MAD RIVER – VERY RARE ORIG UK 1968 Nr EX LP, PLAYS SUPERBLY, RARELY SEEN PSYCH.

	£		226
	$		299

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.95. Europe (including Russia) £12.95 (£1 per extra record). Rest of World £19.95 (£2 per extra record). All my records are sent in boxes and the price of them has increased over time and these are my first price increases for nearly 10 years. Royal Mail prices have also gone up again. I will never compromise on quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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 ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: MAD RIVER

Album Title: Mad River

Producer(s): Nickolas Venet

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Merciful Monks; High All the Time; Amphetamine Gazelle; Eastern Light.

Side 2: Wind Chimes; War Goes On; Hush Julian.

Label/Format: Capitol, original rainbow rim format with fairly rough textured matt surfaces. Side one has the embossed ‘K T’ tax codes and are both neat with any rub traces tiny and light.

Label Conditions: Both still quite clean, fresh and attractive with any handling or dulling traces gentle and light. Spindle marks around moderate, the record itself plays superbly.

Catalogue Number: ST 2985

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps or Lateral Movement: Assume all records I offer have no significant warping or lateral movement to cause sound or tracking issues. All should play fine even on budget turntables.

Weight of Record: 148 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Rare. A commercial non-starter with very few made or sold in the UK. Almost certainly pressed once – any obscure album with 1 G / 1 G stampers is virtually certain to have hardly sold prior to deletion, and few would have even noticed this one. Along with a few other American psych gems of the era, this ‘lost’ UK pressed album is virtually lost in the mist-of-time.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: ST1 2985-A6 / ST2 2985-A4 (machine punched)

Mothers / Stampers: 1 G / 1 G [ultimate first mother and stamper codes, but I doubt if many in the sequence will exist as the pressing would have been minimal]

Musicians: David Robinson – lead guitar; Rick Bockner – second lead guitar, 12-string guitar, vocals; Lawrence Hammond – bass, lead vocals, recorder, guitar, bass, piano; Tom Manning – bass, vocals 12 string guitar; Greg Dewey – drums, vocals, recorder.

Brief Info: Originally from Ohio, and moving to California in 1967. For the very few who discovered this band either around issue time or thereafter, most rate this as a genuine ‘lost’ classic. This was the self-titled debut album, and just one other followed before they folded – neither sold well, especially outside the United States. Mad River played full-on and quite uncompromising psychedelic acid rock. Vocals are shared and little is held back, musically the same with plenty of full-throttle lead guitars which are at times quite brilliant. Hardly commercial with scant sales or success – simply ahead of their time and few would have even noticed them. Now highly sort-after and collectable, finding UK pressed originals is very difficult indeed, and this is my very first example of this album. Generally a very clean example and high-quality clean sound. With so few made or sold, this will surface very infrequently and a great opportunity for acid-psych collectors, it is likely to appeal to fans of The Grateful Dead, Country Joe and The Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Blue Cheer and other similar bands of the era – but Mad River were darker and even less conventional – this is a highly recommended and unique listen.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: a single format with front laminate. The covers all the folds and ends on the back on three flipbacks. The main back panel is matt and smooth. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse. Includes the EMI black and white promotional inner sleeve.

Lamination & Front: The laminate retains fine shine and clarity with no lifting and any rim dulling only mild seen under light. Most of any creasing mild and mostly on the edges. Overall, a very fine looking front and certainly not one you will see often.

Cover Back: The main issue on the back are a couple of moderate creases on the spine edge which have weakened the spine, those apart, this is a very fine looking back. A little gentle discolouration, mostly just above the bottom flipback, but minimal actual wear to the matt main surface which has avoided creasing and rubbing. The flipbacks are still neat and crisp with any discolour to the laminate ends light. The two aforementioned crease-cracks have darkened making them more visible. Given the age however, I consider both front and back surfaces have fared pretty well.

Top Edge: Thin and still reasonably straight and virtually unworn.

Bottom Edge: Similar to above, but straighter with just a small rub on the very left end.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Any thickening only light. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: The two moderate crease-cracks mean the spine edge is not totally solid and lightly darkened. Still quite straight with minimal compression, the ends are lightly pinched in manufacture The text is unworn under the solid and unpeeled laminate.

Corners: Modest tip rubbing with quite fine shape retained with some modest rounding, so not as sharp as most covers I offer. However, there is scant evidence of any knocks or dinks and overall, still reasonably neat.

Cover Summary: A fine all-round example of this very rare 1960’s UK-made cover, one that gives polite clues of age, but will prove difficult to find much better. This still attractive item should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): an unlined EMI promotional inner sleeve that appears hardly aged or worn at all. Still clean and fresh – one tiny toning spot only – hardly creased with all edges naturally intact. It includes the ‘PATENTS APPLIED FOR’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: or thereabouts. A fine visual copy that is clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with modest plays on the evidence or the playing surfaces. The labels may indicate several plays, but spindle mark numbers are far from definitive with some users way back using the label to locate the hole which often proved tricky depending on what type or record player was used. Most of any surface marks very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. There is a light surface scuff on the first song that does nothing, and no penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, little even registers. Visually a fine looking record that should please many 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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This ‘lost’ acid-psych album plays even above it’s high visual grading with little to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Few available copies will outperform this ultimate first 1 G pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, the music full-on, uncompromising and enjoyable (for those with an ear for something very different). Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this impressive rare record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended – I regard this as one of the rarest albums I have offered in some time.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade – visuals alone do not always tell a true story. I will try to 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 it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, 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 as will any suspicious bids or bid bid retractions. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal from­ winning bidders. I only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.