STEPHEN STILLS 1st. UK Plum Orig 70. N/M Copy. A1/B1 11

	£		69
	$		91

Hi, I am Mike, I am 46 and have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 33 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and ellusive items now. 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, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirity, not just bits to guess a grade (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - 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 reader – 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. 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 or sticks or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

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. 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. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed, you never know - I may just have a copy in stock. I by quality single items and collections also (Email me please if you have quality items for sale).

Debutant Bidders: Many sellers refuse first time buyers: I do not follow this practice (everybody has to start somewhere), but I would appreciate any first timer letting me know their intentions of their intended payment method and very prompt communication, preferably before any bid or soon after the auctions ends. This gives confidence that their intentions are honourable, and I in return guarantee extra special good feedbacks to get zero rated Ebayers off to a flying start to help them with future transactions. NOTE: I WILL NOT ACCEPT BIDS FROM UNREGISTERED USERS, I will cancel them immediately, and sorry, I cannot give valuations on people’s personal items just for their own curiosity, no item can be accurately valued blindly.

Please read all the information carefully - these adverts take an age to compile properly - so it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to read the details thoroughly. I really cannot take any responsibility if any bidder fails to read any facts that are clearly stated in the advert - Thankyou.

Artist or Band: STEPHEN STILLS

Album Title: Stephen Stills

Track Listing: Love the one you’re with; Do for the others; Church; Old times good times; Go back home; Sit yourself down; To a flame; Black Queen; Cherokee; We are not helpless.

Label/Format: Atlantic (original red and maroon ‘Plum’ format).

Label Condition: Beautiful clean examples that show only very light spindle traces. Wear around the centre hole is nil and there is even a tiny piece of ‘flash’ attached that the eagle eyed may have noticed. This would never have remained connected if this had been played excessively and this one sure has not been. This stunning copy looks hardly played at all. (Please see label scans for all information needed).

Cat Number: 2401004.

Mono or Stereo: Stereo.

Country of Manufacture: Gt Britain.

Rarity: Moderate, but an original that looks and plays like this will be harder to find.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: 2401004 A1 111 and B1 111. This looks as clear as it can be its a first pressing.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Stills debut masterpiece and of the truly great ‘solo’ classics from this period - a five star recording in every department. A highly inventive and successive time for Stills, in the space of a couple of years he made two solo albums, released the superb Manassas double album and was part of CSNY, his fellow colleagues make guest appearances on this album too amongst others. This fine set proves Stills as a highly talented musician and this classic is varied, covering memphis soul, folk, blues, rock and even pop. The opening track is a trademark gem of his and all round this album was never bettered. The only real surprise it made only 30 in the UK but peaked at 3 in his native US. This copy on offer is a real beauty. Pristine labels and a near perfect LP that plays supremely well. A very attractive sleeve with little wear, that like the album inside, is a classic rock cover. This again will please most collectors.

Cover Grade and Format: EX++, and close as it gets to a Mint(-), a small laminate scratch is the only reason why is marked down a tiny notch. This is a single format and laminated both sides. It was printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group, London and Bedford. A very attractive item that does justice to this lovely designed cover.

Cover Lamination: Super clean and very shiny laminate that has no dulling at all and looks terrific. A modest sized dry area near the spine edge but being white it hardly even shows, this cover often seems to have this tightening around the spine, but this is small enough not to encroach on to the artwork picture and confined to the white border area only. A small scratch on Stills right arm is just about the only small damage on this immaculate laminate - hairline thickness, it shows little. This one is devoid of creasing and indentations, even surface traces are few and no ringwear whatsoever. This lovely laminate gives a very classy feel to this classy cover.

Cover Front: Magnificent, super clean and very white still, hard to imagine finding this one much better.

Cover Back: Pretty much the same as the front, maybe even better, odd tiny hairline crease if being critical.

Top Edge: Unworn.

Bottom Edge: Unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no wear. Record entered on right outside edge.

Spine and Text: Solid and square with nowear, text is perfect and unworn under the uncracked laminate.

Corners: All four show a little microscopic wear, mostly on the very tips. All still nicely shaped.

Cover Summary: A super all round example of this classic early-70’s cover, one that could prove hard to find much better. This strong item should please most collectors.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-) A superb copy with just the odd faint and very light surface scuff on each side, totally on the surface, superficial and non-sounding - as minor as they get, just a friction mark from a non-lined inner. Super clean and shiny, and jet black and heavily pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence. Visually a stunning clean record that should please most collectors again.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This super record plays up to its high visual grading with little to nothing to fault. Strong, undistorted sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear. No pops or ticks from memory and a very fine pressing, any surface sounds are minimal, if indeed there are any at all. Both channels are clean and clear, I feel very sure this record has been played little and has been well stored and looked after, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Little, if anything spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this classic, its always a joy to hear such a clean copy of this wonderful record. This copy will prove near impossible to find significantly better.

