The Beatles Songs, Pictures & Stories of the Fabulous US Orig'64 VJ Stereo Sears

$

1,380

ORIGINAL 1ST US STEREO RELEASE WITH THE UNIQUE ¾, 8-INCH FOLD-OVER GATEFOLD COVER 

THE BEATLES ~ SONGS, PICTURES AND STORIES OF THE FABULOUS BEATLES

 “MONARCH RECORDS MFG. CO.” LOS ANGELES, CA, PRESSING PLANT WITH THE  “MR” LOGO AND △(DELTA) NUMBERS ETCHED IN THE TRAIL-OFF VINYL

ULTRA RARE 2" x ½" ORANGE-RED "STEREO" STICKER

MISPRINT HYBRID VERSION 1 & 2 VEE-JAY RECORDS LOGO LABELS

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Incredibly rare Stereo version of The Beatles “Songs, Pictures and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles”. Some time after the release of the "Introducing the Beatles" album, Vee-Jay Records made an interesting marketing decision to reissue the album in the cover of a new design. Unique ¾ fold-over gatefold cover having the new catalog number VJ 1092 was oriented towards the young audience. The cardboard Mono cover of this copy contains an ultra rare orange-red 2" x ½" rectangular “Stereo” sticker affixed to the front cover at the bottom center. The gatefold cover still remains in its original loose-fitting distributor “Sears” baggy with the orange logo in the opposite corners. This is the first time I’ve seen this album equipped with the vinyl containing the hybrid Stereo labels, whose sides not only have the different Vee-Jay Records logo but also represent the different Versions of this issue. The Stereo label of Side 1 represent Version 1 with the “Love Me Do” track and the VJ oval record logo while the Stereo version of Side 2 is Version 2 with the “Please, Please Me” track and the large [VJ] brackets logo. It’s also worth mentioning another interesting feature. While both labels have the same catalog number VJLPS 1062, the “Stereo” banner is located at 9 o’clock on Side 1 and 3 o’clock on Side 2. The VJ multi-colored labels both have the  2¾” pressing ring. Original very early pressing Monarch Records Los Angeles pressing plant vinyl contains not only the identifiers in the form of the “△” (Delta) and “MR in Circle” stamps but also the “S” prefix identifying the recording format as Stereo. The full matrix number on both sides are as follows: Side 1 - S 63-33402-S URJ △6313 MR in Circle; Side 2 - S 63-3403-S URJ △6313x MR in Circle. The album comes with a very rare “Ad Back” Vee-Jay Records inner sleeve with the color presentation of the label’s other releases on both sides. 

★

I grade the cover as Excellent Minus. It retains its shiny gloss only having some very light shelf wear along the edges of the front flap and the bottom of the back cover, which also contains some very light creasing in the lower left-hand corner. The clean gatefold interior is in Near Mint Minus condition. The spine has a fully readable text with some very light soiling on the corners. The cover doesn't have any splits or writing and is very clean, just like the Sears baggy that only has some light shelf wear. I grade the vinyl as Very Good Plus for Side 1 and Strong Very Good for Side 2. It retains its glossy factory lustre only having some light surface hairlines and marks along with some light scuffs from the original Vee-Jay inner sleeve, which is in Near Mint Minus condition and doesn't have any splits. The super clean sparkling Vee-Jay hybrid labels are in Excellent condition and are wear- and scuff-free only having a few very light spindle marks. The vinyl sounds great with only some light static that becomes more evident during the quiet passages and most likely will get reduced or go away if the record is professionally cleaned using a VPI cleaning machine.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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