Led Zeppelin - First LP. 1969 Atlantic (Turquoise text original UK pressing)

	£		454
	$		602

Led Zeppelin Atlantic Records 588171 Stereo 1969 

(Sleeve with turquoise text and silver line across the bottom, album with red & plum coloured label)

Matrix Numbers:-

588171 A//1 1 1 4

588171 B//1 1 4 (WITH A SYMBOL LOOKING LIKE THE TOP OF AN S BETWEEN THE 1 AND THE 4)

Side One

Good Times Bad Times (Page Jones Bonham)

Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You (Trad arranged Page)

You Shook me (Dixon)

Dazed And Confused (Page)

Side Two

Your Time Is Gonna Come (Page Jones)

Black Mountain Side (Page)

Communication Breakdown (Page Jones Bonham)

I Can't Quit You Baby (Dixon)

How Many More Times (Page Jones Bonham)

John Bonham: Drums, Tympani, Backing Vocal

Robert Plant: Lead Vocals, Harmonica

Jimmy Page:Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Pedal Steel Guitar, Backing Vocal

John Paul Jones: Bass, Organ, Backing Vocal

Tabla drums on “Black Mountain Side”: Viram Jasani

Produced by Jimmy Page

Director of engineering : Glyn Johns

Executive producer: Peter Grant

Back liner photo: Chris Dreja

Cover design: George Hardie

First album from Led Zeppelin, recorded late in 1968 and released in Britain March 1969. What an astonishing début. A few years back I recall Mark Radcliffe saying he put the sound down to a meeting of the top two London session players and Birmigham's top two hod carriers. Harsh but you get his point of the blend of technique and brutalism.

Have some trivia, my elder brother went to see “The New Yardbirds” at Surrey University in Battersea. That was the day the name was changed to Led Zeppelin. Wish I'd been there but at 14 they might not have let me in. It's also exactly the time when these tracks were recorded at Olympic.

The sleeve is in very good condition*. I'd call it excellent except for some small cracks in the laminate particularly near the spine. The text on the spine remains perfectly clear. There is a little wear half way up the open edge.

This is the sleeve with a silver line across the bottom and the front cover text in turquoise. It's marginally smaller than later versions. The inner sleeve is polythene lined and marked PLASTIC BAGS CAN BE DANGEROUS. British Patent No. 800513 & 973939. There is some discolouration where the adhesive has aged over the last few decades.

The disc itself is in very good* condition. There is a small amount of “Snopake” on the label of side 2 which, I guess, covers a name. (This is on the white area of the label.)

Under electric light you can see a mark on the first and second track of side one and a few other light lines here and there.

Over the 44 odd minutes there are numerous minor clicks but none serious enough to detract from the overall belting sound of this album. No wonder that people seek out early pressings.

You should check out the quality on the attached eCommerce Player. (In fact my request/demand is that you listen before placing any bid.)

(This album recorded on my Linn Sondek turntable using “Audacity”, exported as a 256 kbps MP3 file and uploaded into eCommerce Player. No editing whatsoever just a pause as I turned the disc over. It's all there from the moment the stylus touches down.)

Thanks for looking over this item. I've done my best to highlight any deficiencies and again request that you have a listen before placing a bid.

Apologies for any “typos” my Cavalier use of upper and lower case text. (and the line spacing which went all to hell when I pasted it in.)

I am sure you will be satisfied with your copy of “Led Zeppelin”, but should there be any issues with incorrect listing or quality, please contact me via e-mail before leaving negative feedback. If you still feel the description to be misleading, I will be happy to organise a refund, not including postage and packing, on its safe return to me.

* As per Record Collector Magazine's Grading Guide reproduced below.

Record will be send using a “Music Omax” cruciform mailer with a cardboard stiffener included. The album will be placed between the sleeve and the cardboard insert.

Dispatch to UK E.U. & Norway, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia.

Payment by PAYPAL only. Payment within 7 days of end of auction.

For some reason Finland is in my excluded list, please ignore that.

UK Dispatch by Second Class Class Mail (Signed For)

E.U., U.S.A.,Canada, Australia and Japan dispatch by “International Signed For” service from Royal Mail. I've just spotted that the Royal Mail now charges more to send to Australia /New Zealand (Zone 2) than to Japan (Zone 1) Oh dear....

Please check out www.postoffice.co.uk to confirm that I'm sending this at cost.

The packet weights 428 grams before sealing with tape.

Record Collector Magazine's Grading Guide:

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.