THE DOORS L.A Woman RARER ORIG UK 1971 ELEKTRA EX LP, GREAT SOUND/STUNNING COVER

	£		80
	$		106

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: THE DOORS

Album Title: L.A. Woman

Producer(s): Bruce Botnick and The Doors

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Changeling; Love Her Madly; Been Down So Long; Cars Hiss by My Window; LA Woman.

Side 2: L’America; Hyacinth House; Crawling King Snake; The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat); Riders on the Storm.

Label/Format: Elektra – Original butterfly format with no Warner logo, these have matt, smooth surfaces, along with the early deeper coloured graphics.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and highly attractive. Any of the tiny few spindle marks are very fine and faint as seen with utmost scrutiny under angled light. A rare find: a copy of this evergreen classic that appears very little playe and with an almost ‘dream’ cover and lovely neat inner.

Cat Number: K 42090

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: 120 grams. Not untypical of the year when oil was in short supply and many records pressed thinner. But this a ‘pure’ copy, not bolstered by recycled vinyl, thus the sound is clean and very impressive throughout, it actually being one of the heavier originals I have held.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: The actual title itself is scarce as a first issue. And there are significant other factors to be considered as well. Mainly the cover, which is rarely found anything like this. More often seen damaged around that large cut-out window. Burring, tears and creasing are almost the normal these days. The delicate screen band print scratched, marked or fogged. The round corners buckled and thickened, the surfaces rubbed and marked, or at least grubby often with ring wear and scuffs. Well take a look at this beauty – a one-owner-from-new example that has been cover-protected since purchase – the difference is almost staggering. This one has very little to fault, and by some distance, the very best I have seen for a considerable time, if ever. I hope my pictures do this classic justice – in any condition, this is an album that is fast becoming very hard to find even in average condition. The record itself appears little played and offers lovely clean sound throughout with little unwanted. Last, but hardly least, the elusive yellow and black ‘crucifiction’ inner sleeve – this is also in terrific condition, little to fault bar one very small, clean bottom edge split I neatly repaired to stop it widening in the future, it hardly even registers. So an outstanding example that could prove a massive upgrade for collectors. A copy like this is beyond ‘rare’ these days.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: K 42090 A1 / K 42090 B1

Brief Artist & Album Info: Without doubt one of the greatest US bands of the 1960s and early 1970s, led by the vocal icon Jim Morrison. ‘LA Woman’ was the final Doors album to feature this amazing singer. This remarkable release reaffirmed the quartet’s grasp of blues-rock. Beset by personal and professional problems, they retreated to a rehearsal room, cast such pressures aside and recorded a masterpiece that included several of their most memorable compositions. The musicianship is uniformly excellent, the interplay between guitarist Robbie Krieger and keyboard player Ray Manzarek exuded confidence, while the strength of Morrison’s voice – now very much deeper than on earlier albums – add an unmistakable resonance. His tragic death within a week of the album’s completion inevitably casts a shadow over it’s sublime content, especially the eerie rain and thunder with the funereal electric piano of ‘Riders On The Storm’. Has any original line-up band ever ended their career on such a magnificent high? – I have dismiss of course the two non-Morrison albums that followed, hence the term ‘original’. This stunning album surprisingly only peaked at Number 28 in the UK charts, whereas Number 9 in their native US. A relatively common album to find as a later UK pressing that had the solid cover and no graphic inner sleeve, but the early copies are much different. The originals have a front with a real cut-out window with a see-through perspex type ‘glass’ with the band screen-printed on it. The famous inner gives the yellow effect through the ‘glass’ and has the controversial crucifix illustration. With Morrison’s rapid fall to self-destruction, quite how this band held this together to produce one of the greatest albums of the entire 1970s was little short of remarkable – ‘LA Woman’ is possibly the greatest ‘epitaph’ album ever made. This is a very impressive, very early copy: the cover, as seen is beautifully preserved, and a finer example will prove immensely difficult to find (that something of an understatement). Both record and inner sleeve are very impressive and the audio quality proved memorable and clean. I have heard copies of this that disappoint, usually either from over-playing on very basic equipment, or the pressing itself, but this record proved almost the equal of the cover in terms of quality. The eerie yellow inner sleeve completes the set, again very impressive and now fully intact.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): arguably better for one of rock’s most unforgiving sleeves. A single unlaminated format with the original round corners and see-through screen-printed window. The front white ‘DOORS’ text is embossed. The often elusive yellow crucifix inner gives the yellow effect through the window. Printed and made in England by Shorewood with the scarcer ‘Patents Pending’ text. This has the dual cat number K 42090 and EKS-75011 numbers on the back, although the official number in the UK was K 42090 (the EKS prefix now gone).

Cover Front: Firstly, this is a difficult cover and never easy to find in really top condition as an original. All elements of the format were against it. The very large die-cut window area makes the front fragile and relatively under-strength. The edges of this window are impressively crips and neat with NO tears, splits, creasing or repairs, any end burring tiny, few and registering little as seen in my close-up picture. The lack of white areas on this large cut out window are rarely seen – that is a stone-cold fact. The screen-printed plastic ‘glass’ effect is even more impressive if anything. No creasing, waving, crinkle and perfectly flat with no distortion. Incredibly, hardly even marked, one ultra faint hairline is just visible with utmost scrutiny under light and this remains ultra clear, fresh and unfogged. Often dulled by the record label, but nothing here whatsoever, they simply will not be seen better. The deep burgundy border of this window has avoided rubbing, and that embossed ‘DOORS’ text is pristine to match the flat printed L.A. WOMAN below. All the edges are crisp with barely any traces of white, even to the rounded corners. The only minor blemish a little gentle fine creasing near the top right corner, bar this a Mint(–) grading would have been seriously considered. As far as this unforgiving front goes, they rarely, if ever get seen better on available copies.

