FRANK ZAPPA / MOTHERS OF INVENTION Ruben & The Jets RARE ORIG UK 1968 NEAR MINT.

	£		139
	$		184

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

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

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

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, 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 signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Artist or Band: THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION

Album Title: Cruising with Ruben & The Jets

Producer(s): Frank Zappa

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Cheap Thrills; Love of My Life; How Could I Be Such a Fool; Deseri; I’m Not Satisfied; Jelly Roll Gum Drop; Anything.

Side 2: Later That Night; You Didn’t Try to Call Me; Fountain of Love; No, No, No; Anyway the Winds Blows; Stuff Up the Cracks.

Label/Format: Verve original format with matt gently textured surfaces. All text and details as seen in the pictures.

Label Conditions: Both ultra clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle traces minuscule. This superb record appears hardly played and offers fantastic clean sound.

Catalogue Number: SVLP 9237

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 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: 137 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: First SVLP UK issues that had single covers, and are quite rare and notoriously difficult to find in better conditions. In recent years, available original Frank Zappa and Mothers of Invention albums have declined as more people are discovering this man’s work. Older fans also seeking upgrades for well worn copies of their favourites. The early originals especially did not sell well, and this particular album especially so. Most of the early original Verve classics, when they do surface, often trashed with grubby, creased and very shabby covers, and records hardly fit to even play. Few who bought these were hi-fi connoisseurs, many copies scratched and worn-out by vintage heavy-tracking record players. Finding these gems that still offer the very best sound with no degrading or serious issues is difficult. This a fantastic all-round example, appearing hardly played and with one of the best covers you could wish to see. I include for the winner bidder, repros of the impossibly rare inserts that only came with a tiny select few of the American first issues. I do even own originals myself and I have only ever seen them once – when I was a teenager when I bought a second-copy that had them – regrettably and even unforgiveably, I sold them many years ago and have never seen them since. Although the UK version never included them, they are great fun to have, even as a high-quality reproduction.

Original Year of Release: November 1968

Matrix No: V6 5055 A-1 / V6 5055 B-1

Mothers / Stampers: 1 G / 1 G [an ultimate first pressing with very first mother and stamper codes, ‘G’ being the very first in the pressing sequence]

Musicians: Frank Zappa – low grumbles, oo-wah and lead guitar; Ray Collins – lead vocals; Roy Estrada – high weazlings, dwaedy-doop and electric bass; Jimmy Carl Black and Arthur Dyre Tripp III – lewd pulsating rhythm; Ian Underwood – piano, saxes; Don Preston – piano; Bunk Gardner – saxophones.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Largely ignored on issue, Zappa’s album of retrospective nostalgia and one of his most personal. It must have raised a few eyebrows for those around at the time who bought the earlier psychedelic albums, as this is very different. An album that went back to the doo-wop sound of the 1950s, the music of Frank’s youth he was so proudly fond of and enjoyed in his younger days. This doo-wop sound was so faithfully reconstructed, it fooled many critics and listeners at the time to who was actually playing the music. Zappa originally decided to record this with a deliberate low-fi, scratchy sound, but decided against it. Instead, he used a compressed production to emphasise the mechanical nature of the music – it works perfectly and is still one of Frank’s greatest ever ‘sound’ albums. Ray Collins vocals rarely sounded better than on this amazing journey into the past. The Ruben parody still has elements of Mothers humour and fun, the balloon on the front cover states “is this the Mothers of Invention recording under a different name in a last ditch attempt to get their cruddy music on the radio”? – I would very much doubt whether much ever made it on the airwaves, especially in the UK. When the ‘shock’ of this ‘retro’ album wore off, it has become a real favourite amongst Zappa fans who had initially failed to understand it. Until fairly recently, it was long out-of-print with the original sound, the original CD versions over-dubbed with new instrumental parts, which quite honestly were tragic. There is no better way to experience this album than original vinyl. This is a very fine ultimate first UK pressing with a beautiful fresh cover and still offering the highest quality sound with barely anything unwanted. A fantastic opportunity for this brilliant piece of Zappa nostalgia and getting harder-and-harder to find as a genuine UK first pressed original. Owning both mono and stereo versions in virtually the same condition as this means it can offered.

