TYRANNOSAURUS REX Unicorn RARE ORIG 1G/1G 1st Press LP

	£		147
	$		195

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe £12. Rest of World £16. ALL signed for. – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P as low as possible after the very significant Royal Mail price increases.

Artist or Band: TYRANNOSAURUS REX

Album Title: Unicorn.

Producer(s): Tony Visconti.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Chariots of Silk; ’Pon a Hill; The Seal of Seasons; The Throat of Winter; Catblack (the wizard’s hat); Stones for Avalon; She Was Born to be My Unicorn; Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That’s What You Are.

Side 2: Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles; Evenings of Damask; The Sea Beasts; Iscariot; Nijinsky Hind; The Pilgrim’s Tale; The Misty Coast of Albany; Romany Soup.

Label/Format: Regal Zonophone – Original blue format (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only light to light+, fairly fine and modest visibility spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. This vintage ultimate first press record has been only lightly played.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Cat Number: SLRZ 1007.

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: 132 grams. A very solid pressing more typical of the era.

Rarity: This copy on the original, short-lived blue label format is rare and even more so as an ultimate first pressing with the 1 G / 1 G mothers/stampers. This within the first 300 made, most copies of this album are seen on the more familiar red Zonophone label which are early second issues.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: TCARC 51-2 / TCARC 52-2

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 G / 1 G [ultimate first mother and stamper codes, much prized and sort-after by vinyl connoisseurs. Finding them is never easy]

Musicians: Marc Bolan - vocals, guitar, harmonium, lip organ and fonofiddle; Steve Peregrin Took - bongos, vocals, African talking drums, bass guitar, piano, drum kit, assorted percussion, pixiephone and gong; Guests: Tony Visconti - piano; John Peel - vocals on ‘Children’s Story’.

Brief Info: Third and penultimate album under this band-name before changing to the more familiar T-Rex and the glam years – with huge success and popularity. The early Tyrannosaurus Rex were very different: hippy acid-folk music with sparse instrumentation and mildly eccentric vocals – far more limited sales and available copies in top conditions are very hard to find. Practically ignored in the United States and only with a moderate cult following at the time within the United Kingdom. Ultimate first issues on the blue label are seldom seen and are far rarer than the red format. This a very clean all-round example, clearly little played with few visual blemishes to record or cover.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: A gatefold format with laminate on the front and back. The inside is matt and smooth finished. Printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day.

Cover – Laminate, Front & Back: Both sides retain excellent shine, freshness and clarity with minimal traces of any friction rubs or dulling. No lifting and any of the fine creasing on the edges that few will escape totally. The main issue is some press marks which are very fine and faint on the front and nearer moderate on the back. But with normal visibility, they hardly even show. In fact the front especially looks superb, and the fine impression on the laminate surface will only concern the most discerning cover enthusiast.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside, which has the song lyrics, has little of note to fault at all. Faint tone spot traces near the top edges, little else.

Top Edges: Barely any traces of wear at all and both very straight, almost as made with full laminate retention.

Bottom Edges: Practically as above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Sharp and mostly crisp with any thickening or burr traces few and very light as seen critically end-on. Record entered on the back edge, the front is closed. The exposed strips on the outside where the laminate ends short have only mild darkening but barely any real wear. These edges are guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: The type of construction of this spine will mean in most cases, the text will sink within a natural central crease – that is if the text survives uneroded as the laminate will usually crack and peel. This one has modest traces of either. A little peeling has occured just below centre but around 75% remains intact and the fragile text is still covered, hence protected, full intact and unworn. This has not sunken to any major degree either. Very solid, straight with any compression modest and folded square, the edges meet up quite closely and parallel. A little toning near the very ends and one fine crease which again has avoided the text which is fully intact and very easily read.

Corners: The corners are generally neat and show little wear, with very fine or better shape retained. Minimal rubbing but a little discoloured on the spine mainly on the bottom.

Cover Summary: A strong and attractive all-round example of this very scarce original cover. This early T-Rex/Bolan sleeve should please many collectors but not quite the perfectionists. This came to me with a plain white tracing-paper lined inner sleeve in excellent condition. Minimal ageing and only some creasing and crinkle stops a higher grading. The lining uncreased or damaged with two neat and crisp window circles. No edge splits or repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: or very close to. This is a super visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. Compared to many records seen from this era, especially by this band, this is still a gem. Most early ‘T Rex’ albums I see are heavily played with hugely disappointing sound. The complex vocals and intense production mean they are less tolerant of early equipment and the results are obvious. A copy with minimal plays I feel sure. A small and light surface scuff on side one and a small few light surface marks only, these only really seen with more scrutiny under light. This has no penetrating scratches and is a splendid 43-year-old record – of that, no doubt. 1G / 1G matrixes do not lie, they are the ultimate first pressings and hugely elusive as is this record on the blue label that was quickly changed to red. Visually a lovely 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This rare original blue Zonophone album plays above it’s visual grading with very little to fault. Tracking effortless and given the vintage and style of this album, it’s an exceptional one. It has strong distortion-free sound with minimal surface sound. The odd trace on such material is beyond difficult to avoid and the John Peel track is mostly narration and very delicate. All frequencies are sharp and clear with sound quality very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound, this will prove very difficult to find much better for clear, detailed sound. The quality you would hope and expect from a 1 G / 1 G first issue. The lack of irritating pops and clicks is always a bonus as this has fine grooves that are so easily damaged. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – the stereo mix is fantastic and images well. Even the John Peel narration slides from channel-to-channel and has an in-the-room presence. This copy will prove difficult to find significantly better for sound on the blue label and can be strongly 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 programs. 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 Terrarium 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 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 8,000+ items sold in over 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 2 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

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.

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] = £4.25

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12 (enhanced 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16 (£17 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’.