THE BEACH BOYS Pet Sounds RARER Orig UK 66 Stereo EX LP

	£		84
	$		111

Artist or Band: THE BEACH BOYS

Album Title: Pet Sounds.

Producer(s): Brian Wilson.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Wouldn’t It Be Nice; You Still Believe In Me; That’s Not Me; Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder); I’m Waiting For The Day; Let’s Go Away For A While; Sloop John B.

Side 2: God Only Knows; 9. I Know There’s An Answer; Here Today; I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times; Pet Sounds; Caroline No.

Label/Format: Capitol – original Capitol ‘Rainbow rim’ format. Side one has the vintage embossed ‘KL T’ tax codes near the hole. Both are immaculate with no ink loss, chipping or flattening which is always a fine indication of few plays. Hopefully my scan will show these.

Label Conditions: Both immaculate: very clean and attractive with barely any spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. Please remember the great age of this classic and popular record, finding such clean and lightly played copies is very difficult.

Cat Number: ST 2458.

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: A very impressive 156 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: Original stereo copies are much rarer than the mono versions that was still the mode of choice back in 1966 with few people owning stereo equipment at this time. The earliest examples that still play with practically flawless sound are at a premium and this copy plays beautifully.

Original Year of Release: 1966

Matrix Nos: DT1 2458 B20 / DT2 2458 A19

Stamper Codes: 1 P / 1 A

Musicians: Al Jardine - vocals, tambourine; Bruce Johnston - vocals; Mike Love - vocals; Brian Wilson - vocals, organ, piano; Carl Wilson - vocals, guitar; Dennis Wilson - vocals, drums.

Session Players: Arnold Belnick - violin; Chuck Berghofer - upright bass; Hal Blaine - drums, percussion; Norman Botnick - viola; Glen Campbell - guitar; Frank Capp - percussion; Al Casey - guitar; Ray Caton - trumpet; Jerry Cole - guitar; Kyle Burkett - guitar; Andrew Maxson - bass; Gary Coleman - percussion; Mike Deasy - guitar; Al de Lory - piano, harpsichord, organ; Joseph DiFiore - viola; Justin DiTullio - cello; Steve Douglas - saxophones, clarinet, percussion, flute; Jesse Erlich - cello; Ritchie Frost - drums, percussion; Carl Fortina - accordion; James Getzoff - violin; Jim Gordon - drums, percussion; Bill Green - saxophone, flute, percussion; Leonard Hartman - English horn, clarinets; Jim Horn - saxophones, flute; Paul Horn - saxophone; Harry Hyams - viola; Jules Jacob - flute; Plas Johnson - saxophones, percussion; Carol Kaye - electric bass; Barney Kessel - mandolin, guitar; Bobby Klein - saxophone; Larry Knechtel - organ; William Kurasch - violin; Leonard Malarsky - violin; Frank Marocco - accordion; Gail Martin - trombone; Nick Martinis - drums; Terry Melcher - tambourine; Mike Melvoin - harpsichord; Jay Migliori - saxophones, clarinets, flute; Tommy Morgan - harmonica; Jack Nimitz - saxophone; Bill Pitman - guitar; Ray Pohlman - mandolin, guitar, electric bass; Don Randi - piano; Jerome Reisler - violin; Lyle Ritz - upright bass, ukulele; Alan Robinson - French horn; Joseph Saxon - cello; Ralph Schaffer - violin; Sid Sharp - violin; Billy Strange - guitar; Ron Swallow - tambourine; Ernie Tack - trombone; Paul Tanner - electrotheremin; Darrel Terwilliger - viola; Tommy Tedesco - guitar; Julius Wechter - percussion; Jerry Williams - percussion; Tibor Zelig - violin.

