CREAM Fresh Cream VERY RARE ULTIMATE 1st PRESS UK LP

	£		69
	$		91

ONEADAYRECORDS – NO Reserves – LOW Starting Bids – Simply 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: CREAM

Album Title: Fresh Cream.

Producer(s): Robert Stigwood.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: NSU; Sleepy Time Time; Dreaming; Sweet Wine; Spoonful.

Side 2: Cat’s Squirrel; Four Until Late; Rollin’ and Tumblin’; I’m So Glad; Toad.

Label/Format: Reaction – Deep violet format, rough, textured finish (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both look lovely: clean and still quite fresh and attractive. Spindle marks are light+ to the lighter side of moderate on side two. No writing with rich deep colour retained. One played a few times for sure, but this vintage record still offers very impressive stereo sound

Cat Number: 594001.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 144 grams. A very good weight for this album.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: This is harder to find as a stereo first issue. Still the era of the mono record and most were sold in that mode.

Original Year of Release: 1966

Matrix Nos: 594001 A // 1 1 1 1 & 594001 B // 1 1 1 1 [an ultimate first pressing, try finding these digits often]

Musicians: Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals; Jack Bruce - bass guitar, harmonica, vocals; Ginger Baker - Drums, vocal.

Brief Artist & Album Info: One of many classic debuts from 1960s, Cream were a British supergroup in their infancy. It features five non-band titles and no composition credited to Clapton at all - but with the quality of material included, did it really matter? Brilliant virtuoso blues-rock, the Cream legend began here. This is an ultimate first issue – will all those stamper 1’s be seen again? Although played a few times, it still offers powerful, distortion-free sound with little unwanted. I had the pleasure of playing this at high volume, and quite honestly it left me aghast. It has been some time since I experienced a stereo copy of this album on vinyl. The sheer power and details from this first-cut record were astonishingly good. An album recorded very loudly, keeping this fully focused within the mono, heavy-tracking era is some achievement. The cover is very respectable but does have a female and male Christian name on the back – Rosina & John – both neat and cause minimal issue as far as I am concerned. People simply did this in the 60s and it’s hardly unusual or major. A truly beautiful piece of popular music history, and all the positives outweigh any negatives.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: not taking into account of the names on the back, that is a subjective opinion, I simply state it’s present. A single, front laminated design, this laminate protects the top and bottom edges but not the spine that clearly makes it highly vulnerable to wear. Hence very few are seen with the spine text present with little wear. Printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day and includes the ‘Patent Pending’ text.

Lamination & Front: Being a dark cover, this will show all forms of blemishing more than many, hence this is often seen tired and scruffy looking. This is one of the better ones I have seen and, of course, is the genuine first stereo cover with it’s own unique catalogue number and stereo text on the back. The laminate retains a decent shine and fine clarity with few traces of friction rubs or dulling. More under light, rim dulling is seen, but with a thick record inside for 45 years, this has to be expected. The really great news is the lack of creasing and lifting – both aspects are rarely avoided on a cover that seems hugely prone. A few light hairlines only and all considered, this front is pretty exceptional, giving only scant clues to it’s considerable age.

Cover Back: A back that never ages well and is massively prone to all forms of wear time, handling and mistreatment can subject it too. There is minimal evidence of such abuse on this one and this looks attractive to the eye compared to many. Any grubbiness is relatively mild and mostly light with few marks and no penetrating ringwear or creasing worthy of note. This is the correct 594001 Stereo cover too, beware of substitutions of the more common mono version. As stated above, this has ‘Rosina & John’ printed just below the top edge in a central position.

Top Edge: Little short of as made - it was made thin and remains very straight.

Bottom Edge: Almost the same with just a faint scuff trace towards the right corner.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp to very sharp with minimal burring or thickening with no chipping or feathering. This guaranteed untrimmed, in fact these edges are not quite flush from the manufacture trim – there is way possible to fake this naturally made finish. Record entered on this edge.

Spine and Text: One of the very few of these I have seen that includes ALL the text, even though it is centred a little low, all the letters are still present, if maybe a little faded. The spine shows little wear apart from some mild discolour to the white surface – so a little aged but neat and very readable. That in-itself, rare.

Corners: All are very neat indeed with any tip rubs small. All retain excellent shape with very fine definition. As stated, this was trimmed dead flush on the right in manufacture.

Cover Summary: An attractive example with just enough to remind of it’s considerable vintage and the fact it has been held, personalised and enjoyed. But this is still one of the better ones I have seen and it can be held and enjoyed. Not for the perfectionist or very discerning collector, but most fans will enjoy it.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a plain white polylined inner that is date coded 116 (November 1966). The lining very clear indeed as seen through two very neat and crisp circle windows. Minimal creasing and unsplit edges that needed NO repairs. It has some glue darkening on the seams. So modestly aged and why not? – this is 45 years old – I think it’s earned the right to be.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading & Sound: EXCELLENT(–): and still a very nice looking record, clean with respectable shine and heavily pressed. It has surface marks, some fine, some that show a little more, but practically all superficial, non-penetrating and with no audio effect. This very loudly recorded record plays somewhat above it’s visual grading, and still offers focused, crisp and distortion-free sound with minimal traces of surface sound and devoid of any pops. The odd sporadic light click here and there to actually remind what you are listening to. But the music so dynamic and forceful, most of anything unwanted is lost. Side one is impressive, side two even better, a difficult record that can be stripped of it’s incredible information and fidelity if played too many times on a heavy-tracking record player. Well the sound on this one has more than just survived. This gave me a truly enjoyable play-grade – I remind too, I play all my records on one of the world’s most revealing front ends, the Linn LP12, little escapes it’s ruthless ability to reveal – good and bad – but nothing ‘bad’ was heard here. Any blemishes are few and faint – simply enjoy the music. We all know what these vintage classics can and usually do look and sound like these days – I have it so many times before. At times, the harmonica is blown at times to destruction and almost saturating the sound with intense volume and intensity. This record holds it all together, if indeed your system can too. Beautifully produced with incredible dynamic delivery of the music and fine separation too. Given this is an ultimate first issue, there is no disputing it’s age as matrixes do NOT lie – this is a nice copy. Not for the visual purist, but let the music do the talking. The famous-three themselves would surely approve?

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’.