NICK DRAKE Bryter Layter UK ISLAND 1978 PRESS, STILL RARE, SUPERB SOUND & COVER.

	£		60
	$		80

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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.

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.

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. 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: NICK DRAKE

Album Title: Bryter Layter

Producer(s): Joe Boyd

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Introduction; Hazey Jane II; At the Chime of a City Clock; One of These Things First; Hazey Jane I.

Side 2: Bryter Layter; Fly; Poor Boy; Northern Sky; Sunday.

Label/Format/: Island – first new issue format from 1978 known as the blue sunrise and sunset which have matt surfaces with gently textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both ultra clean, fresh and highly attractive with just one ultra fine spindle trace on side two, this record appears hardly played.

Catalogue Number: ILPS 9134 [a catalogue number never to change on Island]

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 125 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Original Year of Release: 1970 [this pressing from 1978]

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9134 A2 (EG) / ILPS 9134 B-2U [side one scripted, side two machine punched]

Stamper Codes: L 1 / 1 P [again machine punched and very clear]

Rarity: First issues are rare and highly prized. But no pressing of this album is easily found up to very modern 2000s repressings. An album reputed to have never been deleted or out-of-print, but only pressed in very small numbers per format and subsequent label changes just to keep any small demand available. Indeed, this is the very first copy on this 1978 new day/night Island label I have seen to date. Remember, 1978 was the era of punk rock, few were buying folk classics from the early 1970s at this time, it can be argued this particular copy is almost as elusive as the very early ones. Also note: this is NO mediocre later or inferior pressing. Indeed this is possibly the cleanest all-round example I have heard to date. This record is superbly and cleanly pressed by EMI on quality pure vinyl and was a delight to play-grade. The cover is largely the same as the very early ones bar the printing credits, it is still very matt with textured surfaces. For those wanting to experience this brilliant album via a 1970s pressed record, well this could prove superb value-for-money.

Musicians: Nick Drake – vocals, guitar; Dave Pegg – bass; Richard Thompson – lead guitar; Dave Mattacks – drums; Mike Kowalski – drums; Paul Harris – piano; Ray Warleigh – alto saxophone; Lyn Dobson – flute; John Cale – viola, harpsichord, celeste, piano, organ; Chris McGregor – piano; Pat Arnold and Doris Troy – backing vocals.

Brief Info: Born Nicholas Rodney Drake on June 19, 1948 and died November 25, 1974. An English folk-singer-songwriter of immense talent. He made just three albums and they all failed to sell during his lifetime. Over time, his work has since grown in popularity and stature and all three are highly sort after and he is now regarded one of the most influential folk singer-songwriters of the last half decade. He signed to Island Records when only 20-years-old, and released his debut album Five Leaves Left in 1969. His first two albums are reputed to have sold less than five thousand copies as first issues and his reluctance to perform live or give interviews were major factors to his total lack of commercial success. He suffered with depression and insomnia and his song lyrics often portrayed these troubles. He died after the completion of his third album Pink Moon from an overdose of an anti-depressant. On this timelessly beautiful record, he is backed by wonderful musicians including the nucleus of Fairport Convention and also John Cale of The Velvet Underground. His vocal lacked a great range but it remained highly expressive nonetheless and indeed it took me some time before appreciating this iconic artist myself. Like most others, his albums eluded me for many years but the wait was well worth it. A very rare album indeed as a genuine first pressing, so never any qualms in offering this superb 1978 pressing on yet another new Island label variant. No 1970s copy of any of his albums are easy to find, let alone ones hardly played and still with a lovely clean cover. This is a great copy and hardly played with beautiful clean sound and including the still textured cover, the only blemish on this a small scuff/rub on the bottom edge. These original format covers are so highly wear-prone and few available examples will be found with little to no wear. With so few sold on any of the 1970s formats – this has never been a big seller – this could be the perfect copy for those just wanting to experience this album on older vinyl without having to buy those very modern repressings (which are variable to say the least for sound). Bought and appreciated by only a lucky few initially, this man’s original works are amongst the most sort-after for album collectors these days. With originals and even second pressings commanding considerable prices now, and often in less than wonderful condition, this 1978 copy is not to be dismissed lightly.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better – I would have happily graded this near mint bar the small rub on the bottom edge. Delicate and fragile, this will rarely be found a great deal better. A single unlaminated format with textured surfaces (that the really crucial factor, beware of reissues being offered as ‘original’, they were smooth, not textured). Still made with soft card, thin card that will rub and ring wear almost by looking at it. Printed and made in England with EMI credits, that the main difference between different era printings, the actual graphics, card and format are almost the same. Includes a black inner sleeve, I cannot guarantee this is the original as I have never seen this particular pressing before, that simply being honest.

