STEPHEN STILLS (1st Album) RARE ORIG UK 1971 ATLANTIC PLUM EX LP, PLAYS SUPERBLY

	£		22
	$		29

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: STEPHEN STILLS

Album Title: Stephen Stills

Producer(s): Stephen Stills

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Love the One You’re With; Do For the Others; Church; Old Times Good Times; Go Back Home.

Side 2: Sit Yourself Down; To a Flame; Black Queen; Cherokee; We Are Not Helpless.

Label/Format: Atlantic – Original red and maroon ‘Plum’ format with matt, quite smooth surfaces.

Label Condition: Both very clean, fresh and attractive examples, any of the few spindle marks are fine and light, the record plays great.

Catalogue Number: 2401004

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: 128 grams. a fine solid weight.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Moderately scarce on the plum label.

Original Year of Release: November, 1970

Matrix Nos: 2401004 A//2//1 1 1 7 & 2401004 B//2//2 1 1 7 [with a symbol on side one]

Musicians: Stephen Stills – vocals, guitars, bass, piano, organ, steel drum, percussion; Calvin Samuel – bass; Dallas Taylor, Conrad Isedor, Ringo Starr – drums; Johnny Barbata – drums; Jeff Whittaker – congas; Jimi Hendrix – guitar; Eric Clapton – guitar; Booker T. Jones – organ, vocal; Sidney George – flute and alto saxophone. Vocals/backing vocals: David Crosby, Graham Nash, John Sebastian, Rita Coolidge, Priscilla Jones, Claudia Lanier, Cass Elliott, Henry Diltz, Liza Strike, Judith Powell, Larry Steele, Tony Wilson, Sherlie Matthews.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Stephen Stills debut and one of the truly great ‘solo’ classics from this period – a five star recording in every department. A highly inventive and successful time for the man, in the space of a couple of years, he made two solo albums, released the superb Manassas double set and was part of CSNY. His fellow colleagues make guest appearances on this album, amongst a host of others including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr. This sublime release proves Stills as a highly talented musician, the material is varied, covering Memphis soul, folk, blues, rock and even pop. The opening track is a trademark diamond of his and all-round, this album was probably never bettered. The only real surprise it made only 30 in the UK, so not quite selling the in the numbers it justified. This is a strong example with the fully laminated cover and gorgeous ‘plum’ labels.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): a single format, laminated both sides. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group, includes the Polydor-style date-coded inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: For me, one of the most beautiful pieces of artwork to be put on to an album cover and this one does it strong justice. This one is fully laminated, not all were, I have seen several 2401004 originals with full matt covers. Both sides retain super shine, clarity and freshness with hardly any dulling, even under light. There is hardly any creasing, any present are very fine edge types few ever avoid totally, also hardly any lifting either, traces on the spine edges hardly register. Gentle waving of the card is not overly obtrusive, this far from uncommon on very thin card fully laminated covers. Over time, the laminate tightens and pulls, often resulting in huge lifts or bowing, in this case a little mild waving – some have to give. Avoiding yellow or significant ageing, this is still very attractive.

Top Edge:Smooth, and even though thin, still straight with minimal hint of any wear.

Bottom Edge: Practically the same.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, impressively sharp with hardly any trace of thickening. This storage edge guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced, the laminate end clearly visible, the fine exposed strip mostly clean on both sides. This a cover with four distinct laminate ends, so often this attracts grubbiness and toning which this one has largely avoided.

Spine and Text: A very thin spine, but this seems the normal on this cover, possibly compressed, but I feel not the case. Very solid, straight and clean again, the surface smooth and uncracked, all text pristine, and given the spine depth, very well centred.

Corners: All corners are neat with very fine to excellent shape retained with no knocks and minimal hint of rubbing.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this classic early-1970’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find much better. Even with mild card waving, this is attractive and fresh, so should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a Polydor-style polylined inner with crisp undamaged window circles and clear, still fresh polylining. A little aged with the usual darkening of the seam area adhesive and paper. No edge splits or repairs, this one date-coded 0271 (February 1971).

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: with mostly very fine and faint wispy surface marks seen under bright light, no penetrating stylus scratches. One small mark on the first track that emits one faint tick, blink and you miss it. Very clean with fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy with modest plays on all the evidence. Visually a splendid clean record that should please many 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 early original label record plays even above it’s high visual grading with little to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound with no tracking issues*. Any surface sounds few, minimal and faint, overall, an exceptional clean pressing, also superbly recorded and produced. These ‘Plum’ pressings carry all that beautiful detail and delivery of the music, with clarity and realism that no other format quite matches. Just listen to that incredible acoustic guitar opening, this is a gateway to the studio itself. 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 only lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful album, this has been a long-standing favourite of mine. It could prove difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

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 as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – 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 it’s 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 programs. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 14­ 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. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, 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 as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. 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] = £4.75

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced 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’.