KING CRIMSON / Lizard LP - UK Island NM- 1st Press EJD Pink Rim, Superb Audio

	£		40
	$		53

This is a gorgeous early first issue of Crimson's classic and underrated third album, with extraordinary audio and a tidy, clean, well-looked-after sleeve. It has the earlier EJ Day sleeve, laminated outside only (the fully laminated Robor sleeves came later), the plain white 'Made In Great Britain' inner (Lizard predated the introduction of Island blue and black inners by a few months) and the correct running order on the side A labels (the misprint is also later, and more common, coming with the Robor sleeved represses in '72). It does not have the wide spine or inverted text, which came with some of the first copies. All of which makes this a great, complete specimen of a very early issue indeed!

ARTIST:   King Crimson
TITLE:   Lizard
YEAR:   1970 LABEL:   Island COUNTRY:   UK CAT. NO:   ILPS-9141
DEAD WAX:   ILPS 9141 A-2U   //   ILPS 9141 A-2U
ALLMUSIC:   https://www.allmusic.com/album/lizard-mw0000190503 DISCOGS:   https://www.discogs.com/King-Crimson-Lizard/release/1156598 (closest match)

SLEEVE:   EX+ VINYL:   NM-
VINYL VISUAL: Clean and lustrous, without any noticeable scratches, scuffs, fingerprints, or surface wear. Still has that like-new rainbow refraction to it. There is only a faint whisp or two to be seen under bright light, as it's been in and out of its sleeve, cleaned and played with care a fair few times. There is moderate spindling concentrated around the center on both sides, but it's clearly been taken care of and well handled during play and storage. It doesn't look untouched, so cannot be honestly graded NM, but should be clean enough to please anyone not looking for true mint. The matrix numbers and stampers indicate that this was pressed by EMI.    AUDIO: If you aren't familiar with this original mastering of Lizard, you are in for a treat. To my ears, it beats the hell out of every subsequent issue, by a mile. The dynamics are incredibly wide, with extremely quiet passages and startling bursts of full band assault. It's a very exciting listen. This copy just couldn't sound much better. The noise floor is very low, with only the occasional crackle or pop audible in the quietest bits, minimal and unobtrusive. In the sparsest bits of side two, there are one or two quiet pops that repeat a second time, but nothing can be seen by the naked eye and they would likely disappear with a professional cleaning; at any rate, they don't detract from the drama or power of the listening experience. Those cornet and cor anglais solos in the suite are jaw-dropping. The overall sound remains clean, clear, bright and rich. The horns and reeds sound amazing, and the details in the mix, with all the unorthodox instrumentation and the gorgeous arrangements, are all crisp. Noise-wise, I'm pretty sure a completely silent copy of this record does not exist - the quiet bits are mastered sooo quietly. But this beautiful copy is surprisingly clean throughout, and I've heard much noisier sounding records coming right out of the shrinkwrap.   SLEEVE:    OUTSIDE. It's in extraordinarily tidy shape, but for a couple of unobtrusive blemishes. The edges and spine are unworn, the corners are like new. Almost every copy of this first issue has horizontal laminate streaks from manufacture (some of them quite severe, check out the others on eBay), but this one's few streaks are almost unnoticeable; there are a few very fine ones, an inch or so long, all near the top right front and top left rear. The laminate is lustrous and undimmed, with no sign of ringwear. It's a beautiful cover, and there is no colour fading to the yellow along the spine (again, a common defect), or anywhere else. The only notable fault knocking it down to EX+ is some slight creasing at the middle spine, where it was probably bent in a rack at some point. There is a little rumpling to the spine's laminate texture, and some creasing front and back, concentrated around that spot (see pics), as well as one or two other small creases to the spine. All of this you have to hunt for.
INSIDE. The inside marbled gatefold is gorgeous and almost as new. The only fault to find is a tiny bit of darkening from surface rubbing along where the glue flaps are at the top and bottom edges. There is also a little rumpling to the spine crease at its centre, from the above mentioned bend, and a slight impression of the disc at the same spot, which will be found on probably every copy of this sleeve. Again, you have to look for faults.
  LABELS:    Perfect apart from the some spindle marks as noted above.   INNERS:    Original plain white 'Made in Great Britain' inner sleeve is a little yellowed with age and rumpled on its opening edge, but perfectly intact, with no splits. 
I grade conservatively under bright directional light, play-test everything from start to finish, pack very carefully, and guarantee my records. So bid with confidence.
Good luck and thanks for looking.

