CREAM Wheels of Fire SCARCE Early UK MONO Double Set.

	£		91
	$		120

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe £11.75. Rest of World £15.75. ALL signed for. – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment – returns within 14 days only. I try to keep my P&P as low as possible after the very significant Royal Mail price increases.

Artist or Band: CREAM

Album Title: Wheels of Fire.

Producer(s): Felix Pappalardi.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: IN THE STUDIO: White Room; Sitting on Top of the World; Passing Time; As You Said.

Side 2: Pressed Rat and Warthog; Politician; Those Were the Days; Born Under a Bad Sign; Deserted Cities of the Heart.

Side 3: LIVE AT THE FILLMORE: Crossroads; Spoonful.

Side 4: Traintime; Toad.

Label/Format: Polydor – early examples with the M33 mono logo. Intense red, matt with a smoother finish.

Label Conditions: All four labels had a small round sticker on them prior to me acquiring them. These were removed by the previous owner and circular area is seen as a dulled patch. There is minor label disturbance with just the odd small pull mark or chip mark. Clearly an issue for the ‘label perfectionist’, but stating the obvious, offers no issues regarding sound quality which for me is of paramount importance. Mono copies of this double set are hard enough to find in lightly played conditions and the live album looks barely played at all – so-much-so in fact, it was difficult even fitting this on my LP12 spindle. Spindle marks on the studio album are only light, fine and faint. The live album has hardly any at all.

Cat Number: 582031/2.

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 these Records: 128 / 134 grams. Around average, maybe a little below for 1960s Polydor.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: A difficult album to find lightly played in mono. Also the cover is one of the most difficult ever made. Early issues had a ‘foil’ type finish on the outside faces. These are beyond difficult to find without significant wear and so few will even exist these days without ringwear, dulling, flaking and damage. This is not without wear but way better than many I have seen.

Original Year of Release: 1968.

Matrix/Stampers Nos: 582031 A 1 420 1 2 1 1 / 582031 B 1 420 4 / 582032 A 1 420 1 2 1 1 / 582032 B 1 420 ? (unclear)

Brief Artist & Album Info: A brilliant third album by the greatest UK power trio. Following the classic debut and ‘Disraeli Gears’ was never going to be easy, but ‘Wheels of Fire’ more than pulls it off and is possibly the perfect Cream album demonstrating beautifully balanced songs. An album issued as a double set with one side recorded in the studio and one side recorded live at The Fillmore in America. This was also issued as two single albums with similar, but different artwork on the covers and missing totally the spectacularly colourful inner graphic. This is Cream at their amazing best: the studio album is highly versatile, featuring some of their finest ever songs. Jack Bruce not only featuring on bass, but proving what a highly skilled cellist he is also, he even plays recorder on ‘Pressed Rat’. More surreal lyrics from Pete Brown, the combination worked perfectly again. The live album is pure power-house Cream playing heavy and loud with incredible virtuosity with blistering solos. This rarer mono copy has two very clean records, modestly played and offering lovely dynamic, more punchy sound. Little unwanted, the odd minor low-level click almost impossibe to avoid with all the music focused, precise and sharp – never to be dismissed lightly on ANY mono record. The incredibly fragile cover, one of the most unforgiving ever issued, is in more than very respectable condition with some wear but far less than most I have seen. So for those wanting this complete double-album version in mono, a great opportunity – the live album looks hardly even played.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: VERY High++ (off the scale): one of the most unforgiving and delicate covers ever issued with the ultra thin foil coating often peeled off in large areas or dulled, tarnished or very badly ringworn. This foil coating on the card is ultra thin, microns thick only, it simply flakes and falls off almost by looking at it. Few will ever avoid substantial wear these days.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(-): and do not underestimate how difficult this to find in this still very attractive condition. This is the original shiny format with a silver foil type finish, the inside is standard matt. A gatefold format that was printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day. This format was later changed to a standard matt type version which for the double set, is much easier to find.

Cover Front: Stunning and very complex artwork, all very psychedelic and rarely seen in the tin-foil style with practically all the graphic intact with barely any trace of flaking of the surface. This is still quite fresh looking with a very respectable sheen with any rubbing light and in terms of this, modest indeed. Some friction rubs are evident as well as a little rim rubbing but no flaking and any penetration into the foil itself, only light near the critical top and bottom edges. Very few marks and any creasing confined to the corner areas. This is a very nice front given all the facts.

Cover Back: Quite similar in most respects but a little more rim rubbing near the top and bottom – still modest for this one, so often the records grind into the cover and strip away the foil down to bare card which has not happened here. Again no flaking or significant creases but a few near the lower corners that have rubbed tip areas.

The Centrefold: Beautiful colourful artwork and in very attractive condition with little to fault. A little gentle rubbing against the inner flipback construction near the top edges and very faint traces of set-off that is nearly impossible to avoid – this being somewhat critical too.

