THE BEATLES, Rubber Soul (1965 PARLOPHONE STEREO)

	£		53
	$		70

This is a seriously rare original 1965 Stereo pressing of the Beatles 1965 album ‘Rubber Soul’. This was the LP on which The Beatles really began to stretch their songwriting and production, it really is one of the definitive mid-sixties British pop albums and is much easier to find as a Mono pressing. The Stereo pressings do not turn up for sale very often and when they do they are seldom in great condition like this one so don’t miss out...

Year of original release: 1965

Year of this pressings release: 1965

Label: Parlophone (Black label, yellow logo with ‘Gramophone co..’ and ‘Sold in UK..’ label text. Tax code K.T. across side one spindle)

Catalogue No: PCS 3075

Matrix No’s: YEX 178-2 / YEX 179-2

Country of Manufacture: England 

Mode: Stereo

RECORD CONDITION

Labels: EXCELLENT

The labels are both clean and un-marked with no writing or sticker residue. The spindle wear is only light and would suggest that both sides have been played less than ten times

Visual: EXCELLENT

The whole surface of the vinyl has a brilliant clean sheen and still looks absolutely superb. There are no bad marks to report, no gashes or manufacturers defects in the vinyl. A strong light reveals a few light paper scuffs and the odd tiny hairline but that really is it; there are no major signs of wear on this very well cared for original record.

Play: EXCELLENT

The audio is loud and clear through both playing sides of this record with no lessening in the sound quality. Anything you pick up in the audio is only what you’d expect from a 45 year old used disc; the very occasional bit of non-intrusive background noise and perhaps the odd isolated pop or click but never anything that can spoil your enjoyment of the music. This is great stuff!

COVER CONDITION

Front laminate flip-back sleeve: EXCELLENT

The whole cover remains completely intact with no serious damage or wear. The laminated front has a few very light laminate creases visible under certain light angles but these are mainly the general small ones near the spine you see on most laminated sleeves. The spine is smooth and completely un-scuffed with clearly legible text; the bottom and bottom edges are smooth and un-scuffed as well, there’s just a very tiny early stage seam split development in the top edge which has not turned into a major problem. There isn’t any ring-wear to report here either, just a slight circular impression visible in the front laminate when held to light. Any feathering on the side opening is extremely minor as well and again not a major issue. With the original ‘use emitex..’ inner sleeve still intact this is a supremely well cared for original album package.

ABOUT THE BEATLES - ‘RUBBER SOUL’

The sixth UK Beatles studio album was released on 3rd December 1965 after being recorded at Abbey Road Studios in stages between 17th June and 11th November 1965. Other than ‘The Word’ (left over from previous 1965 album ‘Help!’) the LP was mainly recorded over a four week period, in order to be ready for the Christmas market, and was widely praised for its expanded musical palette. The Beatles were fast emerging as groundbreaking songwriters and they soaked up contemporary folk-rock influences like Bob Dylan and the Byrds whilst cementing a reputation as the leading purveyors of British Pop. They were clearly branching out musically as the appearance of a sitar on ‘Norwegian Wood’, fuzz-bass on ‘Think For Yourself’ and a piano sounding like a harpsichord on ‘In My Life’ clearly demonstrate. Paul McCartney came up with the albums title after hearing Mick Jagger’s singing style described as “plastic soul”. ‘Rubber Soul’ is widely regarded as the starting point of The Beatles legendary series of classic albums drenched in psychedelic studio wizardry and creativity; either way it’s a near enough perfect pop album.

POSTAGE & PACKING

UK:

Basic option – FREE / Recorded Delivery (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) £3.50

EUROPE:

Basic airmail - £4.00 / Insured delivery £8.00

REST OF WORLD:

Basic airmail - £7.00 / Insured delivery £12.00

We will always ensure that our records will be well packed in a secure manner. We do everything we can to provide a safe delivery and ensure that your records arrive in the same condition that they left us in. We use professionally packed heavy-duty mailers. We are also happy to accommodate pick up in person.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

If you are unhappy with your purchase, for any reason, we are not going to get into a long dispute with you about the items merits. We offer a no nonsense money back promise including postage upon return of the item. Obviously we do ask that you raise any issues within 7 days of delivery. Just get in touch, we can work it out.

GRADING

‘Record Collector Magazine’ have for years promoted a grading system that has been accepted as the all round standard amongst dealers and collectors. We too use that system but just in case anyone’s not sure here’s my basic interpretation:

MINT: Only ever used if a record is totally un-played and therefore can be classed as brand new. Even if a record has only had one play it can no longer be Mint.

NEAR MINT: This grading applies to a record that has no visible faults and no lessening in sound quality. Other than perhaps a little dust and in some cases the lightest of totally non-sounding paper scuffs visible under strong light, vinyl graded Nr.Mint will be extremely well cared for. Sleeves graded Nr.Mint will have no damage and only the vaguest suggestion of any handling or use.

EXCELLENT: Records graded thus will essentially be in a very well cared for condition and play without any problems. Excellent records have been used but they will have been well looked after and the worst you can expect with the audio will be the odd light pop or click and perhaps a little bit of light background noise in a couple of places, but certainly nothing that will spoil your enjoyment of the music. Covers graded Excellent have no damage or defacement to the artwork , their evidence of handling will only be in minor details like a few faint creases, tiny edge scuffs or a small amount of writing or sticker residue but certainly no serious damage.

VERY GOOD: Records graded VG will be totally satisfactory to all but those looking for total perfection. They will be used but still fully playable and only show the kind of wear you would expect to find on a second hand record that has had a few plays. The odd light scratch may be evident as well as general spindle wear and paper scuffs but nothing to cause any overall problems with your enjoyment of the record. Basically, be realistic in what you’d expect a used record to look and sound like and you won’t have any disappointments with a record that is graded Very Good. Covers graded VG may show a bit of general wear or scuffing around the edges, there could be some light ring-wear, a few creases and perhaps a little bit of writing (1960’s record owners seemed to always write their name somewhere on the sleeve) but they will still be fully intact and certainly not abused in any way.

GOOD: Vinyl graded as Good should be approached with a little more caution, as most dealers will tell you in record collecting terms ‘good’ means ‘bad’! We try and keep our items above this standard, however Good does have some saving graces and is not the lowest grading vinyl can be given. A record graded thus will still be just about playable although it will clearly have been played a lot by previous owners. You can also expect light scratches and definitely some surface noise. Covers graded as Good will be just about holding it together although you will inevitable find plenty of creases, maybe a few rips and seam splits as well as possibly chunks missing, writing or stains and indeed any other kind of defacement that it’s possible to find on record sleeves without them being totally destroyed.

FAIR: Don’t bother bidding!

NB. There may be occasions when we add a + or a – to a grading. The reason for this is fairly self explanatory but essentially, if something is VG+ that means it is a seriously strong example of that particular grading and potentially worth a higher grade. Please also remember that there are variables within all of these gradings (for example, it is not impossible for a Nr.Mint sleeve to have a tiny bit of writing present) but we’ll always endeavour to mention any especially relevant points within the bulk of the main description text