NEIL YOUNG Time Fades Away Scarce UK 73 N/M LP + INSERT

	£		26
	$		34

Artist or Band: NEIL YOUNG

Album Title: Time Fades Away.

Producer(s): Elliot Mazer & Neil Young.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Time Fades Away; Journey Thro the Past; Yonder Stands a Sinner; LA; Love in Mind.

Side 2: Don’t Be Denied; The Bridge; Last Dance.

Label/Format: Reprise – Deep orange format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both clean and attractive with modest, around light+ spindle marks that have little visibility with normal viewing.

Cat Number: K 54010.

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: 117 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 140 to 150 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, 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 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: This is a little unusual with contributions from three countries: The record is clearly made in England (UK) as stated on the labels and have unique UK matrix numbers. The cover is Canadian, as all have been that I have had. The massive lyric insert was printed in the USA. Clearly a very specialised, massively large newsprint type insert that were imported for UK issues.

Rarity: Scarce: One of two Young albums that are NOT available on CD and are now unlikely to ever be. The other was the soundtrack double album Journey Through the Past (also on offer). Being unique to vinyl, available copies of this controversial issue, that was scorned on issue, are now in high demand – it’s fast becoming clear, this is not going to be issued on the silver disc. A live album with all eight tracks new and original but this did not sell well. This one INCLUDES that massive wafer-thin insert that is so often ripped to shreds or missing altogether. This is one of the very best I have yet seen.

Original Year of Release: September 1973

Matrix Nos: K 54010 A UK 4 / K 54101 B UK 3

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘KIP’ on side one.

Musicians: Neil Young - Tim Drummond - Johnny Barbata - Jack Nitzsche - Ben Keith. David Crosby and Graham Nash are guests.

Brief Info: After the issue of four monumental classics in his debut, ‘Everybody Knows This is Nowhere’, ‘After the Goldrush’ and ‘Harvest’, this live album was issued after the critically reviled double soundtrack album ‘Journey Through the Past’ and this album was little better received. A very difficult time for the man after his friend, guitarist Danny Whitten was discovered dead shortly after being relieved of his duties with the band. The tour was generally a disaster and the decision to issue a live set of brand new tracks was under the circumstances a brave one. A little erratic but there are gems included here and for fans of this great artist, this is a fascinating album. Only nine months later he issued one of his true masterpieces in the stunning but downbeat ‘On the Beach’, another poor seller and this after the lyrically bleak ‘Tonight’s the Night’ was held back due to the timing and circumstances. As stated, above, this brave and ultimately rewarding album has never been issued on CD, I can only imagine it does not bring him good memories and I think any reissue is fairly unlikely making the vinyl version all the more important for his many fans. A scarce album and not seen too often and this one plays beautifully and is one the best I have heard. The Canadian manufactured cover seems the norm for this album and as Young is indeed Canadian I think this actually enhances this title. The newspaper insert for sheer size has to be seen. Few survive, it must rank as one of the most delicate, large format insert sheets ever included in any album. For the many Young fans who only collect on CD, this landmark issue must be heard and vinyl is the only legal way to do so. If you see a CD version of this title on offer, it will be a bootleg, often recorded from less-than-worthy vinyl on poor equipment – fact.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: High: [Unlaminated covers are always the most vulnerable for rubbing, fading, sticker tears and ringwear, gatefolds are more prone still and the darker they are, the more this type of wear occurs and shows. Some sleeves have a textured finish or die-cut shaped edges or ‘windows’. These are even more delicate and the hardest to find in top condition. Fully laminated covers are more resistent to wear but often the laminate ages with dulling, creases and blistering. Many 60s covers have outer flipback construction, these are very vulnerable to damage]. (US covers are the most fragile of all, very rarely laminated and made with thick brittle card that rubs and ringwears badly. Seams and edges split easily). Please see format below to access this cover’s potential for wear and damage.

Cover Grade and Format: Strong EX, arguably better, an unlaminated single format. The record enters on the top and the inside is printed black instead of the usual white. The cover was printed in Canada, as I think all were for the UK market, no problem with that for me of course as Neil Young is Canadian. This dark matt cover does not wear well and given the facts, this is a very fine example and again, one of the best I have seen.

Cover Front: A very dark cover, with close examination it has a very fine and slight textured surface. It has little to fault at all – a small and fine surface crease just below ‘away’ with just a couple of small corner rubs just encroaching into view (emphasise small). Clean and fresh and avoiding price sticker marks (for a change), this cover is highly intolerant of them. The Canadian printing reference is on the bottom edge (the spine) near the right and is dated 1973. This elusive cover front looks very strong and as attractive as they really get.

Cover Back: A few faint handling traces (being critical) but the lack of rubbing, creasing and ringwear is always a bonus on this one. Being honest, this is a fairly drab cover for artwork which was probably intentional.

Top Edge: This is the storage edge and has little wear, very slight thickening in places if being critical. The black interior and two large internal flipbacks are easily viewed.

Bottom Edge: This in real terms is the spine edge which includes a lot of text. This has some patchy rubbing but only quite light overall. There is some clipping and mild erosion to a few text characters, but most are present and intact and most-all, very readable.

Right & Left Edges: Very slight and patchy rub traces, being a US-style cover, and prone to wear these show little which again is a major plus.

Corners: All corners have light+ rubbing, but again, the least I have seen. All retain fine shape and definition.

Cover Summary: A very fine and importantly, attractive all round example of this somewhat wear-prone 70’s cover, one that will prove difficult to find much better. With the main faces still in excellent condition and edges showing minimal wear, it’s one that sets the bar high.

The Lyric Insert: The cornerstone of this album that includes the song lyrics and musician details: manufactured in the USA, probably as a specialised issue. Not all printing presses were capable of printing newsprint format paper. It’s very thin indeed and fragile and could only be printed on ‘web’ large capacity printing presses. Like newspapers, this massive insert has tiny ‘gripper’ holes on the edges and ‘saw-tooth’ patterns on the long sides, all normal in manufacture. This is rare to find intact, it has multi-folds and all are still solid and intact. This has even avoided nick splits on the edges which is little short of remarkable. This has a toned a little with age, again like any newspaper would if kept over 30 years but this actually adds to the effect of what is a pretty amazing insert. It has that lovely ‘aged’ look of parchment from the distant past that is just perfect for its vintage. Made with the thinnest of paper, any rough treatment or heavy handed use would rip it to pieces, clearly this one has avoided such abuse. The lack of ‘extra’ creases or folds is unusual and I feel sure this insert has hardly left the cover. I happily grade this one Mint(-) for lack of wear or damage and with age toning almost impossible to avoid, this is truly exceptional.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-), A truly superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence and these must the very cleanest playing surfaces I have ever seen on this title, there is barely a mark, hairline or even blemish to be seen – amazing. Visually a super record that should please all 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 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 fantastic record plays up to its high visual grading with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is high with a solid dynamic range with good detail. There is distinct tension on this album but the sound and production is high, for those present this must have been an intense experience. No noteworthy surface sounds and no pops or clicks were present and this is an exceptional clean pressing for a fairly difficult album. Few copies will match or outperform this copy I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly carefully handled. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this notorious and somewhat controversial record – still unique to the analogue format. This copy will prove very difficult to find better and can be strongly recommended. For all the wrong reasons, this is an important, historical and elusive Neil Young album. Do not let this one slip the Net again.

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 usually post on Fridays, most will arrive Saturday to make signed-for delivery easier. 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 (£35).

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’.