The Rolling Stones : No. 2 1A/2A 1st Press Unboxed & Grooved Red Decca Mono 1964

This first pressing plays to a sublime standard with a clarity and definition that is rarely found today.  This is a record that has been so carefully looked after down the years - it was obviously meant only for the collection and not to be played judging by the audio and visual quality.  It has to be the most impressive unboxed/grooved Mono version of this album that i have ever seen.

The cover has also been so well preserved and the real test is how clean the unlaminated back cover is.  Very is the answer!  It has only minimal marking near the bottom edge and hopefully the photos do it justice.  It of course has the 'Blind Man' text top right.

I am confident in saying this is a first press as it has the the first unboxed grooved label that was produced.  It has 'Made In England' along the top and no production and recording info below 'The Rolling Stones'.  The font is Ariel style and the BIEM-NCB box is on the left side.

With international shipping (including Europe now) I will declare a lower amount so as to decrease/avoid any Customs' fees.

LK 4661 // XARL-6619-1A / XARL-6620-2A // HB 1 / UU 1

The audio on S1 is Near Mint (Mint- for the vast majority)

The audio on S2 is Near Mint (Mint- in many sections / T4 & T6 Ex+)  

The cover is a very strong Ex

The labels are Near Mint

The original inner is VG++

This vinyl is in beautiful condition and looks to have been hardly played.  It has an immaculate glossy sheen with no marks or scratches and I cannot locate any obvious hairlines either.  It truly is in exceptional condition and may well be the cleanest example I have seen.  The run out grooves are unmarked and the matrix info and KT tax stamp can easily be seen.  The labels are also in superb order with hardly any spindle wear and they have lost none of their original deep red colour.

Play grading  

The intro on 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love' plays with stunning clarity and Jagger's opening vocal is equally as good.  There are no ticks, clicks or pops and from then on plays with that typical raw Stones power and no intrusion at all.  For this first track to play so clearly is a genuine rarity and I cannot find fault!  A touch of barely audible static on the odd note but that is being overly critical and this easily grades as Near Mint if not better!

'Down Home Girl' is of the same 'high end' and it's the clarity of sound that really stands out.  With only a handful of insignificant dust ticks this is also worthy of a Near Mint grade.

As any Stones' collector will be aware 'You Can't Catch Me' plays with a more defined sound, greater depth you could say.  I'm sure it was recorded in a different studio to the previous two tracks?  And on a well preserved vinyl such as this it is even more obvious - the sonic quality from start to finish is so strong and there is no 'muddiness' to the sound whatsoever.  This is a sublime Mint- version for sure.  Fade outs gives a good idea of the clarity on offer and this fade out is crystal clear.

The intro on the classic 'Time Is On My Side' is so close to perfect with only one mega light tick and the first vocal is exactly that - perfect.  It continues to play so well without any interference and with a clarity that defies the age of the album.  There is just nothing that gets in the way of the listening experience and Near Mint is again very much deserved.

'What A Shame' also plays to a very high standard.  There is just a minimal amount of very light static on the intro which is hardly noticeable truth be told and thereafter plays so clearly with no clicks or pops and no underlying static either.  The audio is so rich and deep and the bluesy mid instrumental is flawless.  The remainder does not disappoint and again the fade out has no 'background'.  Near Mint

This is a mono record being played through a stereo set up and yet the final track 'Grown Up Wrong' plays so clearly with no inner groove distortion at all.  This is another indication that the vinyl has not been over-played and the clarity and depth of the audio throughout is just stunning.  I am tempted to grade as Mint- and in fact I will!

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'Down The Road Apiece' on S2 plays with exceptional quality from the get go.  The audio is so strong here in no small measure helped so much by Wyman's deep bass.  There is one minor click but it is on a drum beat so you don't really notice it and aside from that this is a stunning version and the instrumental end section could not play any better.  Even with that one minor aberration I still think Near Mint is deserved.

The intro on 'Under The Boardwalk' has no 'background', not even a solitary dust tick, and continues in the same precise way with just one light tick at the end of the first chorus.  I cannot emphasise enough just how deep and clear the audio is here, it is a spectacular version and rarely have I heard such impressive audio on a 1A/2A first pressing.  Mint-

'I Can't Be Satisfied' makes you think just how many times has this record been played?  Not many is the answer!  The clarity and definition of the audio cannot really be faulted.  I did detect a hint of light static distortion on a handful of notes but in no way is it intrusive.  I will grade as Near Mint but again the majority is stronger than that.

From beginning to end 'Pain In My Heart' has no ticks, clicks or pops and only a minimal amount of background static.  I reiterate the word 'background' as it does not intrude on the quality of the listen in my opinion but will grade as Ex+ accordingly.  One light tick on the fade out also.

As you approach the end of the album you'd expect some inner groove distortion but 'Off The Hook' plays so clearly with only a very minimal amount on the vocal.  It is not intrusive in any way and...there are no ticks, clicks, pops or static.  In my educated opinion this is still deserving of a Near Mint grade.

'Suzie-Q' ends the album with no interference but does have a little more inner groove distortion.  Again not excessive and Ex+ is a fair assessment of the audio.

In summary this first pressing plays to a superb standard with barely any interference - just one easily missed click on the first track of S2.  The clarity and depth of the audio on both sides is stunning and there cannot be many unboxed and grooved Decca pressings still in existence.  It is over 55 years old now and when you see the visual quality you will understand what I mean!  A super clean vinyl with a cover to match.  Wow!

The Cover & Inner Sleeve

The non-flipback James Upton cover (with the 'Blind Man' text) is in lovely condition and has retained it original shape so well and has clearly not been overhandled, just been carefully stored for all its life.  The edges have no 'rubbing' and the thin pinched spine is also in fantastic shape with only a little compression.  Remarkably there is barely any corner wear and the opening edge has only minimal handling wear.  The laminated front cover has no actual marking/damage and only 3/4 minor laminate creases middle right and another top left plus a small number of the usual small creases around the edges.  The back cover is of course not laminated and has remained so clean over the years.  There is just very minor marking near the bottom edge and a little fading around the edges.  It is certainly one of the best examples you will find.

The original 'Foreign patents pending' poly-lined inner has no marking and only a little creasing.  There is one side split but is otherwise in excellent condition.

Play Tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

This record has been cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

LK 4661 // XARL-6619-1A / XARL-6620-2A // HB 1 / UU 1

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.

Any questions please feel free to ask

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Postage & Packaging

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