FREE-HIGHWAY-ISLAND ILPS.9138 1970 UK 1ST PRESS

	£		24
	$		32

FREE-HIGHWAY TYPE SINGLE LP LABEL INFO ISLAND UK 1ST PRESS WITH PINK RIM PALM TREE LABELS AND MATRIX NUMBERS ILPS 9138 A-1U & ILPS 9138 B-1U and it is an EMI pressing instead of the usual POLYDOR which makes it superior quality anyway, with the stamper codes 1 O & 1 GH CATALOGUE NUMBER ILPS 9138 YEAR 1970 COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE/RELEASE UK/UK SLEEVE TYPE SINGLE- E J DAY NON LAMINATED WITH EMBOSSED PICTURE ON REAR INSERTS/EXTRAS NONE         GRADING/CONDITION DISC(S) EXCELLENT+ NICE AND CLEAN with just VERY LIGHT playmarking and just as light handling marks. LABELS EXCELLENT+ CLEAN AND UNMARKED with NO spindlwear and just a handful of light spindlemarks INNERS EXCELLENT+ STANDARD plain inner with no rips tears or seam splits OUTER SLEEVE EXCELLENT

AGAIN .Clean with NO stickers or removal marks NO tears or splitting the spine is intact with clear lettering thee is a small number on the rear top left and a light but noticable ringmark to front top centre

EXTRAS N/A N/A DETAILS

The last and least of the original Free studio albums, Highway was recorded just three months after the band scored the career-redefining hit "Alright Now," with their profile at an career-topping high, but morale heading toward an all-time low. Guitarist Paul Kossoff was reeling from the death of friend Jimi Hendrix, a new single, "The Stealer" — the follow-up to The Hit — bellyflopped ignominiously and, when the album followed suit, the band itself was not far behind.

Heavily influenced by their admiration of the Band, Highway has understandably been described as Free's answer to Music From Big Pink, sharing both the laid-back vibe and mellow looseness of that role model. Where it went awry, of course, was in the fact that Free was not cut out to be country-rock guitar-twangers, no matter how fiery their missionary zeal.

Yet, the strutting rockers "The Stealer" and "Ride On Pony" alone shatter the brave new mood, while reflective romancers like "Love You So" and "Be My Friend" could well have been composed specifically to rid the band of the shadow of "Alright Now," and prove that underneath the coolest exterior, there beat a heart of the molten gold. Of course, Free had bathed in such waters before, and the closing "Soon I Will Be Gone" certainly bears comparison with any of their past ballads.

  GRADING SPECIFICS All of our records are subject to close scrutiny before listing, and to ensure that we are accurate with our interpretation are carefully examined under a strong viewing light and played on a high end deck - We will never list a record that jumps,sticks,or is subject to so much background noise that the listening pleasure is radically impaired.We use the grading denominations as laid down in the Rare Record Collectors Guide,but with our own revisions as laid out below.

