ALICE COOPER Killer RARER Orig UK 72 Calendar EX++ LP

	£		33
	$		44

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe £11.75. Rest of World £15.75. ALL signed for. – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P as low as possible after the Royal Mail price increases.

Artist or Band: ALICE COOPER

Album Title: Killer

Producer(s): Bob Ezrin.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Under My Wheels; Be My Lover; Halo of Flies; Desperado.

Side 2: You Drive Me Nervous; Yeah, Yeah, Yeah; Dead Babies; Killer.

Label/Format: Warner Bros – Original Green format with rich deep colour. These examples the earliest made and issued so soon after the change from the orange format on which this album was never issued upon. The deep green format Warner labels are the ultimate first for this killer album (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a small few very light, fine and faint spindle marks. This beautifully preserved example looks very little played.

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: 117 grams. Around average.

Country of Manufacture: England with the HIGHLY prized 1972 calendar.

Rarity: Scarce: more so with a superb cover with the 1972 calendar still fully intact and attached. Far more seen with badly rubbed covers with pulled perforations on the calandar, or missing it altogether. The 1973 calendar is more common.

Cat Number: K 56005.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: K 56005 A1 / K 56005 B1

Musicians: Alice Cooper – vocal; Neil Smith – drums; Dennis Dunaway – bass; Glen Buxton – guitar and Mike Bruce – guitar.

Album Information: Following two fairly obscure psych albums and the brilliant ‘Love it to Death’, all originally issued on Frank Zappa’s Straight label, this fourth album was the first to appear on Warner from day one. Original and very different from the very start, Zappa was the only person prepared to give this band a chance and signing them to Straight got them started as a recording group – albeit only with low sales at first. This is king of the macabre at his very best and along with the previous album, a real favourite. Another very dark album, this again has real menace and this issued before he became a household name and pushed his showbiz ghoulishness still further. Songs of desperados, dead babies, killers and executions are the order of the day - you must remember that slow drum beat and organ to the scaffold before our Alice is hanged for his crime on the album’s title track – a truly blood-curdling finale as the trap-door opens and the throttling begins. But for me, the finest track on this gem is ‘Halo of Flies’, his intense scream of the title still sends a shiver down by spine. This is a very early copy featuring the gatefold cover with the 1972 version calendar (please see close-up of this detail). The cover is very wear and damage-prone and both front and back will rarely be seen better. I have rarely seen a better example with ALL the delicate perforations still intact on a 1972 version. The record little played and sounds magnificent – it plays superbly. Few records over 40-years-old will not have the odd minor blemish and this one has barely anything unwanted at all – it will please most-all of his fans. Still touring and ever-popular, now also a DJ on ‘Planet Rock’, Alice was my first true hero as a young teenager, even prior to me discovering his mentor’s music – the late, great Frank Zappa.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High: seldom seen with the early calendar without any perf pulls and with the orange front looking close to as made.

Cover Condition and Details: EXCELLENT(++): and only marked down from a deserved MINT(-) due to a light sticker dull on the front top right corner area – this only really shows (lightly) under angled light – there is NO pull or inkloss and it hardly even shows with normal viewing. An unlaminated double gatefold cover with matt, smooth surfaces. It has the left side opening up again to reveal the grizzly calendar. It was printed and made in England by Shorewood.

Cover Front: Intense orange with the famous snake ‘Kachina’ that looks fantastic with such little wear or ageing. The only minor blemish (if indeed you can call it that) is the faint sticker dull mentioned above. I have rarely seen this classic Cooper front cover better.

Cover Back: Stunning and barely any hint of wear at all. An exceptional back with really deep rich colour, that eerie green hue band picture looks fantastic, and even more so without any ringwear. And how often will those left edge perforations be seen intact?

