C.O.B - Spirit Of Love (Vinyl, Mint original pressing) (Re-listed)
£
150
$
199
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Description
I would normally hesitate to grade any unsealed/opened record as "mint", same as I never used to like describing an antiquarian book as "fine", but this really is pretty much a perfect copy. This has been sitting in my LP collection since probably 1972, and I seem to remember buying it as a curio piece. It's quite likely that I played it once and then just shoved it in with the rest of my vinyl and ignored it for the next fifty years. I was never a great ISB fan, and I was probably way more in to the likes of Zep, Bowie, Yes and all that sort of thing at the time, so it didn't really grab me.
Having decided to clear out most of my vinyl now, as I really haven't used it much in the last 20-25 years, I re-discovered this and did a bit of research, and only then found out who it was and how well it was thought of and what it might be worth. So I played it, and I have to say it is one of the finest sounding LPs I've ever heard. The recording quality is fantastic, and the voices and instruments are all so beautifully separated and picked out. And this copy really is perfect, sound-wise. Not the slightest trace of background noise, hiss or any pops. This recording, and the physical quality of the pressing, is a perfect example of why I never bought the whole spiel about "perfect digital sound" when CD came along. On a decent turntable and with decent kit this will make absolutely any digital system blush - there is absolute silence for background - the sort of silence you can almost hear (sounds weird, but think about standing in a quiet cathedral, or maybe a big cave).
Anyway, enough of my prejudices. The specifics -
The record itself is as I have said above pretty much perfect. Proper '60s/'70s heavy duty vinyl, totally unmarked and flat, and beautifully bright and shiny. Zero background noise, so the sound rings out like a bell. My research hasn't indicated anything other than one original pressing of this, so I'm not sure the runout markings are relevant, but on this copy they are S 69010 A1 and S 69010 B1. Product code is S69010 on the disc lables, and just 69010 on the sleeve.
The original (and to my mind slightly bizarre) Tony Bennett inner sleeve is present, and is crisp and clean and undamaged.
The gatefold sleeve is also in VG+ condition (with a big "but", to be explained shortly), as it was always stored like most of my LPs from those days in a heavy duty vinyl cover. The colour is good, and there are no marks except for slight signs of the pressure of the record edge at the top of the rear cover outer face.
But . . . access to the inner sleeve and record required the gatefold to be opened up and the record slid out of the rear sleeve via the opening at the centrefold. And as I said, I stored all my LPs in heavy outer covers, which meant having to remove the outer cover to get at the record. So, and I seem to recall doing this to a couple of similar sleeves at the time, I trimmed off the outer edge of the rear sleeve so that the record could be accessed in the normal way, without opening the gatefold.
So depending on your point of view, the sleeve is either VG+, which is what it's condition would merit, or completely ruined. The trimming was done very neatly, and it was only because I noticed the inner edge access when I opened up the gatefold to check the album out that I figured that this was likely something I had done. So - it's not in its original state, but it is otherwise in excellent condition, and to be honest, if the inner seam were stuck down you'd never be aware that there was anything unusual about it. But it's your choice, some will find this acceptable, some not.
Relisting this record. Previous listing didn't sell, so assuming the sleeve is an issue. I've removed the grading for the sleeve now, but the record itself is still 'mint'
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