COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH Electric Music… RARE ORIG UK 1967 EX++ FONTANA MONO LP

	£		156
	$		207

ONEADAYRECORDS – Serving-up a Christmas & New Year Feast of Entertainment

In this most difficult year, I hope these varied quality albums bring some seasonal cheer.

Over the Holiday Period, I am offering some interesting Christmas ‘Crackers’ – lovely albums – some rare – ENJOY!

And as ONEADAYRECORDS enters its 20th year selling on Ebay – I would like to wish all my customers – regulars and newcomers – a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & A SAFE, HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Postage: UK £4.95. Europe (including Russia) £12.95 (£1 per extra record). Rest of World £19.95 (£2 per extra record). All my records are sent in boxes and the price of them has increased over time and these are my first price increases for nearly 10 years. Royal Mail prices have also gone up again. I will never compromise on quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers reliable service without it.

Artist or Band: COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH

Album Title: Electric Music for the Mind and Body

Producer(s): Samuel Charters

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Flying High; Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine; Death Sound; Porpoise Mouth; Section 43.

Side 2: Super Bird; Sad And Lonely Times; Love; Bass Strings; The Masked Marauder; Grace.

Label/Format: Fontana with matt, quite smooth surfaces on side one. Side two more rustic with roughness felt below the hole making the text naturally less distinct and clear. This a perfectly natural pressing trait and nothing whatsoever to do with usage or any wear. In fact this incredible mono record appears hardly played and the sound is stunning – by a mile the very best sound I have ever heard. So-much-so, I had to put this incredible record to CD for my own future pleasure, it truly is nigh-on perfect.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a tiny few light spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. I wish all mono records could look and sound like this.

Catalogue Number: TFL 6081

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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: 150 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Very scarce as a UK first press mono. Not a major seller and few who shelled out for this would have played it so little and looked after it so well, this appears hardly played. Even the incredibly fragile cover has fared well, and few of these ever do. Any blemishes few and light described below.

Original Year of Release: 1967 on Fontana and repressed quite quickly (in vinyl terms) in 1969 on Vanguard

Matrix Nos: 6081 1L ? 1 420 1 1 / TFL 6081 2L ? 1 420 1 1

Musicians: Country Joe McDonald – vocals, guitar, bells, tambourine; Barry Melton – vocals, guitar; David Cohen – guitar, organ; Bruce Barthol – bass, harmonica; Gary ‘Chicken’ Hirsh – drums.

Brief Info: The brilliant psychedelic debut from Country Joe and the Fish, a classic from arguably the greatest year in rock music – 1967 – ‘The Summer of Love’. But largely overlooked in the UK, so first pressings on Fontana seldom surface, especially in this type of condition. The Fontana cover was quite crudely made, and almost begs for laminate protection which UK originals never had. Recorded in February 1967, it was one of the first psychedelic albums to come out of San Francisco. The final song ‘Grace’ was written in tribute for Jefferson Airplane’s lead singer Grace Slick. This record is fantastic, a truly superb example, and very well pressed, it appears hardly played and was a pleasure to play-grade from start to finish with the mono mix probably unique to vinyl and presenting the songs differently as you would expect.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(–): a single unlaminated format with matt smooth surfaces. The back has three flipbacks. Printed and made in England, includes the white polylined inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Original Fontana UK covers were not laminated and appear to have been made on a bit of budget, certainly compared to G&L and E.J.D. covers of the era. Wear and damage-prone and often rife with ugly ring wear, this is seldom seen in better condition. I think this actually looks quite a bit better than my fairly conservative grading, but it does have a few mild issues. Very few on the front however, and this up there with the best I have seen with probably the least wear to the colourful graphic. Any rub traces or creasing minimal and light and no sticker issues of which is surface is highly intolerant. This had a couple of tiny right edge thumb-nick splits which I have very neatly repaired and a very small knock on the top fold, then little else of real note bar a tiny corner tip rub, and few will avoid those. Still fresh and clean, a front crying to be laminated, but the first issue never had it. Ironically, when repressed on Vanguard, the sleeve was then fully laminated, proving on the odd rare occasion, a first issue item is not always ‘better’. This uncompromising surface has somehow avoided ring wear from the heavy record inside for decades, and never underestimate how rare that will be. Any rim trace impression as light and faint as realistically possible, that a massive plus.