Cover Gatefold Inner: This more unusual format cover opens from left to right. The right (band) picture, is again in superb condition with barely even a hint wear or blemishes at all. Again incredible intensity on the orange glowing faces this time. The left side seen in a mauve-purple colour has a little mkld ‘speckle’ near the edges that is rarely avoided – it seems a trait of resting upon the opposite face. When opened (fold at top) the gruesome intensity of the hanging Alice is immediately quite shocking and this was not well received by ‘clean-up’ campaigners of the time – nor indeed was the the content of some of the songs – it even includes added ‘gore’ for extra realism. This ‘calendar’ spread is immaculate with barely anything to fault. Even the corners are crisp and uncreased and barely any hint of handling to the black surface, all very commendable for a single thickness card design. The year here is 1972 so clearly one of the earliest made. This gallows scene and calendar part of the cover was attached to the main part by a delicate perforated fold. So few of these will ever be seen FULLY intact with NO pulls to these parts. Well this one is exactly that, in fact these perfs are very solid indeed with no stressing and guaranteed with NO repairs – it would be near impossible to do so anyway. The fact this area has survived intact is all the more remarkable as the record is stored inside, so any careless inserting or removal of the record would mean certain knifing or pulling of these delicate parts. One of the Cooper classic covers and this UK-printed example is up there with the best I have EVER seen. A somewhat flimsy and uncomprising cover and more often seen in tatters, often with the calandar missing altogether. This one is for the Cooper and cover connoisseur.

Top Edges: Both very close to as made and retaining full rich, unfaded colour. Any thickening to the end panel very slight indeed

Bottom Edges: Again almost unworn up to the very ends (small rubs here only) and even the single thickness card is unburred, crisp and sharp.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Nigh-on pristine with ALL perfs attached - I cannot over-emphasise how rare this is and what a difference it makes. This area sets apart the average to the extraordinary – finding thiss cover in such lovely condition with these delicate perforations fully intact, is quite honestly, beyond difficult. Please see the central area of these perforations in my close-up picture.

Spine and Text: The main spine is superb with no wear and any compression quite modest. All text being present and unworn as is the artwork. The single thickness edge is incredibly crisp and sharp and guaranteed untrimmed.

Corners: A cover with several corners, any tip rubbing tiny and light. Excellent or better shape retained.

Cover Summary: In terms of lack of wear, this is up there with my very best UK examples. A rare cover so unworn with the early 1972 calendar fully attached. They hardly get much better than this and it truly does come pretty close to reminding of new. Little short for the Cooper Connoisseur.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a plain white, unlined inner is in very fine condition and little aged. Clean with minimal creasing, both window circles very crisp and all edges intact with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): this being somewhat critical. Any surface marks are very few and light as seen critically under bright angled light – few records of this considerable age will be seen a great deal better. Clearly little played and offering superb sound, this very early copy does this title super justice and most fans will enjoy it.

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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This classic Cooper album plays even above it’s high visual grading with practically nothing 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 barely even registered (this too being played on the world famous, ultra revealing Linn LP12 turntable) and no pops or clicks were noted. I have heard several of these that have emitted crackle, especially on the funeral organ passage, this needs to be quiet and this gives a great account of itself. Few copies will possibly match, let alone outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderfully macabre record – a Cooper classic, many (myself included) consider his very best. This copy will prove very difficult to find better for audio quality and with such a superb cover as well, this merits almost my highest possible recommendation.

End Piece: One of rock’s greatest and legendary showman, still very much going strong today and long may he do so, I enjoy his radio shows on ‘Planet Rock’ immensely (when I get chance). It’s astonishing to think this album is now over 40 years old, and with all considered, it’s aged superbly (like the man himself really). This vintage album (his fourth) is really magnificent - Alice really knew how to shock and surprise. With it’s daring packaging in superb condition and clean sounding vinyl this should appeal to all his fans and collectors. The legend of Alice lives on and this is arguably his greatest album ever with his finest, and original band.

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 Terrarium 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 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 8,000+ items sold in over 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 2 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

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] = £4.25

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £11.75 (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]) = £15.75 Add £3 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’.