THE HOLLIES Greatest RARER ORIG UK 1968 EX MONO LP, PLAYS SUPERBLY, LOVELY COVER

	£		27
	$		36

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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

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. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: THE HOLLIES

Album Title: Hollies’ Greatest

Producer(s): Ron Richards

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: I?Can’t Let Go; Bus Stop; We’re Through; Carrie Anne; Here I Go Again; King Midas in Reverse; Yes I Will.

Side 2: I’m Alive; Just One Look; On a Carousel; Stay; Look Through Any Window; Stop Stop Stop; Jennifer Eccles.

Label/Format: Parlophone – Original yellow and black format with matt with ‘SOLD IN THE UK…’ text. These have matt lightly textured surfaces. Side two has the embossed tax code letters ‘K T’, both are pristine.

Label Conditions: Both in fantastic condition and seldom seen as such on this popular album. Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only two or three very light, fine and faint spindle marks on side one, just one on side two. Those who bought it initially so often played it into submission. This appears hardly used at all, and this being a more perilous mono original.

Cat Number: PMCS 7057

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Few vintage records are ever perfectly ‘flat’, so some slight or very gentle arm movement is normal. If any record I offer has more than that, I will mention it, and it can be assumed all I offer should track without issues, even on budget turntables.

Weight of this Record: 141 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: A popular album, so not too hard to find in any format or mode, but conditions are always the main factor. Many are seen played many times with deep scratches and grubby playing surfaces. Covers torn, creased and dulled, often written on – this copy with nothing like that – the cover, record, sound, and even the inner sleeve are superb.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: XEX 693-1 / XEX 694-1

Stamper Codes: 1 H / 1 GR

Brief Artist & Album Info: Along with The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Kinks, The Hollies made some of the very best singles of the 1960s, every song included on this fantastic compilation is a classic. One appearing hardly played, it plays beautifully with hardly anything unwanted. Never take this for granted on any early pressing especially by this band. I consider Hollies albums amongst the hardest to find that will play well throughout. The intense sound, complex harmony vocals and volume nearly so often means high frequency distortion and loss of clarity. So all these classic 45’s can be enjoyed to the near maximum and come with a lovely little-worn cover. All this too in glorious mono, which for me is the very best way to experience these vintage classics. One for fans to savour.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): a single format with a laminated front that wraps around the closed edges on to three large rear flipbacks. The main back panel is matt and smooth. Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse and has the ‘Patents pending’ text. Includes the sepia EMI promotional inner sleeve.

Lamination & Front: A lovely graphic and band picture seen looking attractive under very shiny, fresh and clear laminate. Minimal fine edge hairline creases, no lifting and barely any dulling. One of the cleanest and attractive examples I have seen in ages.

Cover Back: The back shows little real wear – only gently aged with a little mild discolouration mostly near the left edge. All three flipbacks are solid with any end burring tiny and light on the bottom (look hard). The ends are clean without the usual grime lines.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both thin, but straight, smooth and unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: A little thickening to the front edge seen viewed end-on, a micro nick on the front. Guaranteed untrimmed, the record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression, the ends gently tapered in manufacture. All text is perfect and unworn under solid clear laminate.

Corners: Any tip rubs small and light, A small crease on the bottom left of the back, little else.

Cover Summary: A very attractive looking all-round example of this mono code cover, one that will prove difficult to find much better. Just a few clues to it’s substantial age, but this strong item should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: MINT(–): a fantastic inner that almost reminds of new – the odd fine crease and gentle rim impression that few avoid, all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: arguably better. Very clean with excellent shine and very solidly pressed. Any surface marks are mainly light, quite wispy and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. Seen in normal room light little even register and no penetrating stylus scratches. This again 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 collection of classic 1960s singles plays even above its high visual grading with little to fault, and like all Hollies albums, that is never easy. As I have stated already, I have always found Hollies albums very difficult to find ‘perfect’. Just a few plays with a blunt heavy tracking thickk mono stylus ruined so many of their early records, making the delicate vocal harmonies clip and distort, destroying the marvellous audio quality once there. This is so often the norm rather than the exception – this little-used record is an exception. Strong and punchy sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear with no tracking issues*. Sound quality is tremendous with a wide dynamic range and very detailed warm mono sound. Minimal hint of surface sound, few available originals will play much better than this. Both channels are clean and sharp when played on a stereo system. Little of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading these 14 classic tracks. As stated above, both the mono stereo versions are different and both are worthy of owning, personally, I prefer the mono. This copy will prove difficult to find better for enjoyable sound and merits strong recommendation.

* 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 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.