MARTHA VELEZ Fiends & Angels VERY RARE UK 1969 LONDON FIRST-PRESS EX+ LP.

	£		208
	$		276

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 – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrived damaged in them at some time. More details on my packing nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks 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 ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important to any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full 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. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

Artist or Band: MARTHA VELEZ

Album Title: Fiends and Angels Again.

Producer(s): Mike Vernon.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: I’m Gonna Leave You; Swamp Man; A Fool For You; In My Girlish Days; Very Good Fandango; Tell Mama.

Side 2: Feel So Bad; Drive Me Daddy; It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry; Come Here Sweet Man; Let The Good Times Roll.

Label/Format/Condition: London – original first issue deep plum format with matt, smooth surfaces (Please see my label pictures).

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with very deep intense colour and freshness. A tiny few fine, a couple a little long on side one, and a mere couple on side two as can probably be seen under my high-resolution label close-up pictures. I doubt if this has been played more than a couple of three times and not seen light-of-day for decades. Audio quality is terrific throughout, a very rare opportunity to own the genuine first-issue article in high-grade condition.

Cat Number: SH-K 8395.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 143 grams. A typical heavy top-quality pressing made by Decca.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Very Rare: this is the very first issue that was only very briefly available on the London label. Soon to be repressed on the Blue Horizon label, then pressed by CBS, that version is scarce but not as rare as this original that sold in minuscule numbers. The cover does not promote the massive back band talent on offer, or it may have sold a little better. Also this first issue has different cover artwork to the repressing. A superb graphic of the lady with the most stunning artwork and also laminated. A genuine piece of ‘hippy-chick’ art with beautiful psychelic overtones, it will seldom be found better. Lastly, this copy appears very little played and offers superb sound (as you would expect from a Decca-pressesd record). This is still one of the greatest ‘best-kept secrets’ in the world of female blues music, this first edition now almost ‘lost’ in the vaults of time, it will seldom be seen or offered and one for the serious collector.

Original Year of Release: 1969, then quickly repressed by Blue Horizon in 1970.

Matrix Nos: ACSZ-3192-2L / ACSZ-3193-1L

Mothers / Stampers: 1 B / 1 H (the ‘H’ is very unclear and could be an ‘M’)

Musicians: A special mention for the artists appearing on this album – quite possibly the greatest gathering of blues-rock talent ever to appear on any original record, excluding compilations. They were: Eric Clapton; Jack Bruce; Mitch Mitchell, Rick Hayward; Duster Bennett; Dave Bidwell; Andy Silvester; Stan Webb; Christine Perfect (later McVie); Peter Shelley; Paul Kossoff; Jim Capaldi; Chris Mercer; Johnny Almond; Jeff Condon; Chris Wood; Honk, Mick Weaver; Brian Auger, Keef Hartley; Gary Thain, Spit James; Terry Noonan; Bud Parkes; Derek Wadsworth.

Brief Info: Born Martha Carmen Josephine Hernandéz Rosario de Veléz, an American born of Puerto Rican descent. She has a classically trained voice and her vocals on this legendary album are quite extraordinary, at times sounding very similar to Janis Joplin. Highly charged and with great soul and emotion, this lady does not hold back and more than holds her own with the incredible backing line-up. Special mention for the short song, ‘Very Good Fandango’, where she sings unaccompanied in the most blistering, shrill operatic vocal you will ever hear on a non-classical record. This will prove the utmost test on pressing quality and more to the point, if the record has been subjected to damaged or worn stylus in the past because this immensely intense and complex passage of sound will be easily destroyed. I can state here it plays to near perfection and totally controlled, focused and sharp. As does the rest of the album in fact, this has clearly been little played and should delight all fans, collectors and blues connoisseurs. One of the greatest female blues albums ever issued with a host of legendary blues artists backing including Clapton, Bruce, Kossoff, Capaldi, Hartley, Webb and Auger. This the genuine first-pressed example, Blue Horizon copies were not Decca-pressed and this London copy is rarely seen or offered. A true ‘lost’ classic in lovely condition.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): this has very different and vastly superior artwork to the Blue Horizon version. Just look at that stunning front cover artwork, seen to near maximum advantage under Clarifoil laminate. This a single format with the back being unprotected with a matt, smooth surface. It has the mono/stereo peep-hole, here filled with a blue inner to denote a stereo copy inside. Printed and made in England by S.P. Ltd.

