LED ZEPPELIN II RARER ORIG UK 1969 LEMON on PLUM EX LP

	£		217
	$		288

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.75. Europe (including Russia) £12.50. Rest of World £16.50. All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all. More details on this 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 ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible even yet another Royal Mail price hike, I will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably a little heavier.

Artist or Band: LED ZEPPELIN

Album Title: Led Zeppelin II

Producer: Jimmy Page.

Executive Producer: Peter Grant.

Label/Format: Atlantic – orange and maroon (‘plum’) format. This one has ‘The Lemon Song’ printed on label one and a standard very early issue with ‘Livin’ Lovin’ Maid’ on side two. (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions & Overview: Both retain incredibly deep, rich and vibrant colour with lovely freshness. Spindle marks are light, fine and faint as seen under angled light, and this appears only lightly played. Both matt surfaces are clean and appear very modestly handled with no wear around the hole. These have a very gentle roughness to a sensitive fingertip and very fine texturing is seen under a magnifier.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Whole Lotta Love; What Is and What Should Never Be; THE LEMON SONG; Thank You.

Side 2: Heartbreaker; Livin’ Lovin’ Maid (Shes just a Woman); Ramble On; Moby Dick; Bring It On Home.

Cat Number: 588198.

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: 135 grams. A very good solid weight for this one, many were later pressed much thinner and lighter.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Original Year of Release: October 1969. The original inner sleeve of this copy has a date-code of 099 (September 1919), so this one is very early.

Rarity: Led Zeppelin II albums are not too difficult to find, let’s be honest. But finding clean early examples that offer high quality sound, very fine looks and a lesser-worn cover are a different matter. I use the term ‘lesser-worn’ for the clear reason of finding near mint covers IS very difficult. One of rock’s most unforgiving sleeves and seldom seen even a fine excellent. The records were so often played to destruction – and why not? – since issue, it has retained it’s classic status and is one of rock’s most popular albums. So not too difficult to find very average or poor condition copies, but better examples has always proved more challenging, this more so with ‘The Lemon Song’ on label one rather than the later changed ‘Killing Floor’ version.

Matrix Nos: 588198 A 2 1 1 1 0 & 588198 B 2 1 2

Musicians: Robert Plant – Jimmy Page – John Paul Jones – John Bonham.

Album Information: For many the greatest rock album of all time - a monumental and evergreen classic. Without any doubt, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ remains the definitive heavy rock anthem ever made. The album justifiably charted at Number 1 in the UK and US. After the raw brilliance of the heavy blues rock of their debut, ‘II’ expands the horizons still further. Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham rarely ever sounded better than on this massive issue. All rock fans and collectors will know this album well already – it’s content is legendary and it simply refuses to age or it’s ‘classic’ status diminish. This is one of the ‘Most Wanted’ albums ever issued, and so it should be. This copy has the original ‘The Lemon Song’ song on the label fairly soon changed to ‘Killing Floor’ for legal reasons. Also worthy of mention is the cover: the first issues had a paler brown cover than later ones, again changed around the time of ‘Killing Floor’ copies to a more mid to dark brown. Later copies still on the new colour orange and green labels became very deep brown. The correct paler brown covers are the most elusive and all are difficult to find nice.

Cover Condition and Details: EXCELLENT(–): and in context of how wear-prone it is, this is a very respectable example. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt smooth surfaces. This has the correct paler brown colour and has the widest spine I have seen. Printed and made in England by E. J. Day and includes the late 1969 coded inner sleeve.

Cover Front: This a very fine front with most of any wear seen on the bottom edge and corner tips. The main surface has only a little gentle hint of rubbing and few creases or marks. It retains very fine colour and the artwork impressive.

Cover Back: Even harder to find in decent condition often due to severe ring wear issues – large solid areas of one colour always wear badly and are seldom seen so devoid of major wear. Immediately apparent again is the lack of major rubbing or significant ring wear. A gentle rim impression arc that has lost little ink at all. Again some edge and corner rubbing but few creases and both front and back have more positives than negatives, and although not perfect, both are neatly clean and still attractive.

Cover Gatefold Inner: Barely any real wear at all and again very attractive.

Top Edges: Patchy light to moderate rubbing, both straight with no splits.

Bottom Edges: Light to moderate+ rubbing and more of it on these traditional storage edges.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and impressively sharp with very little wear at all. Any thickening or burring small and very light. The record enters on the back edge, the front being sealed – both guaranteed untrimmed. The cover is not folded quite equally, so these right edges do not meet up flush, but are parallel. The thickness and fold on the spine will be the reason for this, this example has a far wider spine than all others I have seen and the text is centred high which makes the difference on these right edges.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression, a very slight tilt to right being critical. This one being wider than all others I have seen as stated above. A few small patchy chips and quite light rubbing near the top corner. But all text, which is centred a little high, is unworn and very close to perfect. Almost incredibly, both the folds retain most of their original ink coverage with just the odd small chip or two – there is NO tipping in or enhancements at all.

Corners: Light to moderate tip rubs with fine to very fine shape retained. Darker finished covers will emphasise tip rubbing more of course.

