VAN MORRISON Astral Weeks SCARCE UK EX+ LP SUPERB SOUND

	£		27
	$		36

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: VAN MORRISON

Album Title: Astral Weeks

Producer: Lewis Merenstein.

Cat Number: K 46024 .

TRACK LISTING:

Side 1: “In the Beginning’’: - Astral Weeks; Beside You; Sweet Thing; Cyprus Avenue.

Side 2: “Afterwards’’: - Young Lovers Do; Madame George; Ballerina; Slim Slow Slider.

Label/Format: Warner Bros – Early pressed second issue on the green Kinney labels. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and highly attractive with only light and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. Very light indeed on side one with just two or three fine traces.

Country of Manufacture: England.

A Special Note and Rarity: The UK first pressing of this majestic album were on the orange Warner label with the WS 1768 Catalogue number. The very briefly issued on the green label with the same number. When this label went over to Kinney, it was given a number number of K 46024 but remained on the deep green label until around 1974. This first repressing with the Kinney number still includes the original matrix on side one along with the new. This is far from common especially with a record that plays with pristine sound from start to finish – few orange copies I have seen or heard can say the same. For those few who puchased this legendary album initially, most played it into submission. Hence most originals seen vastly played, even trashed, and still with substantial asking prices. So with no qualms whatsoever, I offer this superb first Kinney pressing that still includes a lamianted front cover which looks nigh-on the same as the 60s one. A simple decision: for those who want to experience one of the greatest albums ever issued on vinyl without the massive expense of a first pressing, this is for you. No old damaging, heavy tracking stylus have been anywhere near this fabulous record. If a first issue could be found this clean and lightly played, it would command a king’s ranson. As we say in the UK – ‘You pays your money, you takes your choice’ – this all makes perfect sense to me.

Original Year of Release: 1968. This copy from around 1971-72.

Matrix Nos: K 46024 AS2T [WS 1768 A-2 *T STEREO] and K 46024 B3.

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: 130 grams. A very respectable weight for this one.

Musicians: Van Morrison – vocals, rhythm guitar; Jay Berliner – guitar; Richard Davis – double bass; Larry Fallon – harpsichord; Connie Kay – drums; Barry Kornfeld – guitar; John Payne – flute, soprano saxophone; Warren Smith, Jr. – percussion, vibraphone.

Brief Artist & Album Info: After the disbandment of Them and a hurried issued Blowin Your Mind, Van Morrison took a short time out and then issued one of the greatest albums ever made - I say this unreservedly and with full conviction - it remains, and always will be in my personal top ten albums ever. Recommended and worshipped by the critics for well over 40 years, this underground masterpiece has now become part of the establishment. It cries to be listened to without interruption, which may explain why it failed to reach either the UK or US charts. It wanders and weaves, repeating themes and lyrics as if one song, yet we never tire of ‘gardens wet with rain’, ‘champagne eyes’ or the wonder of how Morrison can make a place like Ladbroke Grove seem so hauntingly evocative. The record is also a great educator in opening your eyes beyond pop, to soul and jazz, and although Morrison continues to return to it’s themes again and again, this is his core. A true timeless classic of immense beauty and sung with such power and emotion it takes you through highs and lows of joy and sadness. For me one of the greatest lyrical albums ever made, equalling or even surpassing the greats like Dylan and Cohen - no music-lover can fail to be moved by this record. This one album alone made this man immortal and it has and never will age. I swear when I was play-grading this copy the shiver and tingle factor rush down my spine came like no other album can make happen. This is a deeply mystical experience, at times almost too intense (‘Beside You’), Morrison puts his entire soul into this song. Divided by the two sides, called ‘In the Beginning’ and ‘Afterwards’ this album has eight tracks, and not even a second of time is wasted, every track is sublime. Few songs can move like ‘Madame George’ or ‘Cyprus Avenue’ and the beauty in ‘Sweet Thing’ and ‘Ballerina” is beyond my words. Delicate strings, interweave with guitar and occasional reeds. The acoustic bass, played by Richard Davis, formerly with Miles Davis’ band, gently pulsates from the speakers from this amazingly perfect production. The whole album has an interstellar musical feel and the musicianship throughout is quite magnificent. This record is so very special and here can be experienced on a record that offers nothing but super-clean sound. Even as a little later issue, but still early put in context, this is still not an easy find. With a record that plays beautifully and a very attractive original cover that was still laminated, this is a copy way above average. A record that suffers haphazard handling and bad storage badly, and intolerant of heavy tracking turntables. Bought by the few but cherished and well played for those who did. With such stunning music and supremely clean sound that is totally distortion-free,this offers studio quality sound and a gateway into the early Van Morrison sound. I just hope the winning bidder enjoys this monumentous experience even half as much as I did.

