BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS – SCARCE Orig UK 1968 CBS N/M LP

	£		21
	$		28

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Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down with Picture & All Shipping Rates.

Artist or Band: BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS

Album Title: Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Producer(s): James William Guercio.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie (1st and 2nd Movements; Smiling Phases; Sometimes in Winter; More and More; And When I Die; God Bless the Child.

Side 2: Spinning Wheel; You've Made Me So Very Happy; Blues - Part II; Interpolating ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ and ‘Spoonful’; Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie (1st Movement).

Label/Format: CBS - deep orange with smooth finish (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both very clean and attractive with only very light and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area.

Cat Number: S 63504.

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: 137 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Moderately scarce.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: SBPG 63504 A1 / SBPG 63504 B1

Musicians: David Clayton-Thomas - lead vocals; Lew Soloff - trumpet, flugelhorn; Bobby Colomby - drums, percussion, vocals; Jim Fielder - bass; Dick Halligan - organ, piano, flute, trombone, vocals; Steve Katz - guitar, harmonica, vocals; Fred Lipsius - alto saxophone, piano; Chuck Winfield - trumpet, flugelhorn; Jerry Hyman - trombone, recorder.

Brief Info: The second and regarded by many as their best ever album. A mini classic of its type that blends blues, jazz and rock and one of the leading early jazz-rock albums. Along with the early Chicago (then Transit Authority) albums, pioneering within this field and utilising large horn sections. This even has elements of the classics with intros and outros of Eric Satie. With original songs and some brilliantly arranged covers, this was a very popular album in the United States and sold well. It includes hit singles none better than the brilliant ‘And When I Die’ written by Laura Nyro. This is a spendid UK copy with a superbly clean sounding record and only a mildly aged cover that seldom wears well. My first ever Blood, Sweat and Tears album on Ebay and let’s start with the best. A true gem and highly original and entertaining.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High.

Cover Grade and Format: Close to Excellent, an unlaminated gatefold format with a single thickness front and central storage for the record. It has a gold stereo sticker on the back and was printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day and includes the ‘Patents Pending’ text. Clearly wear-prone and seldom seen this attractive.

Cover Front: There is very little real wear on this delicate front but it does have some light toning spots. These only really show to any extent on the white area near the right edge, but be aware, they are present but modest. The odd rub trace and light surface mark or two and a ultra fine crease near the top edge. Very presentable indeed and I am being somewhat cautious, this really looks very nice but not connoisseur standard.

Cover Back: Again this has a little mild toning spots, less than the front and even less conspicuous. Ther is some gentle rippling (or waviness), this shows symptoms of being stored in a cold environment at sometime but is still really a lovely cover. The gold stereo sticker is pristine and looks almost new with superb shine, clearly never tampered with in any way. There is next to no wear on this splendid back at all and the mildish waviness apart, it looks lovely with few marks or grubbiness and no ringwear.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside is superb and has practically nothing to fault. Even the delicate spine area is strong and virtually unworn with no stresses or damage to the entrance area. Rarely to the top and bottom avoid splitting and tattiness.

Top Edges: Little wear on either, mild thickening to the fragile front being critical.

Bottom Edges: Mild burr traces or faint rubs, being the resting edges and delicate, these are quite exceptional really.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with minimal trace of any wear and no feathering or trimming. The back edge is closed as the record enters via the centrefold.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression and folded squarely. Being thin and taking the strain of storage and record weight, these rarely will not tilt a little and this has slightly to the left but remains uncrushed or creased. All text is perfect and unworn, again a major bonus on these types.

Corners: Some small tip rubs but considering the format, these are in very fine condition overall and do look generally neat.

Cover Summary: Mild tone spots and gentle waviness on the back are the main issues with what is still a lovely and attractive old cover. This vintage item should please many collectors but not the purist or more discerning collector this time.

The Inner: The unlined black and white CBS promotional inner is included that shows albums up to around 1969 which helps dates this early pressing well. A fine excellent inner that has little wear and only mild traces of ageing with no edge splits. A few mild creases only.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-), a superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence reitterated by super clean sound, so-much-so, this is now my listen-too anywhere copy. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors and could be a perfect upgrade for many.

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 snippetts 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant record plays up to its high visual grading with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear including those rasping horn arrangements. Sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no significant pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this early press significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly carefully handled and stored within a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This record will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon 2M moving magnet cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET - PLEASE SEE MY TYPICAL PACKING BOX PICTURE.

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 heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth 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 thick boxes (NOT Mailers or Cruciforms, these do not offer maximum protection). The record(s) 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 THREE or EVEN FOUR 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. 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. Please see my picture of a typical finished box packet that will now be used on ALL transactions as from now. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. These boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand based on over 6,000+ items sold in over 8 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. Even one of these stiffners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 neccessarily 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’.