Cover Back: No die cutting this side, but almost equally as challenging due to the large area of single colour. This back again is superb, very small gentle traces of edge burring white on the left edge (look very hard) is the only tiny blemish I can realistically offer. The actual surface is little short of stunning with barely a rub or crease trace to be seen. The merest hint trace of rim impression being ultra critical, but there is barely any ink loss on the entire back surface. Try finding either front or back better, this is approaching connoisseur territory.

Top Edge: All edges on this cover fragile cover are very thin and fragile, hence most will acquire rubbing. Well this top edge and the rounded corners are pristine with nothing to fault – nothing to add – simply magnificent.

Bottom Edge: This perilous storage edge is almost the same again. Any rub traces are tiny, very few and faint. Like all other edges, this is perfectly flat and crisp.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Another very fragile area, but this cover has few areas that are not being honest. Clean and still mainly sharp with any thickening or burring gentle, little and very light, this guaranteed untrimmed, the record enters here.

Spine and Text: Solid but again thin, these were flat when made, hence the text will always overhang to some degree. This again has survived in beautiful condition with any traces of surface rubbing tiny and very light. That fragile is text is immaculate, all fully present and totally unworn as seen. All edges are exceptional, this delicate spine no exception.

Corners: Four wide arc rounded corners that are all open (e.g. not glued on the actual rounded area), so two separate card pieces as such making them even more delicate. Again all are in better than excellent condition with any thickening or burring minimal and light. In fact viewed normally full-on, these look incredibly sharp and neat. The lack of wear or card thickening is almost amazing on such a cover, again, few will even come close to this.

Cover Summary: This is a genuine beauty, not quite pristine, but realistically it might as close as they get these days. A classic cover that oozes glass and pure good looks. Doors fans and collectors needing an upgrade, look no further, this is exceptional and truly, I am finding this hard to even let go – it blows away my own attractive example by at least a full grade. This legendary cover should please most-all collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): even with the neat, barely visible small bottom edge repair, I cannot grade this fragile unlined inner less. Another near exceptional part of this legendary album, and up there with the best I have seen. The centre of the bottom edge had a very small, clean-cut movement split which I have neatly repaired to stop it potentially widening further – the record it best not kept inside this delicate inner, the paper is very thin. This one is very clean, still fresh and attractive and all edges now are very solid. The bottom corners were vented in manufacture and also rounded (of course), all crisp and neat. The artwork has always been controversial but for sure, it will rarely be seen a great deal better than this (please see my close-up picture). Any creasing only gentle and light – any discolouration or toning also light, possibly just enough to politely remind of age, personally, I have no qualms with that, it simply adds authenticity many collectors want and enjoy. These inners are much prized when found like this. That deep yellow colour, this has not faded at all, and has no ring wear which can be deemed unusual. The odd gentle rim mark, but the famous graphic is pristine What also sets this one apart, is the top recessed opening is ultra sharp and undamaged. At last both cover and inner sleeve of the utmost quality and a perfect match for each other – exceptional hardly covers it really.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: and this does this lovely record scant justice, I think it’s probably worthy of a (+). Under angled light, some very fine wispy surface marks or hairlines are evident, but the lack of penetrating stylus scratches is the really positive factor and this record – unusually – looks little played. These minor surface traces are totally superficial and non-sounding, and most used records rarely escape these types of minor blemishes. Very clean with excellent shine, and quite solidly pressed on top quality ‘pure’ vinyl. The most important factor is always the sound and audio quality – this was a joy to play-grade and offers that supreme warmth and detail vinyl offers with (of course), the original mix and sound. Visually a very fine 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 classic album plays even above it’s fine 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, very detailed sound and no tracking issues*. I did a direct comparison against a Warner logo label copy, and quite honestly, the difference in depth, detail and sonic delivery was considerable. Special mention must be made on the production and engineering of this album: it is beautifully mastered and recorded with breathtaking stereo imagery. Morrison’s vocals on ‘The WASP’ pan brilliantly from both speakers to give an eerie in-the-room quality – and then – ‘Riders on the Storm’ with the fantastic falling rain and thunderclaps. Densmore’s shimmering cymbal-work on this song sends a genuine shiver down the spine, and the clarity of the percussion with Manzarak’s keyboards from the left channel work incredibly. This original example being superior in every department – has there ever been a better song to end an original band’s vinyl output? Any surface sounds registered little – the odd sporadic tick so hard to avoid totally – but hardly any at all. The dynamics and detail within this early copy are incredible. Morrison’s vocals, now deeper and more expressive than ever, sounding better with real presence and character, Kriegers guitar is simply breathtaking as well. The tragic death of Morrison at this time was a loss to fans and music lovers, who knows what he could have achieved after this masterwork with his new deeper bluesy voice. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. A long-standing favourite of mine, this copy does it high, strong justice – the title song is simply sublime and has to be heard from a copy like this. At times on play-grade, by body in goosebumps by the sheer brilliance of the sound – this is what makes owning a high-end turntable all worthwhile – my LP12 really excelled and ‘sung’ on this record. All this along with an outstanind hardly worn cover and inner – this will rarely be seen or offered a great deal better – 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 programmes. 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’.