IAN CARR (NUCLEUS) Belladonna RARE ORIG UK 1972 VERTIGO SPIRAL EX+ LP GREAT COPY

	£		128
	$		170

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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, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled 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: IAN CARR

Album Title: Belladonna

Producer(s): Jon Hiseman

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Belladonna; Summer Rain.

Side 2: Remadione; Mayday; Suspension; Hector’s House.

Label/Format: Vertigo – original Spiral format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both are in fine, quite clean condition, but not pristine. A little gentle dull spotting on side one seen under light. Side two has some mild surface marks, possibly from manufacture, that is speculation, but I am quite sure they are not spindle marks. Again less seen with normal full-on viewing, also a small trace of grubbiness near the hole which is tiny and very light. In terms of genuine spindle marks, only light, fine and faint, these looking what spindle marks always look like, and these showing little.By far the most important factor is the record’s playing surfaces and sound quality – both are fantastic. Little marked and quite sure very little played either with impressive clean sound. The cover is equally impressive and both disc and sleeve will prove hard to find better.

Cat Number: 6360076

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: 127 grams. A fine solid weight.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: First issue copies on the Spiral label are quite rare and surface very infrequently. Jazz-rock albums are seldom major sellers and this was no exception. Quite a late title in the Swirl series and not available long before being repressed on the new Spaceship format.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: 6360076 1Y // 1 1 1 6 & 6360076 2Y // 1 1 1 6

Musicians: Roy Babbington – Bass; Gordon Beck – Electric Piano; Ian Carr – Trumpet, Flugelhorn; Allan Holdsworth – Guitar; Dave Macrae – Electric Piano; Brian Smith – Tenor & Soprano Saxophone, Alto, Bamboo Flute; Clive Thacker – Drums; Trevor Tomkins – Percussion.

Brief Info: The fourth Nucleus album in all but name. A massively talented band led by the Scottish trumpeter Ian Carr. They made three previous albums to this on the Vertigo Spiral label and all are elusive and very difficult to find in decent condition. Nucleus played jazz-rock and this always had a more limited appeal for more mainstream rock fans – none of the albums sold well. Plagued by constant line-up changes and lack of success, the name Nucleus was dropped for this album and fared no better than before, in fact this is arguably the rarest of the four Swirl albums. This was a later record in the famous Spiral catalogue and when the label format changed not too long after first issue, it was pressed again on the brand new Spaceship format. This is a lovely example with high-quality sound, minor label blemishing that may possibly worry the connoisseur Vertigo collector, but little else to fault given the challening nature of the cover and album content. These full-on reed blowing albums were at most risk from heavy usage or mistreatment from the past. But this one looks and plays with hardly anything unwanted. The cover has little wear either, a little on the storage edges, but that is almost the least to be expected being realistic. So an elusive late Spiral to please many, if not most collectors.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: arguably worth of a (+), this another (predictably) challenging unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England, uncredited and includes a Swirl inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Vertigo, being Vertigo often had to be different to the norm. So storage of this album is on the front of the gatefold, which makes the front, rather than the back more vulnerable to ringwear. Glad to state, this has avoided it and overall, this front is impressive with hardly any creasing or rubbing. Any marks or ageing gentle, few and light with no sticker pulls or issues, just enough to politely remind of it’s vintage. Fine deep coloured retained as well, this is a very fine front.

Cover Back: The back is even better with any blemishes fine and light, any creasing or rubbing very light indeed. In fact viewed full-on, this looks almost as good as they get.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Very impressive indeed with little to fault at all. Even avoiding set-off – where dark ink rests upon white when closed – this has hardly any traces. Dark green ink also very prone to rubbing, this has barely even a hint.

Top Edges: Both straight, flush and parallel with any rub traces tiny, very few and faint.

Bottom Edges: Both almost as impressive with most of any rubbing seen on the front edge near the right corner. Elsewhere, little, any present being very light and mainly patchy.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The back edge is tucked with a real edge which has barely any wear at all and remains neat and straight. The front entrance edges are clean, sharp with minimal traces of any wear. Any thickening bordering on minuscule, even viewed end-on. Guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced, indeed these are quite cut flush in manufacture to reitterate the fact.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with no compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. There minimal rubbing to the surface, but it has faded a little, or to be accurate, the colour hue has changed with natural daylight exposure (as spines so often do). Green ink in most cases being one of the most susceptible to this (along with brown), but the actual graphic, and importantly, all the text is stull fully present and easily readable as seen in close-up. Minor rub traces to the actual fold being critical, but practically all still intact even here with no scuffs, just a little rubbing to the actual ends. So mostly positive news for a perilous area which in most cases was left exposed to what daylight does over time.

Corners: Mostly moderate tip rubs, or slightly less on some. Very fine shape largely retained with no knocks and barely any tip creasing.

Cover Summary: These unlaminated Vertigo covers are well-known not to age well and often rife with significant rubbing, grubbiness, creasing and ringwear – this has survived the years well overall. So a strong all-round example that should please many collectors, but not quite for the ultimate purists who want ‘perfection’ at any cost.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: only marked down a very small tear near on the top left front corner, and being gently aged with the usual edge darkening of the seam adhesive. A polylined Swirl inner with two crisp and undamaged window circles and the lining clear and still quite fresh. All edges unsplit with no repairs. Still a very nice looking Spiral inner. This one is date-coded April 1970, so likely not the original, but it the correct style/design for this album. I not totally sure if the dating of album to inner is an exact science in all cases. Anyway I have given all the facts and pictures of the inner included with this copy. Even these inners are becoming rare in their own right, even now being reprinted to meet demand.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): and probably worthy of an extra (+) as well. A super visual copy that is very clean with fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy with very light usage I am certain with any surface marks or traces very few, fine and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. No penetrating stylus scratches at all and this plays impressively well. Visually a lovely Vertigo original that should please many, if not most 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 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: This elusive and top-quality album plays up to, and most-all even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering 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 minimal, few and faint and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. This does have some quiet passages so CD silence is a tough ask, but there is little unwanted. This is quality jazz-rock of the highest quality and discerning fans will enjoy this. Few first issue Swirl copies will match or better this significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – this being my first ever Spiral ‘Belladonna’. It could prove difficult to find a great deal better and merits strong 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.

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 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. 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 - 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 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 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium 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, 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 14 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 – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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’.