THE BEATLES-SGT. PEPPER-NICE 1ST PRESS MONO COMPLETE

	£		53
	$		70

THE BEATLES-SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND TYPE SINGLE LP-MONO LABEL/PRESSING INFO PARLOPHONE -1ST PRESS WITH YELLOW & BLACK LABELS with WITH "GRAMOPHONE CO LTD" RIM TEXT AND "SOLD IN U.K." LABEL TEXT ans MATRIX AND STAMPER CODES XEX 637-1 & XEX 638-1 and 2RLA/2ATM CATALOGUE NUMBER PMC 7027 YEAR OF RELEASE 1967 COUNTRY OF RELEASE UK SLEEVE TYPE GATEFOLD-GARROD & LOFTHOUSE LAMINATED WITH INNER FLIPBACKS INSERTS/EXTRAS RED & WHITE "fools" INNER SLEEVE + CARD SHEET OF CUTOUTS       GRADING DISC(s) EXCELLENT+

I DO LOVE these MONO pressings (as most people that read my ramblings have gathered) mostly DECCA but EMI is a close second and I love even more the surfaces of this album ,a nice copy gives you instant recognition of the quality that you will expect from the audio,just 2 oceans of black,and this is a nice copy and carefully looked after,infact the B side looks as though its hardly been played,though its obvious from the labels that it has,just a smooth jet black surface with just the wispiest of surface marks the A side has fared quite well also with a nice clean sheen and less than a handfull of very light play and handling marks that can only be seen by angling the disc under a strong lamp and rotating it,the audio has a crisp and clear reproduction and with a glorious MONO that throws the sound at you rather than you having to listen to it trying to get the stereo effects.

LABELS EXCELLENT+ NICE CLEAN LABELS with NO writing,stickers scuffs or tears. Has some light spindlemarking which is nicely packed around the spindlehole,few more than I would have liked but nothing that indicates heavy usage) SLEEVE EXCELLENT+

REALLY NICE SLEEVE that appears to have spent a lot of its life in a poly sleeve and has been very lightly used,infact the gatefold still has some of that lovely cracking that you get when you open it,which is why I have left it standing in the photographs and not flattened it out,needless to say the inner boards are in pristine condition,even to the point that there isn't any of that scuffing along the middle of the flipbacks where they stuck together during the printing and sometimes when opened for the 1st time they pulled apart,the outer boards are clean and unmarked and retain all of their gloss with only minimal handling creasing,the spine is in great condition with nice clear writing and just very light wear to the ends,a legacy of having been protected,the outer corners are also very nice with only very light wear and the opening is nice and crisp and indicative of a lightly used record.

INNERS/EXTRAS

 

INNER SLEEVE: EXCELLENT+ (CLEAN and UNMARKED and also very nice with nothing major to report really.Has a light pressure mark from where there record once sat (it is now housed in a separate inner) a little light user wear to the opening ,but most importantly I suppose NO wear or splits to the seams)

CUTOUT SHEET: EXCELLENT++ (Proper darker green copy,looks as though it has never been removed from the sleeve with no creases corner wear user handling marks at all)

 

DETAILS

With Revolver, the Beatles made the Great Leap Forward, reaching a previously unheard-of level of sophistication and fearless experimentation. Sgt. Pepper, in many ways, refines that breakthrough, as the Beatles consciously synthesized such disparate influences as psychedelia, art-song, classical music, rock & roll, and music hall, often in the course of one song. Not once does the diversity seem forced -- the genius of the record is how the vaudevillian "When I'm 64" seems like a logical extension of "Within You Without You" and how it provides a gateway to the chiming guitars of "Lovely Rita." There's no discounting the individual contributions of each member or their producer, George Martin, but the preponderance of whimsy and self-conscious art gives the impression that Paul McCartney is the leader of the Lonely Hearts Club Band.

He dominates the album in terms of compositions, setting the tone for the album with his unabashed melodicism and deviously clever arrangements. In comparison, Lennon's contributions seem fewer, and a couple of them are a little slight but his major statements are stunning. "With a Little Help From My Friends" is the ideal Ringo tune, a rolling, friendly pop song that hides genuine Lennon anguish, à la "Help!"; "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" remains one of the touchstones of British psychedelia; and he's the mastermind behind the bulk of "A Day in the Life," a haunting number that skillfully blends Lennon's verse and chorus with McCartney's bridge.

It's possible to argue that there are better Beatles albums, yet no album is as historically important as this. After Sgt. Pepper, there were no rules to follow -- rock and pop bands could try anything, for better or worse. Ironically, few tried to achieve the sweeping, all-encompassing embrace of music as the Beatles did here.

  GRADING SPECIFICS All of our records are subject to close scrutiny before listing, and to ensure that we are accurate with our interpretation are carefully examined under a strong viewing light and played on a high end deck - We will never list a record that jumps,sticks,or is subject to so much background noise that the listening pleasure is radically impaired.We use the grading denominations as laid down in the Rare Record Collectors Guide,but with our own revisions as laid out below.

