Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left vinyl ILPS 9105 (first pressing, smooth label)
£
205
$
272
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Description
Original copy of Five Leaves Left as bought by me in 1969 and therefore with 44 years of loving usage. This is 'Smooth Label - variant 2' - see http://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/How-to-identify-Nick-Drake-UK-album-first-pressings-Pt1-/10000000176322477/g.html for further details. Album itself is virtually unmarked (see photo for single small mark at beginning of side two), label has some slight markings where I didn't always hit the spindle first time. Sleeve has a couple of bare patches at the corners where it was blu-tacked to my wall :-) - see photos. Please see also my auctions for original copies of Bryter Layter, Pink Moon, and (3 album Island) Fruit Tree
8th July - added Q&A from 'Pink Moon' auction for the sake of honesty & clarity:
I am very very interested in purchasing your three original Nick Drake Lp's but I have a question. First of all let me state I am a serious collector of sublime, near perfect Lp's only. I strive for the best possible playback vinyl is capable of. I have owned these Lp's before but not in the shape I needed. You list yours as pristine. Thats a tough, tough grade. I do have pristine records of course but after years and years of upgrading...so its possible. But I want to ask, to make sure, beyond any doubt, that these are final, totally sublime, gleaming near perfect copies of these Lp's. I want to buy them and be done with it all....I love the Lp's of course, and want the original analog pure sound, but I dont want anything less than archive copies. Of course I see the sleeves as they are, that will suffice until I can get better but thats the easier part. So please let me know what you think. Possibly you can rate them from best to worst? thanks for your time!!
And my reply:
OK so maybe 'pristine' is a bad word. I'm answering this publicly, don't want to mislead. As I say in the ads, these are the original albums that I owned, played and loved from the year of release until I bought the CDs some time in the early 80s so they've all been played several times. That said, I was very careful with my albums and I've just double checked all of them: - Five Leaves has a single small mark at the beginning of side two. Might be audible, don't know because I don't have a turntable any more. - Bryter has no markings at all that I can see. - Pink Moon has a surface mark on the first two tacks on side one but I'd be amazed if it was audible. Seriously, if you want unplayed virginal then these aren't for you. But you might never find that. People like me who bought these albums back then bought them because we loved them - we were 'hippies' and *played* our albums. Took them to parties. Got stoned. Amazed they're still in as good condition as they are. I'm aware that I'm pricing them high - but then I don't really want to sell them and if nobody bids for them I really won't be upset. The Fruit Tree box set *is* as near virginal as you'll ever get. Doubt that I ever played it.
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