A Night At The Opera 3/4 Early pressing

This early pressing plays with wonderful audio and has an absolutely superb gatefold with a 'Factory Sample - Not For Sale' sticker on the back cover.  I believe it is there for this reason - some of the early pressings (not the first) had the 'Crest Design : Queen Productions Ltd 1975' insignia stamped just below the Queen crest on the left side and in my opinion this is possibly a prototype hence the sticker.

This has Blair's (not 'Blairs cut') etched onto the run out grooves on S2 as per all the early pressings.

EMTC 103 // YAX 5063 - 3 / YAX 5064 - 4 // OLG 5 / GHM 4

The audio on S1 is Mint- ('Seaside Rendezvous' is Ex+)

S2 is Near Mint (Mint- for the majority) 

The picture inner is Ex-

The labels are Mint-

  The vinyl is in pristine, immaculate condition and has been so carefully handled down the years.  There is only a small amount of spindle wear on S1 and even less on S2 so has not been played that much.  I cannot see any hairlines and there are no scratches or marks at all.  It is visually stunning and still has a fantastic jet black glossy sheen, looking 'as new' really!  There is a very small warp on the record (very very small!) creating a minor bowl type effect so there is no lifting at all and it has no affect on the stunning audio as detailed below.

Play grading

'Death On Two Legs' has hardly any static on the intro and then plays with audio of astonishing power and depth and no interference whatsoever.  This stunning quality continues throughout S1 and there is no intrusive 'background' to be heard.  Both 'I'm In Love With My Car' and 'You're My Best Friend' play with a clarity that can only be described as Mint and the other tracks are not far behind either.  The odd dust tick on '39' but again this track impresses with sublime sound.  'Seaside Rendezvous', so often plagued by sound issues, plays very clearly here with only minor distortion on the vocal and a little crackle literally on the final 3/4 seconds.

'The Prophet's Song' intro is breathtaking!  There is hardly any static/crackle and the remainder of this classic does not disappoint.  The acapella section is nigh on perfect and the following guitar section plays with great power and depth and only one click.  The acoustic section into 'Love Of My Life' plays with stunning accuracy and only a hint of barely audible static.  Superb!  The intro on this classic ballad is Mint without doubt and this quality is prevalent throughout the track.  I can't believe what I'm hearing actually, it plays as new!  I do not think I have heard a more impressive version on such an early pressing.  'Good Company' has audio of Mint quality again, there is not one iota of interference.  'Bohemian Rhapsody' has only the absolute minimum of static on the intro, it plays with immense quality, and the remainder greatly impresses also.  There is no intrusive 'background', no clicks or pops just pure unadulterated audio pleasure!  There is also no distortion and even the quiet end section plays with sublime sound and only minimal, very quiet, static.  'God Save The Queen' ends the album with excellent audio and only a little static.

In summary this is a final upgrade archive copy of that I have no doubt.  With only one click across both sides the clarity on this record is amongst the best I have heard and for such an early pressing to play with such power and depth is relatively rare.  Complete with an absolutely stunning 'Factory Sample' gatefold this is one stunning package!

The Gatefold

This 'factory Sample' embossed gatefold is in fantastic condition.  It is just so white!  Rarely have I seen such an early example looking so clean it is very nearly in Mint condition!  The edges, wide spine and corners are in perfect order with no shelf wear and the opening edge has no handling wear at all.  The front cover is beautiful!  It has no marking or fading and the back cover is almost as good with only two tiny marks near the bottom edge.  As can be seen it has the 'Factory Sample - Not For Sale' sticker on the back cover.  The inside of the gatefold is also 'as new' with no marking etc, I cannot stress enough just how visually stunning this fabulous gatefold is.  It has retained its 'whiteness' incredibly well and has obviously been so well maintained down the years.  Quite possibly the most impressive early press gatefold I have ever seen.

Picture inner

The inner, with rounded corners, is very clean with no creasing but does have one small split on the bottom edge and one even smaller area of rubbing on one side.

The labels

They are both immaculate with only 4/5 faint spindle lines on S1 and even less on S2.  No marking or writing.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

This record has been professionally cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

EMTC 103 // YAX 5063 - 3 / YAX 5064 - 4 // OLG 5 / GHM 4

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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Postage & Packaging

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