PLAYING SURFACE

MINT The record itself is obvious by its look and feel that it has never been removed from its inner sleeve,and typified by the very action of removal from a lined sleeve,where it has a very light friction against the poly,and a sheen across the playing surface that hasn't been dulled by the passage of a stylus,and requires no effort to remove any traces of foreign matter in the grooves,other than a cursory wipe with a soft cloth,and with a sound reproduction that you would expect from a piece of unplayed vinyl. MINT- Again a record that has been bought and stored away,but has been removed from its sleeves,either by the owner or more often some clumsy potential second user,and has some,but not many hairline marks across the playing surface due to the action of removal and insertion,these would not be noticeable unless viewed by rotation under a viewing lamp,and definitely have no effect on the reproductive quality. EXCELLENT++ A record that has endured only the lightest of playtime,say maybe only once or twice,and is perhaps only distinguishable by a spindlemark on the label or the presence of minimal hairline playmarks. EXCELLENT+ The majority of records that we sell fall into this category-the RRC defines EXCELLENT as:"The record shows some signs of having been played,but there is very little lessening in sound quality", but to take this a step further,there are a multitude of records that are far better than this and deserve a higher status. These are the records that you would feel more than comfortable in receiving,they have very light playwear and no abuse marks such as needle skating,edge scuffing,or feelable scratches,and the audio quality will be as such that any previous play will be completely inaudible. EXCELLENT As defined above-these are records that "show some signs" of being played,and by some signs we interpret ,lightish hairline markings (papercuts)that are the result of multiple removals from the sleeve,occasional visual playmarks and very light scuffing that cant be heard during playtime,and the record has the overall feel of one that has been popular but cared for. VERY GOOD/VERY GOOD+/VERY GOOD++/VERY GOOD+++ The definition of VG is of record that has been played many times but shows no "major deterioration" despite "noticeable" surface marks and scratches.We don't care for this sort of product and don't stock them,and are of the opinion that it doesn't really matter how many +++'s you suffix the grading with its still a VG (very good) LABELS MINT We are great believers in the fact that labels will tell you more about the life of a record than anything else,apart from playing it of course,the number and voracity of spindlemarks,the usage wear around the hole any tears stickers writing,attempts to remove or fill in blemishes all point to the previous care of the record itself,and we always detail pictorially and grade them accordingly .A MINT label is just that a perfectly clean and free from any signs that the disc has ever been near a turntable,and only used in conjunction with MINT or NEAR MINT vinyl gradings. MINT- Both labels are perfectly clean but there will be a hint of spindlemarking ,say one or two dectectable mark on 1 label EXCELLENT+ Again perfectly clean but with very light but noticeable spindlemarks that are the result of light but inaccurate placement on the turntable. EXCELLENT In keeping with grading system as a whole an EXCELLENT label grading is given to a record with clean and unmarked labels that have born the brunt of moderate play but have suffered in as much that the "player" has neglected to line the record accurately which has resulted in noticeable spindlemarkings, with the occasional wayward or spidery effect,dark rooms and alcohol can exacerbate this. EXCELLENT- Any label that has "neat" user embellishment -a small biro name ,initials or an unobtrusive sticker,obviously we will show this pictorially. VERY GOOD/+ it is rare that we offer for sale any record where the labels have been so defaced that cosmetically the record is unpleasing to the eye,this means major tearing due to amateur sticker removal,large scale writing, using felt tip pens or the like,this can apply to any grading of vinyl! -in a nutshell if we feel that it is ugly then we don't buy it. SLEEVE MINT A MINT sleeve is something that we do not believe in,you wouldn't even get one straight from the shop,they have always picked up even the slightest of knocks to the corners or a hint of a crease here or there,so you will never see a mint grading for one of our sleeves.   MINT- These are a reality ,but only very occasionally,and only where the initial purchaser has had so much pride in their collection that it has immediately been stored in a poly outer sleeve,and kept upright in an environment that has allowed to remain free from crushing,and external forces,sleeves of this calibre are perfectly clean with uncrushed spines no creasing and no wear to any edges,and not not even a hint of ringwear.   EXCELLENT++ A high quality of storage ,again in a protective sleeve,with no visible defects,but perhaps a very light wear to the opening or corner buffing,or a hint of ringwear etc,an exceptional sleeve but not quite NM   EXCELLENT+ Again as with vinyl grading,the majority of our sales fall into this category.Its clean and unmarked with no user markings,straight edges,there is light wear to the opening and only very light or no ringwear.   EXCELLENT A perfectly serviceable and clean ,but with a noticeable defect,such as excessive colour loss to the top or bottom edge due to storage and handling movement,some occasional light markings on the boards,lightish rigwear,or a very light sticker removal mark.   EXCELLENT- A sleeve that whilst being of good quality is marred by some significant event- biro name ,sticker markings,less than perfect edges or spine,and just a general sadness and careworn demeanour.As always we show multiple pictures,and will always note major defects in the grading section above.   VERY GOOD/ETC There are occasions where we feel that record is of sufficiently high quality or scarcity that it is of interest even with major defects,board tearing,significant writing and or a grubby disposition,on the occasions we do list with a low grading and display the faults.   INSERTS/EXTRAS The problem with a major part of lyric/picture inners is that are made of such light paper that they split very easily and are effectively rendered useless.We try very hard to limit this and do not normally stock any records with split,excessively creased or damaged inner sleeves or inserts.The exception that we make are to small worn portions which we will either repair or reinforce with a neat taped repair.Any defects that are not visible in our pictures will be noted in the grading above. Postal Shipping & Handling charges Region Single Item Extra UK £3.00 £.70 Europe £4.50 £1.00 USA £6.50 £1.50 Japan/ROW £6.50 £1.50   Terms and Conditions Guarantee Although the Office of Fair Trading Distance Selling Regulations (DSR) does not apply to our business (online auctions and unsealed audio recordings are exempt) we have always maintained a strict returns policy whereby we always accept that we can be wrong, and always accept that a description of a vinyl reproduction, condition of a sleeve or any other description that we have given in good faith can be misinterpreted,and will accept back any item that doesnt meet up with our exacting grading standards,AND we will refund the RETURN COSTS. 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