QUEEN II - Orig UK 1974 N/M LP + Inner. STUNNING SOUND.

	£		57
	$		75

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. This will invoiced on Monday 23rd.

Artist or Band: QUEEN

Album Title: Queen II.

Producer(s): Roy Thomas Baker, Robin G. Cable and Queen.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Procession; Father to Son; White Queen (As it Began); Some Day One Day; The Loser in the End.

Side 2: Ogre Battle; The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke; Nevermore; The March of hte Black Queen; Funny How Love Is; Seven Seas of Rhye.

Label/Format: EMI (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both immaculate: ultra clean and very attractive with hardly a spindle mark to be seen.

Cat Number: EMA 767.

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: 122 grams. Around the average for this time.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: A popular album and less easy to find in very fine and little played conditions.

Original Year of Release: 1974

Matrix Nos: YAX 4735-4U / YAX 4736-4U (both sides are error corrected).

Stamper Codes: 3 AL / 2 RH

Musicians: Freddie Mercury – Vocals; Brian May – lead guitar; John Deacon - bass guitar; Roger Taylor – drums.

Brief Info: Queen’s second album and now getting more intricate and compelling, this is not an overly commercial album and is far more rocky and even ‘progressive’ compared to later issues. They loved to emphasise the fact they did not use synthesisers, all the sounds were ‘natural’. Still newcomers, this follows-on from the superb debut and their reputation was gaining momentum quickly and superstardom was only just around the corner. It was clear from the outset, this band were to become very special and immensely popular and with a talismatic vocalist in Mercury, this was no surprise. ‘Queen II’ is a very original and powerful work, not lauded as highly as some future works but this is an amazing album in its own right and one of my personal favourites. Beautifully packaged with the very famous band pose artwork on the cover that became familiar to all via their anthem ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ single and video that followed later. This included their first major single success in ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’ – the first album included a taster of which, and they never looked back thereafter. Later becoming one of the greatest and popular bands of their era and Mercury the ultimate showman. Their popularity and collectability has never ceased to decline. Their early works were different, even progressive and appealed more to ‘rock’ fans. This copy has been very well preserved and both cover and record impressive. The sound is simply unbeatable and has phenomenal audio quality, a real pleasure from start to finish.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a fully laminated gatefold format Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse and also includes the 1974 Trident logo and reference to the long defunct ‘cartridge’ format.

Lamination – Front & Back: Yes all FOUR faces are laminated and all look great with barely a noteworthy crease to be seen. Not only that, every one suffers no non-adhesion e.g. blistering or lifting, always a bonus I feel on such covers. When it occurs, it’s not wear as such but it can spoil the appearance somewhat especially on darker overs, and this is very dark on the outer faces. Talking of faces, the classic Queen portraits show Freddie minus the moustache – that came later as the showman years took over. This is ‘classic-rock’ Queen which listeners such as myself preferred. The laminate is ultra clear and retains a lovely shine with only mild friction rubs or dulling, seen under light. This is a cover that rarely escapes this as the bare minimum. In terms of marks, well very few indeed, any hairlines just visible on the front under light. The centrefold is also attractive, the only blemish is the laminate has split on the fold near the top. Obviously, over the years, this will tighten and opening it will cause this. But, this will has a nice crackle when opened and little spoils this cover at all.

Top & Bottom Edges: All four little short of as new and remain very straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no wear and guaranteed untrimmed, again practically as new. Record enters on back.

Spine and Text: The spine is in lovely condition also: solid, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up quite closely together and parallel. A natural central recess has formed making the text appear slightly ‘sunken’, here only minor. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate. In fact all edges are ultra smooth to the fingertip with no scuffs or chips.

Corners: All corners are almost as manufactured with no creasing, dinking or rubbing worthy of note. All have superb pointed shape and great definition.

Cover Summary: A highly impressive example of this classic mid-70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This one so often suffers major laminate issues and it does not age as well as may be anticipated. This fantastic item should please most Queen collectors.

The Inner: EXCELLENT(+): with has the custom-cut corner shapes and was unlined. It’s still very attractive appearance with just a small few faint toning spots on one side. All edges secure and barely any crasing at all. Just a trace on the recessed top opening.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(-): a beautifully preserved record could almost pass as new. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. This classic second album will rarely be seen better from an early pressing. Visually a super record that should please most-all 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: This immaculate record plays up to its high visual grading nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. From the beginning this band wanted high standards and this again is beautifully produced with immense power and detail. Devoid of surface sounds and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing that on any quality system, will excel. If all records were like this, it would make describing very easy, alas we all know that can never be the case. Few examples will match or outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I know this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled within in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove near impossible to find significantly better and can be unreservedly recommended.

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 QED Silver 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.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or prompt payment is a problem, please do not bid.

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 7,000+ items sold in nearly 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 3 or 4 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). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

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. If you cannot pay, DO NOT BID.

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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (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 [£46 maximum]) = £10. (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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, 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’.