A Night At The Opera 2/2 (First Pressing)

This iconic LP is now over 40 years old and the audio is absolutely stunning.  It may be the best pressing I have ever heard and to think this is a first 2/2 pressing makes this a very rare find.

The vinyl has the famous 'Blair's', not 'Blair's cut' etched into the dead wax as per the early pressings.  It includes the original picture inner with cut corners and has no splits which is extremely rare to find these days.

YAX 5063 - 2 / YAX 5064 - 2 // Mother stampers GPO 3 & GTD 1

The audio on Side One is Near Mint

The audio on Side Two is Mint

The picture inner is Near Mint-

The 

labels are Mint

Visual grading

  This vinyl is stunning visually.  There are only a couple of tiny wispy spindle lines on each side of the label proving that it has indeed been hardly played, probably only two,three times.  The vinyl itself still has that lovely glossy sheen and under a strong bright light I can only detect a minimal number of very faint hairlines no doubt caused by sleeve removal.  Strong cardboard inners have always had that affect on vinyl. I cannot explain enough how beautiful this vinyl is!  There are no marks of any consequence and there are certainly no scratches.  As described below the audio on Side One is superb except for the first 2/3 seconds and Side Two is totally mind blowing!!

Play grading  

There is only a little lead in static to 'Death on Two Legs' and a couple of light clicks but thereafter plays with tremendous depth and great clarity and no further background interference.  'Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon' plays with stunning audio, Mint if I'm honest.  The rest of the tracks play equally as well - it is so rare to find a first 2/2 pressing playing with such impressive, powerful audio.  The lack of static/crackle on a vinyl of this age is incredible.  There is complete silence between the tracks and apart from the minor interference on the first few seconds of the side the audio is immaculate.  As is always the case though 'Seaside Rendezvous' does play with a little distortion.  This is caused when the grooves are pressed closer together so as to 'fit' the track onto the side.  Still a great listen though!

The into to 'The Prophet's Song' is just astounding and is is without doubt one of the best I have heard.  There is no crackle just a couple of light dust ticks.  This is audio of the highest calibre.  The 'now I know' section is sublime and has no interference  whatsoever.  Wow!  The remainder of this classic song plays with the same quality and the quiet acoustic ending is simply stunning.  The whole of 'Love of my Life' also plays with no background noise.  I so rarely grade as Mint but these two tracks deserve it.  I can confidently say that the audio on these first two classic tracks is the best I have listened to and I have played a lot of various pressings!  The audio is absolutely stunning.  I cannot stress how good at it is!  'Good Company' keeps up the standard and 'Bohemian Rhapsody' oh my God WoW!!!!  Once again the clarity, depth and richness of sound is just incredible, it just sounds as new.  Every second of this all time classic plays with 100% Mint audio and as my feedback confirms I am not one to exaggerate.  I'm running out of adjectives for this LP now so perhaps I should just stop!  Ps 'God Save The Queen' sounds spectacular also :-)

In summary if you want to own a Mint first 2/2 pressing of this iconic LP then you will want to own this one.  Now nearly 42 years old this vinyl has hardly been played judging by the lack of spindle wear and the audio is of the highest standard possible.  Perhaps I should keep it :-)

Gatefold cover

The embossed G & L gatefold is in lovely condition with only minimal shelf wear.  The edges and wide spine are extremely clean and have no rubbing.  The right hand corner edges have very minor creasing but is really not that noticeable.  The only negative is a small sticker removal mark on the top left corner.  The spine is 100% legible and remains in great shape.  When you consider how many of these white covers are are discoloured/stained this one has remained beautifully clean and has retained its 'whiteness' very well.  I would say there is only minimal handling wear and the front and especially the inside of the gatefold are in superb shape.  The back cover only has very light 'shading' on some areas but is only very minor, most sellers would not even mention it!  For a 2/2 cover it is a lovely gatefold and will not disappoint.

Picture inner

This has the three cut corners as per the early pressings and has no splits, how rare it that?!!  There is only a very small area of wear on the bottom edge where the vinyl has attempted to cut through.  It has not succeeded!

Labels

Both labels are in wonderful condition with no marks or writing and as stated before hardly any spindle wear.

Play tested on my Technics SL-J110R turntable system

YAX 5063 - 2 / YAX 5064 - 2 // Mother stampers GPO 3 & GTD 1

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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