PINK FLOYD, Dark Side Of The Moon (RARE 1st PRESS)

	£		130
	$		172

ARTIST: PINK FLOYD

TITLE: ‘THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON’

FORMAT: VINYL LP

YEAR OF 1ST RELEASE: 1973

PRESSING: 1ST (RARE FILLED PRISM LABEL)

LABEL: HARVEST

CAT. NO: SHVL 804

MATRIX NO. SIDE A: SHVL 804 A-2

MATRIX NO. SIDE B: SHVL 804 B-2

RECORD CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This is an absolutely wonderfully kept very first, and highly rare, edition of Pink Floyd’s masterpiece! So many times you will see pressings of this album advertised as being first but they really are not. The first pressing, and only the very first pressing, has the “filled prism” design on the record label, this was very quickly withdrawn and replaced in 1972 by the common “blue-outline prism” you will see on all the easily found second, third and fourth pressings of this album that of course sold in their millions. It’s impossible to guess how many of these original “filled prism” designs actually slipped out onto the market, but I can tell you that in over 20 years of collecting and then trading this is only the third copy I have ever found (and finding a second hand copy of ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ happens almost every day so that’s no small fact!). On top of the aesthetically pleasing elements of having this unique “filled prism” design, is the equally wonderful fact that you are 100% certain that this is the totally genuine original pressing of this great record and therefore presents the ultimate route towards hearing this music with the optimum sound quality, as I’ve stated so often recently – first pressings present the number one line directly back to the original master tapes as they are first generation copies taken from the original masters! And if these factors aren’t enough for you, then there’s the delightful fact that this particular rare pressing is in an extremely strong Excellent condition.

The vinyl has maintained a nice clean looking appearance, there are no manufacturers defects in the vinyl and only a few light and totally non-sounding paper scuffs visible on close inspection. There’s a very light mark that causes ‘Breathe’ and ‘On The Run’ to lightly click a couple of times but this is certainly not a problem and isn’t loud enough to interfere with the music, I merely mention it because I strive to mention everything in these descriptions. The same can be said of a couple of light marks on side two that cause some brief faint clicking on ‘Us & Them’ and ‘Brain Damage’, they don’t detract from the great music and barely warrant mentioning other than for my self imposed standard of passing on all relevant details to the buyer. All over the two sides the album plays without problem and the needle never sticks or skips, even though it has had a little bit of use this record has clearly been looked after. The labels too are in nice shape, with some very light spindle wear showing that this record has not been over used, it has clearly only had a few plays. The whole album plays with that fantastic analogue depth and range, making way for a sound quality that really shows this Pink Floyd masterpiece in a fantastic light. From the opening mumblings of "I've been mad for f=#*ing years" to the final statement "there is no dark side of the moon really, as a matter of fact it's all dark", this certainly is a fantastic listen to a highly collectable original copy of a truly legendary album!

COVER CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This is a slightly perverse variant on the known original versions of the original gatefold sleeve. As the most reliable Pink Floyd sources will tell you, the very first pressing of this gatefold sleeve had a very dark blue background while all issues starting with the second pressing had a black background. All is fine with this particular copy so far then, for there’s no way this is the deep black background I have seen on the vast majority of ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ covers in circulation, and indeed dark blue would be the nearest I could describe the colour of the background on this sleeve as being. However, the originals often have one of the side openings on the gatefold sealed with a fold-over, but on this particular copy both the side openings are open. I have seen perfect examples of both first and second editions in the past and so I can therefore confirm that this is indeed a unique third variant on the two main known pressings – this has the original dark blue background but with two side openings! That this is indeed a little known variant on the first pressing is confirmed by the fact that this albums one previous owner bought this album almost immediately after it was released, a claim backed by the fact that the vinyl is indisputably the rare first pressing!

The condition of this original gatefold album cover complete with original inner sleeve is Excellent. The entire sleeve is fully intact, there has been no un-sticking, and both the front and back covers display only the faintest fading in the quality and definition of the artwork, it all looks fine. The main signs of age and use are general, particularly in the form of some very light and faint creasing on the front and back. The edges and the spine all display some light scuffing effects but this is never serious enough to cause a tear or a hole, and the spine remains firm and un-scuffed. The rear sleeve shows a little of the faintest early ring-wear, although this hasn’t turned into an unsightly circular scuff mark. Obviously this rare piece would be absolutely perfect were the posters and stickers still present but sadly they’ve long since been used for their original purpose. Overall though, this is a rare piece that provides both the ultimate vinyl pressing and a unique original sleeve that the serious collectors are after!

ANY OTHER DETAILS: STEREO

TRACKLISTING:

Side One

‘Speak To Me’

‘Breathe’

‘On The Run’

‘Time’

‘The Great Gig In The Sky’

Side Two

‘Money’

‘Us And Them’

‘Any Colour You Like’

‘Brain Damage’

‘Eclipse’

PLEASE IGNORE THE DATE ON MY PHOTOS, IT'S WRONG AND I CAN'T SEEM TO GET RID OF IT! 

Postage & Packing is UK £2.00 / Europe £3.00 / US £5.50 / rest of world £6.00. Payment is by Paypal, cheques or postal orders payable in UK Sterling only, well concealed cash in UK Sterling only or International Money Order payable in UK Sterling only.

I specialise in selling rare, collectable and hard to find vinyl. All of our ebay listings are play graded, when buying rare records over the internet I suggest that you settle for nothing less. I have been a collector of records and a trader for over 20 years and, as such, I use the experience I have gained in this area to grade & describe the records as accurately as possible. Good luck!