issue records hit these weights.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Very scarce as a genuine first issue. This has the original ‘flute’ mix, this was later repressed with added guitar parts to make the sound very different.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: CAS+1010+A2 / CAS+1010+B2 [these large and machine punched]

Musicians: Vincent Crane – Hammond organ, piano, backing vocals; Carl Palmer – drums, percussion; Nick Graham – bass guitar, vocals, flute. John Du Cann – guitar and vocals on this new version.

Brief Info: The debut album by Atomic Rooster, the only one to include Nick Graham and Carl Palmer, the latter left to help form ELP. Classic early prog-rock with immense sound and production from this massively pressed record. Not totally perfect with a some very gentle and faint ticks on ‘S.L.Y.’ at the beginning, relatively brief and faint enough to not spoil the experience and soon disappearing altogether. So possibly not for the absolute sound purist who only want total perfection, but this still blew me away and I consider myself very fussy (as do those who know me well). I had the opportunity to crank up the volume on my play-grade and it proved stunning. As many collectors will know, these early Pye pressings can be inconsistent for pressing quality, but this one is tremendous, when at their very best, few were better (or heavier). First issues had what has become known as the ‘flute mix’. Wanting a fuller sound, guitar was added to some songs for repressings on the same label. Most fans prefer the first mix, this being available for only a limited time. Overall, this is a very fine example, not pristine, but impressive nonetheless. Unless perfection is mandatory, many, if not most will enjoy this brilliant debut.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): a single unlaminated format with the inside flipbacks rounded near the entrance which is an important factor for era on this cover. The surfaces are matt and smooth finished. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group. Includes the original plain inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Apart from a little fine light creasing near the top right corner, there is little else to fault on this very challenging front. More often seen grubby, aged and even sticker torn, this has nothing like to fault. Still clean and fresh looking with the least wear I have seen with a first issue record inside for some time. Quite how this has survived without ringwear or impression is remarkable with a massive thick record enclosed all these years.

Cover Back: Compared to practically all I have seen before, the back is superb. A very fine, largely natural vertical crease trace near the spine and a little on the top corner opposite, but in terms of real wear, this has hardly any and is nearly as clean and unrubbed as when it first appeared. There is a small ‘J’ written right near the bottom edge centre, but the lack of ringwear or impression on this revealing green surface is almost remarkable. I consider both sides of this thin and unforgiving cover near exceptional.

Top Edge: Very thin but still largely straight as you are likely to find with barely any hint of wear to the still very clean and undarkened white surface.

Bottom Edge: Largely the same, any traces of rubbing tiny and faint.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with little wear. A little gentle thickening to the outside back near the top, this being very slightly proud of the rest, this is not quite cut flush in manufacture to reitterate this has not been trimmed or enhanced. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with slight compression here and there, also quite thin with manufactured pinched ends. One tiny chip with all the text fully present and unworn, also well centred on a very narrow depth.

Corners: Minor and light tip creasing with any rubbing light. Very fine shape largely retained.

Cover Summary: A cover that rarely wears well and at around 44-years-old, this is a really impressive clean example. One I feel sure will please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(–): a plain solid white unlined inner that has the CAS 1010 number written on one top right corner. The corners have all been folded, often owners did this on purpose to stop the record falling out. Still quite white with any ageing in that respect modestly light, two crisp neat window circles and all edges now soldly intact – a small bottom edge split I neatly repaired to stop it widening in future.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: or very close to. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fresh and massively pressed with a staggering 175 gram weight. Few standard records were pressed anywhere near this weight and this feels exceptional as soon as it is handled. This appears little played with surface marks mostly fine light and faint, generally whispy and purely superficial. The one very small exception being a small fine mark, little thicker than a hairline, but it does emit some very light ticks on S.L.Y. as stated and detailed further up. This largely the only audio blemish of note and I state again – the ticks are relatively brief and faint – they hardly bothered me at all, but everyone is different. I simply mention what I hear – that is what a play-grade is all about. Overall still a super original that will take a lot of beating, this has considerably more positives than negatives and few available originals will beat this significantly I feel sure.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This first press ‘flute mix’ original B&C album plays for most-all above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault bar those relatively brief and light ticks at the start of S.L.Y. Indeed light enough for many, if not most listeners to ignore – but not for the super-sensitive purist who only wants ‘digital’ perfection from vintage records – that a super-tough ask. After cranking up the volume, I can truly state, this massive piece of vinyl offers strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is immense with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. The mix on three songs were substantially altered on later pressings, making the first issues the usual purist and fans choice. Carl Palmer’s drumming is simply fantastic, and even to this day I think he is underrated, his sound here is awesome. Any other surface sounds registered little and this is an exceptional clean Pye pressing. Sadly, that was always the case as many collectors will know, many are known to have inherent crackle and even pressing sounds. Fear not, this one has NO such issues – the brief blemish is a fine stylus mark and nothing to do with the impressive manufacturing quality in this case. Few will match, let alone outperform this very early pressing I feel sure. As always, I played this on my very sensitive equipment as listed further down, both channels are clean and sharp with no tracking issues*, I am certain this record has been played only very modestly. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – I can easily tolerate a few gentle ticks – it is groove wear and distortion I really hate – and this has none of that at all. This could still prove difficult to find significantly better and merits strong recommendation – however I state again – not for the over-sensitive or connoisseur audiophiles.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.