NEIL YOUNG 1st Album RARE RSLP UK 1969 EX++ LP, LOVELY SOUND, 'NO NAME' COVER.

	£		72
	$		95

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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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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.

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. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: NEIL YOUNG

Album Title: Neil Young

Producer(s): David Briggs; Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder & Neil Young.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Emperor of Wyoming; The Loner; If I Could Have Her Tonight; I’ve Been Waiting For You; The Old Laughing Lady.

Side 2: String Quartet From Whiskey Boot Hill; Here We Are In The Years; What Did You Do To My Life?; I’ve Loved Her So Long; The Last Trip To Tulsa.

Label/Format: Reprise – second RSLP press with the new deep tan colour format with matt, quite smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both clean, fresh and attractive with any of the few spindle marks being quite light.

Catalogue Number: RSLP 6317

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: 160 grams. A heavyweight RSLP pressing.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity & Overview: The first RSLP numbered originals were pressed on the tri-colour AND then again later in 1969 on the new tan label. This being the tan version that very briefly replaced the 1969 tri-colour riverboat format. This is just as elusive, arguably more so, as the very first version as it was also made in minimal numbers, still selling sparsely and only very briefly available before everything changed. The 1971 Kinney repressings with the paler labels and new K 44059 catalogue number were also remixed and soon included the more common ‘named’ cover. Firstly, a poor selling record and many sources state it was not issued in the UK initially, but was delayed and appeared after the US release date. So the amount of time this title would have been available on either RSLP format was somewhat limited. Only early copies of this record included the cover without his name appearing on the front, an unusual and bold thing to do on a ‘debut’ album, later pressings had his name included. Remember, Neil Young was a relative unknown at this time. A member of Buffalo Springfield, but they had minimal sales in the UK and many would not even know who this man was. Another major factor about these early pressings, they were the only source to the original mix which Young himself was not satisfied with. Subsequent pressings had some songs remixed with his voice a little more prominent and clearer in the sound. Two tracks had additional guitar added as well. Many Young connoisseurs preferred this original mix, his slightly muted voice actually adds to the atmosphere and mystery of the songs. The remixed version is different, the original sound is the most cherished by his fans. A delicate album that many acclaim as one of his finest ever, it experiments by blending folk, rock with orchestral elements and it works brilliantly. This is really impressive example and has no pressing issues, it plays with fine clean sound and the cover is generally impressive. A delicate album and finding a ‘perfect’ one will never prove easy. This album was not issued in mono, so it was likely a high percentage were subjected to much harsher mono record-player treatment – and most collectors will know what that potentially means. The owner of this copy only used stereo equipment, thus has survived without issues. The cover was most protected in a plastic sleeve and only has a little creasing, but retains fine freshness and shine. A beautiful piece of rock art and seldom without often heavy ageing and major laminate issues.

Original Year of Release: January 1969. This tan label RSLP copy from a few months later.

Matrix Nos: RSLP 6317 A-1 *T / RSLP 6317 B-1 *T [identical to the tri-colour label copy I sold a few days ago]

Stamper Codes: O 1 / F 1

Musicians: Neil Young – guitar, piano, electric piano, harpsichord, pipe organ, vocal; Jim Messina – bass; George Grantham – drums. Also: Ry Cooder – guitar; Jack Nitzsche – electric piano. Guest Vocalists: Merry Clayton; Brenda Holloway; Patrice Holloway; Gloria Richetta Jones; Sherlie Matthews; Gracia Nitzsche.

