Jethro Tull - Aqualung, Island Pink Rim Palm Tree Label Their Rarest UK Album

	£		49
	$		65

Jethro Tull - Aqualung

(Island ILPS 9145 1971 Original LP)

Tracks:

Aqualung

Cross Eyed Mary

Cheap Day Return

Mother Goose

Wond’ring Aloud

Up To Me

My God

Hymn 43

Slipstream

Locomotive Breath

Wind Up

Jethro Tull’s classic fourth album, one which their fans generally rate as one of their best.  

This copy isn’t the best copy you’ll ever see, it plays fine but it does have some flaws.  I wouldn’t usually bother listing a record in this sort of condition on ebay, it’s just not worth the hassle but I’ll make an exception here because in this form this is one of the very rarest LPs of it’s era.  Yep, it’s the Island pink rim palm tree label version.

This version was released slightly later than the original green label Chrysalis version, part of the deal which saw the band switch from Island to newly formed Chrysalis meant that two of their albums (this one and Benefit) were released on both labels with the Chrysalis releases being a few months earlier.  The Island versions were then available for a few months and then all subsequent issues were again on Chrysalis.  Not sure how many were pressed on Island but as it was only available for such a short period then it won’t have been many, I’d guess no more than a few hundred.  So, a rare record but what isn’t commonly realised is that there’s actually two versions of the Island pressing!  The more common version has a normal style font used for the writing on the label, but there’s also a much rarer version with a gothic type script on the labels which matches the font used on the front and rear sleeves, the copy on offer here has the rarer gothic style typeface.  In terms of rarity, well, the Island version of Benefit does turn up occasionally but this one?  Well, in 30+ years of buying and selling this type of music I’ve had maybe 5 copies of the Island label normal text version and this is only the third copy I’ve had with the gothic script (I’ve actually had more original copies of Leafhound and Mellow Candle!).  For a Jethro Tull collector this is an essentail part of a UK LP collection but it's the one that's missing from most collections.

As stated this isn’t a mint copy, or anywhere near a mint copy so please read the description of the condition carefully before bidding. 

Condition:

The sleeve is actually in very nice condition, I fact I’d go so far as to say it’s near mint.  It’s the original thick card gatefold sleeve with a nice textured finish, manufactured by the EJ Day group.

The front is extremely clean, no tears, no unwanted ink marks, no creases, no ringwear or any other type of wear or damage.  The textured finish is still nice, not worn smooth with years of handling as so many are.

The rear sleeve is also in fine shape, very clean, no tears, now riting, no creases, no wera or damage of any type.

Inside the gatefold is just perfect.

Both top and bottom seams are totally unworn which is highly unusual for this sleeve.

The spine is clean and unworn with all of the writing clearly readable.

The open edge is clean and undamaged, no feathering or tears.

All four corners are sharp and well defined.

All in all a superb example of this classic sleeve!

Inner Sleeve:

The original inner sleeve, with reproductions of the front and back cover overlaid with lyrics, is present, it’s the original one with the fold over flaps on the outside.  Condition starts to go downhill from here though.  It’s clean and in one piece but it’s made from quite thin paper and all three seams have splits of 2-3 inches, they could e taped from the inside which would make the splits virtually invisible but I’d rather be honest and tell you about them.  There’s also a couple of tiny splits on the open edge which someone has put some clear tape over.

Record:

The record itself is extremely clean, the vinyl surfaces still have a bit of a sheen but not the lovely dark lustre of a mint record, it’s not completely dull but this is a record which has been played a lot.  Viewed in normal light it actualy doesn’t look too bad, there are some light surface marks visible but just a few hairline marks and the occasional light scuff, no heavy scuffs or deep scratches.  Examined under a harsh lamp though and there’s loads of hairline marks visible, again nothing really major, just a lot of very light marks.

Both labels are in fine condition, very clean with no writing, stickers or tears anywhere.

When played the record actually sounds fine, the sound quality is excellent with a very dynamic feel and the sound just seems to leap from the speakers.  Between tracks though there are audible crackles and there’s passive background noise throughout the whole album, for the most part this can’t be heard as the music drowns them out but they are there and are audible during the quiet parts.  There’s no real major damage, no warping, no sticking or jumping but I can’t stress enough that while the record plays through without major problems it is not mint and there is background noise at times and persistent crackles between tracks.

So, there you go, an extremely rare record in not particurlaurly great condition.  If you’re a Tull collector then this is easily their rarest UK album so you need a copy on your shelves but if you’re waiting for a mint one, well, that could be a long while coming (and unless you’re very lucky it’ll be very pricey – the last decent copy I saw offered for sale was on a european list at 400 euros a couple of years ago) so until that nice copy comes along this will do nicely as a collection filler at a reasonable price. 

Payment, Postage & Packaging:

Payment by cheque is much preferred from UK buyers but paypal is available, overseas buyers must use paypal.

Postage is extra and costs:

UK                             £4.00

Europe                       £6.00

Rest Of The World       £8.00

All records will be sent housed in PVC sleeves with the records removed from the outer covers.  The packaging will be strong and adequate enough to protect the record well on its journey.  Although I haven’t been that active on ebay (mainly cos I hate sitting at a computer) I’ve bought and sold records all over the world for over 30 years now and never had any complaints of records being damaged in transit.

Sorry but I will not post anything to Canada under any circumstances.