ALICE COOPER Billion Dollar Babies RARER ORIG A1/B1 1973 EX++ COMPLETE/INTACT.

	£		90
	$		119

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 – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks 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. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full 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. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers will now be blocked at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: ALICE COOPER

Album Title: Billion Dollar Babies.

Producer(s): Bob Ezrin.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Hello Hooray; Raped and Freezin’; Elected; Billion Dollar Babies; Unfinished Sweet.

Side 2: No More Mr Nice Guy; Generation Landslide; Sick Things; Mary Ann; I Love the Dead.

Label/Format: Warner Bros – original deep green format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only light, fine and quite faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. This is superb ultimate first pressing with fantastic clean sound and amazing clean cover and contents.

Cat Number: K 56013.

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: 132 grams. A very solid weight for this one, later pressings became much thinner.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity & Overview: Moderate, this album sold quite well after the success of the ‘School’s Out’ single. The paramount factor is condition: not only is this a genuine first pressing with the A1 / B1 matrixes, most seen are A2 / B2 or combinations of either, and this one plays superbly with barely anything unwanted. The cover and it’s contents are incredibly hard to find in top conditions, and that no understatement. With unlaminated surfaces, rounded right corners and embossing, this, in most cases wears badly which is a shame as this is a stunning piece of cover glam-art. The inside has 11 perforated cards attached to the left-hand side of the middle storage side of the cover, these far less easy to find fully intact without any pulled or loosened perfs. The inside right has a large retaining flap for the billion dollar note, this often tears or creases. This copy’s cover is fantastic and fully intact, I can truly state, it is the very best I have seen since I bought a copy on the very first day of issue back in 1973. The huge billion dollar note is immaculate and the stunning card inner sleeve the same. The note is not rare as often portrayed, it came with all the early copies, but often gets torn or creased (or worse – lost) – not here. With it’s very controversial artwork at the time, the lyric/graphic inner sleeve is immaculate. In most cases this gets very grubby from handling and often the edges get split, again it has complex shapes including the original deeply recessed top opening – again all is practically as-made. I have rarely been more reluctant to offer an album than this – it may not be the rarest item I have offered – but in terms of condition, it is one of the very finest. Indeed this is better and earlier than the copy I now own. For Alice Cooper fans and collectors, this could prove an ultimate upgrade, these are immensely scarce like this, make NO mistake.

Original Year of Release: 1973

Matrix Nos: K 56013 A1 / K 56013 B1 (these are deeply machine punched and very clear)

Musicians: Alice Cooper – vocals, harmonica; Glen Buxton – guitar; Michael Bruce – rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals; Dennis Dunaway – bass, backing vocals; Neal Smith – drums, backing vocals. Guests: Donovan – vocals on ‘Billion Dollar Babies’, Steve ‘Deacon’ Hunter – guitar, Mick Mashbir – guitar, Dick Wagner – guitar, Bob Dolin – keyboards, David Libert – backing vocals, Bob Ezrin – keyboards.

Brief Info: The classic and best ever shock horror show band ever and without doubt, the original and best ever incarnation for the Alice Cooper band. A school days hero of mine, I eagerly got the bus to Colchester after finishing school just to pick up a copy of this one on first day of issue back in 1973. I still very much treasure the early albums of this man and he proved my stepping stone to discovering my life-long hero Frank Zappa who himself discovered Cooper and gave him his first chance to record. This was album number six, it became the most successful by a distance for him, this peaked at No 1 and the US and UK and includes four hit singles that includes the brilliant ‘Elected’, a remake of an earlier song ‘Reflected’ that featured on the rare Straight debut album ‘Pretties for You’. This is arguably the king of the macabre’s greatest and most complete set ever. The packaging is quite spectacular but VERY delicate. This sleeve would have cost quite more than average to produce with inners, inserts, push out cards, inner flaps and embossing – I remember this album being more expensive than most when purchased all those years ago. His famous stage act that included live snakes and grizzly props including the infamous guillotine scene when performing the gruesome ‘I Love the Dead’ - a somewhat tongue-in-cheek song about necrophilia. The baby picture inside with the ghoulish eye make-up caused outrage (with some) at the time. The baby on the album’s inner sleeve was Lola Pfeiffer, daughter of Alice’s PR person in the UK. Side one’s finale ‘Unfinished Sweet’ will send shivers down the spine if, like most, you hate visiting the dentist. It opens with a classic remake of ‘Hello Hooray’ made famous by Judy Collins, in a very different style of course. This album, like his stage show, is pure rock theatre and few did it better than Alice and this early original band. This copy is totally complete and in superb all-round condition – the main cover being the best I have seen for many, many years. After the largely ignored first three Straight albums, Cooper slowly gained a following and culminated with this brilliant set – here he hit the height of popularity largely on the strength of this album and several superb singles. Not to everone’s taste, but most critics rave about it and it remains one of his most popular ever. Long may this brilliantly original artist continue.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): and I rate this exceptional compared to most seen these days. An intolerant and very delicate unlaminated gatefold format with some embossing on the front and back (the gold coin and surrounding gem circles). The inside with 11 perforated cards, central record storage and a large strip for holding the billion dollar note. Printed and made in England, uncredited (as far as I can see). Includes the superb hard card unlined, graphic/lyric inner sleeve. The album’s credits all lie inside the inside left storage area underneath the cards, this is why so often the top right of the outer cover is seen torn with owners trying to pull open the middle to view this ‘hidden’ graphic and information.

