KING CRIMSON Lizard RARER ORIG UK 70 ISLAND PINK RIM LP

	£		114
	$		151

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Artist or Band: KING CRIMSON

Album Title: Lizard.

Producer(s): Robert Fripp and Peter Sinfield.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Cirkus (including Entry of the Chameleons); Indoor Games; Happy Family; Lady of the Dancing Water.

Side 2: Lizard; a) Prince Rupert Awakes b) Bolero – The Peacocks Tale; c) The Battle of Glass Tears including 1: Dawn Song 2: Last Skirmish 3: Prince Rupert’s Lament 4: Big Top.

Label/Format: Island – original pink rim format. This album was not issued on the full pink format in the UK.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and highly attractive with only light and faint spindle marks. Side two has a fine line mark near the hole rim in manufacture.

Cat Number: ILPS 9141.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 135 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: This very early first pressing is rare and it does vary to even slightly later pressed copies. Not only is the record heavier and with very early mothers and stampers (seen below), the cover is the earliest and rarest ever made – one of the most difficult to find on this classic label infact. Firstly, this one was made by the E. J. Day Group, the majority seen are Robor. But that is not the most important factor. This one has the very wide spine and the text on which is inverted e.g. the other way round for reading to the standard. Most-all covers have the top of the text facing the cover front and the vast majority of ‘Lizard’ covers do too. But this one has the bottom of the type facing the front which is different from standard. The spine on this rare Day cover is twice as wide as the usual covers and also the laminate on this cover is beautifully adhered with no crinkle and non-adhesion. This nothing to do with wear, but many ‘Lizard’ covers are often seen with less than wonderful manufactured laminate issues which ruins the beautiful artwork on this classic prog cover. Off the top of my head, I cannot think of many rarer covers on the Island label, this original and rare variant is seldom seen or offered. Please look at my spine close-ups and the inverted text. To make this right-reading, the cover would have to be photographed upside down.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9141 A-2U / ILPS 9141 B-2U

Stamper Codes: 1 M / 1 A (most seen are higher numbers and doubled or tripled letters) on much thinner lightweight vinyl.

Musicians: Robert Fripp - guitar, mellotron, electric keyboards and devices; Mel Collins - flute and saxes; Gordon Haskell - bass guitar, vocals; Andy McCulloch - drums; Peter Sinfield - words. Guests: Robin Miller - Oboe, cor anglais; Mark Charig - cornet; Nick Evans - trombone; Keith Tippet - Piano, electric piano; Jon Anderson (of Yes) vocals on ‘Prince Rupert Awakes’.

Brief Info: With Ian McDonald and Greg Lake now departed, this should have been a serious blow few bands could have coped with, but against the odds King Crimson’s third album is a prog classic and one of my favourites within their elustrious early catalogue. A highly adventurous and complex work with use of many varied instruments as will be clear from above. Beautifully produced, but often the pressing quality lets it down. The packaging includes a stunning cover with magnificent artwork – this is real progressive rock at its very best. The title song has beautiful use of wind instruments including the haunting cor anglais – a woodwind instrument similar to the oboe but deeper – few prog bands used such exotic instruments as often or effectively as King Crimson and Lizard remains possibly their most complex and inventive work and is pretty much unique. This is a fantastic all-round, very early-pressed copy, again typically testing on vinyl with its usual roller-coaster ride of extreme volume and very quiet passages. This copy plays supremely well with very little nothing unwanted and is the best pressed ‘Lizard’ I have heard for some considerable time. I have often stated ‘no copy on vinyl will ever play dead silent throughout’, but this beauty plays with lovely clean sound with little unwanted. This classic prog album is often the victim of the oil crisis era, the repressings became very thin and often pressed on recycled vinyl with absolutely terrible sound. Many offer constant crackle, snaps, pops and clicks, it’s taken me some time to find an early pressing that has avoided this. Of the early pressings from 1970 avoided the cut-back on vinyl quality and have a far better chance of quality, cleaner sound – as long as they are not overplayed or abused on primitive old record players that damaged the extra-sensitive grooves. Wind instruments and complex sound is highly intolerant of such equipment, thus even the early copies often suffer too. This one has only a tiny few light surface marks, mostly hairlines that have no sound and the pressing quality is high, no recycled or inferior vinyl for this one. I clearly remember, going back to my college days of the 1970s when I visited Colchester’s best record shop of the day ‘Parrots’ during most days of my lunch break, buying the King Crimson album, ‘Islands’, it had a piece of record label embedded into the playing area, proof, if proof were needed, it was pressed on recycled vinyl, the year was 1974 – the record was returned. So it no small wonder why this album is such a hard one to find that plays well and the same can be said for most of this band’s early albums – it’s very much a lottery – no surprise then, collectors want the first issues that generally were more reliable. This has a superb cover and one of the rarest variants on Island. This has barely any wear and the laminate is exceptional. However, in life (or records), nothing can ever be quite perfect, it has a smallish glue residue on the inside near the top or the right face, clearly a smear in manufacture that has darkened a little too (as glue does). But this is mere blemish on what is an outstanding copy. This indeed pressed before the introduction of the blue inners that many pink rims came with, the plain white inner was the correct inner for first issues of ‘Lizard’. This is one for the serious KC fan, Island collectors and progressive rock lovers.