Cover Back: The back also had a small left edge split which again I repaired as neatly as possible and there is little else to fault in that respect. But there is a very faded name near the top right which is only quite small and, in my opinion, detracts little, look hard to even see it. In terms of usage wear, this has little, the small split apart. The card has mildly darkened with a little relatively gentle grubbiness on flipbacks. The good news is, all three flipbacks are solid, very neat and crisp with no burring or damage. Covers with unlaminated flipbacks are especially prone to damage, often seen with chunks pulled or even lost. These fragile areas are almost as good as they get.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both thin, but solid and straight, any rubbing to the top one minimal and very light indeed, as stated a small knock just evident. The bottom again has little wear with only light patchy rubbing seen on the dark area towards the right. So often seen badly rubbed, even threadbare, but both these edges have survived the years very well.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both entrance edges remain reasonably sharp with any thickening patchy and only light. I have mentioned the repairs already from small thumb nick splits. They now appears as mild creases and I emphasise again, they are only small, especially on the front.

Spine and Text: A spine that has a low chance of remaining even decent. But this one is way better than decent, it is quite impressive with minimal wear. The surface has just a small chip and remains solid, straight with light compression. Again thin, so there is barely room for the text to fit within the depth. The best news possible is, virtually all text is present with any rubbing to it minimal, gentle and light, all still very easily read as-seen.

Corners: Any tip rubs small and light, very fine shape is retained (arguably better), and without knocks.

Cover Summary: I can hardly emphasise enough, just how wear and damage-prone this original first issue Fontana cover is. Unless stored to the highest possible degree, it has little chance of avoiding most forms of wear, and often severe. This one has fared very well in context and remains attractive, the front very much so, I have few, if any much better. This should please many collectors, but with the light name and minor issues, not for the purist or connoisseur collectors this time (But, the record may well be).

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a white polylined inner with a date-code 106, so manufactured in October 1966. Both window circles crisp undamaged, the lining still fresh and clear (emphasising to some degree the record has been rarely removed/inserted). Hardly creased and the paper only gently darkened with age, all edge folds are naturally intact. It is dual British Patented with the numbers: 800513 & 973939.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): and as close to a Mint(–) grade I could give to a vintage mono record, this is gorgeous. A superb visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and heavily pressed. A copy appearing hardly played on all the evidence with any surface traces bordering on minuscule, even under bright light. A couple of super-fine hairlines and little else, viewed in average room light barely anything registers. Visually a near remarkable first pressed mono record that should please most-all 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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This vintage psychedelic classic plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault – so-much-so, I had to put this CD for own future pleasure. How often does a genuine a gem like this show up in mono in such condition?, answer: rarely. This offers strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is high with a full dynamic range and detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed – hardly even a trace, even I played back the CD cop on my big digital system. The last song especially is so quiet and sparse, but even this plays incredibly well with hardly any blemishes at all, that is something I have rarely state. An impressive clean Philips pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. All the warmth of the vocals and instruments in the dynamic mono mode that I feel sure has not been reissued. When the mono mode was made defunkt, it was done so because mono record players were on the decline, fewer released – myself very much included – that the mono sound was not just about two channel separation, it was a different method or recording and presentation of the music, and sounded very different. And this still very much evidence when played on a standard stereo system. Few available copies will outperform this genuine first pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp played on my stereo system. I am certain this record has been played only only lightly and has been quite well stored and carefully handled. Yes the odd edge split can and does happen, and yes, some put their name mark on the back on occasion. But this is still a quality example of this classic set, one largely overlooked in the UK on issue. Maybe the band name including ‘Country’ put some off in 1967. But this band do not play country music, be assured of that. Nothing at all spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this magnificent mono record. It will prove beyond difficult to find better and this record merits my highest possible recommendation.

* 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. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

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 the item being offered with no digital enhancements. 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. 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 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. 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 17­ 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. 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’.