Cover Summary: A classic cover in very fine condition overall – my grading minus from excellent is mainly due to the rubbing on the bottom edges. So not for the highly discerning or cover purist, but this will still take a fair degree of beating and I know from experience, this one is near impossible to find ‘perfect’, especially the earlier paler brown originals.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a Polydor-style lined inner that is date-coded /099 (September 1969) as seen in my close up picture. This has one corner fold, often done deliberately to stop the record falling out, and two undamaged, crisp window circles. The lining very clear and fresh and unfogged. Some moderate natural crinkle but all edges now unsplit after a tiny edge split I neatly repaired to stop it widening. So a little aged but discolouration only very light overall.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: an very fine example that is very clean and retains an intense black finish with a fine shine, also very solidly pressed. Complex, well patterned grooves, telling vinyl ‘readers’ it has the most intense sound quality and varied volume. In places wide and jagged which indicates thunderous dynamics – and it certainly has. Any ‘Plum’ example of this landmark recording in such conditions is the exceptional rather than the rule. Any surface marks are fine, whispy and faint as seen critically under angled light. Possibly played a few times, but it appears generally with a fair degree of care. With so many Plum pressings seen trashed or at least heavily played, this one has only very low mileage.

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: This very early Plum example plays (for most) even above it’s high visual grading with very little to fault. As stated it has amazing sound quality and this is not an easy recording. A roller coaster ride in volume and quiet passages. This has immensely powerful and mostly very clean sound and is devoid of groove-wear, distortion or pressing noises. A little very brief and light surface sound just noted on ‘Heartbreaker’ that opens side two, but brief and little spoilt the experience, this too being played on very sensitive equipment. ‘Thank You’, easily the most difficult song on the album, plays very well. So prone to distortion and heavy crackle, even sometimes scratched as well due to premature lifting of the arm as the music faded away – only to return again. This has avoided scratching and any surface sound minimal on this difficult area. The intro to ‘Bring it on Home’ often causes problems too, but again plays very well indeed. Overall sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. A complex album with some monumental sound, all remained focused and sharp. The grooves are very clean and this record is a gateway into the recording studio itself. Few available copies will outperform this copy significantly I feel sure. Quite modestly played and very little of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. The light brief sound as stated to remind you are playing a late 1960s record, and not a squeaky clean digital version, this copy could prove quite difficult to find significantly better and merits strong recommendation.

The Zeppelin II Hi-Fi Experience: This proves beyond any doubt, not that there was any doubt anyway, that an original vinyl record will blow away any other format. The sound on this album is simply awesome and I use the word in it’s true context because this simply takes the breath away. If anybody has not heard a plum pressed Led Zeppelin II they have not really heard it at all. This is captable of shaking the foundations, the inherent power, scale, drama, dynamics, detail and stereo imagery are phenomenal and give that rare tingle factor only the truly great recordings ever can. Listen to that massive ‘slam’ on ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and the channel-to-channel guitar pyrotechnics, this is hi-fi nirvana. It is always fascinating watching my Ittok arm and Ortofon tracking this complex record. The drum parts on ‘Moby Dick’ have such realism the kit could have almost been in the room. Complete silence is almost unrealistic for any vintage copy of this demanding title – but this copy has little to fault, if absolute clinical silence is demanded, stick to the silver disc format, but you will miss out on a sound experience of a lifetime. The colossal low frequency on ‘Whole Lotta Love’ will test any amp and speakers to the limit and the sound can simply saturate on even mid-priced systems. I remember hearing this album back in the 70s at an exhibition in London through a pair of Linn Isobarik speakers using a Naim six-pack active amp set up with a Linn LP 12 front-end deck (well at least I have that part). This left an impression of sheer awe, that took the breath away. The sounds embedded into the early ‘Plum’ grooves are amazing and will never be replicated or beaten by any other later pressing or format. For several years now, I am again a LP12 owner, I really turned up the volume again and let this go – I can never resist this on a worthy copy (and this does measures up). This will sort out the real hi-fi systems, because many systems simply fall apart trying to control the sound on this one. A worthy amp and speaker system is almost mandatory to control the bass dynamics on this album - lesser ones will surrender almost immediately. Do not play this record on a less than worthy turntable. With amps running hot, the bass thunders and growls, the drums and cymbals crash and zing, the guitars splinter into a frenzy and Plants vocals rarely ever sounded more sublime than on this wonderous record - yes I rather like this album, who wouldn’t?

End Piece: The word ‘essential’ and ‘classic’ are both overused (I too am guilty sometimes when offering a beautiful condition piece for a favourite title), but I make no apology for using them for this groundbreaking (and earth-shattering) album. Timeless vintage blues-rock the likes that will never be equalled. After the reunion, now come and gone, remind yourself what the boys sounded like back in 1969. If they sounded half as good as this monumental album, it would have been be a good night. Okay, the cover has edge and corner wear and the record has a few light blemishes, but very few indeed overall. However, this is the real thing and still a quality record, it will please many collectors for sure.

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 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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] = £4.75

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]) = £12.50 (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]) = £16.50 (£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’.