THE KINKS Face to Face RARE ORIG UK Pye 1966 Nr EX LP

	£		104
	$		138

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World in 2010.

Artist or Band: THE KINKS

Album Title: Face to Face.

Producer(s): Shel Talmy.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Party Line; Rosy Won’t You Please Come Home; Dandy; Too Much on My Mind; Session Man; Rainy Day in June; House in the Country.

Side 2: Holiday in Walkiki; Most Exclusive Residence for Sale; Fancy; Little Miss Queen of Darkness; You’re Lookin’ Fine; Sunny Afternoon; I’ll Remember.

Label/Format: Pye – intense dark pink-magenta and black format with smooth finish. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both in superb conditions: ultra clean and super-attractive with only two or three light, faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. These amazing labels look almost factory-fresh and will be close on reminding those of a certain age what labels looked like when first purchased. We all know these are usually found with a maze of ugly spindle marks and rim erosion, not even a trace of anything like this here. Both labels have incredible depth of colour and barely a handling blemish to be found.

Cat Number: NPL 18149.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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: An incredible 170 grams, even by Pye standards, this is a super-heavyweight record. [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 140 to 150 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, 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 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rare: so many of these are found in unplayable conditions, the victims of harsh and heavy treatment on vintage mono record players. Worn-out grooves, badly deeply scratched playing surfaces and terrible noisy, distortion-ridden sound. This copy has only a few light marks and has a little minor surface sound in places, but most of anything present, lie between a couple or three tracks, most of the music sounds fine and this is still a very enjoyable record. Not perfect but way better than average and even such copies of this title are hard to locate.

Original Year of Release: 1966

Matrix Nos: NPL 18149 A2 H / NPL 18149 B2 H

Stamper Codes: I 1 / F 4

Musicians: Ray Davies - guitar, vocal; David Davies - guitar, vocal; Peter Quaife - bass guitar; Michael Avory - drums.

Brief Info: As good as the early Kinks albums are, this was the first that can justifiably be regarded as a ‘classic’. Brilliant pop music and their sound had now progressed beyond pure R’n’B. All fourteen of the sublime tracks on offer were written by Ray Davies with Dave co-writing ‘Party Line’. This man, especially in the 60s, wrote some of the most brilliant songs of this famous decade. Catchy songs with superb lyrics but their albums did sell in the numbers they should have done. The country was transfixed with Beatles and Stones mania and bands of equal worth, like The Kinks were left behind. Their albums even grew in stature after this title but sales declined further still which was totally mystifying even though the singles still sold well. This is a very elusive record, and very difficult to find in better conditions. Tired, dull looking vinyl with serious marks and bad sound are almost the norm for today, finding a relatively clean and more modestly played example is very difficult. This copy has an attractive cover and the mono record is way better than average. There are a few mild to light marks, mostly surface hairline types and hardly any sound. Side one plays superbly and side two with just a little surface sound mostly between two or three tracks. Kinks albums from the 60s are in such high demand these days even lesser copies are snapped up fast – and this very solid copy hardly need hyping-up – my pictures should tell their own story. Just think, this record was first issued when England won the football World Cup. Not quite connoisseur quality this time, but many collectors will enjoy owning this one and maybe for a reasonable price that will fit more collector’s budgets.

Cover Grade and Format: EX. A single format with front laminate that wraps around on to three large rear external flipbacks. This was printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd and has the ‘Patents pending’ text.

Lamination & Front: The laminate retains a lovely fresh shine and clarity and is fully adhered with no lifting. It has the odd mild surface mark or two but these barely show with normal viewing. There are a number of mainly fine edge creases but again visibility is modest. Colourful artwork that can be enjoyed to near maximum advantage through undulled or rubbed laminate. Although well over 40-years-of-age now, this front looks real nice.

Cover Back: The unprotected back has a few small and mostly minor marks and traces of grubbiness mainly to the left edge, the handling area. With barely any rubbing or creasing and avoiding ringwear, this is a highly respectable back too. The flipbacks undamaged and strongly adhered. A few fine surface creases and odd tiny burr trace but the ends are clean and ungrubbied.

Top Edge: One or two minor surface scuff traces that show little, that apart, little else to fault.

Bottom Edge: Little to fault, one or two laminate chips but the artwork unaffected.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Slightly thickened with minor burring when viewed end-on. A tiny nick on the back really is as small as a ‘thumb-split’ gets. At least untrimmed and quite neat overall and pretty clean too.

Spine and Text: The spine is really nice: solid and pretty straight with minimal compression, the manufactured tapered ends have fine definition with just the cornertips rubbed a little. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid, clear laminate.

Corners: All have tip rubs but none excessive, they retain very decent shape with just the very tips slightly rounded.

Cover Summary: Given the vintage and what it is, a very nice example indeed. Not perfectionist’s standard but few that make the open market ever are – and if so, at what price? This still attractive cover should please many collectors.

The Inner: This very slightly later-pressed copy, but still very much 1960s, included a plain white inner that is lined with tracing paper. Some copies of this album had textured labels as did the last copy I offered and that had a blue advertising inner. That said, this record is around 30 grams heavier - yes true. This inner is clean and unworn with no edge splits and superb undamaged lining. A little corner area creasing and no toning.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX(-) with a few fine and light marks. I hate to use the word ‘scratch’ on marks that can not be felt with the finger or sound, but I guess one or two are light ‘scratches’. Most are surface marks or hairlines and most all are superficial and have no sound, the grading barely does this fine record full justice, Kinks albums are simply rarely found ‘perfect’ and many are in really poor visual and playing conditions. A splendidly, highly respectable visual copy that is clean, shiny, intense black and massively pressed – this will make some belt-driven turntable groan to get up to speed. I am sure this has not been played very many times, the label evidence suggests barely at all in fact. Probably just a few, but not quite as carefully as I would have liked. That said, this looks nice, most all sounds superb and it has little to fault for audio quality. So again, not for the perfectionists but this rare album is still one that will 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 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 wonderful Kinks classic plays above its very solid visual grading with not a great deal to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, never, ever take this for granted on any mono record, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed, punchy sound. There is little to fault on side one at all and just a little mild surface sound in a few places on side two. A little between songs or on the few quieter parts but this is light and sporadic, most obscured by the dynamic sonic quality of the recording - this too on sensitive stereo equipment this record was not really designed for. Few examples will outperform this early copy significantly I feel sure. Very little spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this brilliant album. If clinical silence is non-negotiable, this not the copy for you and if you have doubts, do not bid. But realistically, this copy will still prove quite difficult to find significantly better and can be very warmly recommended. The lack of groovewear or high frequency clipping I think is highly noteoworthy as the lack of repetitive and irritating pops and clicks. I find a little mild surface sound quite acceptable but never distortion. I know some collector’s actually like to be reminded they are listening to an immensely old record and a little minor surface sound is actually welcomed. That is a matter for the individual listener of course and I respect all listener’s opinions. You have the details, you know decide.

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: 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, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). 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 VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. 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 as well as a 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 ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not 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. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

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 & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

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

1 LP (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

NOTE: I NO LONGER SEND TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. ANY BIDS WILL BE IGNORED.

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 ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £12. (insurance 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: 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’.