JOHN MAYALL’S BLUESBREAKERS Crusade RARER ORIG UK 67 UNBOXED EX+ MONO -1A/-1A LP

	£		74
	$		98

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, 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: JOHN MAYALL’S BLUESBREAKERS

Album Title: Crusade.

Producer(s): Mike Vernon.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Oh, Pretty Woman; My Time After Awhile; Snowy Wood; Man of Stone; Tears in My Eyes.

Side 2: Driving Sideways; The Death of J. B. Lenoir; I Can’t Quit You Baby; Streamline; Me and My Woman; Checkin’ up on My Baby.

Label/Format: Decca – original unboxed format with deep ridge. These have matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both look fantastic: very clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle marks very few, ultra fine and faint. For a mono record especially, these spindle marks are almost as light as they ever get, and without any doubt, this superb record has hardly been played.

Cat Number: LK 4890.

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 this Record: 150 grams. A typical top quality heavyweight Decca pressing, this one actually above average weight.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Very scarce, and a first issue mono in this condition even more so. Far harder to find than just about any other UK John Mayall album and mono copies this clean are immensely sort-after. The record is exceptional and the offers fantastic clean sound. The cover has little to fault either and simply defies its considerable age. Still a beautiful piece that will delight many, if not most fans.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: ARL-7995-1A / ARL-7996-1A

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 BH / 1 G [first mothers and early stampers]

Musicians: Mick Taylor - lead guitar; John Mayall - vocals, piano, guitar, harmonica; John McVie - bass guitar; Hughie Flint and Keef Hartley - drums; Rip Kant and Chris Mercer - saxophones.

Brief Info: Brilliant follow-up to ‘A Hard Road’, this features the young Mick Taylor, pre-Rolling Stones era, who is arguably the real star backing member of this set which features some outstanding songs. For me, the hardest Bluesbreaker’s album to find, I have had several ‘Beanos’, ‘Hard Roads’ and ‘Bare Wires’ over the years, but few of these, and hardly any that matched the superb clean sound of this example. This has suffered no old stylus abuse and the audio quality is immense. With a super shiny, fresh cover as well as a clean (if smudged) ‘PATENT APPLIED FOR’ inner sleeve, this is a age-defying copy that could indeed prove a massive upgrade. For fans of this legendary bluesman, this is a very exciting find and this record can be treasured indefinitely if treated with the same respect as the previous owner.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a single format with front Clarifoil laminate, the wraps around the folded edges and ends on the back via the spine, there are no flipbacks. No peep-hole mono/stereo indicator, these came later in 1969, so as stated, this is a very early example. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press and includes the original polylined inner sleeve.

Lamination & Front: The front is practically worth of a Mint(–) top grading, just two tiny dot marks near the top right corner area being the only blemishes of any note. The Clarifoil laminate retains the most stunning shine and is ultra clear and fresh, and, unusually, has no lifts, friction rubs or dulling. Also barely a crease to be seen, an extraordinary age-defying front with even the white areas still very white indeed, not yellowed or darkened. The deeply pinched spine ends appear very neatly as flats when front viewed, and the artwork looks straight of the press new. The right edge has the laminate end line, the exposed fine strip being clean as well with minuscule blemishes.

Cover Back: The back has minimal traces of ageing – just the merest hint of darkening near the top and bottom edges, but how many will have less than this? Quite honestly, there is nothing else to fault worthy of mention. There is not even any rim impression or creasing on the exposed matt card. A super back to match the beautiful front.

Top Edge: No wear and very smooth, also mainly straight, so often Clarifoil laminated, thin card covers can bow badly.

Bottom Edge: The actual fold is totally unworn, the back panel card end is a little thickened in places over many years of resting, but has not burred and is very neat indeed.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with barely any wear and guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced. No thickening or burr traces worthy of mention, even viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A fantastic spine: solid, straight with hardly any compression. The ends are quite deeply pinched in manufacture and also look fantastic with perfect shape and straightness retained. All text is perfect and unworn, also well centred under the solid and unpeeled laminate. The surface being still very white with no toning or cracks, the surface totally smooth to the fingertip.

Corners: Apart from the odd minuscule tip darken or teeny crease, all are almost as-made. Crisp and neat with better than excellent shape retained with no bashes or dinks.

Cover Summary: A real beauty, these vintage Decca covers are so hard to find like this. A near top all-round example of this elusive original 1967 mono cover, one that will prove immensely difficult to find much better. With so little to fault, this could prove a major upgrade for collectors, and it should please most.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: this being critical, but it does have some smudging of the blue ink just right of the window circle. I have no full history of this copy, so it is pointless making guess to the reason why. I will always include the original inner sleeve if at all possible, and this one includes the rarer ‘PATENT APPLIED FOR’ text emphasisting how early this copy is – as confirmed by the matrixes and labels. It remains very clean and fresh, a little darkening of the seam adhesive as per most, but barely creased. All edges unsplit with no repairs. Both window circles immaculate and ultra crisp and the lining still nicely clear with barely any crinkle.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): which again hardly does this splendid vintage mono record full justice, few will survive a great deal better. The playing surfaces are very clean with excellent shine, freshness and quite heavily pressed on top quality Decca vinyl as you would expect from this master vinyl company. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence reitterated by very impressive, clean sound of the highest quality. Only ultra fine and whispy surface traces are seen under bright angled light, when it catches them just right – there are no penetrating stylus marks at all. We all what these old mono records were likely to be subjected to and few survive so clean and lightly played with audio clarity that almost reminds of new. I for one would be more than delighted to find all vintage mono records looking like this. Classic monos when found like this are a vintage treasure of genuine beauty and never, ever to be taken for granted. This 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This well preserved record plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely 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 sound barely even registered and this is an exceptional clean pressing, but again typical of Decca whose standards were second to none. Unfortunately, so many were heavily played on old mono record players, that is what they were made for let’s face it. Where there was a choice, people who bought mono usually did so to use on the appropriate equipment. Often with blunt, inferior sapphire stylus that wore very quickly and were rarely replaced in time to save the records from damage. The lack of groove wear on this impressive copy must and can never be taken for granted, so few play with fully focused and sharp sound, especially on such revealing stereo equipment for which they were not really designed. This was an absolute joy to listen too. The guitars and reed instruments are unclipped and precise with pristine clarity and no tracking issues*. Almost a gateway into The Bluesbreakers recording studio itself. Few copies will match, let alone outperform this very early pressing 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 spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – this up there with the very best I have heard, and I really do regard this one as one of the hardest to find. This record will prove very difficult to find better and merits strong recommendation.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Blue 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 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’.