PLAYING SURFACE

MINT The record itself is obvious by its look and feel that it has never been removed from its inner sleeve,and typified by the very action of removal from a lined sleeve,where it has a very light friction against the poly,and a sheen across the playing surface that hasn't been dulled by the passage of a stylus,and requires no effort to remove any traces of foreign matter in the grooves,other than a cursory wipe with a soft cloth,and with a sound reproduction that you would expect from a piece of unplayed vinyl. MINT- Again a record that has been bought and stored away,but has been removed from its sleeves,either by the owner or more often some clumsy potential second user,and has some,but not many hairline marks across the playing surface due to the action of removal and insertion,these would not be noticeable unless viewed by rotation under a viewing lamp,and definitely have no effect on the reproductive quality. EXCELLENT++ A record that has endured only the lightest of playtime,say maybe only once or twice,and is perhaps only distinguishable by a spindlemark on the label or the presence of minimal hairline playmarks. EXCELLENT+ The majority of records that we sell fall into this category-the RRC defines EXCELLENT as:"The record shows some signs of having been played,but there is very little lessening in sound quality", but to take this a step further,there are a multitude of records that are far better than this and deserve a higher status. These are the records that you would feel more than comfortable in receiving,they have very light playwear and no abuse marks such as needle skating,edge scuffing,or feelable scratches,and the audio quality will be as such that any previous play will be completely inaudible. EXCELLENT As defined above-these are records that "show some signs" of being played,and by some signs we interpret ,lightish hairline markings (papercuts)that are the result of multiple removals from the sleeve,occasional visual playmarks and very light scuffing that cant be heard during playtime,and the record has the overall feel of one that has been popular but cared for. VERY GOOD/VERY GOOD+/VERY GOOD++/VERY GOOD+++ The definition of VG is of record that has been played many times but shows no "major deterioration" despite "noticeable" surface marks and scratches.We don't care for this sort of product and don't stock them,and are of the opinion that it doesn't really matter how many +++'s you suffix the grading with its still a VG (very good) LABELS MINT We are great believers in the fact that labels will tell you more about the life of a record than anything else,apart from playing it of course,the number and voracity of spindlemarks,the usage wear around the hole any tears stickers writing,attempts to remove or fill in blemishes all point to the previous care of the record itself,and we always detail pictorially and grade them accordingly .A MINT label is just that a perfectly clean and free from any signs that the disc has ever been near a turntable,and only used in conjunction with MINT or NEAR MINT vinyl gradings. MINT- Both labels are perfectly clean but there will be a hint of spindlemarking ,say one or two dectectable mark on 1 label EXCELLENT+ Again perfectly clean but with very light but noticeable spindlemarks that are the result of light but inaccurate placement on the turntable. EXCELLENT In keeping with grading system as a whole an EXCELLENT label grading is given to a record with clean and unmarked labels that have born the brunt of moderate play but have suffered in as much that the "player" has neglected to line the record accurately which has resulted in noticeable spindlemarkings, with the occasional wayward or spidery effect,dark rooms and alcohol can exacerbate this. EXCELLENT- Any label that has "neat" user embellishment -a small biro name ,initials or an unobtrusive sticker,obviously we will show this pictorially. VERY GOOD/+ it is rare that we offer for sale any record where the labels have been so defaced that cosmetically the record is unpleasing to the eye,this means major tearing due to amateur sticker removal,large scale writing, using felt tip pens or the like,this can apply to any grading of vinyl! -in a nutshell if we feel that it is ugly then we don't buy it. SLEEVE MINT A MINT sleeve is something that we do not believe in,you wouldn't even get one straight from the shop,they have always picked up even the slightest of knocks to the corners or a hint of a crease here or there,so you will never see a mint grading for one of our sleeves.   MINT- These are a reality ,but only very occasionally,and only where the initial purchaser has had so much pride in their collection that it has immediately been stored in a poly outer sleeve,and kept upright in an environment that has allowed to remain free from crushing,and external forces,sleeves of this calibre are perfectly clean with uncrushed spines no creasing and no wear to any edges,and not not even a hint of ringwear.   EXCELLENT++ A high quality of storage ,again in a protective sleeve,with no visible defects,but perhaps a very light wear to the opening or corner buffing,or a hint of ringwear etc,an exceptional sleeve but not quite NM   EXCELLENT+ Again as with vinyl grading,the majority of our sales fall into this category.Its clean and unmarked with no user markings,straight edges,there is light wear to the opening and only very light or no ringwear.   EXCELLENT A perfectly serviceable and clean ,but with a noticeable defect,such as excessive colour loss to the top or bottom edge due to storage and handling movement,some occasional light markings on the boards,lightish rigwear,or a very light sticker removal mark.   EXCELLENT- A sleeve that whilst being of good quality is marred by some significant event- biro name ,sticker markings,less than perfect edges or spine,and just a general sadness and careworn demeanour.As always we show multiple pictures,and will always note major defects in the grading section above.   VERY GOOD/ETC There are occasions where we feel that record is of sufficiently high quality or scarcity that it is of interest even with major defects,board tearing,significant writing and or a grubby disposition,on the occasions we do list with a low grading and display the faults.   INSERTS/EXTRAS The problem with a major part of lyric/picture inners is that are made of such light paper that they split very easily and are effectively rendered useless.We try very hard to limit this and do not normally stock any records with split,excessively creased or damaged inner sleeves or inserts.The exception that we make are to small worn portions which we will either repair or reinforce with a neat taped repair.Any defects that are not visible in our pictures will be noted in the grading above. Postal Shipping & Handling charges Region Single Item Extra UK 3.00 .70 Europe £4.30 £1.00 USA £6.50 £1.50 Japan/ROW £6.50 £1.50 Terms and Conditions Guarantee Although the Office of Fair Trading Distance Selling Regulations (DSR) does not apply to our business (online auctions and unsealed audio recordings are exempt) we have always maintained a strict returns policy whereby we always accept that we can be wrong, and always accept that a description of a vinyl reproduction, condition of a sleeve or any other description that we have given in good faith can be misinterpreted,and will accept back any item that doesnt meet up with our exacting grading standards,AND we will refund the RETURN COSTS. Contact Details The Details for any correspondence is: The Appropriot Music Group.Admin Centre. Record House. 10 Deneside.Great Yarmouth.NR30 2LY Communication and Feedback If you have any queries or reservations relating to our service we would be happy if you would first contact us via the messaging service rather than the feedback system to register your comments,and we will attend to it promptly Payment We accept the following payment types - UK Customers - Paypal Cheque or Postal Order. Overseas Customers - Paypal Only