Cover Grade and Format: MINT(–): a single format with front laminate, this covers all the folds and ends on the back on three external flipbacks. The main rear panel is matt and smooth. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd, includes the plain white inner sleeve with the ‘PATENTS APPLIFED FOR’ text, plus the two FREE reproduction copies of the super-rare inserts.

Cover Front: A magnificent front with superb artwork by Cal Schenkel is seen to virtually maximum advantage under very shiny, fresh and clear laminate that has minimal traces of dulling and no lifting. Any creasing tiny, very few and faint as fine edge hairlines with not even a single half moon at all. A stunning and amazing looking front with deep vibrant artwork that has not aged at all. One for the connoisseur Zappa fan and most collectors.

Cover Back: The young pencil-moustached Zappa overlooks the ‘The Story of Ruben and the Jets’ text. This back is virtually as-made as well – any brown streaking seems to appear on all first issue UK covers and I have yet to see one with none. This is well-known and most think it’s a manufacture issue, quite possibly right, or was it even meant to appear aged to make this retro spoof cover look older? Whichever, this one is magnificent and exactly as-issued. The three flipbacks are solid with crisp clean ends with no burring or grime lines to the laminate ends. Both front and back will prove beyond difficult to find better.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both quite straight, smooth with full laminate retention. No chips or scuffs up to the very ends, rarely seen like this again.

Right Edge(s), and Type: A little thickening to the slightly proud front edge mostly near the centre, the back has little. The record enters on these edges.

Spine and Text: A fantastic spine, again virtually as-made. Solid and straight with minimal traces of compression, the ends are pinched in manufacture. All the text matter, printed in blue as-seen, is pristine with nothing to fault and retains very deep colour – often this detail fades, but not on this one. Also nicely centred on quite a narrow depth. The laminate clear, smooth with no darkening to the white card surface.

Corners: All four immaculate with no rubbing and mint shape retained with no knocks or creasing. Even my own copy cannot match these, another rare sight on a cover over half-a-century old.

Cover Summary: A beautiful example of a genuine original Zappa rarity, this impressive 1968 first-issue cover will prove beyond difficult to find better and should please most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): a plain solid white unlined inner that has also hardly aged and including the correct first ‘PATENT APPLIED FOR’ text. Clean fresh paper, hardly creased with all edges naturally and solidly intact. I doubt if the record has hardly been removed.

The Inserts: NO GRADE: these are superb reproductions and printed on high quality A4 thick matt paper as-seen. Originals are nigh-on impossible to find and I am still searching for them myself. As stated, the UK album did not include them, and only a very select few early American ones ever originally did.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR MINT: with any surface traces minuscule. A supreme visual copy that is very clean with lovely shine and very solidly pressed. A 1G / 1G ultimate first pressing appearing hardly even played or even handled. Few will even survive much better than this and one to please most collectors again.

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: Few could have predicted the fourth Mothers of Invention record, the final original album they made on Verve, would have sounded like this. But clues for Zappa’s fondness of ‘Greasy Fifties Love Songs’ were on Freak Out! with a few of these songs included on that classic debut, albeit different versions. This rare original that failed to sell well, plays up to it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Offering strong distortion-free sound with no tracking* or inherent pressing noises. Sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds minimal to none, my play-grade was a genuine joy. The audio quality, detail, pace and rhythm of original vinyl will never be bettered for this album, this is how Zappa wanted it to sound, no digital tweaking, remixing or mastering is required, this is perfection and no enhancements are needed – only a good quality turntable and system to enjoy it on. Zappa produces an immaculate parody of the music from his younger days with astonishing authenticity, proving again what a versatile band the early Mothers were. A difficult album to even find now, and how many will actually survive in this superb all-round condition? Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. With it’s unique single cover, repro inserts and beautiful pulsating stereo sound, it’s totally indispensable, a rare opportunity – SNAT! – bop bop bah bop bop bah – rarely sounded better. It will prove immensely difficult to find better and merits my highest 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 Nessie 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 Nessie 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’.