NICK DRAKE Pink Moon Island Pink Rim 72 Orig

	£		129
	$		171

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: NICK DRAKE

Album Title: Pink Moon.

Producer(s): John Wood.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Pink Moon; Place To Be; Road; Which Will; Horn; Things Behind the Sun.

Side 2: Know; Free Ride; Parasite; Harvest Breed; From The Morning.

Label/Format: Island – Original pink rim format with witch logo (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both beautifully clean, fresh and highly attractive with only ultra light, few and faint spindle traces and no wear around the hole area. Without a shadow of doubt, this record has hardly been played.

Cat Number: ILPS 9184.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 147 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.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9184 A-1U / ILPS 9184 B-1U

Stamper Codes: 1 R / 2 1 G A

Rarity: Rare and elusive as an original. In his short recording lifetime, his albums failed to sell and even early reissues are elusive. I truly regard this, his final album before his untimely death as rare as the ‘Five Leaves Left’ debut. This is one of the rarer Island albums and finding copies in such conditions is getting more and more difficult as demand exceeds supply.

Musicians: Nick Drake - vocals, guitar, piano.

Brief Info: Born Nicholas Rodney Drake on June 19, 1948 and died November 25, 1974. An English folk-singer-songwriter of immense talent. He made just three albums and they all failed to sell during his lifetime. Over time, his work has since grown in popularity and stature and all three are highly sort after and he is now regarded one of the most influential folkesque singer-songwriters of the last half decade. He signed to Island Records when only 20-years-old, and released his debut album Five Leaves Left. His first two albums are reputed to have sold less than five thousand copies as first issues and his reluctance to perform live or give interviews were major factors to his total lack of commercial success. He suffered with depression and insomnia and his song lyrics often portrayed these troubles. He died after the completion of this album from an overdose of an anti-depressant. This was a more sparse album with no other backing, the mood is more downbeat and sombre, clearly Drake’s state-of-mind was not at all good. His vocal lacked a great range but it remained highly expressive nonetheless and indeed it took me some time before appreciating this now iconic artist myself. Like most other music lovers, his albums eluded me for many years but the wait was well worth it. Being issued in 1972, this was never issued on the full pink label so the pink rims are the originals. This one does come with the blue inner. This is a lovely copy too, hardly played and including an attractive cover with any blemishing modest. The original covers are so highly wear-prone and will available examples be found with little to no wear? With so few sold or existing on the pink rim label I just wonder how many actually survive quite like this. Bought and appreciated by only a lucky few initially, this man’s original works are amongst the most sort-after for album collectors these days. The record has a very mild ‘dip’ in rotation on the edge, it has barely any effect on the superb sound on this lovely album. A couple of faint sounds were noticed on the run-ins and barely a trace on the actual music, anything, being very critical, was ultra brief, very faint indeed and barely even audible. Such is the brilliance of this album, you won’t be sitting there analysing the faintest traces of minor sound. Tracking is effortless and this minor tiny edge warp will not worry any turntable at all, even the low budget models. It’s a minute blemish, but that’s all, I doubt many example of this record will play much better these days. This is a very rare opportunity, do not lose this one, it will be posted FREE signed for and fully insured as standard.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High+.

Cover Grade and Format: A fine EX example, and it could be argued better since most are seen so worn these days. Another delicate and fragile one, this will rarely be found a great deal better than this (if indeed you can find one at all). An unlaminated, matt, gatefold format. It was printed and made in England by Robor Ltd.

Cover Front: Lovely surreal artwork and looking real nice here with little wear. Just a few tiny and light surface marks and a ver few ultra fine surface creases. These only reall show under angled light. Clean, fresh with excellent colour. Barely any rubbing or ageing, this will prove difficult to find much better.

Cover Back: Very similar again but it does have a few light creases. None heavy, just one fine one on the spine has just broken the ink’s surface. An ultra fine record impression but no real ringwear, and that is a real bonus on this unforgiving cover. Not perfect, but again it will take an exceptional one to better it significantly.

Cover Inner Gatefold: With its famous negative picture shot, this centrefold looks superb and has practically nothing to fault.

Top Edges: Ultra faint rub traces only and both very straight.

Bottom Edges: As above, more rubbing towards the right corner but still only light.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front edge is the closed design type, this has mild rub traces. The open back is clean and quite sharp with little wear and no feathering and guaranteed untrimmed. Mild burr traces in places if being a little critical. Record entered on this edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with no compression. Folded squarely with the right edges meeting up together well. Again slight rub traces, odd chip or two and fine hairline crease but all text is present and solid with mimimal blemishing. Similar covers often suffer horrendous rubbing and can even become threadbare.

Corners: Small tip rubs and odd light tip creases, all retain fine shape.

Cover Summary: A very strong all round example of this very rare and fragile early 70’s cover. One that will prove difficult to find much better, finding another at all will not prove easy anyway. This attractive item should please many collectors but not quite connoisseur standard.

The Inner Sleeve: Near Mint: these blue lined inners were issued with pink rim albums from 1971, so any original copy of this album should include it. This is a superb example and always a good indicator the record has not been removed many times. Uncreased, unfaded or aged, the only mild blemish is a manufacture line on both sides, this has nothing to do with wear of course. This very slightly later inner has the st peters square text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX++, NOT taking into account of the minor edge warp, this is as mild as they get and has no effect on effortless tracking. As mentioned a couple of minor trace sounds were noticed on each side but practically inaudible on the music, if any is present, its minuscule and disappears almost immediately. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy played very little on all the evidence reitterated by clean playing surfaces and superb sound. With critical viewing under angled light, a tiny few ultra fine surface traces can just be seen. So minor and tiny, most would not even mention. Few will retain such lovely clean, pure good looks and obvious low plays as this one, it will be immediately apparent to any winning bidder. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most collectors. If the tiny edge dip is an issue, please 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 major Island rarity plays up to, and most all exceeds its high visual grading with very little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Beautifully produced with a genuine atmosphere, this is a gateway into the recording studio with Drake’s voice and guitar having an in-the-room presence. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no noteworthy pops or clicks were heard, this is an exceptional clean pressing for a challenging album. I have mentioned the minor and mega-brief muted sounds at the start of the run-ins already, on the music they fade still further and fade away almost immediately. Mainly a low-volume melancholic album, this has few passages to hide the odd minor blemish but glad to state there are barely any anyway. Few albums like this and of such an age will play through devoid of the odd single groove tick, the format hardly allows it. Few copies will match or outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Clearly not a first off the pressing line, but still early. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, a true delight, it really is a shame this did not sell in greater quantities simply to satisfy the amazing rise in interest for this man’s work. I truly consider this to be as rare as the debut, arguably even more so, few of these ever show up these days. With so few originals around, the reissues are an option of course, but nothing can thrill more than holding and listening to an early pressed pink rim. Such a tragedy this proved to be his last record, what this man could have produced later is purely down to speculation. This copy will certainly prove very difficult to find significantly better and is strongly recommended. A beautiful rare record that more than justifies the memory of the legendary, mysterious and elusive artist. Nick Drake is the Vincent van Gogh of the music world. Please see my other two Drake albums on offer also.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). 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.

POSTING & PACKING: 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, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with 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 TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty 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. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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. 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 offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

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 (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA including RUSSIA and nearby countries. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); 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]) = £12. (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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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’.