CHICKEN SHACK Forty Blue Fingers… RARER ORIG UK 1968 BLUE HORIZON STEREO EX+ LP.

	£		84
	$		112

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: CHICKEN SHACK

Album Title: Forty Blue Fingers Freshly Packed and Ready to Serve

Producer(s): Mike Vernon

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Letter; Lonesome Whistle Blues; When the Train Comes Back; San-Ho-Zay; King of the World.

Side 2: See See Baby; First Time I Met the Blues; Webbed Feet; You Ain’t No Good; What You Did Last Night.

Label/Format: Blue Horizon – original blue format with matt, smooth outer areas and textured on the inner parts. Both appears as ‘Mono’ labels with the 7-63203 catalogue number, that simply because both mono and stereo copies had the same one. Only by looking at the matrix numbers that include an ‘S’ prefix can you tell them apart without listening to the record itself.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with the relatively few spindle marks being ultra fine and faint, showing little at all with normal full-on viewing.

Cat Number: 7-63203

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: 146 grams. This is quite heavy for this album, over 30 grams heavier than the last copy I offered.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Quite scarce, like most blues albums, not a massive seller. Now regarded as a classic within it’s genre and one of the most famous and prized on the Blue Horizon label. This a lovely example with a clean, little-worn cover and the record offering super sound. A considerably rarer stereo original, the ‘mono’ cover having the elusive gold, shaped stereo shiny sticker on back as seen in close-up. Looking at the record it may appear a standard mono copy, but the ‘S’ prefix on the matrix numbers is the difference (apart from the obvious stereo sound when played). Also this copy includes a rare CBS inner sleeve that promotes new innovations in record reproduction, including a £63 stereo record player, this promoted as ‘MOVE INTO THE STEREO AGE NOW!’. I have never seen one of these historically important inner sleeves before. So as a package, this stereo original will not be found often, and possibly not a great better.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: S7 63203 A2 / S7 63203 B1

Musicians: Stan Webb - vocal, guitar; Christine Perfect - vocal, piano, organ; Andy Sylvester - bass; Dave Bidwell - drums. Dick Heckstall-Smith guests on tenor saxophone; Johnny Almond on alto and Alan Ellis on trumpet.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Classic title, classic cover and a true blues classic debut featuring the slightly eccentric Stan Webb and equally famous, a young Christine (later McVie) Perfect. Soon to leave the band to join Fleetwood Mac. Chicken Shack were the second most successful group on this prestigious specialist blues label after Fleetwood Mac and this album is arguably one of the best ever to adorn it. Ten marvellous blues numbers packed away in the famous tin can graphic cover, ready to be opened and enjoyed. This copy has an attractive and little worn cover, a little creasing on the front and slight spine rubbing, that hardly unusual due to the lack of laminate on that exposed part. So rare to find this with the shaped shiny gold ‘Stereo’ sticker, these are seldom seen, that unique inner sleeve puts the icing on the cake. So a lovely example for blues, Blue Horizon and Chicken Shack fans.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: a single format with laminated front. This covers the top and bottom fold, but NOT the spine, making that very vulnerable to all forms of wear. The back is unprotected with a matt finish with no laminate end lines. The record is stereo, and the back cover includes the seldom-seen (on this album) shaped, shiny gold ‘Stereo’ sticker. Made in England by Ernest J. Day Ltd with the ‘Patent Pending’ text. As stated already, this includes an elusive CBS promotional inner sleeve - one side including new audio care products.

Lamination & Front: One of the most famous cover fronts in blues-rock music and this does it strong justice. The laminate retains a excellent shine, freshness and clarity with no lifting. A couple of laminate creases and fine edge ones, also a small dink on the bottom right corner tip. Any dulling gentle, little and light as seen under light, this mostly at the top and bottom around the rim area.

Cover Back: Very dark, matt and unprotected, clearly vulnerable to all forms of wear, especially rubbing and ringwear which this has largely avoided. Small tip rubs on the bottom pair and the odd faint toning trace near the left edge. The Stereo sticker near the top right is superb – this considered important in the guides – not seen often, and this is guaranteed 100% genuine. No doubt whatsoever that has never been picked at or removed, even the edges are crisp and neat. The surface shiny and fresh and totally unrubbed or ‘tarnished’ with age. With most originals sold in mono, few examples of this cover will include it, this I am sure being my first ever example of this. The back has minimal handling evidence and no creasing of note.

Top Edge: Straight, smooth and unworn.

Bottom Edge: As above with just a hint of a rub on the right corner fold.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp, the front very sharp, with minimal hint of wear. The back edge very slightly thickened viewed end-on, this being critical, both are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: The cover has a highly vulnerable spine simply because the laminate ends on the front face on both left and right edges. Meaning the thin spine is fully exposed and unprotected. So many end up rubbed with the text eroded, often fully with nothing left. This one has largely defied the odds and makes the difference between average to way above. This clean, solid and straight with any rubbing little, very patchy and light. A little clipping to the text here-and-there, but most is present and still very easy to read.

Corners: Small tip rubs and a crease on the bottom right, so a small dink likely from the past. Very fine or better shape is largely retained.

Cover Summary: A clean and attractive example of this quite delicate thin cover, just mild hints of it’s considerable age, but it should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): an unlined black and white promotional inner. Not actually seen this one before, it promotes CBS records one side and stereo equipment and accessories on the other. This is superb, clean, fresh with minimal creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs. Made in Great Britain with ‘PATENTS APPLIED FOR’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): very clean, fresh with a lovely shine and very solidly pressed. Any surface traces are very fine and faint as seen under bright angled light, no penetrating stylus stratches and this is an impressive early copy with sound to match. It should please many, if not 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 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: This blues-rock classic 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. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. 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 been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. 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’.