FREE at Last SCARCE Orig UK Island Pink RIm 1972 N/M LP

	£		56
	$		74

Artist or Band: FREE

Album Title: Free at Last.

Producer(s): Free.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Catch a Train; Soldier Boy; Magic Ship; Sail On; Travellin’ Man.

Side 2: Little Bit of Love; Guardian of the Universe; Child; Goodbye.

Label/Format: Island – Original pink rim format.

Label Conditions: Two supreme examples that again look almost new. Just a mere couple of super-fine spine traces. Island labels dont get much better than this. (Please see label scan).

Cat Number: ILPS 9192.

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: 141 grams. My heaviest pressing yet for this title. [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 140 to 150 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, 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 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Moderate in theory, but any very early pressed copy with anything like a decent cover is not easily found. With both record and cover in age-defying conditions, this is one of the very best examples I have ever seen. Even the Island blue inner is beautifully preserved.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9192 A-1U / ILPS 9192 B-1U (deeply pronounced and large roman type, not scripted or italicised).

Stamper Codes: 1 T / 1 T

Musicians: Paul Rodgers - lead vocals, piano; Paul Kossoff - guitar; Andy Fraser - bass, piano; Simon Kirke - drums.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Sixth and penultimate album for this great British blues-rock band. Still a slightly underrated title in their great catalogue but their trademark quality rarely lets up. It includes another top 20 single in ‘Little Bit of Love’, the other songs are slightly less well known maybe to lesser Free fans. It peaked at number 9 in the UK album charts but only a lowly 69 in the US. This very early copy is a beauty, the record has clearly been little played and includes its original Island blue inner. A heavy pressed record, without cutting back even with the impending oil crisis looming where thinner pressed records were more the norm. The cover, a typical unlaminated Island format, being predominately white, is seldom seen anything like clean. This one has been incredibly well preserved and kept within a protective sleeve so any real discolouration is negligable. This one also has the most pronounced manufacture’s nipped spine ends, again a trait of an early example (Please see my spine end close-up). This wonderful copy should and will please even discerning Free collectors. The record plays very well indeed and will never be easy to find better. Not their greatest album to be fair, but it’s still of such a high standard, most bands would have been proud to have made it.

Cover Grade and Format: EX++ and arguably even undergraded at that, a single unlaminated format with the early charactistic deeply pinched spine ends. Printed and made by Tinsley Robor Group Ltd in England. LP includes the blue lined Island inner.

Cover Front: Still predominately white and showing minimal discolour and any grubbiness is very light and faint. The word ‘grubbiness’ itself is over-harsh, I associate that word more with dirty hand marks or just plain ‘dirty’ but this is nothing remotely like that. A totally unforgiving and critical sleeve, the lack of laminate protection gives it little hope being unblemished all these years. Most are found very grubby and age toned or nicotine stained. This is still one of the very best I have seen for some considerable time. With angled viewing there are some light friction rub traces visible but normal viewing makes them totally inconspicuous and the actual coloured artwork is pristine and barely a crease to be seen either. The deeply pinched spine ends can be observed via front and end viewing, they are very pronounced and sharp and retain immaculate shape and definition - exactly as made. Given just how difficult this cover is, I consider this an exceptional example and most Free and Island collectors will enjoy it.

Cover Back: Simply superb with any fine surface marks only visible with critical angled viewing. No creasing again and the lack of ringwear is a massive bonus, I honestly feel I have never seen this still delicate back better.

Top Edge: Unworn with just a tiny tone trace near the right corner (but look hard).

Bottom Edge: Virtually unworn, as made.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering. Record entered on right outside edge.

Spine and Text: An immaculate spine, I really like these deeply pinched types, so many lose their definition, but this one is exactly as manufactured and few these days ever will be. Solid, straight with no compression. All text is perfect and unworn and has remained undarkened at all on the lovely pure white surface. Try finding this better.

Corners: All corners are also immaculate, yes even the fine tipped spine ends have no creasing or damage. Fantastic shape is retained by all.

Cover Summary: A strong all round example of this highly wear prone early 70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find significantly better. This attractive item should please most collectors and back into the protective cover, the least this is handled the better.

The Inner: Apart from lightish gum darkening on the seams, which is very difficult to avoid, simply an ageing thing, I would be happy to grade this superb inner as Mint(-). This is totally unfaded with the lovely light blue colour fully retained. Still fully lined with no edge splits or tears, bottom corners are vented in manufacture. Mild record rim impression is of course to be expected but ringwear has not occurred, and yes it most often does. This has the pink i logo and the text on both sides is ‘island records ltd basing stteet london w11’. Like the famous Spiral inners, these blue Island inners are fast becoming difficult to find in top conditions and this is a beauty.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-) with two immaculately clean playing surfaces that have no noteworthy marks or blemishes. Super clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed on thick vinyl. Clearly very lightly played reitterated by very clean sound. Visually a super 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: This super record plays with very fine sound with practically nothing 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. Cleanly pressed with little unwanted, I enjoyed hearing this again on the vinyl format immensely. Clearly well stored and caringly looked after, its unusual to find Free albums this lightly played. Avoiding a smoking environment thus avoiding the resulting nicotine residues on this uncompromising critical cover. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this Free gem. This copy could prove difficult to find significantly better and is strongly recommended.

End Piece: A very fine collection of songs, maybe a little subdued if being critical, possibly not helped by Kossoff’s slow drive to self-destruction. Free made some of the finest blues-based rock of this period but sales were not really as high as maybe they should have been. Sure their albums show up, but most are later pressings, the really early pressings are far more elusive and often in tatty conditions when they do make an appearance. This early Island record is a very fine looker with sound to match. The cover is exceptional given the facts, its attractiveness will be immediately apparent and the spine is gorgeous. Free your mind, and give this fine album another listen soon.

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 Samba Moving Coil 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.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within 48 hours maximum. 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 thick stiffners for even extra protection. 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 for clarity and well as sender label. 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 best-value 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 4,000+ items sold in over 7 years of Ebay trading 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.

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: ALL 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: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other 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’.