Top Edges: Mainly small and reasonably light patchy chipping with modest visual impact. The front edge has barely any wear and retains practically all it’s fragile silver foil surface – that is somewhat unusual.

Bottom Edges: A small few light chips and practically all the delicate surface intact and strong – this I have rarely seen before. The right corners have moderate rubbing.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and sharp with barely any thickening or burring. The inside edges at the bottom have a wave near the edge, thus this does NOT show from the outside, it can be seen viewed end-on. Incredibly, the edges have avoided any major chipping (a trace on the back) and both are untrimmed. The records enter on these fragile edges. Interestingly, the back entrance when viewed inside, the pattern of the silver foil is seen near the edge. What has caused this strange effect I do not know

Spine and Text: Under the circumstances, this impossible spine has fared well. At the risk of repeating myself, few will avoid total peeling of the foil surface and often appear totally threadbare and tatty with only rubbed card seen. Still solid and neat, that mega-thin foil coating will rarely stay adhered to the card unless more carefully stored. Most here is present and the only chipping to the text has been caused by unavoidable fine centre-line creasing due to opening the cover, this pretty only on the digits of the catalogue number. This will crack and crease from day one simply by viewing the centre. Practically all the rest sof the text is seen clearly and solidly and apart from the corners areas, retains all the original silver surface with just the odd small chip or so.

Corners: Modestly light corner rubbing on all bar the bottom right pair that have more moderate rubbing. A little shedding of the foil surface here is close on impossible to avoid totally. Fine to very fine shape is largely retained with a little creasing and very low-level erosion of the bottom tips.

Cover Summary: Truly one of the most difficult and vulnerable covers ever made. The sheer complexity of the psych artwork and how daring to produce on such fragile surfaces. As stated this EJD version is impossibly difficult, so I have no qualms in offering a very respectable and still attractive original example. With most of any significant wear on the corners and the main four faces looking really nice (with an unsually strong spine too), this should still please many collectors, but not the perfectionists of course who will have to wait for the near impossible at probably vast cost. This will not be that easy to find better, look at the pictures – taken without flash as this reflects badly on these surfaces – there is NO camera trickery or enhancements, so look and decide.

The Inner Sleeves: NEAR EXCELLENT: a near matching pair with one having dark blue ink, the other a more ultramarine colour. The text details are almost identical with just a batch 50 and 51 being different. These polylined inners with date codes of 119 (November 1969), have only quite modestly aged with some discolour mainly around the seams where the adhesive has darkened. Both linings very clear as seen through four neat window circles that have just the odd small nick. Some corner creasing and crinkle but all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT and EXCELLENT(++): (not taking into account the label sticker marks). A very fine visual pair that are very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. In the Studio appears to be have been played a little more with a few light and mostly fine surface marks that have minimal to no effect on sound. Live at the Fillmore has barely any marks at all and looks hardly even played. Without doubt, this has been far less used than the average copy of this evergreen classic set that always proved popular. These should please many, if not most collectors.

Records 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: Both records play above their high visual grading with very little to fault. 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 with just a small few light clicks – mostly a sporadic one-off that over four sides, is more than difficult to avoid – especially on a vintage mono. No damaging arm drops or penetrating scratches, the odd stubborn speck or fragment being the main culprit for the odd sound blemish. Sound remains fully focused and sharp and devoid of those one-sided mono noises that many offer when played on higher-end stereo equipment. Few copies will outperform these early solid pressings significantly I feel sure. I am certain these records have been played lightly and very lightly and offer mostly clean and more enjoyable sound than most vastly played and clearly less well cared-for ones will. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful double set. The mono sound of the era gives a different feel to the music and of course, many connoisseur collectors prefer this – I have little preference on this one either way, I like both. The mono mix does offer really dynamic and punchy sound, the heavier guitar-driven live album sound stunning and really encaptured the band at their best. This set will prove challenging to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. Not for the perfectionist, but many will enjoy this.

Final Summary: Without doubt one of my favourite ‘popular’ 60s bands and have been since I was at school. A young art teacher introduced me to their music when I was a very young teenager and I was immediately hooked. Clapton, Bruce and Baker together made the most fantastic sound live and their more subtle studio tracks were simply magical. A blend of surreal rock-blues with distinctive psychedelic overtones – few did it better than Cream. A shame they did not make more albums but what they produced have stood the test-of-time supremely well and simply refuse to age. Most consider Disraeli Gears to be their classic album, maybe so, but Wheels of Fire is only a fraction behind and I actually think some songs are superior. This album (not this copy hasten to add), was one of the first I ever purchased as a teenager from a record shop in Colchester, this way back in the early part of the 70s, so I missed the mono cut. This double set is a fine all-rounder and with a highly respectable cover, inners, and modestly played records, a scarce opportunity.

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 8,000+ items sold in over 10 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 as 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] = £4.25

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]) = £11.75 (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 [£46 maximum]) = £15.75 Add £3 per extra LP. (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’.