CREAM - Fresh Cream VERY RARE ORIG UK 1966 STEREO EX+ LP. STUNNING FULL-ON SOUND

	£		79
	$		105

ONEADAYRECORDS – Serving-up a Christmas Feast of Entertainment.

I would like to wish all my customers, regulars and newcomers, a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Over the Christmas Holiday Period, I will be offering some really lovely pieces for your purusal and future enjoyment, so please keep watching.

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 will now be blocked 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: CREAM

Album Title: (The) Fresh Cream.

Producer(s): Robert Stigwood.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: NSU; Sleepy Time Time; Dreaming; Sweet Wine; Spoonful.

Side 2: Cat’s Squirrel; Four Until Late; Rollin’ and Tumblin’; I’m So Glad; Toad.

Label/Format: Reaction – Deep violet format, rough, textured finish (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both look lovely: clean and still quite fresh and attractive. Spindle marks are light+ to the lighter side of moderate on side two. No writing with rich deep colour retained. One played a few times for sure, but this vintage record still offers very impressive stereo sound

Cat Number: 594001.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 147 grams. A very good weight for this album.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Any very early copy in this condition are scarce. But the earliest stereo pressings are rare. This was still very much the era of the mono record and most made and sold initially were in the single channel mode. Far fewer stereo pressings were even seen in shops with only the bigger retailers even stocking them. This record is a beauty from another magnificent lot, modest usage and sound that blew me away – the cover, although with a little creasing, is also lovely and way better than most of the grubby worn examples seen offered. So another gem of near archive quality, this will please most fans and collectors.

Original Year of Release: 1966

Matrix Nos: 594001 A // 1 1 1 ? & 594001 B // 1 1 1 3

Musicians: Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals; Jack Bruce - bass guitar, harmonica, vocals; Ginger Baker - Drums, vocal.

Brief Artist & Album Info: One of many classic debuts from 1960s, Cream were a British supergroup in their infancy. It features five non-band titles and no composition credited to Clapton at all - but with the quality of material included, did it really matter? Brilliant virtuoso blues-rock, the Cream legend began here. This is a superb and considerably rarer stereo first issue, most copies seen are mono as purchased by the vast majority between 1966 and 1968. This super-shiny and fresh record appears very little played with two lovely clean labels and only a couple of minor surface marks that have NO sound whatsoever. I had the pleasure of playing this at high volume, and quite honestly it left me aghast. It has been some time since I experienced a stereo copy of this album on vinyl. The sheer power and details from this first-issue record were astonishingly good. An album recorded very loudly, keeping this fully focused within the era of heavy-tracking record players is some achievement. The cover is also lovely, not perfect, but it will prove immensely difficult to find cleaner or better. A beautiful piece of popular music history, and all the huge positives outweigh any tiny negatives.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): a single, front laminated design, this laminate protects the top and bottom edges but not the spine that clearly makes it highly vulnerable to wear. Hence very few are seen with the spine text present with little wear. Printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day and includes the ‘Patent Pending’ text.

Lamination & Front: Being a dark cover, this is somewhat revealing and seldom seen this nice. The only issues of any real note are a little creasing and a small lift near the top left corner, that apart this is superb. The laminate retains a rich shine, freshness and clarity with the graphic beneath looking practically pristine. Any traces of friction rubs or dulling very gentle and faint as seen critically under angled light. Any other creases are merely super-fine and small edge types that few covers this great age will fail to have as a barest minimum. Both left and right edges have the fine unlaminated strips for the laminate end, and both are clean and barely worn or rubbed – most importantly, on the right, present meaning this cover has not been trimmed or enhanced. Viewed normally, full-on, this front looks lovely and will take a fair degree of beating, this being a genuine stereo original which, of course like the record, is much harder to find than the mono.

Cover Back: One of the most difficult back cover to find in clean condition, this invariably becomes grubby, often ringworn and tatty. Apart from a light creasing near the top right corner area and tip, this has little to fault and is probably the best I have seen for years. This being almost as clean and fresh looking as when made. Look at the picture, when was the last time you saw one looking like this?

Top Edge: Laminated, smooth and straight, a tiny and very faint scuff trace on the very left corner, but his almost nit-picking.

Bottom Edge: Little short of immaculate and still with a lovely laminate shine. Straight and mostly very smooth as above, all impressive for a thin storage edge.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with any thickening or burring minimal and light as seen viewed end-on. Also seen then is just how thin the card is making such clean examples all the more difficult to find. This guaranteed untrimmed, in fact these edges are not quite flush from the manufacture trim – there is way possible to fake this naturally made finish. Record entered on this edge.

Spine and Text: The spine is thin and beyond fragile with no laminate protection. Hence finding one with most of the text present, easy-to-read and even well-centered is incredibly hard. Most are seen threadbare with all text eroded away. This has little wear with any rubbing registering little on a white surface. Thin with minimal compression and still mainly straight, this will prove difficult to find better.

Corners: Any tip rubbing is small and very light with just a small tip crease of the back top right. Very fine to excellent shape is retained.

Cover Summary: An attractive example with least ageing and grubbiness or rubbing I have seen for many years. A little creasing as stated, but little detracts from what is a near exceptional and much stereo example. Many indeed could even consider this an upgrade, the back especially is rarely seen like this and to include the vast majority of spine text is some achievement as well. A rarer stereo vintage cover that will please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a plain white polylined inner that is date coded 017 (January 1967) that means a very early copy. Two crisp undamaged window circles and the lining clear, if a little crinkled. The corners are creased – many owners did this reduced the risk of the record sliding out – the edges are unsplit with no repairs. It has some adhesive darkening on the seams. So fairly modestly aged and why not? – this is close to 48 years old – I think it’s earned the right.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading & Sound: EXCELLENT / EXCELLENT(++): side one has three or four surface marks that have NO sound, side two has little. All superficial, non-penetrating and with no audio issues. Any tiny and minor surface traces seen more critically under bright angled light are fine, few and faint, for a popular record of this vintage, this is still a lovely example. A very loudly recorded record that plays above it’s visual grading with barely anything to fault. It offers focused, crisp and distortion-free sound with minimal traces of surface sound. The music so dynamic and full-on, anything minor blemishes are lost. This gave me a truly memorable play-grade – I remind too, I play all my records on one of the world’s most revealing front ends, the Linn LP12, little escapes it’s ruthless ability to reveal – good and bad – but nothing ‘bad’ was heard here. The stereo mix of course quite different to the more familiar mono, this images superbly. And for those who prefer the two channel experience, this will prove near unbeatable. We all know what these vintage classics can and usually do look and sound like these days. At times, the harmonica is blown to bear destruction and almost saturating the sound with intense volume and intensity. This record holds it all together perfectly, if indeed your system can too. Beautifully produced with incredible dynamic delivery of the music, this gives that rare tingle factor. This most famous of power-trios in their infancy, this copy more than justifies the importance of this debut set that will prove difficult to find better to attractive looks and, most importantly, sound. This again should please many, if not most collectors and deserves strong recommendation.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium 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 and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand+ based on over 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? 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 FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 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 £3 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’.