PESKY GEE Exclamation Mark V. RARE Orig UK 1969 N/M LP

	£		135
	$		179

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: PESKY GEE

Album Title: Exclamation Mark.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Another Country; Pigsfoot; Season of the Witch; A Place of Heartbreak.

Side 2: Where is My Mind; Piece of My Heart; Dharma For One; Please of Mind; Born to be Wild.

Label/Format: Pye – original black and blue format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both immaculate again: very clean, fresh and attractive with only a couple of light and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area.

Cat Number: NSPL 18293.

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: 145 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 135 to 145 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, many 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 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Very scarce and in this condition even more so.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: NSPL 18293 A-1 *T STEREO / NSPL 18293 B-1 *T STEREO

Mother & Stamper Codes: B 1 / C 1

Musicians: Clive Jones - saxophone; Jimmy Gannon - guitar; Jess Taylor - organ; Bob Bond - bass; Clive Box - drums; Kay Garret vocals; Kip Trevor - vocals.

Brief Info: A few familiar names for prog fans here but many will not know Pesky Gee later became the satanic rockers Black Widow. Here sounding quite different but elements of the Black Widow sound are there. Pesky Gee even included some female vocals with Kay Garret. This vintage album features covers, many famous and well-known and they are performed brilliantly and given a very different kind of psych feel. Classics by Family, Donovan, Jethro Tull are included and rousing renditions of standards like ‘Born to be Wild’ and ‘Piece of My Heart’ too. This is a great album and never easy to find in top conditions. The cover is very wear-prone indeed with a textured gold surface and an intense black back. The front will prove near impossible to find anything like high EX but this comes reasonably close. The ungiving gold ink is ruthless for all forms of wear and handling. This record could almost pass as new and looks and plays to the highest possible standard. Certainly another for the discerning collector and this early incarnation of Black Widow will sure open a few eyes.

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

Cover Grade and Format: With an EX(-) front and a Mint(-) back – an overall grading of EX is probably right. For this one, arguably better as the front is truly impossible. This is a single format and unlaminated. The front is textured and printed in the most ruthlessly compromising gold ink. The back is smooth, the three large flipbacks are textured. It has a stereo sticker covering the mono Cat Number. Clearly Pye realised this was not going to sell too many in stereo and did not print a stereo version. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse.

Cover Front: In terms of this cover, this is nice with little actual wear. It has a more gold colour that my picture actually shows, the flash makes this lose a little depth but the close up edge shows more accurately what the gold colour looks like. But it does have handling marks. The gold ink shows fingermarks far worse than any matt black cover I have ever known and it leaves dull patches where fingers have made contact. Here not heavy but present nonetheless. This has NOT removed any ink, simply dulled mainly around the solid gold areas. To emphasise just how revealing and uncompromising this gold surface is, is to look at the rest of the cover. The black back is hardly tough and will also wear and reveal mark, but it practically none and looks almost new. Also the superb front graphic (seen in close-up) is also pristine. Just the gold areas have the handling marks. Ringwear will also be a massive factor on these areas. Here just a mild arc top and bottom which is highly commendable. Most will have deep penetrating circles that will grind right into the gold ink. This thankfully has been avoided. In fact actual ‘real’ wear to the volatile surface is only light and with hardly any creasing or surface rubbing, this front is likely to prove one of the best you will offered – of that, I have few doubts. As stated, the actual graphic is superb and on its own would grade Mint.

Cover Back: The back is immaculate and shows few marks or blemishes at all. Clean and unrubbed, no creasing or ringwear. The stereo sticker also very fresh and attractive and clearly untampered with. It’s semi-transparent so the NPL text can be seen through. You can imagine how fragile and potentially vulnerable the unprotected flipbacks will be: they too are textured (the back panel is smooth), all three are superb, neat and undamaged. Barely a rub to be seen and all solidly stuck down. Hardly a trace of burring and close to crease-free. I can hardly imagine finding or seeing this back better.

Top Edge: Just a rub to the left corner.

Bottom Edge: Mainly light, patchy rubbing.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with little wear and no feathering. A slightly ‘rustic’ trim in manufacture being critical when viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: The spine is superb and another colour change (I am glad to state). It’s white, not the dreaded gold (or black). Solid, straight, uncompressed with just a mildish rub to the top corner. All text is perfect and unworn.

Corners: All corners have light to moderate tip rubs and slightly beyond on a couple. This is more apparent on the gold side (surprise, surprise). Shape is quite neat for all however.

Cover Summary: Given the facts, this is a highly respectable example of one of rock’s most difficult. Unless one has been unhandled and placed inside a protective cover all its life, they will never be easy to find with much less wear I feel, on the front that is. This back will prove near impossible to find better. Not quite good enough for the connoisseur collector but most realistic vinyl lovers will enjoy it.

The Inner: The original polylined, plain white inner is included. It is UK patented and has foreign patents pending. Very slightly darkened and the odd crease or two but the window is superb and the lining fully intact and clear. No edge splits and very neat looking.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-), A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and quite heavily pressed on high quality, thick Pye vinyl. A copy played once or twice only and hardly a noteworthy mark or blemish to be seen. Visually a super record that should please all 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 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 beautiful record plays up to its high visual grading with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal to none and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this somewhat ‘lost’ gem. 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 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 out ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is no bad thing. Also: any item with a value over £40 will have to be insured as well, but for any item that sells for over £150, I will pay the extra insurance (then the lower shipping price applies).

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 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 4,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course of 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 (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4. (Only for items under £40)

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (Compulsory for items over £40).

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

1 LP, value less than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8.

1 LP, value greater than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, [£500 Maximum]) = £11.

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, value less than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £12.

1 LP, value greater than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500 Maximum) = £15.

For items that sell over £150, I will pay the insurance, so the lower shipping price will apply.

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’.