THE NICE Ars Longa Vita Brevis Rare UK 68 Immediate LP

	£		34
	$		45

Hi, I am Mike, I am 46 and have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 33 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and ellusive items now. 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, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirity, not just bits to guess a grade (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - 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 reader – 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. The only thing I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. Variation can sometimes occur too in colour of the label scans and labels taken next to the sleeve with a digital camera, the scanned full label pictures should be the most accurate. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert. 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 or sticks or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

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. 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. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed, you never know - I may just have a copy in stock. I by quality single items and collections also (Email me please if you have quality items for sale).

Debutant Bidders: Many sellers refuse first time buyers: I do not follow this practice (everybody has to start somewhere), but I would appreciate any first timer letting me know their intentions of their intended payment method and very prompt communication, preferably before any bid or soon after the auctions ends. This gives confidence that their intentions are honourable, and I in return guarantee extra special good feedbacks to get zero rated Ebayers off to a flying start to help them with future transactions. NOTE: I WILL NOT ACCEPT BIDS FROM UNREGISTERED USERS, I will cancel them immediately, and sorry, I cannot give valuations on people’s personal items just for their own curiosity, no item can be accurately valued blindly.

Please read all the information carefully - these adverts take an age to compile properly - so it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to read the details thoroughly. I really cannot take any responsibility if any bidder fails to read any facts that are clearly stated in the advert - Thankyou.

Artist or Band: THE NICE

Album Title: Ars Longa Vita Brevis.

Track Listing: Daddy Where Did I Come From; Little Arabella; Happy Freuds; Intermezzo from the Karalia Suite; Don Edito El Gruva; Symphony for Group and Orchestra movements 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th movement including ‘Acceptance’ “Brandeburger’’.

Label/Format: Immediate (Deep pink-mauve format, not disimiliar to the late Island pink labels, these are more intense and darker). This has ‘Sold in UK subject to resale price conditions, see price lists’ printed below the Immediate logo. Also IMSP 020 1Y and 2Y printed inverse above the records cat number.

Label Condition: Attractive with a few light marks, deep rich colour, moderate spindle traces but little signs of wear around the centre hole. Clearly played several times but this reflects little on the sound quality this vintage record still produces. (Please see label scans for all information needed).

Cat Number: IMSP 020.

Mono or Stereo: Stereo.

Country of Manufacture: England, UK

Rarity: Scarce, clean early copies of this one will appear seldomly.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: IMSP 020 1Y 2 and IMSP 020 2Y 2. The tiny stampers are 1L and 1A. This looks very early indeed.

Brief Artist & Album Info: This classic(al) trio of Emerson/Jackson/Davison were pretty unique back in the latter 60s. Blending rock with classical and using real orchestra - a prelude to the hugely successful Emerson, Lake and Palmer formed after The Nice split up. This vintage gem is a marvellous album and always highly regarded. Virtuoso performances from Keith Emerson as usual, this is vintage early progressive music. This copy has some cover wear and blemishes for sure, but its a real difficult one to find in top condition and overall this is still quite nice (oh dear sorry). The record too, has been played a few times, but my play-grade revealed a very clean copy. Nice albums always have moments of volume and quietness, but this has to rank as one of the very best albums by this band I have yet heard. This is a very quiet and unworn copy and the sound quality did even surprise me somewhat. For sure this record has been treated with high respect and clearly played on the more sympathetic deck than some 60s records were. Its great to hear, what I feel certain, is a true 60s copy, maybe even a first pressing with such clean and rich sound. Most collectors of classic rock should enjoy this fine, solid copy.

Cover Grade and Format: VG++, close to EX(-) really - this is a very delicate, wear-prone cover. Its a single format, not laminated and has three giant flipbacks on the rear. Printed probably by Immediate Record Company Ltd, not other credits are given, this cover has a more unique style to it, its quite unusual to see a cover this age flipbacked with no laminate, this does look a little less polished than say a EJD or a G&L.

