STEELEYE SPAN Please to See the King ORIG UK B&C N/M LP

	£		34
	$		45

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World – Please see my Detailed Packing Advert.

Artist or Band: STEELEYE SPAN

Album Title: Please to See the King.

Producer(s): Sandy Roberton.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Blacksmith; Cold Haily, Windy Night; Jigs: Bryan O’Lynn / The Hag with the Money; Prince Charlie Stuart; Boys of Bedlam.

Side 2: False Knight on the Road; The Lark in the Morning; Female Drummer; The King; Lovely on the Water.

Label/Format: B&C (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both little short of immaculate: very clean and attractive with just the odd faint spindle trace (but look hard). I can see none at all on side one and any handling traces are very light indeed. These very dark matt black labels ruthlessly reveal any fingermarks and once applied, they are near impossible to remove. These have barely any at all and a more immaculate example of this record, inner and cover are unlikely to be found easily.

Cat Number: CAS 1029.

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: 138 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Quite scarce as an original: originals including the ‘Hessian’ textured cover, insert and on the B&C label, soon to be reissued on Mooncrest with a different cover design. So genuine originals were only available for a short period and this did not sell in any significant numbers. Again this cover is beyond fragile and rarely seen looking this nice. The first issues with barely worn covers with mint inserts and practically mint records are quite rare. The price guides are a joke, making nearly 40-year-old near mint records with fragile covers worth around the same as a modern CD – ridiculous and so out-of-touch, no wonder collectors and dealers dismiss them as laughable.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: CAS 1029 A-2U / CAS 1029 B-1U

Mother & Stamper Codes: 3 GT / 1 G

Musicians: Maddy Prior - vocals, spoons, tabor, tambourine; Tim Hart - vocals, guitar, dulcimer; Peter Knight - violin, mandolin, vocals, organ, bass; Ashley Hutchings - bass, vocals; Martin Carthy - vocals, guitar, banjo, organ.

Brief Info: This was the second Steeleye Span album, now missing the immense vocal talent of Gay Woods who decided to leave after the classic debut ‘Hark! the Village Wait’. With Maddy Prior now at forefront on vocals the early Steeleye Span now began to develop and flourish. Many folk connoisseurs regard this as a classic and within the folk-rock genre, it sold modestly well and actually charted at No 45. But only available for a brief time on B&C Records before being repackaged and repressed on Mooncrest. Finding superb copies is hard and always has been – the famous Hessian textured cover is so fragile and wear-prone, it’s a huge challenge to find with little wear and this one here is a beauty. As is the insert and record that has clearly hardly been played. Another vintage treasure from the oneaday vaults, this is sure to delight the folk connoisseurs reading this piece.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High++. A cover so flimsy and frail, it bends under its own weight and must never be held in one hand to avoid bending and creasing. The heavy texturing is designed to look like a sack and indeed feels like one to the fingertips. Beautifully designed but lastability was not taken into consideration and only the most carefully stored and protected examples survive to remind of what a once new one looked like all those years ago. Many damaged with price stickers and edges often worn right through and that’s before the ringwear eats into the surfaces. This one has avoided most all these perils as I hope my pictures show.

Cover Grade and Format: Stunning EX++ and few will ever get close. A single unlaminated format with a rough textured surface. Known as the ‘Hessian’ cover, this only available with the original B&C originals. This includes the B&C insert, guaranteed original. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group.

Cover Front: This is simply in breathtaking condition and grades Mint on its own, cover protected for most of existence and it really shows. I can keep this simple: this is virtualy like brand new the unrubbed, clean surfaces with no creasing or ring marks. Truly, I can hardly believe this myself, what an absolutely incredible front on such a fragile sleeve.

Cover Back: The back is exactly the same, jaw-drop gorgeous, how can a cover that resembles a piece of sacking look so wonderful? Please see my close-up of the early Steeleye band, just note the total lack of any wear.

Top Edge: Ultra faint rub traces, no wooliness for which this cover often suffers badly.

Bottom Edge: This resting edge has very light rubbing, but possibly the least you will ever see. Any wooliness minuscule.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering, guarateed no trimming. Impossibly immaculate proving the record has barely left this cover.

Spine and Text: Solid, quite straight with any compressions light. The ends gently tapered in manufacture, these impossibly delicate areas have rubbed a little. The text is mostly present and unworn, the exception is the ‘ST’ in ‘STEELEYE’ has rubbed away, the only blemish of note on what is a remarkable example. Without this, I would have had no hesitation in grading Mint(-) and truly it’s deserving anyway.

Corners: Light tip area rubs is the least anyone could expect from this. Fast approaching forty and showing little more wear than a handled new example from the shops of the time. Yes, truly, I can imagine many brand new ones had more blemishes than this with creasing and dinking almost impossible to avoid from manufacture to distribution. All the corners still look very neat and the minor rubbing blends into the hessian design.

Cover Summary: An exceptional all round example of this immensely fragile early 70’s cover, one that will prove nigh-on impossible to find much better. I have seen this cover literally threadbare in the past, almost falling apart, tattered and shredded. This beautiful is a class apart and will please most collectors.

The Inner: The original plain white unlined inner is Mint(-). The only clue to age is mild glue darkening on the seams. The odd small mark but uncreased with all edges unsplit (with no repairs).

The Inner: The insert sheet is Mint and looks barely even handled. Clean with crisp edges and corners with no creasing or marks. Print only on one side and with the B&C logo and credits. Printed by the E. J. Day Group.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Tempted to grade this beautiful record Mint, but I can see one tiny mark (and I do mean tiny) so Mint(-) it will be. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy that looks once-played and the tiny blemish has no sound. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors again.

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 snippetts 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant folk-rock record plays up to its high visual grading with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds barely even register and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended – do not underestimate the rarity of such a clean, immaculate original copy of this folk-rock classic.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

THERE IS PACKING – AND THERE IS ONEADAYRECORDS PACKING.

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 heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth 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 thick boxes (NOT Mailers or Cruciforms, these do not offer maximum protection). The record(s) 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 THREE or EVEN FOUR VERY THICK stiffners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords (please see my picture of these stiffners and compare to the wafer-thin commercially available ones that offer pretty much zero protection). Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. The thick record and stiffner ‘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. Please see my picture of a typical finished box packet that will now be used on ALL transactions as from now. 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. These boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners 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 6,000+ items sold in over 8 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 stiffners 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 FOUR 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: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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 [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £12. Add £3 per extra LP. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 neccessarily 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’.