FREE Fire and Water LOVELY EX(+) UK EARLY 70s ISLAND PINK RIM, IMPRESSIVE SOUND.

	£		37
	$		49

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

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: FREE

Album Title: Fire and Water

Producer(s): Free

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Fire and Water; Oh I Wept; Remember; Heavy Load.

Side 2: Mr. Big; Don’t Say You Love Me; All Right Now.

Label/Format: Island, second pressing on the then new pink rim format. These have matt, very gently textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with hardly any spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. This splendid copy appears hardly played and is very well pressed to sound to match – so often not the case as many fans and collectors will know.

Catalogue Number: ILPS 9120

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Up and Down Movement: A gentle trace. Few vintage records will ever be perfectly flat, any issues with significant movement or tracking will be mentioned in detail if applicable.

Lateral Movement (Side-to-Side): Barely a Trace.

Weight of this Record: 130 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Moderate, far less easy to find hardly played and cleanly pressed.

Original Year of Release: 1970 [this copy pressed within or just beyond that year]

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9120 A-5U / ILPS 9120 B-5U [matrix numbers for Island records often have less meaning, the stampers below confirm this is still an early pressing]

Mothers / Stampers: 1 GR / 1 GM

Musicians: Paul Rodgers – vocals; Paul Kossoff – lead guitar, rhythm guitar; Andy Fraser – bass guitar, piano; Simon Kirke – drums, percussion.

Brief Info: The third Free album, and arguably their best. After the relative commercial failures of their first two (superb) albums – both failed to even chart – they now found their audience and this set sold well peaking at No. 2 in the UK album charts. It includes possibly their most famous song in ‘All Right Now’ and all tracks are hugely impressive. With vocalist Rogers are his soulful best and Kossoff in great form, their albums were polished with Fraser sublime bass guitar chords high in the mix. This may not be a very first issue, but still an early second pink rim pressing. A major plus is this copy is superbly pressed without inherent pressing faults or noises, that often not the case on the pink label pressings. It is well-known originals are very hard to find clean and often disappoint even if appearing hardly played. This very solidly pressed copy, pressed by EMI was a delight with great bass dynamics, detail and clean sound. The very wear-prone cover also very nice as-seen.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: or close to. A single unlaminated format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press, includes the plain white inner sleeve.

Cover Front: A fine spine edge light fade apart, this front has little else to fault. Early covers were always made with very thin card, hence few escape often heavy ring wear, creasing and rubbing. Any rim impression or rubbing on this one gentle and light with only a gentle thumb crease near the right. The band graphic looks superb and has no sticker issues.

Cover Back: Even better if anything with little to fault, this one of the finest backs and all-round covers I have seen for this album for some considerable time.

Top Edge: Very thin, but straight with any rubbing quite light and patchy.

Bottom Edge: Again straight with more consistent, but only quite light rubbing. Delicate storage edges like this seldom escape with much less.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, still quite sharp with any thickening little and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with any compression patchy and light, the ends are pinched in manufacture. The text hardly worn and strong as-seen.

Corners: Light tip rubs with very fine to near excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this thin and uncompromising early 1970’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find much better. This attractive item should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a plain white solid unlined inner, only marked down for modest discolouration of the paper to politely remind of age. Hardly creased with all edges naturally intact. This has the ‘PATENT Nos 1125555’ code.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface traces very light, wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, hardly anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most 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 brilliant album plays up to and mostly even above it’s high visual grading with very little to fault. Offering 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 are minimal indeed and this is a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises – that seldom the case on my past experience. Few available copies will outperform this early second pink rim pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, that lovely throbbing bass of Fraser’s sounds superb, no digital copy I have to date compares to the twang and warmth of early vinyl. I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this lovely record. It will prove very 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.