JOHN MAYALL Back to the Roots SCARCE Orig UK 71 with BOOK.

	£		38
	$		50

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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: JOHN MAYALL

Album Title: Back to the Roots.

Producer(s): John Mayall.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Prisons on the Road; My Children; Accidental Suicide; Groupie Girl; Blue Fox.

Side 2: Home Again; Television Eye; Marriage Madness; Looking at Tomorrow.

Side 3: Dream With Me; Full Speed Ahead; Mr Censor Man; Force of Nature; Boogie Albert.

Side 4: Goodbye December; Unanswered Questions; Devil’s Tricks; Travelling.

Label/Format: Polydor – Please see label scan.

Label Conditions: All four very clean, fresh and attractive with only light, few and faint spindle marks. Any handling traces to the revealing deep red labels are minor and equally faint. This superb first issue pair of records offer master tape audiophile sound quality and without any doubt, have hardly been played.

Cat Number: 2657 005 (this is the set number).

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Records: 133 / 116 grams. Pressing weights for this set always seem to vary, this being a case-iin-point, ranging from the lower to higher end.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce and this copy includes the quite rare book which is one of the best ‘inserts’ or ‘extras’ I have seen with any album (I have photographed a few sample pages). Neither UK price guides, Penguin or Record Collector makes any reference to this book and it’s one I have not seen many times. I actually wonder if this 24-page book was withdrawn to the fact it includes a very risqué cartoon picture inside that certainly would have been frowned upon by many at the time – sorry but I think it would not be wise for me to picture it on this listing, it lies next to the lyrics of ‘Mr Censor Man’. This cartoon has it’s reference to that track where Mayall asks why is sex censored and war and violence allowed. It includes pictures, all in colour and large format of all the high quality musicians that play on this album including: Harvey Mandel, Jerry McGee, Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Johnny Almond, Larry Taylor, Steve Thompson, Keef Hartley, Paul Lagos and the brilliant Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris on violin as featured on the Frank Zappa masterpiece Hot Rats. For those familiar with the aforementioned Zappa album, this set has many moments in a similar style and this features several amazing solos by Harris. Several dealer friends of mine have not seen this book insert before and the fact it’s not even mentioned in the price guides must be an indication of its scarceness – surely ‘professional’ price guides should know about this one? This spectacular book is in very fine condition and fully intact, a somewhat lavish insert, cost may have been a factor for its omission also, who knows?

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: 2483009 A // 1 420 1 1 7 & 2483009 B // 1 420 1 1 5 & 2483010 A // 1 420 1 1 4 & 2483010 B // 1 420 1 1 4 (the figures pre-A or B are struck thru with ‘error’ corrections) The label numbers are included in ‘script’ type.

Brief Info: John Mayall at his very best and is here joined by some amazing quality musicians. Brilliant instrumentals and vocal songs too that tackle some more sensitive subjects including sex, censorship, TV advertising, traffic congestion and groupies, not too dissimilar to the subject matter Frank Zappa was often noted for. Mayall and Frank were great friends after he visited him in the late 60s, his ‘Blues from Laural Canyon’ featured a tribute song to the man and clearly his incluence is strong on this superb double set htat feautres all new material. Talking of Zappa, some songs included on this album would not be out of place on the Hot Rats album, with Sugarcane Harris’s blistering violin present, this can be no great surprise. Although pigeon-holed as ‘Blues’ this Mayall double set will thrill rock fans as well and is truly an essential album – it’s fast becoming a favourite of mine. The inclusion of the book which is only a little smaller than the album cover is a massive bonus for Mayall fans, I would bet many have never seen this one before and it’s a book that is essential. It includes Mayall’s family tree of musicians that have recorded with him since 1963 to 1971, an acknowledgement of appreciation by John and all the pictures of the musicians included on this set and blurb all about them. A wonderful book and no copy is ever anything like complete without it. Special mention must be made to the cover, I truly regard it as one of the most fragile and wear-prone ever. Made with ultra soft and textured card, which feels more like thick paper being honest, this is rarely seen devoid of heavy wear, rubbing, ring wear and damage. This one is a lovely example but has not escape quite free with a rub on the bottom right front edge. But I think it’s the only one I have seen with wear on the spine that is usually totally threadbare and eroded and it has NO ring wear. I can hardly emphasise enough how fragile this one is.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: and this hardly tells the real story – in real terms far better. One of rock’s most uncompromising and fragile covers. An unlaminated gatefold format made with very soft card and all parts textured. A gorgous cover seen near it’s best, but few ever survive as such. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group, this includes the scarce original large format book.

Cover Front: Impossibly fragile and even with a moderate rub area near the bottom edge towards the right, this is still one of the best I have seen. No ring wear, other rubbing or creasing with rich deep colour and freshness, this uncompromising surface will seldom be seen a great deal better – clearly the bottom rub will an issue for the more discerning collector, but finding one of these with no wear is near impossible.

Cover Back: A little rubbing near the corners, but little else to fault. Ring wear? – what Ring wear?