Cover Condition and Details: EXCELLENT(+): a single format with a laminated front. The back is matt and smooth with no flipbacks. Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd as were the originals.

Cover Lamination and Front: The front looks fantastic with all that intense black colour and deep shine retained – this has to be seen for real to be fully appreciated. All is fully adhered with impressive clarity, that famous graphic will seldom be seen better. Very light traces of friction rubs or dulling seen under light but little spoils this hugely impressive front htat has very little creasing. This an important factor on such a dark sleeve. I have seen few, if any better – that’s original or early second printing.

Cover Back: This has light traces of ageing with some light discolouration which is consistent but actually adds to it’s considerable vintage. A small stain near the bottom left corner with very mild traces of toning around the edges. Few marks at all with no creasing or ring marks. A difficult back, but in highly respectable condition.

Top Edge: Barely any real wear, just slightly darkened. Very straight and neat.

Bottom Edge: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Solid and very sharp with a lovely crispness. Guaranteed untrimmed, the end of laminate line still very much present, this unchipped or worn at all. Record entered on this edge.

Spine and Text: A superb spine too: solid, very straight with no compression. All text is perfect and unworn and the laminate remains very solid and totally uncracked (and even this has fantastic shine and clarity).

Corners: Barely any wear of note, just tiny tip rubs. All retain excellent (or better) shape and definition.

Cover Summary: A lovely and attractive all-round example of this classic cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This highly pleasing and still scarce sleeve should please most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a plain solid white unlined inner was included with this record. Some mild crinkle-creasing and a small split on the bottom edge.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): a super visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface marks few, light and faint and nothing sounds at all. Visually a super record that should please most collectors again.

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 is a record to really get excited about and it’s always a slightly nervous experience to play-grade this somewhat fragile and complex record, no matter how clean the visual. As soon as the stylus made contact and I heard that gorgeous bassline and strings the tingles began - only the most stunning records and recordings give me this sensation - sounds daft?, well I simply tell it the way it is. This record is gorgeous, the details and clarity make for a very special experience. The emotion from Morrison’s vocals simply flow from the speakers. This is such a soulful trip – tracking throughout is easy and effortless – the music and vocals just flow. Even better there are no hints of sound degrading or groovewear. All songs play beautifully with any surface sound barely even registering. Again I emphasise this was played on one of the most revealing decks ever made, an LP12, it reveals all what’s good and bad on a record and takes no prisoners in revealing the information in the grooves. Few albums, from any genre, take you to a different place quite like ‘Astral Weeks’, beautiful is too small a word for this one. A monumental issue, why this failed to sell initially is a mystery to this very day. It will take a very special copy to better this significantly. Let’s be totally honest, few vinyl records this age will be blemish-free from start to finish, and many will be marked and unlistenable with horrendous distortion and noise – especially the pre-1970 ones. This delicate and complex recording still has marvellous sound and depth of emotion. No horrendous pressing noises, pop or clicks ruined this one – too many of those on this spiritual masterwork and the effect and magic is lost. Given all the facts it’s a record I am delighted, even privileged to offer and it’s one I am happy to strongly recommend – and those gardens are still wet with rain.

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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver 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 and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 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. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. 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). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (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’.