CREAM Disraeli Gears RARER UK 67 MONO FULLY LAMINATED.

	£		51
	$		68

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe £12. Rest of World £16. ALL signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes.

NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible after the very significant Royal Mail price increases and will never compromise on solid, safe packing.

Artist or Band: CREAM

Album Title: Disraeli Gears

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Strange Brew; Sunshine of Your Love; World of Pain; Dance the Night Away; Blue Condition.

Side 2: Tales of Brave Ulysses; SWLABR [She Was Like a Bearded Rainbow]; We’re Going Wrong; Outside Woman Blues; Take it Easy; Mother’s Lament.

Label/Format: Reaction – Very early deep mauve and silver format, this has the very deep and raised inner ring ridge.

Label Conditions: Both quite fresh and attractive with immense deep colour. Spindle marks are moderate so this has been played a few times. But it still offers very impressive sound with no distortion or groove wear, a little very gentle and mostly faint surface sound in places. But the volume and dynamics of this mono record brush most of it aside and this was still a joy to listen too.

Cat Number: 593003.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 132 grams. A solid average weight.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Early pressed mono copies are scarce and this, as it should, has the fully laminated cover. Second issues had only front laminate. Finding these in anything like fine condition is harder still. So many written-off by heavy usage on heavy tracking record players of the era. This copy plays very well with little unwanted and this too on a very sensitive high-end turntable for which this record was not really designed.

Original Year of Release: 1967.

Matrix Nos: 593003 A 1 1 1 7 / 593003 B 1 1 1 2 3.

Musicians: Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals; Jack Bruce - bass guitar, harmonica, vocals; Ginger Baker - drums, vocal.

Album Information: Arguably, the world’s most famous blues-rock power trio’s greatest album - a massive issue which still sounds wonderfully fresh, even today. Clapton, Bruce and Baker’s most consistently perfect studio album. The Reaction copies are something to treasure, with it’s superb psychedelic cover artwork (by Martin Sharpe) and wonderful dynamic mix. When found in clean condition, they are a thing to treasure. ‘Disraeli Gears’ peaked at 5 and 4 respectively in the UK and US, very commendable in a year that saw the issue of so many truly wonderful records - still for me the greatest ever year in music. The stunning dayglo cover matched the feel for the times perfectly for a psychedelic London. The blues feel of the band was slowly slipping away and the brilliantly surreal lyrics by Pete Brown suited Jack Bruce’s finest vocals. The words ‘classic’ and ‘essential’ are definitely not over-used on this album. The mono mix is very punchy and dynamic, it delivers the sound in a different way to the stereo and are both quite essential. This is an early copy, the cover is fully laminated and the only small blemish is a rub on the bottom edge. The record has been played a few times but has only a few light surface marks and NO penetrating scratches. The surfaces still very shiny and sound quality still high with minimal degrading. Not for the perfectionist, but many collectors will enjoy it.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT, marked down a fraction of the quite small central rub on the bottom edge, little else to fault bar that. A single format and laminated on the front AND back. Also the spine which protects what is normally a very vulnerable area. Printed and made by Ernest J. Day and includes the ‘Patents Pending’ text.

Lamination – Front & Back: Supreme artwork and one of the landmark covers of it’s era. So famous and desirable, only strong, little worn examples will do for discerning collectors. The laminate retains a rich and lavish shine, freshness and clarity so the intensity of the cover’s artwork is seen to absolute maximum advantage and shows barely any marks or dulling. Even under light there are minimal of any friction rubs and any record impression very light. Another crucial factor is the total lack of lifting or blistering, yes every single part is fully adhered. Being made with thin card makes creasing another factor, this has hardly any of note at all bar a tiny few ultra fine and faint edge hairlines that hardly show. There is a corner tip rub on the front bottom left and the rub on the bottom edge does lightly encroach on to the front, but this apart, there is little else to really fault. A classic cover of genuine beauty and it blows-away it’s years and will prove difficult to find much better, but clearly the bottom rub will be an issue for the highly discerning collector.

Top Edge: Fully laminated, straight with barely any hint of wear.

Bottom Edge: A central rub of around half-an-inch and a rub on the left corner tip. That apart, little else to fault here (or on the rest of the entire cover).

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with little wear, any thickening or burr traces very slight and only just seen when viewed end-on. Record entered on this edge.

Spine and Text: Solid but very thin, hence mildly bowed due to the lamination trying to contract, as it will do over time. Sometimes this causes lifting, sometimes mild bowing – this has no lifts so the latter applies – but only VERY mildly. This spine is laminated, hence the text is fully protected and fully present. A real bonus also is the fact it is perfectly centred and on such a narrow area, this is quite unusual (please see my close-up picture). Many of the later single-side laminated versions had the spine unprotected and many are devoid any text at all.

Corners: A fairly small near moderate rub on the bottom front left. Any others are tiny and very light indeed and all retain fine to very fine (mostly excellent) shape.

Cover Summary: My grading simply does do this fantastic cover full justice, it truly looks gorgeous with incredible vivid colour and psych-appeal. Just the modest edge rub away from an extra plus and even a Mint(-) could have been considered. A classic 1960s piece of art and few will look much better with a mono record inside. This will please many, if not most collectors but just a little short for the cover connoisseur.

The Inner Sleeve: VERY GOOD: a vintage plain white Polydor style polylined inner. A little aged with one corner crease but still with a very clear lining as seen through two almost immaculate and undamaged window circles. The original owner put his name on it along with the album title and dated it 6 Nov 1967 in blue. No edge splits or repairs. This, as can be seen on my close-up picture is date-coded 107 which is October 1967.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(-): any surface marks are mostly fine and light as seen under angled light, there are no penetrating scratches and tracking is easy and effortless. A very fine visual copy with just enough evidence to remind of it’s considerable age and era – but it still offers very solid and enjoyable sound. Very clean and solidly pressed with a lovely shine and blackness. This record usually gets well played and why not?, it’s a classic, so a refreshing change to find an early mono that still delivers. No for the visual perfectionist, but this will again please many collectors and unlikely to break the bank.

Record 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This psych classic plays even above it’s visual grading. Mono or stereo best? - always one for debate. I could not be asked to choose for this album - both are truly essential, the mono mix has a very different sound which is solid and punchy. It has incredible detail, power and dynamics: listen to the real slam on ‘Tales of Brave Ulysses’ at the start of side two. Bruce’s bass really pounds out of the speakers as does Baker’s drums. Clapton’s guitar is clear and distortion-free as are all the vocals with minimal traces of any high frequency clipping. In other words, there is little sound degrading but a little very gentle surface sound was mildly evident here and there – this being played on a VERY sensitive Linn LP12 stereo turntable and equally revealing Naim amp and speakers. A 1967 mono record was not really made with this type of equipment in mind, but this still offers immensely pleasing sound with just enough to remind in places what you have on your turntable. The odd sporadic click is very difficult to avoid totally, but few here and this psych classic pushes back the years well. Disraeli Gears is sublime blues-rock with a real psych edge. A copy I enjoyed immensely, the lack of any significant groove-wear or distortion is always a massive bonus for any album this considerable age and mode. Any copy that survives the Dansette era totally unscathed is a very luck one indeed. No arm drops, scrapes or jolts are in evidence here, light surface marks are almost the least to be expected from a record that has clearly been enjoyed a few times. One to please many collectors and I can highly recommend it.

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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium 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 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. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 8,000+ items sold in over 10 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 stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. 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 as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £4.25

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 (£17 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’.