Cover Grade and Format: One of the most gorgeous prog and Island covers ever made and this does it near full justice. One manufactured glue smear inside near the top right edge is going to detract me from grading Mint(-), this is a beauty. Immensely hard to find without, often serious laminate issues. A gatefold format with laminate on front and back, this more shiny than some. The Robor’s are often dull and lack that quality look often with crinkles of poor adhesion. This one is the much rarer original, made in England by the E. J. Day Group, London and Bedford and has the very wide, thick and robust spine with the inverted text. This is a work of art and only the incredible debut has a more stunning visual impact. This looks superb and any blemishes are small.

Lamination: front & back: Both front and back are in truly stuning conditions. To actually have a ‘Day’ cover looking so marvellous is one to get really excited about. This has more shine than the Robor ones and here the laminate is almost perfectly applied without those crinkle lines and creases that are so common on this true work of art. Even under angled light, there are barely any traces of friction rubs or dulling and that gorgeous artwork will rarely be seen better than this. Barely a crease to be seen and the clarity and freshness is incredibly fine. All is fully adhered with no blistering or peeling, I am certain th is has hardly been handled, the difference a protective cover makes is more than obvious. The only minor blemish, nit-picking slightly, is it’s folded a fraction off-square and has the spine is so thick, strong and robust, no correction is remotely possible. This is a cover to hold and enjoy to the near maximum, it will blow most others away and it’s one of the rarest variants in the Island catalogue.

Cover Inner Gatefold: I have mentioned the glue mark near the top edge of the right face, a smallish smear that has darkened a little. Nothing I can do about that, it’s a manufacture blemish, but hardly major. The spine being so thick and solid has meant a minor ‘secondary’ crease has formed to it’s right, again this is a common trait of wide-spine covers. This aside, there is nothing else to fault and is as clean and fresh as when made, 40 years ago. You have heard the term ‘age defying’, well this is simply that.

Top Edges: Both look as new, thick, straight and totally unworn.

Bottom Edges: Exactly as above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no wear and guaranteed untrimmed. The front is closed hence the record enters only in the back edge.

Spine and Text: Like WOW!!! The star part that sets this one apart from the others. A stunning spine with no wear. Very thick and wide, rock solid, straight and uncompressed. As stated, folded a fraction off-square so the right front corner raises a little over the back. All text is perfect and unworn under the very solid, uncracked laminate that is fully intact and all is smooth to the finger tip touch. This text is printed upside down compared to what is considered the ‘normal’ way round. This is read with the front cover facing downwards, some other album covers are like this, but ‘Lizard’ mostly has the conventional facing down text. Again as stated, this is nearly double the thickness of a standard ‘Lizard’ cover, it’s like comparing the very rare ‘Sgt Pepper’ wide spine cover to the standard, common one. Far fewer of these were issued and are genuinely scarce, and try to find a better one. (Please see my close-ups of the text and hopefully the width of the surface will obvious). Put simply, this cover is made differently to the standard ones.