Cover Front & Back: Thin and ‘bendy’, just like the earlier ones, so not a cover to be held in one hand, this is ruthlessly fragile and prone to wear. Especially so with dark and intense colour ink graphics. This, like the first album, is also prone to natural light that fades or alters the colour hue, the simply has NOT happened on this one, even the spine retains its deep original colour. The lack of rubbing, creasing, sticker tears and especially, ring wear is the best news possible. Remember, this is still a 40-year-old cover and few will even run it close these days. Near the front top right corner, a faint hint of price sticker residue as a dull outline – there is NO tear or surface disturbance at all. The small rub on the bottom edge only just comes into view via front and back and this pretty much the only blemish on two outstanding surfaces. The close-up picture of Drake hopefully shows the beautiful texturing and emphasises the total lack of wear to an unforgiving surface.

Top Edge: Thin, but perfectly straight with no rubbing or fading.

Bottom Edge: As the top but with a small, but moderate rub/scuff that barely registers front and back, but is seen viewed full-edge-on. This the only significant blemish of note on the cover being honest and largely out of sight when stored inside my supplied protective inner sleeve.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with barely even a trace of thickening, this is also guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced. Record entered on this edge, end-on viewing also brings into view just how thin this soft card is, no wonder most seen are badly worn.

Spine and Text: Absolutely superb and practically as-made without the usual light fading most seem to suffer. Solid and straight, but thin again with any compression very gentle and light. The lack of rubbing and all text perfect makes this exceptional, and to date, it is the very best I have seen by a distance. For extra good measure, the text is perfectly centred on the narrow depth as-seen. Try finding a spine better on this cover.

Corners: Any tip rubbing tiny with better than excellent shape retained with no bashes or even dinks.

Cover Summary: Even with the small edge rub, this is still an outstanding example of this fragile, uncompromising 1970’s cover – guaranteed 100% genuine of course – this has NO enhancements or touch-ins at all, totally natural and looking highly impressive. One that will prove very difficult to find much better or more attractive, it should please many, and maybe even most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a thin card black unlined inner, this has a gentle surface sheen. Light handling traces and a few very fine surface creases, all edges unsplit with no repairs. I cannot be certain if this is the original inner, it came with this record and another record website states this pressing came with a black inner.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): a very fine visual copy that is very clean with quite fine shine and solidly pressed. Under light, some inner sleeve dulling is seen, but is only very gentle and light, also totally harmless with NO audio affect whatsoever. In fact this record plays beautifully. The owner stored the record inside a Decca replacement inner and it probably has not seen light-of-day for decades. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface traces few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers in that respect. Visually a lovely hardly used record that should please many, if not 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 folk classic plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything 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 – being an acoustic and fairly quiet album, the odd blemish is near impossible to avoid totally, but this has hardly anything – overall, an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. Few available copies, from whatever earlier era, will outperform this superb 1978 pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Just one small edge rub to the cover, but little else. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* 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 2.2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

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 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 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 it’s 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 the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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. 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 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 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 17­ 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. 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 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 withdrawals. 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 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’.