CROSBY, STILLS & NASH SUPERB EX++ UK 1969 ATLANTIC PLUM LP, INSERT, SUPERB SOUND

	£		32
	$		42

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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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: CROSBY, STILLS & NASH

Album Title: Crosby, Stills & Nash

Producer(s): Dave Crosby, Stephen Stills & Graham Nash

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes; Marakesh Express; Guinnevere; You Don’t Have to Cry; Pre-Road Downs.

Side 2: Wooden Ships; Lady of the Island; Helplessly Hoping; Long Time Gone; 49 Bye-Byes.

Label/Format: Atlantic, original red and maroon (‘Plum’) format with matt textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both immaculate, ultra clean, fresh and attractive with very deep colour, any spindle traces very few, equally light and faint as seen under light. A fantastic example of this classic title with sound to match.

Catalogue Number: 588189

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 145 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: The album itself not too difficult to find, but with a cover massively prone to wear due to the soft textured card and the record delicate with a high percentage of the music acoustic, it is never easy to find in better condition. This is a beautiful all-round example and plays beautifully.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: 588189 A//2 1 4 2 & 588189 B//2 1 1 1 1

Musicians: David Crosby – rhythm guitar, vocals; Stephen Stills – lead guitar, bass, organ, vocals; Graham Nash – vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar; Dallas Taylor – drums, percussion.

Brief Artist & Album Info: A much loved work, often regarded in the past as inferior to the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young classic Déjà vu possibly because it’s less varied, and of course Young is not featured. But the quality of the songs and harmonies is simply breathtaking. Three youthful men singing songs about their relationships and changing partners. All songs are magnificent – Graham Nash’s ‘Lady of the Island’ (about Joni Mitchell), Stills’ opus-like ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ (about Judy Collins) and David Crosby singing of his sadly deceased sweetheart Christine on ‘Guinevere’. But for me the finest track is the sublime ‘Wooden Ships’, yes the same song covered by Jefferson Airplane on their Volunteers album. A point worth noting about this song on the early ; ‘Plum’ pressings, is the censoring of the line: ‘Say, can I have some of your purple berries?’ As that line is sung, it is almost completely faded out – the obvious drug reference was clearly a worry back in 1969 and deemed unsuitable to leave uncut. Such censoring on the Jefferson Airplane version also from 1969 was deemed unneccessary, but Jefferson Airplane laid down their own rules on that album. I thought this edit was significant of mention because it makes that part sound strange, but I assure you it’s totally correct – all the early copies are the same with the ‘berry’ line faded-out. Just to make matters more laughable, the unedited words are printed on the lyric insert. The faded line is restored on the later Kinney repressings which makes the original sound all the more mysterious. This mini-classic reached 25 in the UK and 6 in the US and includes that large folded lyric insert. The original E. J. Day album cover is very fragile and flimsy. It has textured surfaces and printed on very soft card, the type almost frays with any friction or bad storage. It wears and fades so easily, and finding a copy that looks anything like excellent is an achievement, especially with the spine text intact (as this is seen in close-up). The music is quite delicate also with those complex harmony vocals and some acoustic material. This one plays very impressively and appears hardly used. Overall an impressive copy and they are hard to find as such.

Cover Condition and Details: EXCELLENT(++): more than justified on this totally uncompromising cover. An unlaminated gatefold format with texturing on all surfaces and made with delicate soft card that rubs and damages so easy. Printed and made in England by the Ernest J. Day & Co Ltd (quickly changed to the E. J. Day Group), so this a first print and includes the large format textured lyric insert and it’s Phonogram date-coded inner sleeve.

Cover Front: The texturing on this rarer ‘Ernest J. Day’ credit sleeve is rougher and more pronounced that later ones, making it still more prone to wear. This front is virtually flawless with any traces of rubbing (corner tips) minuscule. I would be happy to grade this on its own as practically mint, something I can rarely, if ever contemplate on this cover. Ultra clean, fresh and hugely attractive with deep colour and devoid of creasing, fading, sticker issues or knocks. This famous front cover I deem nigh-on unbeatable and a joy to hold and few.

Cover Back: The back is practically the same, any rub traces again tiny and light near the edge folds (and look very hard to even see any). All text, including the rarer Ernest J. Day & Co Ltd imprint is immaculate and totally unworn. The lack of any ring wear is a massive plus and achievement by the one first owner who cover protected this from new – the difference is immediately apparent.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Absolutely stunning as-seen, I really cannot see anything to fault. All the main surfaces have barely aged at all.

Top Edges: Both straight, flat, flush and with any traces of rubbing little, very patchy and light.

Bottom Edges: Again straight, rubbing is only light on storage edges that will seldom avoid this gentle amount.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and still reasonably sharp with any thickening only patchy and light, stating the obvious, these are very delicate indeed and these have fared very well and are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced. Cover protection gives these edges the best possible chance of course. Record enters on the back edge.

Spine and Text: A little rubbing on the bottom corner, little else. A thick spine that has not crushed or compressed, also unusually avoid tilt. Still solid, straight with the surface ink and detail virtually fully intact, including the pristine and still dark text. Even the fragile folds have nothing to fault. Few will remain solidly upright these days, and fewer still will have less surface wear. I have seen several of these original covers with all text eroded and in grubby, tatty conditions putting a superb spine on this one in true perspective.

Corners: Light (most) to near moderate (spine bottom only) tip rubbing with superb excellent or better shape retained. No knocks or dinks, finding corners neater or better again will prove very difficult.

Cover Summary: For those who know this cover well, most will realise just how fragile and intolerant it is. So this beautifully cover-preserved example can be regarded as exceptional. An attractive piece of vintage art, few available ones will better it significantly. One of the really ‘difficult’ covers that should please many, if not most collectors.

The Lyric Insert: MINT(–): this the earliest version printed on better quality watermarked paper, this detail seen under light. This single fold large insert is clean and still fresh with no creasing and all edges very sharp, both front and plain white back ultra clean and fresh. These are seldom seen much better either.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): marked down for darkening of the seam area adhesive, this mostly near the top entrance area. It has two crisp undamaged window circles and the polylining still clear and fresh with only natural crinkle. Hardly any creasing of the paper at all, and all edges unsplit with no repairs. This is date-coded 1/1270 (December 1970)

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy appearing hardly played on all the evidence with any surface trace marks, very light, mostly wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please many 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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This classic album plays up to and even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is high with a full dynamic range and detailed sound – it has been said by critics, that the overall production was not perfect with the audio quality a little muted, but I think all works perfectly fine. The vocal harmonies are simply fantastic as are the quality of the songs. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed – the odd minor contact sound near impossible to avoid on what at times is a delicate and predominately acoustic album, but this has little at all. This a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing flaws or noises. Few available copies will outperform this very early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record hashardly been played and with due care. Clearly carefully stored and handled within a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – I would rarely expect this album to play silent – and being honest I reject far more of these than I ever offer – this one failed to disappoint. It will prove 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 Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.