Cover Front: A small sticker residue mark apart this really looks highly respectable. Being black and unprotected this could have suffered appalling wear and abuse. The small sticker residue mark near the top right (it should clearly show on the picture) possibly can be removed with gentle controlled soaking, but I think its risky, so I let it be. The amazing spooky X-Ray artwork (the actual band the cover states) looks terrific, the blackness of the background is largely retained, stil being very black with only a small rub near the very top. Amazingly this is first early copy of this I have seen that has avoided ringwear, and you can imagine how vulnerable this would have been to most unsightly form of wear - given the weight and thickness of the record this is pretty remarkable. Creasing is minimal and any present is light, but a couple do just about show up - black is ruthless and unforgiving of any blemishes. Generally clean with little other wear, no indentations and even surface marks are light and modest. This fragile and spectacular front still looks highly respectable and probably should grade higher than I have really - the small sticker mark and edgewear is the main reason for the more modest overall grading.

Cover Back: This is very respectable also. The three f/bs are very solid indeed with no lifting, creasing or fraying but have picked up some discolour or ‘rub-off’ from an adjacent record in storage over its vast lifespan. There is some surface discolour on some of the white areas - almost inevitable really. A rub on the left which is a fairly small beginning of a ring trace. No other major rubbing and again creasing is minimal - this back does show its age a little more, but again I have seen some real bad examples of this before and this is very respectable and many collectors will still appreciate this one.

Top Edge: Little wear on this edge up the very left and right corner areas where there is whitening of the black.

Bottom Edge: This has generally lightish rubbing but goes moderate over the last 2 inches or so on the right.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Quite clean, pretty sharp with little wear. Record entered on right outside edge.

Spine and Text: Solid and square with only light rubbing, that said some of the very frail text has eroded (IMMEDIATE is largely intact; the title is around 50-60 percent intact; The Nice is perfect - in probably the smallest spine type size I have ever seen, probably about 3 pt type and that’s small. The 020 has the last zero 50% eroded.

Corners: All four show some wear, but way better than you might reasonably expect. Mainly around the tips, and most have fine shape still.

Cover Summary: A cover slightly below what I would normally be ‘happy’ to offer I suppose, but the main two faces, the front especially looks real nice (sorry, did it again). Given its age and fragility this is still one of the best examples of this one I have seen for ages, now that must tell you something. It should still please many collectors, but not the connosseurs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX+ A very attractive visual copy. Super clean, with a genuine deep shine, jet black and very heavily pressed. A few light surface traces or hairlines but absolutely nothing heavy at all.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This super record plays up to its high visual grading with little to fault. Strong, undistorted sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is high and I feel very sure this record has been played far more modestly than the spindle marks would suggest (lets face it spindle marks are only a general guide) and the actual record has been treated well and pretty carefully. A delicate recording at times with moments of near silence, and any surface sounds were very minimal and very light indeed. Music like this tests the vinyl format to the limits, but this is a quality 60s pressing and remains so. No pops or ticks from memory and the lack of distortion or groove-wear is a vitally important factor - piano especially are prone to clipping and high frequency break up - not here. Little, if anything spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this gem. This copy could prove very difficult to find significantly better. This copy probably will appeal to most collectors.

Mono vs Stereo, an overview: Always a matter of opinion which is better or more important. For any serious collector where there is a choice e.g. Beatles, Stones, Hendrix etc. both are essential. True Stereo albums give great imagery and presence whereas mono albums usually are more dynamic, louder and present the detail more clearly. Mono albums are far harder to find in genuinely top playing condition. Most were heavily played, particularly the truly great bands and artists, often covered in mark and scratches, many severe and labels that were a mass of spindle marks. The majority were played on vintage and unsubtle decks with heavy tonearms and thick styli (often sapphire, not diamond, that chipped more easily) that rendered heavy wear in a very short time to many a fine classic record. Wear to the delicate groove walls, particularly the innermost tracks to the labels were most vulnerable where the tracking angle became more severe and the backdrag actually stripped the delicate groove walls. This resulted in surface noise and mild/moderate distortion or worse. These old decks tracked by sheer weight and little of any refined engineering. Next time you see such a deck at a local record fayre, feel the weight of the arm, it almost makes you wonder how any records survived at all. The point of this paragraph is emphasise that when a truly clean, lightly played and great sounding 60s mono album (or stereo come to that) is offered, treasure it, because for sure they are truly getting vary rare and precious - beware - demand only play-graded records. As a general guide to rarity, mono was the far more common format from 61–65; Around 66–67 the balance was roughly equal, then from 68-69 the balance swung more to stereo, making monos from these dates far scarcer, even rare - this guide is important and effects values greatly.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Final Summary: A scarce vintage gem, any fan of ELP should love The Nice, the music is quite similar as you might expect with Keith Emerson at the forefront. A copy with a solid cover, still looking nice (oh I give up!) but giving clues to its great age. The record is pretty exceptional and I am delighted to say a very fine copy, Immediate records are far less seen than many 60s labels and I am always happy to offer a super clean record on this label. Regarded as a classic issue within its genre you might just find it hard to find a much better original copy – Mike.

