LOVE Forever Changes RARE ORIG UK 1967 EX ELEKTRA LP. THEIR MASTERPIECE – NICE.

	£		187
	$		248

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: LOVE

Album Title: Forever Changes

Producer(s): Arthur Lee with Bruce Botnick

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Alone Again Or; A House is Not a Motel; Andmoreagain; The Daily Planet; Old Man; The Red Telephone.

Side 2: Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale; Live and Let Live; The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This; Bummer in the Summer; You Set the Scene.

Label/Format: Elektra – first orange label format with matt textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, still fresh and attractive with moderate, but very fine and faint spilndle marks. Played a few times, but with utmost care as the playing surfaces have little to fault and sound quality remains impressively clean and high.

Catalogue Number: EKS 74013

Country of Manufacture: England

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps or Lateral Movement: Assume all records I offer have no significant warping or lateral movement to cause sound or tracking issues. All should play fine even on budget turntables.

Weight of this Record: 148 grams.

Rarity: First issues are scarce, in better conditions quite rare. A delicate album so often ruined by heavy usage on the most basic of record players.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: EKS 74013 A1 / EKS 74013 B1

Musicians: Arthur Lee – lead vocals, guitar; Johnny Echols – lead guitar; Bryan MacLean – rhythm guitar, vocals; Ken Forssi – bass; Michael Stuart – drums, percussion, vocals.

Brief Info: In the whole history of popular music I can think of few more beautiful albums than ‘Forever Changes’. Prior to this, the band had issued a very impressive self-titled debut album, and a slightly more patchy second, ‘De Capo’, and then this third, an album of such stunning brilliance, it’s status as a ‘Masterpiece’ is rarely disputed. Beautiful song structures with lush orchestration and meaningful lyrics – a timeless piece of work that refuses to age. Arthur Lee was truly inspired here, and all bar two songs were written by him. It took the music critics by storm, but incredibly, failed to sell well in their native United States, but did fairly well here in the UK, even with the nation gripped by ‘Sgt Pepper’. High in my personal list of all-time-greats, I never tire or fail to be moved by the sublime songs and lyrics – this man and band never could live up to this masterwork again and this album alone will mean most music lovers and collectors will know the band ‘Love’. This elusive very first issue copy has suffered no mistreatment or style abuse and looks clean and plays impressively. Not being the loudest mastered album, that becomes even more crucial, these are rarely found this clean, one to play and enjoy somewhere close to maximum without the usual irritating crackle, pops or excessive clicks that the majority of 1960s pressings usually acquire. Simply an impressive first issue for those who want the original analogue experience of a timeless masterpiece.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: a single fully laminated format. Manufactured in Great Britain by Polydor Records Limited, London. Includes the Polydor-style 1968 date-coded inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: One of the definitive cover fronts of the entire 1960s – as famous as the wonderful record inside. Both sides retain fine shine and clarity with most of any dulling quite mild as seen under light. Any lifting confined to the spine edges and any creasing quite few and reasonably light mostly near the sides. Being a predominately white cover, most show little and there are few distractions from the famous artwork. Overall, both sides remain impressive and relatively age-defying with any discolouration mainly near the very edges of the back.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both thin, but reasonably straight, smoothly fully laminated with minimal hint of wear.

Right Edge(s), and Type: These entrance edges still sharp with any thickening very gentle and light.

Spine and Text: Very solid, straight with any compression light. The text unworn and the white surface clean. As seen, the text is very neatly centred on quite a narrow depth.

Corners: Any tip rubbing small and light with very fine to near excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: With any wear or discolouration light and gentle, this offers only polite clues to its considerable age and should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: the polylined inner has two neat untorn window circles and the lining neatly intact and reasonably clear. The paper darkened near the edge adhesive areas and hardly creased with all edges naturally intact. A small tear on the top opening front near the right corner but little else. This is date-coded 018 (January 1968).

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: and arguably better still. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with fine shine and very solidly pressed on high quality pure vinyl. A copy played a few times, but all evidence suggests with due care with any surface marks or blemishes few, gentle and very light as seen under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Visually a super original 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 magnificent UK first issue plays even above it’s high visual grading with 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. An album not recorded quite as loudly as some, so a clean pressing is even more crucial as the volume control is increased. Any surface sounds are minimal with little unwanted, overall, a clean pressing with no tracking issues*, or inherent pressing noises. The lyrics to ‘You Set the Scene’ are amongst the most moving ever put to a rock song and the trumpet at the end is simply sublime, here fully focused and crisp. And just just listen to that beautiful strummed acoustic guitar on ‘Andmoreagain’, no music lover could fail to be moved by this timeless classic. And there is not a second of inferior material on offer, the entire album exudes class and this copy does it strong justice. In most cases when a first issue surfaces, they have been played to destruction with ugly heavy deep scratches, grimy dulled vinyl and hardly worthy of a second look or listen. This is light years away from that and proved a joy to hear again on a genuine first pressed record. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played with the care it merits and hardly anything spoilt my pleasure when play-grading. It will prove difficult to find significantly better and one for those who want the analogue experience and the feel of the the genuine article. This merits strong recommendation.

* 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.