THE VELVET UNDERGROUND White Light… RARE UK Orig 68 LP

	£		36
	$		48

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

Album Title: White Light/White Heat.

Producer(s): Tom Wilson.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: White Light/White Heat; The Gift; Lady Godiva’s Operation; Here She Comes Now.

Side 2: I Heard Her Call My Name; Sister Ray.

Label/Format: Verve – intense matt black and silver format with embossed ‘K T’ tax codes on side two that are totally unworn. MGM credits and smooth finish. (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both very clean and attractive with light and few spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. The spindle marks are fine but can be seen on what are somewhat more revealing labels than most.

Cat Number: SVLP 9201.

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: 145 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity & Info: Very rare: The Velvet Underground are legends and amongst the most groundbreaking bands ever but they sold very poorly within their time together. UK versions especially, few shelled-out for obscure underground American bands in the UK at the time of flower-power and Beatlemania. Like Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, also recording on Verve and also produced by Wilson, the only label that would employ these arty underground acts, the initial pressings of the early titles sold in tiny numbers. Purchased by a few curious alternative music fans of the day and rarely hi-fi owners, most that surface are trashed and unlistenable. I also feel the price guides have it wrong with the stereo version rarer than the mono. Only the original UK pressings included the famous ‘Skull’ cover, actually an enlarged tattoo and printed in a dulled grey on black cover, it’s not even to see. Hopefully my pictures show the details of the skull tattoo and the creases too, I want to hide nothing. This was taken without flash as this can washout details. As stated, the 70s repressings of this landmark album had totally different artwork featuring toy soldiers, it totally lost its mysterious impact and sinister characteristics that the music inside has with abundance. This original UK stereo version will not be seen often and the record will rarely be seen better or cleaner than this. A copy from the DJ collection recently acquired, this totally blew me away and leaves the later versions in its wake.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: V6 5046 A-2 / V6 5046 B-1

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 R / 1 G

Musicians: John Cale – vocals, electric viola, organ, bass guitar; Sterling Morrison – vocals, guitar, bass guitar; Lou Reed – vocals, guitar, piano; Maureen Tucker – percussion, drums.

Brief Info: One or rock’s most uncompromising albums – one that had no rules and the sounds broke vast amounts of new ground. Unlike the debut that had some gentle moments, this one had few and reaches the most stunning climax with ‘Sister Ray’ that occupies most of side two. The band go into free-form with improvisations around a basic riff. A tale of sexual abandon with some of the most ferocious music ever put to vinyl. Nico had now departed after being refused all the lead vocal parts and the overall sound became more aggressive with fizzing electric sound and feedback - this was the gateway to the future underground and alternative scene, few other band could have made an album like this. John Cale, the Welsh avant garde musician is at the forefront of the sound with his crazed organ and viola, this was his final album with the band that then mellowed out of all recognition. The strangest song on the album is ‘The Gift’, where a parted lover mails himself as a surprise to his lady with disastrous consequences. A bizarre track with Cales Welsh accented voice coming from one speaker while the music mayhem spits from the opposite channel. It cannot be reitterated enough how difficult these Verve VU albums are to find in the UK. They were pressed in minuscule numbers and sold even less. Finding clean playable copies is nigh-on impossible and they rarely get seen or offered. Those that do survive are usually locked away in valuable collections. The famous ‘Skull’ cover on this example has some front marks and creasing but still nice and the back exceptional. The record has one small mark with a very few brief, low-level clicks but practically nothing else to fault and it sounds superb with more weight, clout and detail that the thin pressed MGM or Polydor reissues. The front cover is basic but regarded as a classic, it was only available for a short time before being totally revamped into the less than inspiring ‘Soldier’ cover. So for fans of the vintage underground scene of the late 60s, this is indispensable and a rare opportunity to own the genuine original item.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: High.

Cover Grade and Format: EX, the front slightly less, the back way above and would grade EX++ on its own. A single format with front laminate that wraps around the edges on to three large rear flipbacks. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd and has the ‘Patents pending’ text. The back top right has the text: ‘File under POPULAR: Pop Groups’. I strongly suggest the sentence was a total fabrication of the truth. The Velvet Underground were never ‘popular’ and certainly were NO ‘pop group’.

Lamination & Front: Only the second example of this album I have ever had to offer, I seen a very few others but never in a condition worthy of offering. Quite simply, most of these around are trashed and totally written off with scratches and really bad sound – I will not offer such rubbish. At first glance a pretty basic cover but when the light catches it right, the eerie skull tattoo can be seen. Of course, this is not easy to photograph hence I took two pictures one of the full cover without flash and a closeup of the tattoo detail, hopefully this can be seen. This does have some creasing, two of which are moderate but most are fine edge types. There are some smallish pressmarks too near the bottom left corner area. That apart, not a lot else to really fault as actual ‘wear’ is minimal. The laminate is fully adhered with no lifting or blisters which is always good news on a really black cover. It retains a lovely shine too with only fine surface marks when held to light. There are mild traces of friction rubs no any dulling is only light. The pale lighter grey skull is superb and no blemishes fall over this important piece of artwork. This design is unique to the first-made covers only before the less than inspiring change. Given the facts of age and the majority who bought this, this front is still nice and still above average - the few others I have managed to view have been a swathe of thick heavy creases with a tired dulled surface. This is way, way above all of that and although the moderate creases show, they are far from critical.

Cover Back: The back is superb and truly exceptional and have never seen one that even compares. Easily grading EX++ on its own and arguably better still. The main back panel is near immaculate with barely any wear. A very faint thumb-crease near the central left edge but look hard to see it. Hardly a trace of grubbiness and no ringwear or rubbing, this really sets the bar high. The flipbacks are solidly adhered and neat with minimal burring and no grime-lines to the ends. No damage and only a few hairline surface creases. This back really will prove difficult to find better.

Top Edge: Unworn.

Bottom Edge: Unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no wear or feathering. The odd tiny burr trace if being really critical. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A fantastic spine too: Solid, straight, uncompressed, all text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate.

Corners: All very neat with great shape retained and hardly any visible wear at all.

Cover Summary: With a highly respectable front and superb back, this is a very strong all round example of this very rare cover, one that will prove very difficult to find significantly better. This famous cover should please many collectors but not the perfectionists who will have to wait for the near impossible.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX / Mint(-), A super visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. Side one has the odd faint surface mark and one small mark that has a very few brief, low-level clicks, this at the very start of track three. Emphasise this is a minor and very brief blemish only. Side two looks fantastic with just the odd ultra faint and fine surface trace mark only with no sound of course. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence and few original pressings will ever compare to this overall. Most used and heavily abused over the years on less than wonderful old record players, we have all seen these underground gems totally written-off and near unlistenable now. This bucks the trend big time and finding one with fewer visual and audible blemishes will prove immensely difficult - fact. Visually a super record that should please most 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 snippetts 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 brilliant and rare Verve record plays up to its high visual grading with nothing to fault bar the aforementioned brief clicks on the very small mark. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is as good as it gets but Velvet Underground albums were never high fidelity masterpieces. Deliberate low-fi sound was the trade mark of this band and polished they weren’t. Volume gives the push needed and the frenzied power of their vintage sound is fully captured in these unworn grooves. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no other pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this early stereo pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has generally been clearly well stored and carefully handled. Little spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, its been some considerable time since I heard this as an original pressing. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. If the cover creases or the small mark on side one is an issue, please do not bid.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

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 promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within 48 hours maximum. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO thick stiffners for even extra protection. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity and well as sender label. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 4,000+ items sold in over 7 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

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 will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£39).

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.