THE GUN (1st Album) RARER ORIG UK 1968 MONO EX+ EXAMPLE, IMPRESSIVE SOUND/COVER.

	£		275
	$		364

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

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details 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 ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full 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. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

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. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: THE GUN

Album Title: The Gun

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Race With the Devil; The Sad Saga of the Boy and the Bee; Rupert’s Travels; Yellow Cab Man; It Won’t Be Long (Heartbeat).

Side 2: Sunshine; Rat Race; Take Off.

Label/Format: CBS – a rarer mono copy with the original intense orange matt labels with textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, still fresh and attractive. At least moderate spindle marks, possibly more on side two – BUT, and this is hugely important BUT – this record is in super condition and plays with near mint sound. I noted nothing on my play-grade to fault. A pure and simple fact: many owners used the labels as a guide to the locate the spindle to hole, especially so on vintage record players. The numerous spindle marks, that are very fine and only show under light do not tell a true story on this lovely record. It looks lovely, plays superbly and has a fantastic cover. Most collectors will love it.

Cat Number: M 63552

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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: 125 grams. A fine solid weight.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: and rarer in mono.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: 63552 A1 / 63552 B1 (punched and very clear)

Mothers / Stampers: A 1 / A 2 [amongst the hardest and earliest to find on CBS]

Musicians: Adrian Curtis – guitar; Paul Curtis – bass, Louie Farrell – drums.

Brief Info: Formed in the late 1960s, this British power-rock trio had early success but than faded and split. Treading an uneasy path at this time between pop and the impending progressive rock scene, Gun’s music never really fell comfortably into either category, but this debut was in its own way a pioneering force in prog-rock transition. The album’s opener, ‘Race with the Devil’ was a chart success, but this debut album had only moderate success and the inferior second album flopped. The cover states the members as Paul Curtis, Adrian Curtis and Louis Farrell. But the Curtis brothers were born Gurvitz and became more well known under their real names. After they split they formed the Baker Gurvitz Army in 1973 with the former Cream drummer Ginger. Gun were a hard hitting and very loud band using fuzz guitar and effects. By their own admission a ‘noisy and violent’ group. They sometimes used a brass section that gave their music extra drive and power and even included strings on ‘Rat Race’. The finale is ‘Take Off’ clocking in at a lengthy 12.5 minutes. The cover explains it as a lights-off, freak out and to be played at maximum volume. Its pretty awesome with frenzied guitars, often mastered backwards, all very surreal and exciting stuff. It can be argued they were a band a little too ahead of their time, and this debut album does them fine credit and even modern day rock fans and us older progressive rock lovers will enjoy this one immensely. ‘Race With the Devil’ still sounds pretty awesome even today and this copy is in very impressive overall condition. Forget spindle marks, just listen to the superb, and rare mono sound which is hugely impressive.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): a single format with front laminate. This only covers the top and bottom folds, not the spine, hence it is vulnerable to wear. Printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day and includes the ‘Patent Pending’ text. The CBS promotional inner sleeve is also included.

Lamination & Front: Spectacular artwork and it will seldom be seen a great deal better under very shiny, clear and fresh laminate that has barely any dulling and no lifting of any real note (a trace near one corner only). Both left and right has the laminate end-line, hence no coverage over the spine, but have no fears, the spine has barely worn at all with ALL text intact and fully present (never to be taken for granted to say the least). Both the fine exposed strips are clean and barely worn at all. Yes four or five quite faint half moon surface laminate creases, but largely ‘lost’ on the complex graphic. A number of very fine edge hairline creases show little either and barely anything detracts from what is a fantastic front cover.

Cover Back: If the front is impressive enough, the unprotected ultra wear-prone dark black matt surface more than matches it. What is immediately apparent is the lack of fingermarks or handling evidence to this highly revealing back cover. It is very clean indeed and retains a genuine freshness and lack of ageing. Hardly any creasing and few blemishes – a tiny surface ripple near the bottom left corner being critical. And as for ringwear – well what ringwear? – this has none at all, not even any rim impression, let alone rubbing. I can hardly imagine finding this surface better on a genuine 1968 sleeve. Just look at the pictures, including those close-ups, this is lovely.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both straight, smooth and totally unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with very little wear. Any thickening or burring only light, mainly on the front as seen viewed end-on, this being slightly proud of the back as made. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Being fully exposed with no laminate protection, these types usually fair very badly. But this has hardly any wear and crucially ALL text is present and unworn, that is might unusual. Solid, but thin, straight with minimal compression. Any surface rubbing to the dark surface is minimal, gentle and fine. Finding this original mono cover spine better will prove immensely difficult.

Corners: Any tip rubbing is tiny, hardly any really and all retain excellent shape with no bashes, any corner area creasing fine and light only.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this fragile 1960’s cover, one that is likely to prove difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): an unlined vintage CBS promotional inner sleeve with little to fault. Gently aged with the usual darkening of the seam adhesive, but minimal traces of creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): even with numerous spindle marks on the labels (that do no show much with normal viewing), I cannot grade this scarce mono record below. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. The playing surfaces are impressive, especially given the mode and age. A few very gentle hairlines or surface traces that do absolutely nothing. There are no penetrating stylus marks, thus no pops or clicks were noted It just proves spindle mark numbers can prove little really, all evidence those aside point to a record played lightly, and we all know how intolerant mono records can be to use on old mono record players. I for one would be than happy to see all 1960s looking and sounding like this. Visually a super 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 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 and Audio Grading: A wonderful album that deserves more acclaim that it actually gets. This magnificent album plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything 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. This also play-tested on very revealing stereo equipment (all listed further down) that such records were not really made for. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. Few copies will outperform this ultimate first pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, with no single channel noise being played on my stereo equipment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* 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 2.2 grams.

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 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 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 it’s 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. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 14 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. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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 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 withdrawals. 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] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 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 £2 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’.