Mono vs Stereo, an overview: Always a matter of opinion which is better or more important. For any serious collector where there is a choice e.g. Beatles, Stones, Hendrix etc. both are essential. True Stereo albums give great imagery and presence whereas mono albums usually are more dynamic, louder and present the detail more clearly. Mono albums are far harder to find in genuinely top playing condition. Most were heavily played, particularly the truly great bands and artists, often covered in mark and scratches, many severe and labels that were a mass of spindle marks. The majority were played on vintage and unsubtle decks with heavy tonearms and thick styli (often sapphire, not diamond, that chipped more easily) that rendered heavy wear in a very short time to many a fine classic record. Wear to the delicate groove walls, particularly the innermost tracks to the labels were most vulnerable where the tracking angle became more severe and the backdrag actually stripped the delicate groove walls. This resulted in surface noise and mild/moderate distortion or worse. These old decks tracked by sheer weight and little of any refined engineering. Next time you see such a deck at a local record fayre, feel the weight of the arm, it almost makes you wonder how any records survived at all. The point of this paragraph is emphasise that when a truly clean, lightly played and great sounding 60s mono album (or stereo come to that) is offered, treasure it, because for sure they are truly getting vary rare and precious - beware - demand only play-graded records. As a general guide to rarity, mono was the far more common format from 61–65; Around 66–67 the balance was roughly equal, then from 68-69 the balance swung more to stereo, making monos from these dates far scarcer, even rare - this guide is important and effects values greatly.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Final Summary: The words ‘classic’ and ‘masterpiece’ are often overused, but I make no apology for using them on this one. A truly magnificent album that any music lover could not fail to like. Stills was inspired on this album and he rarely again reached such levels of brilliance as a solo performer again. This copy does near full justice to its importance and it can be played with supreme confidence for top quality sound, a copy to be proud of – Mike.

Payment Details please read carefully:

UK First Class: = £2.50; Recorded Delivery (Recommended) = £4.00 Special Delivery (Next day, insured up to £250), the best service available = £6.00

Europe Air Mail: = £4 Insured: £8.00

Overseas, non-Europe e.g. USA, Japan, Australia etc. Airmail:= £7; Insured with recorded delivery (where available) = £11.00

Singles: (Packed to the high standards of the LPs)

UK First class: = £2.00 Insured: £4

Europe Air Mail = £3.00 Insured: £5.50

Overseas, non-Europe (as above) Airmail £3.50 Insured: £6.00

Doubles add extra £1, triples add extra £2. Box sets add extra £3 (£4 overseas and Europe)

Any item that sells for over £85 will be sent Special Delivery in the UK at no extra cost. Items over £125 get the same service Overseas. This is gives peace of mind for the winning bidder and myself for valuable items. Reduced postage of course for multiple items.

The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£28). PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT use surface mail, its too slow, with a higher risk of loss and damage.

Mailing Details: Please note I do not profit on postage (my packing standards are high and the package weighs a little more. All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken out of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with FOUR professional stiffners for extra protection (if space allows), I do NOT use old cardboard boxes or cereal packets for protection. More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me. I will also include in most cases a brand new lined inner, but will include the original inner if available and in a condition to be given.

I accept cash for payments worldwide in UK Pounds Sterling, Euros or US Dollars - but this at the senders own risk. Please send registered and insured if this method is chosen. I cannot accept responsibility if any cash payments do not turn up. This system is very reliable and rarely goes astray. The same goes for any shipped uninsured item, I can only try to claim for any undelivered or damaged article at basic insurance levels if no enhanced insurance is requested and paid for (unless the value threshold is high enough for me insure as standard, see above)

Overseas bidders please note conversion rates for Pounds to Dollars and Pounds to Euros will be charged at 1.7 to cover PayPal or cash conversion costs.

PLEASE NOTE: Any PayPal user can now pay me with UK Sterling if they wish with no need to convert to US dollars (although they still can if they wish to). Any instant PayPal transaction from anywhere in the world will mean the item will be sent immediately - it makes deals fast and very efficient.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. I now only accept PayPal, International money orders or cash from overseas bidders (UK Sterling, US dollars or Euros). Cash, cheques, postal orders and PayPal are fine from the UK. I allow maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if this does not happen I will relist the item and may send negative feedback unless an explanation is given. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask. Please keep watch on my Ebays, I have other interesting items coming very soon. Thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: As listening to every single record I offer all the way through is difficult timewise, can I make it clear if any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. I still endeavour to play all the items in their entirity for grading if at all possible and is usually the case.