ROD STEWART Gasoline Alley UK 71 Vertigo Spiral EX++ LP

	£		87
	$		115

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: ROD STEWART

Album Title: Gasoline Alley

Producer(s): Rod Stewart and Lou Reizner.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Gasoline Alley; Its All Over Now ; Only a Hobo; My Way of Giving.

Side 2: Country Comforts; Cut Across Shorty; Lady Day; Jo’s Lament; I Don’t Want to Discuss It.

Label/Format: Vertigo – Full spiral on side one and the large spiral logo on side two. Only the very earliest of pressings came with this large spiral on side two. Later pressings had the small spiral and the outline word VERTIGO printed above the hole. The very early pressings with the large logo are far harder to find on this popular Spiral album. This too has the very special early cover – more on that in ‘Rarity’ and ‘Cover Format’.

Label Conditions: Both in superb condition: very clean, fresh and attractive examples and a delight to see the large early spiral for a change, most of these found have the small logo. The white label on side two is still just that, pure white and the spiral design on side one goes right through the very rim of the hole with no erosion or wear, any marks few and very faint. Spindle usage is also very light indeed with any traces ultra fine, faint and few. This is probably the best all-round example of Swirl album I have seen or had as an original for years.

Cat Number: 6360 500.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 126 grams. Around average for the era.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Quite rare are a genuine early pressed copy. The actual album was one of the more popular on this cult progressive label and it sold reasonably well. This copy, apart from the more than obvious label variation includes the not so obvious (on screen) ‘Cobblestone’ cover which is far harder to find, and that’s no understatement. This is a beautiful sleeve and has the very deeply textured front and back which adds a fantastic touch of authenticity to the old fashioned cobblestone road. The easier to find smooth finish cover is pretty common and I would estimate the ratio of ‘Cobblestone’ to smooth to be at least 50:1. Not only is it far harder to find it’s even harder to find in anything like decent condition, the texturing, although on firm card, is still very prone to rubbing, sticker tearing, ringwear and fading. The surfaces are very raised and the parts in relief so often whiten or scuff which totally ruins this delicate finish (I call this speckle). This one here is superb – I would go further still – I would say immaculate and looking little short of as new. A torally remarkable example that will thrill the most discerning Vertigo Spiral collectors. Not only is this unique Spiral cover textured, the actual colour shade is quite different too with the ‘Cobblestone’ finish being much darker, almost black in parts compared to a more greyer finish on the smooth version. This cover includes the original box VO Price Code on the back also and the Mercury Records Production imprint on the back. The record looks hardly played and offers reference standard sound with practically nothing unwanted. Even the Swirly inner is in fantastic condition and it will take something almost remarkable to better this truly outstanding first edition copy. Not the rarest swirl for sure, but so very hard to find in this fantastic all-round condition.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: 6361500 1Y 1 420 1 1 1 0 / 6361500 2Y 1 420 1 1 7

Musicians: Rod Stewart – vocals; Ron Wood – guitar; Ronnie Lane – bass; Ken Jones – drums.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Rod’s second album and the final one to appear on this most famous label. This one, from my experience is harder to find, and finding a copy with anything like an excellent cover is near impossible these days especially the more prized textured version. Well this one goes beyond Excellent, this is practically like new and I have never seen one that even comes close to it. I can hardly stop looking at it as I type out this listing, it could truly be one of the best examples that will ever be offered, I am finding it hard to even find a fault worthy of mention – yes it really is THAT good. Gasoline Alley has Rod as his very best, classic vocals with wonderful songs, a young man at the peak of his powers. Often to some, a surprise artist on this specialist progressive label, this would have sold more than many artists or bands on this experimental label, but try finding this early copy easily. This record has been played little and offers fantastic, nigh-on faultless sound. It came from a top collection where any album was played with huge care on fine kit and very meticulously stored. It’s an album I have heard many times, most on the small spiral copies with smooth cover, often not the very best pressed record I have ever heard often with noticeable surface sound even on copies that look unmarked. But this one excels and is almost certain to delight all Stewart and Vertigo fans equally. Do not lose this on.

Cover Grade and Format: MINT: a word I could rarely even contemplate using on any cover, let alone an unlaminated gatefold format with a heavily textured front and back. The inside is smooth and all surfaces are matt finished. This is an extraordinary example that I simply cannot fault. It has the VO Price Code on the top right back cover. It was printed and made by Howards Printers. A remarkable example, if anyone has a better one, I sure would like to see it. Great picture of the man inside the gatefold too.

Cover Front: Stunning, ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, this is reference standard. The deeply textured ‘cobblestone’ front is pristine without even a hint of any rubbing, speckle, creasing, marks, ageing or record impression. You could wait years to find one that even challenges it.

Cover Back: The back is exactly the same, both sides have to be seen for real to be believed. Remember, this is a very wear-prone and delicate cover, I doubt if this has seen light-of-day for decades and has been cover protected from new, possibly not handled since purchase until I took these pictures.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Superb again with a great picture of Rod, possibly one microscopic mark (out with the magnifiers), this will be near impossible to find better.

Top Edges: Unworn and perfectly straight.

Bottom Edges: Even the storage edges are unrubbed and again very straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both crisp and immaculate: clean, very sharp with no wear and guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on the back edge.

Spine and Text: Nigh-on pristine, even this is textured. Solid, straight, uncompressed and square, the edges all meet up very closely and near flush. A very fine and faint natural crease forms purely by opening. The text is pristine perfect and unworn with deep cyan colour – how many Vertigo spines look quite like this?

Corners: Almost beggars belief, but even the corner tips are unrubbed and all retain practically Mint right-angled shape.

Cover Summary: An almost miraculous all-round example of this rarer and very fragile early 70’s cover, one that will without any doubt, prove near impossible to find better. It has NO tip-ins or enhancements at all – a pure natural beauty. The only problem will be having to compare it to any other Vertigo cover in your collection, because, for certain, no other will ever better this and few will even compare. This truly beautiful vintage Swirl cover will all collectors.

The Spiral Inner: EXCELLENT(++): only marked down a fraction due to seam edge adhesive darkening. A superb swirly inner that retains an ultra clear and barely crinkled lining, seen through two ultra crisp window circles. Hardly a crease to be seen and still clean with minimal ageing. This is date coded 0671, slightly rubbed at the bottom.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a very impressive visual copy. Clean, shiny, jet black and solidly pressed. Any surface marks few, small and very faint, without doubt, this record has been played little and with due care. Visually a fine record that should please most-all 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 B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This super record plays even above it’s high visual grading with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is strong with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds barely even registered and no pops or clicks were noted. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played little and has been very well stored and looked afte within a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this classic Spiral album that, like the others, is getting harder and harder to find. This copy will prove immesely difficult to find significantly better and the cover probably never will.

Final Summary: Along with Every Picture and An Old Raincoat... one of Rod’s finest, his early works had a real edge and bite - why do these classic artists always sell out to pop commercialism? - such a shame. This is classic vintage Rod, class songs from a class vocalist and owning this vintage gem as a real original Spiral is special – the ‘Cobblestone Finish’ cover truly is very hard to find and finding this better will prove near impossible. I cannot see how perfection can be beaten, only matched. Truly, many brand new ones never looked this good when in the shop racks. This is a work-of-art and will thrill even the connoisseur Spiral collectors. Again, do not lose this one – for sure, the cover especially will not be forgotten quickly.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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 taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). 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 and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 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. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? 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). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (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’.