CIRCUS 1969 Transatlantic UK Orig, Solid VG Copy. RARE

	£		37
	$		49

Hi, I am Mike, now 51. Old enough to remember the golden era of original, high quality music, bands, artists.

Also records from the 1960s and 70s bought from the shops from new, I have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 37 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and elusive items now. 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 reader – 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 one hundred percent is exact colour matching for covers - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. 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 Ortophon 520 Mk II cartridge (tracks at 1.75 grams). Amps: Arcam 2 x 125W Pre-Power. 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.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I post all my UK items on FRIDAY every week, most will arrive Saturday to make signed-for delivery easier. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with 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 TWO massively thick stiffners for even extra protection and bubble wrap if deemed necessary. These stiffners are the thickest possible and custom supplied for ‘Oneadayrecords’ – these are NOT commercially available and you will not have seen thicker protection anywhere. The 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. Printed address labels are used as well as ‘Fragile’ tape for that extra professional touch for the packet. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the cheapest and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 3,500+ items sold in over 5 years of Ebay trading (I am now one of most established sellers via Ebay) and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

Album Title: Circus.

Producer(s): Ray Singer.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Norwegian Wood; Pleasures of a Lifetime; St Thomas; Goodnight John Morgan.

Side 2: Father of My Daughter; II BS; Monday Monday; Don’t Make Promises.

Label/Format: Transatlantic – original purple and white format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both very clean and attractive with moderate spindle marks being very faint and barely even showing. Any rubbing around the hole rim is very light and faint and only applies to side one.

Cat Number: TRA 207.

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: A very significant 154 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: Very scarce: not a title seen too often and this indeed is my first ever. As I state in my preamble, I will only offer the scarce or rare titles in lesser conditions and this record has numerous marks but generally, it plays well and it even exceeded my expectations. The cover also has some blemishes but still attractive. So clearly not a copy for the sound and cover purist but this elusive title will still please many collectors.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: STRA 207-A2 / STRA 207-B2

Musicians: Mel Colliins - flute, tenor saxophone; Ian Jelfs - guitar, vocals; Kirk Riddle - bass, guitar; Chris Burrows - drums.

Brief Info: A very scarce one-off album featuring the reed talents of Mel Collins who went on to play with King Crimson and various other prog bands including Camel. A very fine album this is too and not really in the usual Transatlantic style being largely jazz tinged progressive rock – this label specialised more in folk music. The band perform an incredible version of The Beatles’ ‘Norwegian Wood’, for those unfamiliar, this version must be heard. Not a perfect copy by any means, but easily worthy of offer to the right collector. The record has quite a lot of surface marks with the odd one or two being a little deeper with a few modest sporadic clicks but overall still a very playable and enjoyable copy – if it wasn’t be under no doubts, I would not offer it. Yes it does have some surface sound in places, mostly near the start of side two but this plays better than its visual grading and really enjoyed it. The cover looks as it it has been exposed to moisture at some time and has some laminate creasing but again, its still an atttractive piece if a little mild waviness can be lived with. No hesitation in offering rarer records like this, if everyone waited for ‘perfect’ copies all the time, such titles would hardly ever be offered. Tracking is effortless with no problems at all and sound quality is still high, so on that basis, many collectors will enjoy owning this elusive one-off.

Cover Grade and Format: VG or thereabouts. A fully laminated gatefold format. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press Ltd.

Lamination – Front & Back: Both front and back have slight waviness, nothing too be overly concerned about and it appears it has been exposed to moisture or spillage at some time. The back has a very faint strain trace which shows little. The laminate still retains a lovely shine on all four surfaces, yes even the inner gatefold is laminated. All is fully adhered with no lifting or blistering which I always think is good news. Any traces of dulling or friction rubs are very modest indeed and both sides remain very clear with good freshness. There is some creasing: mainly to the entrance edge areas and spine edges but visibility is again modest with normal viewing. The front cover artwork still remains attractive with very intense colour. Neither side are hardly perfect but will still please many collectors.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Again the laminate is shiny and the artwork attractive. It appears upside down when opened correctly and has to be turned around – whether this is normal or not I am not sure – as stated above, this is my first copy. Minimal creasing here with any cracking just present in places on the hinge fold which few will ever escape of course. A modest edge pull on the top edge from the sticky laminate end from the early days, again this is very common, the bottom edges have escaped. So a very fine inner with mimimal faults and very enjoyable to look at.

Top Edges: Both in superb condition with little to fault.

Bottom Edges: Similar again overall.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no actual wear or feathering. The waviness is apparent when viewed end-on. Record enters on this back edge.

Spine and Text: This has a couple of smallish rubs and a possible small touch-in on the black but still a reasonable spine. Solid, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up perfectly together and parallel. All text present and unworn bar the ‘TR’ on the ‘TRA 207’ Cat. number. The laminate has peeled from the spine as many do over time from opening, but generally the exposed surface is fine.

Corners: A little surprisingly maybe, the corners are in very decent condition and with minimal wear from rubbing and fine shape is generally retained by all.

Cover Summary: A still attractive overall example of this elusive late 60’s cover. Clearly it has had the odd trauma or two over its near forty years of existence but that is hardly unique is it? Clearly, the laminate has protected and staved off any major damage or disfigurement and this can still be viewed and enjoyed. Not for the highly discerning collector or perfectionist stating the obvious, but not all collectors want ‘factory-fresh’ all of the time and many are prepared to compromise for the rarer titles. This collectable item should please many collectors especially those who are prepared to watch their budgets a little more.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: VG or very close too. Visually this has numerous surface marks but nothing remotely heavy and most are ignored with just a few, mainly light sporadic clicks in the odd place or two. Still clean, with reasonable shine, intense black and heavily pressed. A copy clearly played a number of times but sound quality for most all remains high and for many will still be enjoyable. Visually a reasonably fine record that should please many collectors again.

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: Firstly I will never, or very rarely offer any record that fails to please me and even though this does have some sound blemishes, little bothered me too much. I simply let the music do the talking and the vast majority of this record offered pleasureable sound. A few sporadic clicks and some light surface sound was noted, most near the start of side two but this faded and went fairly quickly. This record still offers strong, distortion-free audio quality and that I feel extra important on a record that has a lot of reed-work from Collins. All frequencies are sharp and clear and sound quality is still high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Surface sound was generally light where present and if that is of concern, please do not bid. Tracking is effortless with no problems at all, no jumps or sticking of course, I will always emphasise any serious unwanted problems. Audiophile and sound purists are unlikely to bid on a record of this grading anyway but I prefer those who have doubts, not to bid, it simply wastes time and money. For those who want the rarer titles and happy to accept lower grading records this will fit the bill perfectly – I am happy to offer records to suit all collectors and budgets not just the connoisseurs. As long as they are graded correctly and described as they are, I have no problem with that. I never want to make any VG record sound like its ‘factory-fresh’ or better than it really is, I simply explain the way it looks and sounds, I can do no more. Little spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this rare prog record and many less sensitive collectors will enjoy it. What type of system this will be played on too if a factory to consider. This will probably sound even better on a less sensitive budget system. This copy gave a more than decent account of itself and a high percentage played somewhat above its visual grading, with that in mind, it can be recommended to many collectors.

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 & OPTIONS:

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

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. US; Australia; Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£35).

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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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’.