Cover Front: Magnificent: clean, fresh and barely worn at all. This so often acquires tears near the rounded corners, but has avoided them on this beautifully preserved example. Just tiny tip rubs with any creases minuscule. Made to resemble snake skin, this complex pattern is rarely seen devoid of rubbing, this has practically none and remains unaged. With the record resting on the front from the central storage, this usually gets ringwear, again this has been totally avoided with even any rim impression.

Cover Back: Stunning again, this vulnerable back could pass for new. Both sides retain super deep colour with no fading at all.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Both faces are magnificent, ALL 11 cards solidly intact. So many buyers – a high percentage teenagers of the era (myself included) – pulled out these cards leaving a large open square ‘hole’ (this I did NOT do myself), but you do see these around that have been. Interestingly, for those who did remove the cards, then saw a black graphic on a green surface, this well hidden for a fully intact cover. That is a shame in some ways, as this gives much information about this album. Trying to view this with the cards intact risks breaking them away from the fragile performations. The right retaining band is perfect also with no weakening, creasing or tears, this designed to retain the large folded billion dollar note. This inside gatefold inside is as close to perfect as they get.

Top Edges: Both superb: clean, straight and barely worn. Also flat and meeting up closely together from a neatly folded spine.

Bottom Edges: Only very light, and equally patchy rubbing. Any thickening to the thinner back edge minimal as well.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front has a real tucked and folded edge that has barely worn again. The back is also closed as the record is stored inside as described. Minor burr traces viewed end-on, but so hard to find with none, this remains very neat and unsplit.

Spine and Text: A totally perfect spine, again rarely seen as such, this is another fragile area of this relentlessly unforgiving cover. Solid, straight with no compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. All text is perfect and unworn. The faintest hint of left tilt being ultra critical, this spine is only single thickness card.

Corners: The 90 degree spine pair are superb with any tip rubs tiny and light. Both incredibly crisp and neat with no dinks. The quarter circle right ones are near equally impressive with minimal traces of the usual thickening or burring most have now. Apparently this has been cover-protected for most of its existence, and the difference is more than evident for all to see.

Cover Summary: A superb all-round example of this lavish, but incredibly fragile 1970’s cover, one that will prove beyond difficult to find better. This for me is probably the very best gimmick cover design ever and these are immensely hard to find like this. A beautiful item that should please most-all collectors. AND: for any winning bidder, please be careful with it, to keep this looking in this exceptional undamaged condition, please handle and store it very carefully.

The Inner Sleeve: PRACTICALLY MINT: it will blow away most seen. Ultra clean, fresh without creasing or any damage. Even the white border area lacks the usual grubbiness most acquire. All the shaped corners are crisp and totally unthickened, the top deep recessed opening pristine. The edges strong and unsplit with no repairs. All song lyrics are featured on one side, the other with the legendary original Alice Cooper band and baby Lola (and piles of money). It has to be one of the most infamous rock graphics ever made – superbly distasteful – but Alice was, and still is the master of the art. This integral part of the set will rarely be found better.

The Billion Dollar Note: PRACTICALLY MINT: not rare, it came with all early copies, but seldom seen this clean and fresh. Super crisp edges, neatly folded in manufacture and looking as new. Printed on both sides as seen in my pictures, another crucial element to the set in fantastic condition.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a super visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface trace marks few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. No penetrating stylus marks and pressed on top quality pure vinyl. It plays even better. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most 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 brilliant piece of rock ‘theatre’ plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues* or pressing noises. Few copies will outperform this first A1/B1 pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been VERY well stored and mainly carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This really brings my teenage years flooding back and this is still great fun to listen to. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

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 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 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 it’s 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. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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 Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 14 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. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

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 withdrawals. 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 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’.