CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN Rarer ORIG UK 68 Track N/M

	£		220
	$		292

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering the Best Psychedelia to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Rates.

Artist or Band: THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN

Album Title: The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Producer: Kit Lambert.

Executive Producer: Pete Townshend.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Prelude–Nightmare; Fanfare–Fire Poem; Fire; Come and Buy; Confusion.

Side 2: I Put a Spell on You; Spontaneous Apple Creation; Rest Cure; Money; Child of My Kingdom.

Label/Format: Track – intense black matt with inner ridge (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both little short of immaculate: very clean, fresh and highly attractive with only a couple of very small and faint spindle traces (but look hard).

Cat Number: 613005.

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: 138 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Rarity: Scarce: stereo copies seem more elusive than the mono version and never easy to find in such wonderful condition – this one is exceptional in all respects.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: 613005 A 1 1 5 / 613005 B 1 1 3

Musicians: Arthur Brown – vocals; Vincent Crane – keyboards; Sean Nicholas – bass guitar; Drachen Theaker – drums.

Album Information: A progressive-psych gem and featuring one of the UK’s wildest and most eccentric performers, this unique debut features the classic single Fire. For those around at the time, who could forget Brown’s performance on ‘Top of the Pops’ back in those mind-bending days of the late 60s? On came this dervish man coated in face paint and bellowed ‘I AM THE GOD OF HELL FIRE, AND I BRING YOU, FIRE!’ while his famous headpiece blazed away - this guy was always ahead of his time, it must have caused some mild panic in case he burned the studio down. He soon gained a cult following in the UK underground psych scene. This famous debut features Vince Crane, latterly of Atomic Rooster and note the executive produce, a certain Pete Townshend of The Who. This copy on offer is the scarcer stereo version and includes a stunning record and cover. The cover for this being very hard to find even in respectable conditions, always being prone to heavy creasing and laminate problems with blistering and non-adhesion often rife. The silver and black back always wears very badly unless kept very carefully, ringwear often eats into this one. This one is almost like new, a simply jaw-drop example that even the most discerning collector will enjoy. Lightly played copies are extremely hard to find let alone in anything like top playing condition - again this truly exceptional and is one of the very few I have heard or had, that plays practically to perfection.

Cover Condition and Details: Mint(-), yes true: a single format with a laminated front that wraps around the closed edges and on to the back via the spine. One of the true psych classic covers, no it’s not out of focus, it was intentionally made blurred. A notoriously difficult cover to find in anything like attractive condition, this has to be one of the finest still in existence. It was printed and made in England and includes it’s date coded Polydor-style inner sleeve.

Cover Front & Lamination: The zany colourful artwork is fresh and immaculate as the day it left the factory and this is NO exaggeration. Looking truly spectacular with laminate so smooth and glossy, it looks almost sprayed on. With just a tiny few ultra fine edge hairline creases, these are practically the only minute blemishes on this amazing front. Crystal clear and remarkably (for this one), fully adhered with no lifting or unslightly blisters from which this classic cover often suffers badly. The colours of the artwork are vivid and immensely strong and seen to absolute maximum advantage under such near pristine laminate that has hardly any noteworthy marks at all, any friction rubs or dulling is minuscule and look hard to seen any, even under light, a mere trace near the top edge. Even the right edge, where the laminate ends slightly short of full width, is unworn, the exposed strip as clean and fresh as when made with no fading or chips. This really has to be seen to be fully appreciated, the laminate surface so glossy it has an ice-like appearance. Absolutely gorgeous.

Cover Back: I have rarely seen this cover back looking like this – again in incredible, barely worn condition. The lack of creasing and ringwear is a near impossible ask on this one, but it’s here. The psychy, almost metallic looking back is so very prone to wear. The only tiny blemish, just about worthy of note, because I feel I have to find something, are a couple of mega tiny surface scuffs on the laminate end near the top right. So tiny it’s almost an insult to mention it. The surface of this is highly intolerant of handling, fingermarks are usually seen splattered all over these, not this beauty that’s been cover-protected since new, and boy does it show. One of the later 60s most challenging covers to find even excellent, this near mint one is of connoisseur standard and is truly unlikely to ever be found better.

Top Edge: The top edge appears unworn, but possibly has a slightly unusual manufacture trim.

Bottom Edge: Pristine, unworn and dead straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Again, almost as made, clean, very sharp with no wear and no trimming. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A very strong spine too: solid but not that thick, mainly straight with minimal compression. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate, well centred too.

Corners: The tiniest of tip rubs and very fine shape and definition is retained.

Cover Summary: One of the best looking 60s covers when seen like this, an exceptional example that I feel I could never match again. The brilliance of the lamination will remind what these once looked like when first issued and the lack of wear to the vulnerable back is exemplary. The top edge is the only tiny issue, as it looks slightly unusual (if viewed somewhat critically), I feel a manufacture blemish, but it looks ultra neat anyway. This ultra attractive item should please most-all collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: The Polydor-style polylined inner has some creases but the window is very neat. A little aged but the date coding puts the era on this copy. 14/039 (14th day or March 1969), hence a very early issue.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-). A fantastic visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy hardly even played on all the evidence and this over 40-year-old record still has magnificent sound. You can imagine what the majority of these look and sound like these days, this has barely a noteworthy mark or blemish at all, simply incredible. Visually a stunning record that should please all 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 snippetts 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 outstanding record plays up to its wonderful visual grading. Nothing spoilt my true joy in listening to this incredible stereo copy, I feel the stereo version has the edge over the mono version as psych albums rely on the channel separation for full effect. This copy has no distortion or sound degradating, all the frequencies were pin sharp, fully focused and clear, a fine pressing too with barely any traces of surface sounds. The ultimate test is Brown’s manic vocals, those shrill shrieks on fire are unstressed and crystal clear. Without doubt, barely played, this has never been subjected to old mono record players or worn, often misaligned stylus, the sound is just too clean. This has not just survived the 60s and beyond, its a thing of real beauty, those Track labels and playing surfaces retain the lustre of a hardly handled record. The details embedded in these vintage grooves are testament to this band’s unique sound. No enhancing, remixing is needed - simply put this on to a quality modern deck and you will be astonished at the sounds on this record - Arthur was wild!, This is how a real psych record should be heard. This immaculate copy merits my highest possible recommendation, try finding a better all round example.

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 Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET - PLEASE SEE MY TYPICAL PACKING BOX PICTURE.

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 Moth 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 thick boxes (NOT Mailers or Cruciforms, these do not offer maximum protection). The record(s) 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 THREE or EVEN FOUR 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. 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. Please see my picture of a typical finished box packet that will now be used on ALL transactions as from now. 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. These boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners 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 6,000+ items sold in over 8 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 stiffners 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 FOUR 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: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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 [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 neccessarily 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’.