King Crimson-Islands 1st UK pink Rim 1U EX/NMINT-

	£		100
	$		133

King Crimson

Islands

ILPS 9175  Stereo 1971 ORIGINAL UK vintage press

Matrices 1U-1U very first pressing

Mother stampers Earliest 1  G M  /  1  G  M

A very scarce vintage press in sensational condition, aurally and visually. Without a doubt, King Crimson were one of the most influential leaders of the British Progressive rock scene of the seventies era. A must have album release for any serious vinyl collector.

Labels

First issue pink rimmed Island label format with hardly a spindle trace. White back ground no discoloration with no rips or tears. Excellent + condition with little to fault . Indicates a very lightly played record .

Album sleeve

Very unusual format design with no title or printed credits anywhere . Assume that it must be E J Day printed as inner lyrics sleeve was manufactured by the same. First issue cover with two flip backs on either side of cover. Unlaminated format and proved to be notorious for massive wear and tear, vinyl impression/ring wear etc.  This particular album sleeve has none of these common faults!! In excellent condition with only some furring to two corners and extremely light wear on lower edge. Even the opening edge has no feathering or thickening of the card through use and it appears to be very lightly handled with just a soft fingered touch. The flip backs are precariously exposed on reverse face when the album is pulled out for use, but these flip backs are near perfect with little damage if any. Coloration on faces is superb with no fading detected. Stored away from direct sunlight by a very keen and careful vinyl enthusiast who took much pride in his collection . Unbelievable and in excellent++ condition.

We have now come to the pinnacle of the pyramid- the Inner lyrics sleeve

This is an extremely ULTRA delicate gatefold, inner lyrics insert which has NEVER been found to be perfect until now… Because this insert was never used by the owner- perhaps once, maybe twice only, because he stored the vinyl in a second insert sleeve that he just happened to have! This insert is the best example ever viewed by collectors worldwide as there is such a small amount of damage , and hardly noticeable from a visual perspective. The inner lyric main hinge fold is very delicate and paper thin and most split and tear resulting in massive damage. This fold has a one inch tear ONLY along spinal fold and one can perhaps pick it up in photo, but is very unnoticeable as it runs along the fold very neatly. When holding the inner sleeve to the light, there is some light filtering through one inch of the mid section on the fold also but virtually invisible unless you do this. A phenomenal exhibit as no other damage is observed. The faces are ultra clean and each corner sharp and pointed. The right side of the gatefold is a storage compartment for the vinyl and has all the lyrics/details and intricate artwork in perfect presentation for this gigantic Crimson release. Impossible to locate in this nr mint - condition and a very rare exhibit indeed . Not a better exhibit in existence today, I am sure of that!

Audio

The album represents a classic example of King Crimson’s music, the group renowned for there intensive blasts of impounding rock explosions against near silent passages of music, with a  peppering of soft vocals. Beautiful sound and an incredible rock group of that era. The audio has all of these classic extremes of Crimson’s music and it is almost impossible to locate a perfect sound from this recording. However, I rate this vinyl with an excellent audio as tones are quite sensational and rise above any surface disturbance. Even though the tiniest amount of static can be detected during the quieter music passages, it remains extremely distant and is in no way obtrusive. The odd inexplicable solitary pop, heard once or twice, but this audio definitely rates as one of the best aural deliveries ever heard from this release. There is an incredibly silent part on side 2 penultimate track, and covers quite a few of the grooves, and there is very little surface disturbance if any during this part of the album. The ultimate test for sure and it came through exceptionally well. I doubt if you will find much better than this.

Without a doubt,one of the best examples of this album in existence today . A near perfect inner lyrics sleeve, a beautiful album cover, a thick quality vinyl with a mirror like sheen, similar to mint vinyl and a sensational audio. 

Absolutely stunning! An unbelievable example of this monumental Crimson classic.

Shipping

UK-£4.00

Europe-£5.00

USA/Japan-£8.00