Corners: All immaculate: the spine pair in particular as like brand new. All retain excellent to near mint shape.

Cover Summary: A wonderful all-round example of this magnificent 1970 cover, one that will prove immensely difficult to find much better. The overall lack of laminate disturbance and that magnificent rare spine construction makes this one for the serious cover collector. I have seen several examples that have long lines of non-adhesion from less than wonderful manufacture – this did not stop them making it to the shops and selling however. This beautiful item is a class above most others and it will please most-all collectors.

The Inner: Many still think the earliest pink rim albums had the blue lined inners, well not so. The very early pressings on the then new pink rim format (and this is one of the earliest made on it), still initially included the plain white unlined inner. The very first-pressed Nick Drake album ‘Bryter Layter’ also should have the plain white inner but is often offered as a first pressing inside a blue inner. Anyway, this original inner is in superb condition and grades EX++. It has aged little and has no edge splits (or repairs) and is barely even creased. Faint and minor glue darkening on the seams but this is very mild indeed, this is still very white and fresh looking.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Grading this near Excellent does in no way do this lovely record justice. It has several fine surface marks but they have no sound and it retains a genuine freshness – and importantly it plays beautifully and way above the average examples I have heard. A super visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. Looking at this closely, it is very apparent to me, this record has been played very little, but maybe a little carelessly. Still in sound terms, no harm done, this thicker-pressing on what I am certain is virgin vinyl (e.g. not recycled, like so many) is still visually impressive and clean. Visually a super record that should please many collectors, if a few fine surface marks are not acceptable, do not bid.

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 snippetts or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This classic Island record plays beautifully with practically nothing to fault and this too on an immensely difficult and complex recording. Powerful totally distortion-free sound – that’s a huge bonus on an album that has immense dynamics, detail and difficult sound passages with heavy use of critical tracking wind instruments and mellotron, always the most susceptible to groove-wear damage and clipping (or worse, distortion). All frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a massive dynamic range and very detailed, complex, real hi-fi sound. Any unwanted sounds are minuscule, very minor and faint and overall, this is a fantastic clean pressing, even on the quieter passages. ‘Lady of the Dancing Water’ is a very delicate acoustic song but even this plays superbly with nothing unwanted. Passages of the ‘Lizard’ suite are even more challenging with almost silence in places, only the best-pressed early copies will ever have a chance to perform well enough to please the more discerning collectors and this does. Overall, one of the cleanest-pressed ‘Lizards’ I have heard for some considerable time and this is a typically difficult King Crimson album, it will take an exceptional copy just to match this let alone better it. The surface marks, mostly fine and hairline types, are ignored. I deem a proper scratch as a penetrating stylus mark that sounds, these are not like that at all. Without doubt not played many times, best estimate 2 to 4, but that’s an educated guess. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – if absolute dead silence is demanded, well the CD version is an alternative but the sheer scale and drama of this magnificent recording on vinyl takes a lot of beating. My LP12 is ultra sensitive and little escapes its clinical ability to reveal, this copy was a thrill to play-grade and I enjoyed it immensely. The details and intricate production embedded within these vintage grooves are definitive and this copy will prove very difficult to find better. Nothing compares to a first issue for those extra tiny pieces of detail, the audiophile collector reading this will know exactly what I mean, not quite so easy to put into words. This is a copy I can strongly recommend, do not under-estimate how rare this one is.

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 Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET - PLEASE SEE MY TYPICAL PACKING BOX PICTURE.

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 Moth 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 thick boxes (NOT Mailers or Cruciforms, these do not offer maximum protection). The record(s) 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 THREE or EVEN FOUR 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. 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. Please see my picture of a typical finished box packet that will now be used on ALL transactions as from now. 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. These boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners 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 6,000+ items sold in over 8 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 stiffners 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 FOUR 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: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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 [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 neccessarily 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’.