BEATLES: WITH THE BEATLES LP 1963 STEREO/ JOBETE/GOTTA
£
143
$
189
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Description
This is an original first press of the Beatles 2nd Album and it is my wife's copy. It was given to her as a Christmas present in 1963. The LP was released towards the end of November 1963 and would therefore have been bought about 3 weeks later by her parents. Her Father was a hi-fi enthusiast who had built his own hi-spec stereo kit and collected mainly classical and "rat-pack" type music. He always bought stereo records by post from Staverts, a posh shop in Manchester and no doubt this record came from there too. He had strict rules for the playing of records and kept his kit and records in top condition. These rules extended to my wife and her records and as there were no other turntables in the house and it did not go to parties etc., it has been maintained in the lovely condition that you can see in the pictures today. It has not had many plays because although we were both big Beatles fans in our youth, we soon moved on to other tastes and it has sat in a cupboard for years and is ready now to go to a new appreciative home.
This record has all the features of a first press required by collectors. As you can see from the pictures, it has the incorrect credit of "Money" on Side 2 to JOBETE MUSIC; it has the incorrect spelling of GOTTA in "You really Gotta hold on me" on both label 2 and sleeve; it has the large "stereo" typography on the front of the sleeve - These were all changed in later pressings.
The record number is PCS 3045 (the "S" denoting stereo). It has the Side numbers of YEX 110-2 on Side 1 and YEX 111-2 on Side 2 stamped in the "run-outs". For those who like more references there is a KT tax code beautifully embossed with the turntable hole between on Side 2 and the "mother numbers" look like 3 & GG on both sides.
The record is in really EXCELLENT condition. It plays through without any jumps or sticks at all and there is no crackle. Indeed it is also silent between all tracks apart from a little light crackle in the gap between Roll over Beethoven and Hold me tight, but in all other spaces, including the runouts it is pretty much perfect. The tell-tale track, if there are problems, is the acoustic one - "Til there was you" - and this is outstandingly good. Visually, seen in bright sunlight it is very clean and very shiny with just a few very light scuffs and little light scratches. I have listened to it very carefully through headphones with lots of treble and volume and the quality is still outstanding and it is quite an interesting experience to hear 1960s Stereo mixings. On this one the singers are predominately in your right ear, bass and drums across the back and the guitars (which means mainly George's guitar licks) are in your left ear -One can really hear all the little things that George was doing on those lovely old Gretsch and Rickenbacker guitars. What a treat!
The labels are very clean too as you can see from the pictures with just a few very light "hole-searching" traces. The Tax Code stands up perfectly and the label grading is therefore EXCELLENT.
The sleeve is in EXCELLENT condition. It was made by Garrod and Lofthouse. There are one or two little creases and some "foxing", (the operatives at Garrods probably used a little too much glue which causes this). There is also a slight ring impression from the disc but the sleeve itself is very sound, the laminate is all firm with no breaks and in place, even on the flipovers. The flipovers themselves are fully sound with no damage but a little foxed as you can see (this flipover foxing is actually under the laminate). The corners are very slightly tapped and the spine is fully sound and the end writing is as fully visible as on the day it was made. Because of the foxing, the overall impression, of the back, is that the white has turned a bit to sepia, but I think that one could still give the sleeve an excellent rating. The inner sleeve is the original double-lined "Emitex" and is fully intact with no rips, slits or tears, but has a ring impression of the disc as you can see.
I only sell a few records, all of my own, but I pay a lot of attention to safe packaging and I have a stock of very stout mailers for postage. Sleeves and record would be packed separately within.
I am happy to accept bids from overseas customers from places where there is UK Royal Mail Tracking and Insurance. This probably means mainly Western Europe, North America, Japan and the Antipodes. Buyers from other areas would need to contact me first before bidding. Postage would be by "International Signed For" to overseas destinations and the postage cost would need to be added after the end of the auction for overseas buyers. Since this is a rare LP, full insurance would be essential, so the cost of postage could be relatively high. To UK destinations I would use "Special Delivery" which is expensive as well (though the £8 charge that I have listed for the UK would probably be less than the actual cost).
I trust that bidders will find the detail given above helpful and that you will feel able to bid with confidence. It's really a great disc and a wonderful bit of modern cultural history.
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