Brief Info: After the breakup of Buffalo Springfield, Stephen Stills stayed with Atlantic records but Neil Young went his own way to pursue a solo career and signed for Frank Sinatra’s fledgling label Reprise. This debut album received mixed reviews at the time and sold poorly making the early ‘original’ pressings difficult to find. I have outlined the details of the production and it’s subsequent remixing above. The material is varied, ranging from rock to folk and unusually, the opener is an instrumental. The Young classic ‘The Loner’ follows and actually benefits from the low vocal mix. There is not a bad track throughout and time has acknowledged this album a ‘classic’. ‘The Old Laughing Lady’ has genuine eeriness and mystery, the death-like creepy backing vocals again work brilliantly on this original mix. This is one of the album’s most challenging songs. The vocals are intense and often break-up or clip with crackle even on modestly played copies if played on less worthy equipment from the past. Here focused and sharp and with no inherent pressing flaws from which some do suffer. ‘The Last Trip to Tulsa’ is Young’s first solo epic, a long finale with great lyrics and a distinct folk-rock sound, an astonishing piece that set out the pathway for future great songs and eventual popularity, although the journey at times became rocky. This is a rare record as an RSLP UK pressing, and this is possibly hard to imagine for a man who is now a household name, but this was the beginning of the road that made him a superstar. The actual time this was available in this format was only quite brief and few took any notice. This a very clean record with beautiful clean playing surfaces and impressive sound, it appears hardly played. The famed and prized no-name cover is very nice indeed with only gentle clues of age. A rare opportunity to experience this vintage debut the way it was originally pressed.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: and looks even better. A single fully laminated format that was printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd. It was distributed by Pye Records. This is the very scarce original ‘No Name’ cover that was relatively quickly replaced with his name printed on the front. It was made with very thin card, and original records were heavily pressed which means it seldom wears well. But this was cover-protected and cherished by the one owner from new. The polylined inner sleeve is included.

Lamination – Front & Back: A strikingly beautiful cover and this does it strong justice. It retains a rich intense colour as seen through very shiny, fresh and clear laminate, this one is totally unfaded or aged. Even viewed under light, it has minimal traces of dulling and has barely any lifting at all – that is very unusual. A very small peel on the front bottom right corner tip, and yes there are some light surface creases which have minimal visibility when the cover is correctly viewed full-on. Also unusually, the laminate ends, of which there are several, mostly on the back, have no ugly grime, toning or grubbiness which makes a massive difference to the fresh appearance of this cover. This manufactured the same time and is just the same as the very first in the shops, so around half-a-century-old, but with scant clues of the fact – this lovely attractive original cover should please many fans and collectors of this legendary artist.

Top & Bottom Edge: Both very thin, but still quite straight with any bowing minimal and light. Their surfaces mostly smooth and with almost full laminate retention, any hints of scuffs or chips tiny and light, hardly any really.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and still quite sharp with any thickening patchy and light. Guaranteed untrimmed, the laminate ends both sides are still wide to reiterate the fact. The white exposed card on all laminate ends are very clean and fresh as well. These areas rarely escape often heavy grubbiness and toning, the cover-protection means this has been avoided, hence this has hardly aged at all in that respect. The record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A fantastic spine which is always incredibly thin but still perfectly solid and straight. This the reason why this area rarely will avoid some fine hair creases or light cracks, but this has very few. All laminate is fully intact and solid with all text pristine mint, also perfectly centred on the very narrow depth which makes this look even better as-seen.

Corners: A tiny lift and chip on the front top left and the bottom front right has a very small peel and tiny tip rub. This corner over time rarely escapes minor issues at best as its the leading one into storage racks or cases. Very fine to excellent shape retained with no heavy knocks.

Cover Summary: A rare and spectacularly attractive cover. The ‘No Name’ original graphic is beautiful and the lack of identity gives it a real sense of mysteriousness. It’s flimsiness is a always a factor, but when cared for to this standard for over 50 years, it’s a thing of genuine beauty – and rarity – few will better this significantly these days. It should please many fans and collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(–): a plain white polylined inner with two corner creases, these often deliberate to stop the record sliding out. The lining very clear and fresh as seen through two perfect crisp window circles. The paper has only light discolouration, mostly near the edges, there is some natural crinkle. One side edge had a neat split which I repaired to stop it widening, it hardly even registers. This is UK patented and has ‘Foreign Patents Pending’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and heavily pressed – actually a few grams heavier than the tri-coloured example I recently sold. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface traces few, very light and quite faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. There is a very tiny shallow pressing bump that does little, it was virtually ignored by my very fine stylus tip. Visually a super record that should please many, and given rarity and age, possibly 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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This unique first mix and pressed album plays up to it’s high visual grading with little 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 sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*, or pressing rasps or distortions. Few available copies will outperform this significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, and even ‘The Old Laughing Lady’ plays superbly, that a very difficult song with those female backing vocals that often cause problems. An album with some quiet songs and some acoustic, so only lightly played and well-pressed copies really deliver what is wanted by collectors. I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Little of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. A challenging title that will prove difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. These playing surfaces almost certainly the cleanest and least marked I have seen on this album to date.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.