MARTHA VALEZ Fiends and Angels Again RARE UK 1970 BLUE HORIZON EX. SUPERB SOUND.

	£		126
	$		166

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: MARTHA VELEZ

Album Title: Fiends and Angels (Again).

Producer(s): Mike Vernon.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: I’m Gonna Leave You; Swamp Man; A Fool For You; In My Girlish Days; Very Good Fandango; Tell Mama.

Side 2: Feel So Bad; Drive Me Daddy; It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry; Come Here Sweet Man; Let The Good Times Roll.

Label/Format/Condition: Blue Horizon – with matt, smooth surfaces. Spindle marks on side one are very few and mostly fine. Side two has more but less than moderate. This is a beautifully clean record with sound to match.

Cat Number: S 7-63867.

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: 135 grams. A very good solid weight for any record.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rare: and not seen often. One of the most sort-after albums on this label, not only for the quality of the songs and music. The backing band as seen further down includes many legends in rock and blues music.

Original Year of Release: Originally issued in 1969 on London Records and without the extra word ‘Again’. It has a totally different cover but the songs are the same. It was repressed in 1970 now on Blue Horizon, and more unusually for a repress, has a higher catalogue value – clearly Blue Horizon being a more collectable label than London. The cover on this copy very different and now including text for all the backing musicians. Both versions of the same album sold poorly and is highly sort-after by by blues and rock collectors alike.

Matrix Nos: S7-63867-A1 / S7-638670-B1

Mothers / Stampers: A 1 / A 1 [the earliest CBS pressed copy made, these incredibly hard to find]

Musicians: A special mention for the artists appearing on this album – quite possibly the greatest gathering of blues-rock talent ever to appear on any record excluding compilations. They were: Eric Clapton; Jack Bruce; Mitch Mitchell, Rick Hayward; Duster Bennett; Dave Bidwell; Andy Silvester; Stan Webb; Christine Perfect (later McVie); Peter Shelley; Paul Kossoff; Jim Capaldi; Chris Mercer; Johnny Almond; Jeff Condon; Chris Wood; Honk, Mick Weaver; Brian Auger, Keef Hartley; Gary Thain, Spit James; Terry Noonan; Bud Parkes; Derek Wadsworth.

Brief Info: Born Martha Carmen Josephine Hernandéz Rosario de Veléz, an American born of Puerto Rican descent. She has a classically trained voice and her vocals on this legendary album are quite extraordinary, at times sounding very similar to Janis Joplin. Highly charged and with great soul and emotion, this lady does not hold back and more than holds her own with the incredible backing line-up. Special mention for the short song, ‘Very Good Fandango’, where she sings unaccompanied in the most blistering, shrill operatic vocal you will ever hear on a non-classical record. This will prove the utmost test on pressing quality and more to the point, if the record has been subjected to damaged or worn stylus in the past. This immensely intense and complex passage of sound will be easily destroyed by less than worthy equipment. I can state here it plays to perfection and totally controlled and pin-sharp. As does the rest of the album in fact, this has been little played a few times, but with utmost care and it sounds fantastic and should delight all Blue Horizon collectors and blues connoisseurs. One of the greatest female blues albums ever issued and highly elusive, this is a very impressive example and it will not prove easy to find better.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: or very close to. A wear-prone unlaminated single format cover and it was printed and made in England by Shorewood Packaging Co Ltd and has the Patents Pending text. The card being fairly thin and clearly vulnerable to all forms of wear and seldom seen with little.

Cover Front: Again I state, this Blue Horizon copy has a different cover graphic to the London 1969 copy. A very close up portrait of the lady, and this has little wear at all. Any marks, rubbing or creasing tiny, very light and faint, mostly seen critically under angled light. This retains deep unfaded colour and a high degree of freshness, the lack of ringwear a massive plus also. Just a little tiny corner tip rubbing but little else.

Cover Back: The only blemish of any note is the faded traces of a name of the female original owner near the top left corner – it hardly registers, the written media almost entirely faded away with just small and light impression seen with more close-up scrutiny. Even with considerable areas of pale colour (white to light grey) any grubbiness, or creasing minimal and this back has faired almost as well as the front.

Top Edge: Very patchy, generally light (moderate near ends) rubbing on a fragile thin edge.

Bottom Edge: Largely the same.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with very little thickening or burring, any traces seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: A super spine: solid, straight with minimal traces of compression. All text is perfect and unworn, even well-centred on quite a narrow depth.

Corners: Light (left pair) to moderate corner tip rubs. Very fine shape largely retained with no knocks creasing.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this very fragile early 1970’s cover, one that will prove difficult to find much better. A major variant on the London version and neither are seen often. This one being unlaminated harder to find in attractive condition. This should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): in terms of wear, barely any, just aged with the commonly seen toning of the seam adhesive areas. This a plain open unlined white inner with two immaculate window circles, barely any creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: side one (+). A very fine visual copy that is very clean with excellent shine and very solidly pressed. A small few light surface marks, totally superifical and mainly only seen under bright angled light. No penetrating scratches, thus no pops or clicks heard. Visually a super record that should please many collectors again.

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: A great female vocalist, but many I suggest still yet to discover her. But most music lovers will be more than familiar with many of the superstar backing line-up that includes Eric Clapton, Free’s Paul Kossoff, Jack Bruce and Traffic’s Jim Capaldi (amongst other considerable talent). Being an actress as well, she was less prolofic as a singer, but an immense talent as this inspired album proves. This copy plays even above its 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. Barely any surface sounds and a superb pressing by CBS for Blue Horizon with no inherent invisible sound issues. Few copies will outperform this ultimate first pressing on this label I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played only modestly and has been generally well stored and mainly played with due care. 44-year-old records will acquire a few minor surface marks over time, that is a stone cold fact (unless unused at all). Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, my first Blue Horizon copy for at least five years. It will prove difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium 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 and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand+ based on over 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. 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 FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 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 £3 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’.