JOHN MAYALL, ERIC CLAPTON, BLUESBREAKERS RARER ORIG UK 1969 UNBOXED STEREO EX++

	£		93
	$		123

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

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: BLUES BREAKERS – JOHN MAYALL with ERIC CLAPTON

Album Title: John Mayall’s Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton.

Producer: Mike Vernon.

Engineer: Gus Dudgeon.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: All Your Love; Hideaway; Little Girl; Another Man; Double Crossing Time; What’d I Say.

Side 2: Key to Love; Parchman Farm; Have You Heard; Ramblin’ on My Mind; Steppin Out; It Ain’t Right.

Cat Number: SKL 4804.

Label/Format: Decca – Original unboxed Stereo format with matt, deep blue smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both in supreme conditions: ultra clean, fresh and hugely attractive with only just a couple of super-fine spindle traces on side two, barely even a hint on one. This beautiful first pressed stereo record looks barely even played, reitterated by superb clean sound quality throughout. This a record and copy of archive quality and from a beautiful collection of treasured albums – you are unlikely to find a better available example of this landmark blues classic.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 134 grams. A typical solidly pressed Decca record.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: The stereo version was issued in 1969, around three years later than the mono. Briefly available on the unboxed format in stereo before being repressed boxed – henced first issue stereos are significantly harder to find. This a copy that does come very close to reminding of new and could prove the ultimate upgrade for many.

Original Year of Release: 1966 in mono – 1969 for the stereo version. This a late 1969 pressing, the label design changed within that year, thus most seen are boxed.

Matrix Nos: ZAL-7297.P-1W / ZAL-7298.P-1W

Stamper Codes: 1 BU / 1 BB (the second ‘B’ on side two slightly unclear, and my best interpretation)

Musicians: John Mayall – lead vocals, piano, Hammond B3 organ, harmonica; Eric Clapton – guitar, lead vocals on ‘Ramblin’ on My Mind’; John McVie – bass guitar; Hughie Flint – drums. With: Alan Skidmore – tenor saxophone, Johnny Almond – baritone saxophone, Derek Healey – trumpet.

Brief Artist & Album Info: An album of immeasurable greatness as an icon for the British Blues scene of the mid-1960s. With its very famous ‘Beano’ cover, this album always features high in any serious list of all-time greats, whether compiled by critics or the record buying public, and justifiably so. The Bluesbreakers quartet on this landmark legendary album hardly get more famous as listed above. Even non-blues fans usually want this one and treasure it equally, is any vinyl collection really complete without a copy? This is one of the most important albums ever issued to own in both stereo and mono, the mix is very different to the earlier issued mono version and the sound experience varies considerably. The stereo mix offers super imagery, detail and sounds more ‘open’. A 1969 pressing in truly magnificent condition – that’s both record and cover. It offers supreme sound and without any doubt, has been barely played – indeed, in vinyl terms, this is hardly even run-in. Decca quality was never compromised and this gem does it maximum justice. If your collection is missing this famous album, or is needing an upgrade, look no further – it’s here

Cover Grade and Format: MINT(–): this is one to hold and simply admire for it’s genuine beauty. A single format, laminated with Clarifoil on the front, this wraps around the closed edges and ends on the spine edge on the back. This one has NO peep-hole mono/stereo indicator back, this being a true dedicated stereo cover. Printed in England by MacNeill Press and includes the blue inner sleeve. Simply one of the greatest and most famous covers ever made - the four members sitting on the ground up against the graphittied wall - a young Clapton reads a 1966 Beano – just think, the famous year England won the football World Cup – yes, this title really was first issued that far back.

Front & Lamination: This is simply gorgeous and has totally defied it’s considerable age. I have given an overall grading of Mint(–), but this legendary front is even better and looks little short of as-made. Superb fresh, clear laminate that is devoid of the usual dulling or friction scuffs. Supreme shine with no lifting and any creasing bordering on minuscule. No press marks and all corners ultra sharp crisp. Even the fine laminate end line on the right has remained incredibly white and unaged. Being honest, I can hardly see how this front could ever be beaten.

Cover Back: Again, very impressive with minimal traces of any discolouration or ageing on the matt unprotected surface. A gentle hint of toning near the top edge with even less on the bottom one. This a mere natural reaction to the adhesive area of the internal flipback construction that is seen as the barest minimum on all similar design covers. Overall clean and fresh with no rubbing or scuffs, even lacking the usual rim impression. A tiny few fine hairline laminate creases on the extreme spine edge area. Even the laminate end is clean with no grime-line formation and minimal natural shinkage movement or evidence of. A lovely back to complement the stunning front.

Top & Bottom Edges: Straight with very smooth, clean surfaces with no laminate scuffs or dinks. What sets this apart from most also is the lack of bowling. Clarifoil laminate so often either lifts or bows the thin card – this has neither which is more than unusual.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and very sharp with real crispness, barely any hint of thickening or burring at all. The record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way, the wideness of the strip on the front laminate ends is totally conclusive.

Spine and Text: Solid, again very straight with any compression minimal and very light. No creasing at all, so totally robust even though made thin. All text is sharp, clear and totally unworn under the solid unpeeled laminate, this also well-centred. The ends are pinched in manufacture.

Corners: All incredibly neat with minimal traces of any tip rubbing. Better than excellent, all practically as-made shape retained with no dinks or creasing worthy of mention. Thin card covers rarely will be seen neater on the ends than this.

Cover Summary: This is one for connoisseur cover fans, one that does it maximum justice, the front especially is magnificent. Barely aged at all, this will prove near impossible to find better.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+) with just a fairly light corner crease. A blue ‘STEREO’ Decca inner sleeve, these were usually polylined, but this one was not. The inside has NO adhesive marks or darkening, hence this was never factory lined. The Rolling Stones ‘Let it Bleed’ inner sleeve also from 1969 was also never lined either, this one being similar with the standard text. Minimal ageing with all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(–): or as close as a very popular 1969 album is likely to get. A superb visual copy that appears hardly even played, and this offers top sound to match it’s impressive looks. A very clean record with a lovely shine very solidly pressed. Any surface traces ultra fine and faint even as seen viewed with scrutiny under bright angled light – I grade all my records under an intense desktop lamp and leave nothing to chance. A quality Decca pressing as you would expect and this will please most-all collectors, and like the cover, could prove a major upgrade.

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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This wonderful stereo record plays even above it’s high visual grading with practically nothing 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. Practically devoid of surface sounds, I heard barely anything unwanted. This record sounds wonderful with all the clarity and detail you could justifiably expect from a Decca record. Mastertape quality, it will thrill all listeners who take sound seriously. A record with a very powerful and dynamic sound mix with quality stereo imagery and separation. Decca pressings were amongst the toughest and best made, no matter what era they were made, they rarely fail to please. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this blues masterpiece – the music did the talking and was a genuine thrill to hear in stereo again. A copy unruined or abused on basic record players of the era, a fantastic all-round copy that merits my strongest 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 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 Blue 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’.