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BEFORE YOU BID:
I am happy to answer any questions, so please ask away. I will ship within two days of receipt of payment, and expect payment within three days. 
All records are from my own personal collection. I'm not a dealer, just an experienced collector, who's fussier than most. Images are of the exact object you are bidding on.
I offer a no-quibble return policy. If you are unhappy with the item, please just let me know as soon as possible and we can sort out a solution. If the item is as described but you decide you don't want it, the buyer pays return postage for full refund of item, plus original P&P. If you sincerely feel the item to have been misgraded or misdescribed, I will pay for the return postage too, provided it comes back in exactly the same condition in which it was originally sent out. I have yet to have an album returned though. 
Please do NOT leave negative or neutral feedback without giving me an opportunity to sort out any problem that might arise. Oversights and differences of opinion happen from time to time, but I try to be an honest grader and want all buyers to walk away happy.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
Your records will arrive very securely packed against damage from both outside and in. They'll be clean and packed in fresh new inners and outers. No grubby old shit.

Each LP is removed from its original jacket and inner, and placed in a fresh new polylined inner sleeve. The disc and the paper parts are then placed in two separate outers, with a cardboard stiffener between them to keep the disc from impressing itself on the outside of the sleeve. Further stiffeners and/or bubble wrap are then placed either side, and bundled together to secure the package against outside impact or crushing. I use either sturdy cruciform mailers or purpose-made wraparound mailers. I don't use card envelopes or old recycled cardboard sandwiches. I also use plenty of FRAGILE tape. 
I have never had any problem with this method, and I guarantee all sales against damage just in case. 

PACKING & POSTAGE RATES:
UK:   £5.00 first LP, 2nd Class Signed For.  EUROPE:   £9.00 ALL OTHER COUNTRIES:   £15.00
If you buy more than one album I will gladly combine postage, but please wait for an invoice from me before paying. It won't take me long. Combined postage: + £1.50 per additional LP. Doubles always count as 2.

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GRADING:
I grade carefully and do my best to list every flaw that might be of concern. I do not use a thousand + signs or exclamation points. I also don't believe in grading anything M which is unsealed, so my highest grade for a used record is NM. Also, I won't tell you a record is in great shape "for its age", which is a hustle. Mint is mint, and wear is wear. Grading is subjective but not arbitrary or relative. 
NM Like new. The item shows little or no visible or audible signs of use. No scratches, bumps, splits, or creases beyond what you might find on a new record, with everything present and in nearly-new condition. Some natural ageing of materials may be allowed (such as yellowing of paper or laminate shrinkage), but not if it is the result of bad storage. This is what a record might look like after it's come home from the shop, been played with great care a few times and stored away in a safe place without incident. 
NM- / EX+ 
EX Vinyl retains its original lustre, but may have a little spindle wear or superficial sleeve marks (whisps), without any significant lessening of sound quality bar the odd light tick. Faint marks which are not obvious at a passing glance and which do not sound are allowed. Jackets or inners may have minor creasing, bumping, laminate lift or faint ringwear or edgewear, but are basically unmarred by any careless handling, abuse or neglect. No tears or splits or loss of legibility. A very small and unobtrusive bit of writing may be allowed. All items should be present (inners, inserts, etc.). This is the grade I myself am usually very happy with. Very well looked-after and a pleasure to behold.
EX- / VG+
VG Record has been mostly well looked after but suffered some visible or audible wear along the way. Minor scuffs, scratches or surface noise may be noticeable but not ruinous to the listening experience. Briefly repeating ticks or a moderate build up of noise in some parts of a record is allowed, but no ugly skips, jumps or persistent repeats. Spindle wear will likely be evident. Equally, wear to the jacket might include visible ringwear, minor tearing, rubbing, edgewear, corner wear, some flaking, and moderate writing or staining, but nothing hideous. This grade I personally find acceptable for those older, rarer or sturdier-made items which have been around the block but are still a good listen and a pleasure to have around. They aren't trashed, just a little more loved on.
VG- / G+
G This grade is for items that have suffered damage that affects listening pleasure, such as a serious repeating scratches, skips or jumps, or which have visible damage that is ugly to look at, such as serious staining damage, significant spine or edge wear, flaking or rubbing, ugly sticker tears or seam splits, water damage, etc. I would only offer very, very scarce and collectable items in this condition. The record is still playable and may be very enjoyable and acceptable to some. But usually not to me.
NEW TO THIS?  Please understand that even brand new vinyl usually has a little surface noise, it really is part of its character. But a well looked after record will also sound great after a ton of plays.