LESS THAN JAKE Smoke Spot ORANGE & BREW 7" debut ska

$

51

LESS THAN JAKE
" Smoke Spot "
EXTREMELY LIMITED EDITION obviously-out-of-print 7" EP DEBUT in a special cover made exclusively for a show at the Orange & Brew! EITHER 25 or 40 COPIES OF THIS COVER EXIST!   The Less Than Jake website, as well as Discogs and other sources list this as being an edition of 40 singles made specially for the show. But, as you can hopefully read in the photo, the inner sleeve of this single seems to claim that this is one of only 25 copies left from the original pressing which they decided to dress up in a special cover and give away for free at the Orange & Brew show.   According to all the sources I could find, this single that I've had for almost 20 years, has an exclusive cover (that either exists only in an edition of 25 or 40 copies.)   The front cover features a face, smoking a cig, surrounded by a circle of other smokes, with the Less Than Jake logo up in the top left & the words "Smoke Spot" in the upper right hand corner. A flap stretches under and overlaps the 7", with song & label info.   The inner side of the sleeve reads: "Hey! Well aren't you a lucky f*ck. This is a copy of our 1st 7".  It is a second repress of the original 300 done for "No Idea" We only had 25 left and they're already paid for, so instead of being greedy, we're gonna dump these last few off at the Orange & Brew show on Oct. 28. So listen to it, it's free.  If you want lyrics or feel the need to send Pez, write to: LTJ P.O. Box 12081 Gainesville, FL 32604   So as far as I can understand, since the 2nd pressing of this single was done on yellow wax, this didn't come from any second pressing or "repress", as they state. I think they are saying that this was part of the last 25 copies of the original black vinyl pressing, and that they were going to get rid of them with a special cover before the 2nd pressing actually came out in different vinyl w/ a different cover.   If anyone has any different info, or can add to what I know, email us and we'll print whatever isn't crazytalk. All I want you to know is that this single is VERY special to me, and I've owned it for about 17 years.  It was never played because I had another copy.  The sleeve has very minor edge crinkles and a very light ring, but hopefully you can see in the photos what great shape it's in.  The cover is, judging very harshly, at least EX, and possibly better.  The record, I sh*t you not, is NM.   UNPLAYED!   For info straight from their site: http://www.lessthanjake.com/releases/35 First Pressing:
300 full-color, silkscreened covers. Black vinyl. Second Pressing:
200 on yellow vinyl, photocopied covers. Third Pressing:
Limited to 3,100 or more. The paper colors were all random colored paper after the 2nd pressing. So we don't really remember how many of what color, etc. The covers were just xeroxed in random batches whenever they started to run out, with whatever paper was available at the copy center. Each time we made them, the covers were gradually worse quality, because we kept photocopying from the last batch of covers! The final pressing of 200 was really hideous, with PINK covers...we drew cartoons all over them before we copied them, really dumb stuff! Like writing Roger's name, & his girlfriend's name above the people, etc.! There are 15 with colored vinyl and white xerox covers with the original drawings used for the xeroxes. There are 63 xeroxed on pink using one of those covers. There may be more out there. There are also 40 Smoke Spot 7"s out there with a completely different cover that was sold at a show in Gainesville at the Orange and Brew. Some other variations include: Black and white xerox cover with purple vinyl, Yellow cover and red ink with black vinyl, Yellow xeroxed cover with black vinyl, Yellow cover with LTJ logo lettering on the top with black vinyl.
    The run-out groove or matrix reads: U 35852M-A / U 35852M-B LIMITED EDITION NOW 17-YEARS OLD!   This is the most info I could find out about this record. I know it's rare, and I've been offered great amounts of money for it by LTJ collectors.  I'm going to cross my fingers, start the auction off low, and hope it goes where it should.  Good luck to you.  I really hope you're a Less Than Jake fan and not just a collector looking to make money.  I want this to go to a loving home, if you know what I'm sayin', chief.  All right, Ace.  Later, bucko.   P.S. What may look like a discoloration or smudge on one or both of the photos is on the camera lens itself.  If you want another picture of anything, just ask.  
We're very careful handling our goods. This was eased out of its sleeve, and wasn't touched on its surface OR laid down on any surface.  Unlike other sellers, we NEVER lay your record down!

cover/ vinyl     EX / NM
A1   Glumble  
A2   Lucky Day  
A3   Who Holds The Power Ring  
B1   Wish Pig  
B2   Awkward Age
(see the photos)




   
GRADING STANDARDS from GOLDMINE

NEAR MINT: Unplayed, like new and/or brand new.   NEAR MINT MINUS:
This is reserved for records that are a hair's width better than EX+, or just a fraction below NM (or brand-new). Another grading call, but generally it's a piece that is SO close to perfect that you could easily make an argument for it though honesty makes you feel the need to point out something keeping it out of the "nearly perfect" category.

