MOODY BLUES Days of Future Passed RARER UK Brown Deram

	£		78
	$		103

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: THE MOODY BLUES

With: The London Festival Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight.

Album Title: Day’s of Future Passed.

Executive Producer: Hugh Mendl.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Day Begins; Dawn: Dawn is a Feeling; The Morning: Another Morning; Lunch Break: Peak Hour.

Side 2: The Afternoon: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?); Time to Get Away; Evening: The Sun Set: Twilight Time; The Night: Nights in White Satin.

Label/Format: Deram – Original scarce brown and white format. Early DSS (Deramic Sound System) Stereo labels.

Label Conditions: Very clean and attractive examples with only light spindle marks and no wear around the hole areas. White labels this great age often look very grubby and obviously well handled, these are the exact opposite. Both retain a very white finish and handling evidence is minimal to say the very least. This pair of vintage Deram labels are a joy to the eye. (Please see label scans for all information).

Cat Number: SML 707.

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: 141 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Early brown label DSS copies are scarce. Most are found on the slightly later red Deram label which are relatively easy to find.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: ZAL-8078-3W / ZAL-8079-3W

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 UB / 1 BM

Brief Artist & Album Info: I honestly rate The Moody Blues as one of the finest British acts of the 1960s - I love all their albums up to Seventh Sojourn and they barely made a bad track let alone album and this 1967 issue is no exception - indeed I had ‘Nights in White Satin’ played at my wedding 25 years ago, that’s how much I like this wonderful popular progressive band. But it’s hardly the only classic on this landmark recording, ‘Tuesday Afteroon’ is equally sublime with arguably the greatest use of that wonderful instrument, the mellotron, ever. Always famed for their stunning cover artwork, this is yet another beauty with its colourful abstract, almost psychedelic painting by David Anstey. This scarce brown label stereo copy on offer is very strong and is never easy to find in top condition. An album of almost unbelievable beauty, music for the passing of a day. Haunting mellotrons and lush orchestration, melanchonic pop, with great lyrics and atmospheric poetry – the word ‘masterpiece’ comes to mind and it’s fully justified. The bravery of Deram to allow The Moody Blues to make an album of such originality and unchartered territory was a daring move but it eventually paid rich dividends for the both. Days of Future Passed brilliantly blends together stunning popular music with a symphony orchestra – both gain inspiration from each other and the results are nothing short of remarkable. Not only is the music moving and charismatic, its beautifully recorded. This is a super-fi recording with strong dynamics, immense power and grace with a very full range. So easily damaged by overplaying and abuse this copy has survived well and sounds beautiful for most all of its playing time. The odd minor surface sound is practically unavoidable on the some moments of near silence but this will not prove easy to find much better. The stereo mix is very different to the mono version and its sure to please the connoisseur collector who prefers to two channel imagery. A highly challenging and complex recording: orchestra strings and mellotron, with its haunting whooshy sounds, suffer groove wear badly and often sounds distorted and echoey, but this copy retains full focus and clarity, with no sound degrading. With the inclusion of a superb cover this makes a lovely vintage package of one of the truely greatest albums of that most wonderful musical decade.

Musicians: Justin Hayward – Acoustic and electric guitars, piano, keyboards, vocals; John Lodge – Bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals; Mike Pinder – Keyboards, mellotron, piano, vocals; Ray Thomas – Flutes, horns, percussion, keyboards, vocals; Graeme Edge – Drums, percussion. With: Peter Knight – Conductor, arrangements; The London Festival Orchestra.

Cover Grade and Format: EX++ and little short of Mint(-), single format, laminated with Clarifoil on the front. This wraps around the spine edge on to the back. Made in England by Clout & Baker Ltd. A dedicated stereo sleeve as printed on the front, back and spine.

Cover Front & Laminate: Beautiful fresh and ultra clear laminate. All fully adhered with no blistering or lifts and no friction rubs or dulling. So smooth and shiny it almost appears as glass and even finding surface hairlines underlight is proving difficult. A very mild record impression from a thick Decca-pressed record but this has rubbed at all. Creasing is also minimal with four just four very light half moons that show little and the usual few edge hairlines, practically all on the spine - all tiny, fine and very faint. The laminate ends short of the opening right edge but the exposed strip is pure white with no grime-line formation or toning. The surreal artwork looks fabulous and with rich vibrant colour and is seen to maximum advantage under this unaged, super-clear laminate.

Cover Back: White and unprotected but still looking strong with barely any real wear or rubbing. A tiny trace of ‘grubbiness’ near the very top and bottom edges but few will have less than this. Hardly any creasing and no real ringwear, just a light record impression again. The laminate end is neat and clean and solidly adhered too. With hardly any significant marks and no yellowing or toning, this back sets a very high standard.

Top Edge: Virtually unworn.

Bottom Edge: Virtually unworn, laminate fully intact and strong on both.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and sharp with no real wear or feathering. Record entered on right edge.

Spine and Text: A very nice spine: solid, quite straight with minimal traces of compression with little wear at all. All text is perfect under the very solid and unpeeled laminate.

Corners: All four show little wear any tiny amount present is around the very tip areas only. Shape and definition remains neat.

Cover Summary: A highly pleasing visual example and so close to a mint(-) grading. This famous 60s cover will prove difficult to find significantly better and most collectors will enjoy it.

The Inner Sleeve: Blue text on white, polylined, with flipback type construction and in strong EX+ condition. The lining fully intact and very clear seen through an immaculate undamaged window. No edge splits, just one tiny nick tear and quite clean with no creases worthy of mention. Clean with only light gum browning on the seams and retaining good colour.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX+ (at the very least). A very strong and pleasing visual copy. Super clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed on thick, top quality Deram vinyl (part of the Decca company and pressed by). Both playing surfaces look superb and have nothing more than a very few ultra fine and faint surface traces under light. Nothing even remotely close to a ‘scratch’, finding this title with fewer surface marks than this will not prove easy. Visually a super record that should please most 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 snippetts 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 super record plays up to and beyond its high visual grading with little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear and all remains focused with no high frequency clipping. Sound quality is astonishing with a very full dynamic range and detailed sound, this really is a beautiful production and recording. The lush orchestral sounds blend beautifully with the Moodies at their very best. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed but the odd light trace is just evident on the utmost quiet passage but few of and brief and most plays beautifully. A highly challenging record with some very quiet orchestral moments and vocals. Few, if any being totally honest will ever play ‘silent’ for its entirety, but few copies will play much better than this, that I do feel sure, I cannot emphasise enough just how delicate this album is at times. The intro to side one is silence; very slowing gaining volume and it will more than test any vinyl record – this gives a great account of itself even here. My LP12 is critically revealing but this record remained highly pleasing and enjoyable with little unwanted. I did not want to sit analysing to the nth degree, I would rather enjoy the music and nothing stopped that pleasure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and looked after, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Little, if anything spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this Moody’s masterpiece. This copy will prove very difficult indeed to find significantly better and most realistic collectors will enjoy it, high recommendation is mandatory.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within 48 hours maximum. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO thick stiffners for even extra protection. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity and well as sender label. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 4,000+ items sold in over 7 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£39).

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.