Having the Powerseller Logo: This is recognition from Ebay for the highest possible customer services, satisfaction and quality, it should reassure any potential bidder that all items are described, graded and shipped to the highest standards possible. Customer care of the highest order is a standard feature here and I am proud to have achieved this recognised standard of excellence from Ebay with help from collectors and buyers from all over the World - I thank you all.

Payment Details please read carefully - I know its boring but essential:

UK First Class: = £3.00; Recorded Delivery (Recommended) = £5.50 Special Delivery (Next day, insured up to £250), the best service available = £7.00

Europe Air Mail: = £4 Insured: £8.00

Overseas, non-Europe e.g. USA, Japan, Australia etc. Airmail:= £7; Insured with recorded delivery (where available) = £11.00

Singles: (Packed to the high standards of the LPs)

UK First class: = £2.00 Insured: £4

Europe Air Mail = £3.00 Insured: £5.50

Overseas, non-Europe (as above) Airmail £3.50 Insured: £6.00

Doubles add extra £1, triples add extra £2. Box sets add extra £3 (£4 overseas and Europe)

Any item that sells for over £85 will be sent Special Delivery in the UK at no extra cost. Items over £125 get the same service Overseas. This is gives peace of mind for the winning bidder and myself for valuable items. Reduced postage of course for multiple items.

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 (£28). PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT use surface mail, its too slow, with a higher risk of loss and damage.

Mailing Details: Please note I do NOTprofit on postage (my packing standards are high and the package weighs a little more and I often actually lose money on this part of service - I simply refuse to compromise with poor packing. All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken OUT of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with FOUR professional stiffners for extra protection (if space allows), I do NOT use old cardboard boxes or cereal packets for protection. More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me. I will also include in most cases a brand new lined inner, but will include the original inner if available and in a condition to be worthwhile.

I can accept cash for payments worldwide in UK Pounds Sterling, Euros or US Dollars - but this at the senders OWN risk. Please send registered and insured if this method is chosen. I cannot accept responsibility if any cash payments do not turn up. This system is very reliable and rarely goes astray. The same goes for any shipped uninsured item, I can only try to claim for any undelivered or damaged article at basic insurance levels if no enhanced insurance is requested and paid for (unless the value threshold is high enough for me insure as standard, see above)

Overseas bidders please note conversion rates for Pounds to Dollars and Pounds to Euros will be charged at 1.7 to cover PayPal or cash conversion costs.

PLEASE NOTE: Any PayPal user can now pay me with UK Sterling if they wish with no need to convert to US dollars (although they still can if they wish to). Any instant PayPal transaction from anywhere in the world will mean the item will be sent immediately - it makes deals fast and very efficient.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. I now only accept PayPal, International money orders or cash from overseas bidders (UK Sterling, US dollars or Euros). Cash, cheques, postal orders and PayPal are fine from the UK. I allow maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if this does not happen I will relist the item and may send negative feedback unless an explanation is given. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask. Please keep watch on my Ebays, I have other interesting items coming very soon. Thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: As listening to every single record I offer all the way through is difficult timewise, can I make it clear 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. I still endeavour to play all the items in their entirity for grading if at all possible and is usually the case.