Cover Inner Gatefold: Any traces of marks or wear are tiny, few and faint – the odd hint of set-off being critical and one or two faint tone spots, but this can never be avoided where dark rests upon light and this has hardly any anyway.

Top Edges: Very light patchy rub traces only with no wooliness. Seldom, if ever seen less.

Bottom Edges: Patchy and mostly light rubbing. The exception being moderate on the right of the front near the more visible front rub. Barely any traces of wooliness for which this cover also rarely escapes – there are NO splits or repairs.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and actually quite sharp in terms of this ultra soft card with little overall wear. Viewed end-on, a little thickened I suppose but barely any burring and both these openings are guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: The best spine I have ever seen bar none on this cover. As can be seen on my close-ups, this is exceptional. After checking my last one of these from my Ebay archives, it was a strong cover in most areas, but the spine was badly rubbed. Against all odds, this one has survived little short of as made with just a rub on the bottom corner, that being only small. This very dark spine is solid, straight and uncompressed with the added bonus of being folded square. So the edges all meet up closely together and parallel. All text is present with barely even a hint of any wear – there is no faking this for sure and seeing is believing. So few of these original covers will show all text unworn. Added to that, both spine folds retain almost full ink retention with just one tiny rub on the back near the bottom corner – this being almost more remarkable that having full text.

Corners: All corners have rubbed (as you would probably expect) in context with their respective edge. Moderate on the right pairs and relatively light on the spine. More often seen tatty and rounded, these also retain fine to very fine shape and there are NO tip-ins anywhere.

Cover Summary: A beautifully designed cover but unfortunately not built for longevity and few survive even a respectable ‘Very Good’. This is way better than that and if not for the rub on the bottom front edge, it would be exceptional, and arguably still is anyway. I guess one day a perfect ‘Back to the Roots’ original cover will show up, but I cannot hold my breath forever and in the meantime, this should please most realistic collectors.

The Inner Sleeves: Both EXCELLENT: arguably better still. A near mirror-image polylined pair with a couple of small differences. One has blue-black ink, the other a dark blue – one date coded 0471, the other 0571, all else the same and both are originals. Very mildly aged with a little toning of the seam adhesive but barely any creasing and two very clear linings as seen through four perfect crisp window circles. No splits, no repairs, both look just right for their 40+ years of age.

The Book: EXCELLENT(++), again printed by E J Day Group. A 24-page full colour book held together with two staples, still strong and fully intact as new. Clean with no noteworthy creasing, tears or splits, this is a very fine example and highly elusive. The pages have few marks – one tiny edge chip on the cover, no writing and minimal traces of handling. Crisp edges with no folding and I feel little ‘used’. Page five as a small surface mark and odd tone spot trace here and there but little else. Very unusual to see the outside cover so clean and fresh looking. So why do price guides fail to mention it’s existence? The cartoon inside leaves nothing to the imagination and somewhat took me by surprise when I first saw it – was this book actually withdrawn and if so, was it because of this cartoon?, or maybe copyright for some of the artists employed here or even cost – who knows? If anyone has information about it, it would be appreciated, the Net itself seems to have little. This book makes this early pressed album complete and what a great opportunity – the detail and quality of pictures inside are superb – this book is worthy of the price alone and Mayall fans and collectors should treasure it. It’s a very important piece of blues history with so many major names inside – almost indispensable for discerning blues fans.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a very fine visual pair that are very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy very lightly played on all the evidence reitterated by practically pristine sound; get these on to a high quality deck and be prepared to be thrilled – both play as near perfectly and silent as vinyl ever will – a truly lovely audio experience. Any surface marks, tiny, few and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. There merest hint of dulling from the lined inner on one side – on a scale of 1 to 10 – a mere 1 and hardly even registering with NO audio affect whatsoever. Visually a great set that should please most 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: Both records even exceed their high visual grading 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. Virtuoso performances from top quality musicians that will be familiar to many – I just adore Sugarcane Harris’s violin work – my regular buyers will already know my passion for Frank Zappa’s music and Harris features heavily on his classic Hot Rats, Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasel’s Ripped My Flesh albums, and here that sound is again present with other amazing players including the masestro, Eric Clapton et. al. Any surface sounds barely even register and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing for a fairly challenging album with tracking tested to the utmost from Harris’s violin. Reeds, strings, percussion and vocals are all fully focused, totally sharp and focused with no clipping or sound degrading and this will test out even the quality systems, this album deserves the best. Few copies will match or outperform this early original pressing significantly I feel sure. I am certain both records have been played only lightly. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading these two vintage records. This set will prove difficult to find significantly better (and will be book be included?)

End Piece: For those who know this album well, the biggest surprise will be the general lack of wear on the cover – okay, this is not perfect, but it will take a lot of beating. Same goes for the records and the rare book. This is my probably my favourite ever John Mayall album, all the ingredients are there with stunning musicians and great songs. I feel sure it will appeal to late-60s era Zappa fans too, the backing is at times quite similar. Arguably the greatest ever bluesman and this one of his finest, it’s a set I can still strongly recommend.

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 ask 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’.