Elton John (self titled) UK 1970 1st Press LP RARE RED VINYL DLPS 406 NM Play

$

73

Elton John
(Self-Titled)
Original UK 1970 First Press LP (based on Discogs identifiers: labels, matrix, red vinyl)
DJM DLPS 406
Rare Red/Purple Vinyl from Tranco Ltd. Pressing Plant
Matte Textured Jacket Finish
Gatefold

Item Details
Manufactured in: United Kingdom
Recorded: November 1969-January 1970 by Robin Geoffrey Cable at Trident Studios, London
Pressing: By Tranco Limited, Surrey, England on special red vinyl.
Original Issue: April 10, 1970
This Issue: 1970
Label: DJM DJLPS 406
Runout Deadwax Matrix Numbers:
Side 1: (etch:) DJLPS A4 1 C E
Side 2: (etch:) DJLPS B1 9 A A
Was bought new by this seller many years ago and now offered from his private collection (you have absolutely known provenance). Has had limited plays only on an expertly setup high-end audiophile turntable, arm, and cartridge. Has never been exposed to heat or tobacco smoke and always stored vertically in a specially designed record cabinet (Rackit) to prevent warpage.
Was cleaned on a VPI HW 16 with Audio Intelligent solutions and ultra-pure water rinse (50X purer than distilled water) before my pre-sale sound check. I wear nitrile surgical gloves while cleaning and play testing to avoid any chance of transferring finger oils to the vinyl.
Very sensitive play testing was performed straight off my Ayre P-5xe fully balanced phono preamp over Sennheiser HD 600 headphones using a Schiit Audio Valhalla 2 tube headphone amp fitted with Voskhod Soviet matched tubes (see last photo).
Track list
1: Your Song, Your Song, Take Me To The Pilot, No Shoe Strings On Louise, First Episode At Hienton.

2: Sixty Years On, Border Song, The Greatest Discovery, The Cage, The King Must Die.

I never take "distant" photos nor the so-prevalent type with the LP sticking halfway out of the jacket. I take close-ups under photo lamps so you can see nearly everything I describe in the jacket grading. It is virtually impossible to know the true vinyl condition from any photograph. That takes very bright and close visual inspection PLUS play testing with thorough coverage on high resolution equipment.
Grading Details
Note: Record grading by text characters is subjective and does not fully describe quality levels. Please see photos and my detailed descriptions below.

Outer Jacket Inspection:
NM--
The double minuses are for the rubbing wear on all corners and edges. Otherwise, the spine is intact and the flat surfaces of the both the front and back of the gatefold still have smooth unblemished textured matte finishes. I could not detect any ring wear. Please examine my photos very carefully so you can judge the grading to your own personal opinion.

Vinyl visual inspection:
After cleaning, surface visuals were inspected under high intensity halogen light. I rotated and tilted the record in multiple angles with my eyes a few inches away from the vinyl. The only thing I found worth noting on Side 1 was a reflective line entering Track 2 for a short distance. Since it might be some kind of scuff that could result in repeating ticks I made a note to check that track's entry during play testing. Looking again more closely all I could detect were some ultra fine ghost lines from the polishing effects of sleeve removal and re-insertion. Side 2 had almost no sleeve polishing trails, no lines at all, and was near visually perfect.

Play Testing:
VG++/NM
Extensive play testing was performed after visual inspection. I listened to the beginning, middle, and end of each track for a few minutes on each needle drop. I also listened to all lead-in, lead-out and transition grooves between each track. Some tracks were played all the way thru when digitizing my favorites to 192k/24-bit WAV files.

Side 1 Play
There was some audible crackle-like vinyl noise right at the very beginning of "Your Song" that quickly faded away as the volume built. A few tiny ticks here and there were heard, but the track got cleaner as it ran on. The character of the vinyl noise floor on transition grooves was more of a low crackle than dense ticks but a bit smoother that a lot of typical mass-produced vinyl. T2 was also played all the way through and on that one the play quality was consistently very good. No repeating ticks or clicks were heard during the first part of T2 so the artifact I noted during visuals must have existed above the groove modulations. Track 3 had a little bit of crackle at the start that went away quickly. During the quieter solo piano parts the viny noise floor stayed out of the way. During Track 4 I was finally getting a good handle on the overall audio qualities of the LP. The drums have a lot of impact with crisp transients and the bass lines have a meaty solidity that creates a consistent drive to the music. On T5 there is a quiet solo lead-in of Elton's voice that was delicate and unspoiled by any vinyl noise. That final track remained very clean and my notes praise the "excellent audio recording and mixing." I did hear the return of some crackle just as the end of that song faded down right into the lead-out grooves. There were tracks on this side would have rated NM or NM- but because of some momentary audible vinyl noise artifacts I thought it was better to drop the grading down a notch into VG territory. However even through those moments I did not loose my enjoyment of and appreciation for the musical content and production quality of the record.

Side 2 Play
On this side it was apparent to me that the vinyl noise floor was consistently lower in level and exhibited a smoother character than Side 1. T1 had lots of depth in the vocal solos in front of a nicely quiet background. T2 had great clarity and dynamics that should thunder out of a buyer's playback system. On T3, Elton's voice ramps down to a very low level for a gentle and moving musical effect while the vinyl stays quiet and lets one hear everything in detail and tone. My notes on T4 just say "perfect." T5 has a nice quiet solo piano intro that is undistracted by vinyl noise hand that stays consistent to the very end. At this point I had a solid conclusion that the grading on Side 2 should be NM. It was not because the manufactured quality and preservation was the equal of my audiophile re-mastered pressings. I felt convinced that for an ordinary 50 year old record this side made me believe that it sounded exactly the same as the first time I ever put it on my turntable.

Packaging

• Record will be placed outside the jacket to protect against seam splitting.
• Original inner sleeve was not retained over the years. Long ago I moved the LP into a better quality archival inner sleeve.
• Record has been placed into a new MFSL-style "rice paper" sleeve for shipping. This will keep vinyl surfaces clean during shipping and ultimate buyer usage.
• Outer jacket is contained in a new clear polyethylene protective sleeve.
• Sent in good quality record mailer with cardboard stiffeners.

• Shipping will be via USPS Media Mail for a flat charge of $3.98 per single album sale.
• A combined shipping discount is available on multiple sales completed within 5 business days($3.98 plus $0.50 for each additional LP).
• If you intend to buy more than one LP do not pay immediately but wait for my all-combined invoice. A discount for the combined items will show on that invoice. Then, once payment is received, the items will ship.