Cover Front: A work-of-art from the era of quality, the psych-tinged graphic of Martha looks truly stunning and parting with this is proving very difficult. The laminate retains superb shine, freshness and clarity with barely any dulling, even viewed under angled light. Some rim impression is seen near the bottom edge that few, if any will ever escape. Any of the very few surface creases are light and faint and blemishes few and equally tiny. A considerable plus on this one is the lack of lifting for which Clarifoil is often known. The laminate has remained fully adhered with just the usual contraction on the right side, the exposed strip still immaculate and unworn or grubby. Finding this truly gorgeous, and much rarer cover front better will prove immensely difficult – this is worthy of being framed.

Cover Back: The unprotected back has also faired well with little wear or issues. Fine and fine rub traces on the laminate end on the spine edge near the centre are almost nit-picking fine. Any rubbing or rim impression also fine and faiint with just the odd gentle surface crease or two. The peep-hole neat and crisp with no wear as seen in close-up. Generally clean and still with a fine freshness, like this front, this will not prove easy to find better.

Top Edge: No wear and reasonably straight for a Clarifoil laminate cover. This tends to shrink more than most so edges can often bow badly which has generally been avoided.

Bottom Edge: Same again with just an almost customary curl to the very bottom, basically it’s either this, lifting or bowing. These vintage ‘Decca’ covers are rarely found dead flat and ‘perfect’.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and still mostly sharp with minimal wear and guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way. Any thickening or burr traces few and very light as seen more critically viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A super spine: solid, straight with any compression mild. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and still shiny, unpeeled laminate. Also very well centred on a limited depth.

Corners: Small tip rubbing is so hard to totally avoid, but very little here overall. Very fine shape to excellent shape retained.

Cover Summary: One of the loveliest and genuine rare and unique covers of the late 1960s. As stated, this cover was very different on the Blue Horizon reissue and was not laminated. A very strong all round example of this much rarer original that was quickly changed, this is seldom seen, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please many collectors, and of course, of special interest for the specialists who will want both versions in their collection. Again, I am loathe to part with this one, but as a professional dealer, I cannot keep everything.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a typical early Decca-style polylined inner that has only gently aged with the usual darkening of the seam adhesive, but here only light. A little patchiness of the blue on the back which is a mild manufacture blemish and hardly uncommon. It has two pristine window circles and very clear lining, if a little crinkled. Few creases and all edges unsplit with no repairs. This is date-coded 3-70 with ‘Foreign patents pending’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): and this hardly does this wonderful vintage album full justice. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with fine shine, intense black and quite heavily pressed on top-quality Decca manufactured vinyl. A copy very little played on all the evidence with any surface traces very fine and faint as seen with utmost scrutiny under bright angled light. There are NO penetrating scratches on this impressive 44-year-old record and I doubt if it had seen light-of-day for decades. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors again.

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 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: One of the greatest white female blues voices ever put to record: this truly beautiful album plays even above it’s high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear including that jaw-dropping vocal on ‘Very Good Fandango’ that concludes side one. Being the innermost track of the record, finding this shrill soprano vocal unruined by clipping or distortion is something of an achievement on a first issue record. There is no disputing the age of this one as it was withdrawn in 1970 and repressed by CBS on Blue Horizon. Few first issues (or any other being honest) will outperform this ultimate first pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played only lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – as already stated – this something of a ‘lost’ classic within it’s field. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

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 Terrarium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 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 D5000 SLR Digital 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.

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 new VPI-17 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 boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, 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. When larger boxes are used, 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. 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. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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 stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 can 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 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 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, 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’.