Brief Info: Issued in 1966, this masterpiece of popular music peaked at No 2 in the UK album charts and No 10 in the US. Rated by many critics and the record buying public as the greatest album ever issued, certainly in the ‘pop music’ genre, this album must rank as Brian Wilson’s greatest ever achievement. Including a host of session musicians, every song on this album works perfectly and has more than stood the test of time, it remains one of the most influencial albums ever issued. The tracks have immense beauty and are superbly arranged and produced with magnificently lush orchestral parts and vocal harmonies – this is simply a perfect pop record with Wilson at his creative peak – this was his crowning achievement. This copy on offer is the much rarer original UK stereo version, far harder to find than the mono cut and a very fine copy it is too. Both record and cover are in very fine shape, the record clearly has avoided any major traumas from the vintage equipment of day and plays beautifully. A few fine surface mark yes, but all are ignored and this was a delight to listen too. An album of genius and as essential as any record ever could be, most collectors will enjoy this legendary and landmark recording.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: High.

Cover Grade and Format: A highly respectable and attractive EX or very close too. A single format with a laminated front. This is the correct stereo cover with the ST number and stereo logo printed on the back. The rear has three large flipbacks. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd and including the earliest ‘Patents pending’ text. The original promotional inner is also included that has ‘Patents applied for’ text.

Lamination & Front: Still shiny with minimal dulling or friction rubs and still fully adhered with no lifting or blistering. Clear and fresh looking so the famous artwork can be enjoyed to maximum advantage. The heavy record’s rim impression has lightly dulled around its shape, only really noticeable when held to angled light. Creasing is light and very modest and most all confined to the edge areas as fine hairline types with just one slightly heavier one on the bottom edge, few covers ever avoid this especially when over forty years old. There is no peeling and marks are few and light, a couple of small toning spots on the top edge and corners. The right edge sees the laminate end just short of full width, the exposed strip is quite clean and devoid of any grime-line build-up but has very mild toning traces. Overall a very fine and attractive looking front that really does defy its great age.

Cover Back: The back is generally clean with any set-off or grubbiness being light and minimal. It has avoided ringwear and is is pretty much crease-free. Little grubbiness or handling marks but slight age toning is present on the left edge and around the flipback ends, but these remain grime-free and still neat. With any burring minimal to the fragile ends these delicate flipbacks are very neat and even these have avoided any significant creasing. The G&L imprint is perfect on the bottom one and protected by the very solid laminate. Given all the facts, age and vulnerability, this back is very strong indeed with any hints of age being modest and light.

Top Edge: Little wear at all and even here the laminate is shiny.

Bottom Edge: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with no wear or feathering, not the cleanest of manufacturing cuts if being critical. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A very attractive looking spine also. Solid, quite straight with barely any compression. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate. This remains very white with no toning.

Corners: All neat but a slight toning on the spine ends, but all considered, these are still in fine condition.

Cover Summary: A very strong all round example of this highly famous and scarcer stereo 60’s cover, one that will prove quite difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please many collectors.

The Inner: EX++ This one is the black and white EMI promotional inner and guaranteed the one purchased with this record. I rarely ever mix-and-match, I prefer to offer the original item with anything I offer if at all possible. This matches the rest of the set and is in very fine condition. Slight tone spots as per the cover but little else to fault. Clean, crease-free and attractive, unlined and unsplit edges, these are quite hard to find this clean especially from the year England won the football World Cup!! Yes this set really is THAT OLD.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX, each side has a couple of noticeable surface marks that have no sound whatsoever. Thick deep groove vinyl, these surface marks are not really scratches in what I deem a ‘scratch’ e.g. they are non-penetrating and do NOT effect play in any way, shape or form. A very fine visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very heavily pressed. Any other marks are ultra fine and faint surface traces or hairlines, again superficial blemishes only. How many copies of this title or similar aged albums will not have light surface marks as the very least? This was a popular album in the UK and most examples got played very heavily and a high percentage these days will be rendered unlistenable by over-use or abuse from those times. This copy looks to have received only very modest plays on all the evidence and sound quality remains very high indeed. Visually a super record that should please many collectors if not quite the perfectionists.

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 undisputed masterpiece plays even above its high visual grading with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal to none and no significant pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing for a technically complex album. Few of the earliest copies will outperform this vintage 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. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record and the fine details and stereo imagery will never be bettered by the more ‘modern’ formats. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

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.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I usually post on Fridays, most will arrive Saturday to make signed-for delivery easier. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with 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 TWO thick stiffners for even extra protection. The 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. Printed address labels are used for clarity and well as sender label. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 4,000+ items sold in over 7 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

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 & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. 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 (£35).

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 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. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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’.