EXCELLENT PLUS:
A judgment call.  This one is sometimes used interchangeably with NM-, but not with all sellers.  This category is for records that are ALMOST new-looking enough to pass for unowned/unused, but might have one or maybe two very minor problems that bother you just enough to not allow it to be there.  Mayhap a record that someone has purchased and never played, but when they removed the price sticker it left a 1/8 inch bare spot on the cover.  So basically, brand-new-looking, but has one light imperfection.

EXCELLENT:
An excellent record will be somewhere in that area between 1) a record that you could put in a plastic bag and pass off as brand new & 2) the VG+ record, which has just enough aesthetic spots to keep it out of the excellent category.  The vinyl can have some visible scuffs, or very minor lines or surface scratches, but should NOT have any lines/scratches that you can feel if you run your fingernail softly over its surface.  In other words, an Excellent record might have places that appear to be scratches, but they should not sound like scratches when you play them on a stereo system.  They key to this category is SOUND.  It can look slightly less than perfect but it has to sound clean. An excellent cover/sleeve can have very minor lines or creases caused by (not all-the-way folded) slight bending/folding of a corner.  There may be some very light wear caused by fingers touching the top of the cover as they flip by, and there might be the very lightest hint of oncoming ring wear, but there should not actually be real ring wear, and there can't be anything even close to a seam split, complete fold, rip or tear.  In other words, not quite perfect, but if not for an imperfection or two it might come close.

VERY GOOD PLUS:
Most collectors, especially those who want to play their records, will be happy with a VG+ record,

VG+ records may show some slight signs of wear, including light scuffs or very light scratches that do not affect the listening experience. Slight warps that don’t affect the sound are OK. Minor signs of handling are OK, too, such as telltale marks around the center hole, so long as repeated playing has not misshapen the hole. (This goes for your body as well. See a physician if your center hole is misshapen or has telltale marks.) There may be some very light ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable.

VG+ Covers should have only minor wear. A VG+ cover might have some very minor seam wear or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the most vulnerable location.

VERY GOOD:
Many of the imperfections found on a VG+ record are more obvious on a VG record. That said, VG records — which usually sell for no more than 25 percent of a an NM record — are among the biggest bargains in record collecting, because moost of the “big money” goes for more perfect copies. For many listeners, a VG record or sleeve will be worth the money. For the average Joe, VG is a normal listening copy. The high-end collector's satisfaction level generally bottoms out around here.

VG records have more obvious flaws than their counterparts in better shape. They lack most of the original gloss found on factory-fresh records. Groove wear is evident on sight, as are light scratches deep enough to feel with a fingernail.

When played, a VG record has surface noise, and some scratches may be audible, especially in soft passages and during a song’s intro and ending. But the noise won’t overpower the music otherwise. Minor writing, tape or a sticker can detract from the label. Many collectors who have jukeboxes will use VG records in them and not think twice. They remain a fine listening experience, just not the same as if it were in better shape.

VG covers will have many signs of human handling. Ring wear in the middle or along the edges of the cover, where the edge of a record would reside, is obvious; it may appear on all three sides, though it won’t be obvious upon looking. Someone might have written on it or stamped a price tag on it, too.

GOOD/VERY GOOD MINUS:
Good does not mean bad! The record still plays through without skipping, so it can serve as filler until something better comes along. But it has significant surface noise and groove wear. The label is worn and exhibits significant ring wear, heavy writing or obvious damage caused by trying to remove tape or stickers and failing miserably.
WE WILL SHIP YOUR PACKAGE, IF YOU ARE IN A COUNTRY THAT ALLOWS IT, SO THAT YOU MUST PERSONALLY SIGN FOR IT, OR SO THAT WE HAVE PROOF OF ITS ARRIVAL OR NONARRIVAL.  WE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE CHANCES WITH HIGH PRICED ITEMS BEING PURCHASED BY SOMEONE OVERSEAS WHO THEN CLAIMS THAT IT NEVER ARRIVED.  YOU WILL PAY FOR THE HIGHEST PRICED POSTAGE POSSIBLE TO ENSURE ITS DELIVERY.  I WORKED FOR A FRIEND WHO LOST HUNDREDS TO ITALY, GERMANY, ETC. IN THIS WAY. If you are located in one of those countries, you must be prepared to wait up to one month for your package to arrive. And you may have to be prepared to pay extra money for international tracking. If you buy more than one item, the postage remains the same, unless you buy/win 4 items or over.  Then it's an extra $1 per item.