COVEN - Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls - VERY RARE 1969 ORIG EX++ LP.

	£		267
	$		353

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 will now be blocked 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: COVEN

Album Title: Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls.

Producer(s): Bill Traut.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Black Sabbath; White Witch of Rose Hall; Coven in Charing Cross; For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge; Pact with Lucifer; Choke, Thirst, Die.

Side 2: Wicked Woman; Dignitaries of Hell; Portrait; Satanic Mass.

Label/Format: Mercury – matt, smooth surfaces with deep ring ridge.

Label Conditions: Both immaculate, as new and unmarked. Ultra clean, fresh and attractive, on this evidence this record appears barely even played – but it has been, by me for my customary sound-check.

Cat Number: SR-61239.

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: 123 grams. An average weight.

Country of Manufacture: United States, this was issued on the UK.

Rarity & Overview: Very Rare: this album was so ahead of its time, it almost invented the dark side of rock music – and so-much-so, it was almost immediately withdrawn. The cover was a very unusual double gatefold for the time – maybe even a first? But when opened on the first spread, it must have caused a few raised eyebrows – I had to apply a small cover-up of course – but the controversy did not end there. This is reputed to be the first black occult album that inspired a whole new genre in rock music. The opening track is called ‘Black Sabbath’ – and this album was issued prior to the more famous acts debut album – with subject matter that was very much similar that that more famous 1969 album. They are recognized as being the band that first introduced the ‘Sign of the Horns’ to rock and metal music before it was seen here. The band members – fronted by the stunning blonde Jinx Dawson on vocals – were all into the occult, this was no publicity stunt as such for sales – it was purely natural to them. But this infamous album was too much too soon for the US market, hence it was almost immediately withdrawn from sale. It is rarely seen or offered, especially outside the United States. The album even concludes with a real santanic mass ritual that has distinctly eerie overtones. With a very arty cover that pull not punches, it will rarely be seen, especially in such fine condition – as most will know, American covers are more fragile and wear prone. This has withstood the test-of-time well and looks magnificent with very little wear. The record appears hardly played, a little gentle surface sound briefly near the start of each side, but overall, a very fine pressing that would have only been made in tiny numbers. You want something rare and different, this Coven debut album is simply that. Musically a very fine album with Dawson’s vocals powerful and very full-on. But it’s the fact it practically invented and paved the way for a new genre of dark metal rock, this only briefly available album has it’s place in music history – even if few would have even heard of it.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: SR 61239-A-M1 / SR 61239-B-M1

Musicians: Jinx Dawson – lead vocals; Jim Donlinger – guitar, vocals; Jim Nyeholt, John Hobbs, Rick Durrett – organ, piano, keyboards; Alan Estes, Oz Osborne – bass guitar; Steve Ross: drums, percussion.

Brief Info: This has to be one of my rarest albums to date: a classic, groundbreaking and pioneering album within the occult, gothic or dark metal genre – this album practically invented a new form of music. In 1967 to 1968 they toured The Yardbirds, Alice Cooper and Vanilla Fudge and others. Fronted by the unmissable face of Jinx Dawson, a long-haired blonde who has a full-on vocal. Controversial subject matter was the order-of-the-day – ‘The White Witch of Rose Hall’ is based on the story of Annie Palmer. It attracted a lot of unwanted publicity and attention, so Mercury almost immediately withdrew it from sale, hence very limited sales and rarely seen. The band are reputed to have signed the Mercury contract with their own blood. The sign of the horns and the inverted cross were first seen here, as well as the infamous ritual artwork. This is a top copy as well, a piece for collectors who take underground music and albums seriously. A lesser-known gem as such, but pushed new frontiers – they even had a band member called Oz Osborne.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: and being a typically more fragile American cover, this I feel worthy of at least one plus. A double gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. The first opening shows the infamous ritual artwork that I have discretely ‘censored’, the second opening has the song lyrics and includes the entrance for the record storage, this is quite discrete and not immediately obvious. Printed and made in the United States, a white lined inner is included with a 3/69 date code, this is like new.

Cover Front: Firstly, this is the very first example of this album I have ever seen, and I doubt if will ever see a much better example. The deeply coloured and fresh front looks superb. Yes, a little fine rim rubbing near the top edge, but I doubt few will have less knowing US covers well enough. Tiny tip rubs apart and this, it has little else to fault – a cover as groundbreaking as the content of the record.

Cover Back: Tip rubs only, little else to fault, this is truly exceptional.

Cover Inner Gatefold (1): Within specialist collector’s circles, this artwork is famous – it apparently was available for the few who bought this as a poster via mail-order – well this spread is big enough and in superb condition. As stated, a small censorship cover-up was made only for visual purposes of course.

Cover Inner Gatefold (2): The second spread shows the song, and even the full mass lyrics, again this is practically as-made.

Top Edges: All edges are straight with barely any hint of wear and NO splits or repairs.

Bottom Edges: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front has a real edge (no cut) and is barely worn. The other two single thickness card edges are very clean, sharp with barely any wear either. The lack of thickening or burring has to be considered unusual. The record enters this cover inside the second inside spread, thus finding this area so unworn is a huge plus.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel – this a crucial factor for a double gatefold for maximum neatness and good looks. A little light rubbing to the fold hinges, but far less than can almost realistically be expected from a cover this great age. Most rubbing on the top corner, but the main surface itself has little. All text near perfect with just the odd tiny letter clip, again no splits.

Corners: Light to moderate tip rubbing to the more exposed outer corners, but the inside ones have hardly anything. Very fine to excellent shape retained, even better inside.

Cover Summary: A controversial and daring cover for the time, but now regarded as a pioneering classic, and of course, rare and elusive. A very strong all-round example and one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This rare original item should please many, if not most collectors.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): or better, this looks hardly even played. A superb looking US Merucry record. Very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy hardly run-in in vinyl terms with any surface blemishes minuscule, even under bright angled light. This even avoiding the usual surface scuffs that most US imported records seem to acquire. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors.

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 quality album plays mostly to it’s high visual grading with little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed – but gentle traces were heard near the beginning of each side, this being purely within the pressing – but emphasise, only light and very gentle indeed. Also being played on highly sensitive equipment that includes my Linn LP12 turntable. Overall, this is a clean pressing for most. The critical spoken word finale – the satanic mass – plays little short of pristine. Few copies I feel sure, will outperform this significantly. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played little and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt the experience when play-grading this highly original and pioneering record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. Certainly one for collector’s who want the underground and historically significant albums – this really did change and reinvent the heavy metal scene, there are simply too many new things included to be a coincidence.

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 Blue 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’.