BEATLES YESTERDAY AND TODAY 2ND STATE BUTCHER COVER?

	£		123
	$		163

THE BEATLES "YESTERDAY AND TODAY"

UNPEELED `BUTCHER' COVER?

ORIGINAL COPY. FIRST US PRESSING. Released 1966 . Mono. Capital Records, catalogue number; T 2553, Matrix numbers; T1 - 2553 - G10/T2 - 2553 - F11. It also has a number 4 on the back cover on the bottom left corner next to the RIAA logo.

This superb condition original 1966 US LP was bought by us from an American man in his sixties as part of a huge collection. Imagine my feelings when I found it in his cellar! Everything points to it being a second state (unpeeled) copy of the `Butcher cover': the catalogue number, the rainbow rim label, the card sleeve with fully intact front and back `slick' pasteover cover with the steamer trunk photo, the pressing plant detail on the rear bottom right of the sleeve. The cover has not been peeled in any way. Can we see Ringo's V neck pullover through the sleeve? Frankly we are all crosseyed with looking for it but we can't see it. However I notice that on several of the `Butcher' covers recently sold for high prices the V neck was not visible either.

In all honesty I cannot completely confirm this is the `Butcher cover' without peeling and thus devaluing the sleeve of one of the rarest and most sought after records by the most collectable band in the world.

You should bid on that basis.

The last comparable condition copies sold on eBay for $535, $400, $588.

99p start.

Sleeve Condition : EXCELLENT.

The paste over sleeve has some minor dis-colouration around the sleeve edges, some ring wear. The spines are clean/mint apart from a 5cm scuff on the top spine, the opening is crisp with two 1mm scuffs which are hardly noticable, also 2 very small cut out lines on the writting spine which is how it originaly came (denoting it as an import pressing)

Vinyl Condition, Visual: EXCELLENT.

Some minor surface marks which in no way affect sound quality.

Vinyl Condition, Audible: EXCELLENT --NEAR MINT.

A lovely copy, plays closer to near mint with only the occasional slight crackle/click generaly in between tracks.

Label Condition : NEAR MINT-MINT.

The "rainbow rim" Capital records label is practicaly mint apart from some very minor spindle marks, no ring wear.

TRACK LISTING:

SIDE 1

1. DRIVE MY CAR

2. I'M ONLY SLEEPING

3. NOWHERE MAN

4. DR. ROBERT

5. YESTERDAY

6. ACT NATURALLY

SIDE 2

1. AND YOUR BIRD CAN SING

2. IF YOU NEED SOMEONE

3. WE CAN WORK IT OUT

4. WHAT GOES ON?

5. DAY TRIPPER

THE BEATLES YESTERDAY AND TODAY BUTCHER ALBUM MONO T 2553 Yesterday...and Today was the last Beatles album to be created exclusively for the American market without the group's direct consent, and its tumultuous history seemed to bring the issue of those albums to a head, both for the group and Capitol Records. Owing to business and market differences between England and America, the label had reconfigured every one of the group's long-players in America up to that point, and also generated a few LPs out of singles, B-sides, and EP tracks that had no U.K. equivalent on 12" vinyl -- the Beatles had tolerated it all quietly in the early days, content to go along amid the whirlwind of success they were riding, even in the face of such abominations as the original U.S. Help! album. By 1966, however, they were on a firmer footing, and well past being wide-eyed teenagers from the north of England; they'd also begun to express themselves creatively in media beyond music, and take themselves a bit more seriously, and having a bit more fun as well -- by the spring of 1966, after all, they were neck-deep into the making of the Revolver album. When confronted with what should have been a routine matter, the proposed 11-song U.S.-only Yesterday...and Today, assembling a bunch of single sides and leftover U.K. LP tracks, they delivered the notorious "butcher cover," depicting the quartet in butcher smocks, handling cuts of meat and pieces of dismembered baby dolls -- it was all their comment on how strangely albums like this one seemed to chop up pieces of their history and repertory. Somehow, Capitol Records' executives went along with gag and approved the initial design, and a print run of the album was ordered up, anticipating the usual six-figure release-date demand for a "new" Beatles LP. Then the negative reactions started coming in from record chain buyers and disc jockeys, and Capitol was soon faced with a crisis -- everybody seemed to find the cover tasteless and even grotesque, and it was possible some department store chains would refuse to stock the album. A new, tamer photo replaced the original cover, and untold thousands of copies of the original "butcher cover" sleeves were pasted over with the new picture. In the end, between the junking of artwork and some jackets, and the overtime needed to salvage the inventory, Yesterday...and Today ended up as the only U.S. Beatles album to show a loss on Capitol's books. From that point forward, there would be better coordination between England and America to prevent such near-disasters. As for the album itself, Capitol assembled four songs that had been removed from the British version of Rubber Soul, the singles "Yesterday," "We Can Work It Out," and "Day Tripper," a pair of B-sides, and offered a "preview" of the upcoming Revolver album (released seven weeks later) in the form of "And Your Bird Can Sing" and "Doctor Robert" (neither one in its final mix). Amazingly, despite origins ranging across 18 months of the band's history, it all hung together very well, with the country-influenced "Act Naturally" and "What Goes On" -- both heavily featuring Ringo Starr -- adding some unexpected roots rock elements amid the cutting-edge, riff-driven glories of "Day Tripper" and others, and the latter contrasting beautifully with McCartney's romantic classic "Yesterday." Despite being thrown together in a blender, the album could stand next to almost any of the competition in the summer of 1966, though it became clear with the release of Revolver, two months later, that the band had left most of the sounds represented here far behind them. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide.

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UK Record Collector Grading System:

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in the sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition.

EXCELLENT (US version of this term: Near Mint): The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in the sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.

VERY GOOD (US version of this term: VG++): The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover, or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD (US version of this term: VG): The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits etc.