PINK FLOYD "DARK SIDE" A2/B2 UK 1st PRESS. IMMACULATE.

	£		255
	$		338

A FANTASTIC CHANCE TO OWN A STUNNING PINK FLOYD ALBUM. THIS IS A COPY OF THE BANDS RELEASE ENTITLED "THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON". THE ORIGINAL UK FIRST PRESS WITH THE SOLID BLUE TRIANGLE LABELS, AND COMES WITH BOTH THE ORIGINAL POSTERS AND STICKERS. WHAT SEPERATES THIS FROM THE CROWD IS THE AUDIO PERFORMANCE AND THE WHOLE OF ITS GENUINE PARTS. NOT ADDED TO BY REPLACING ORIGINALS WITH LATER INSERTS. THESE ARE ALL AS FOUND IN THE FIRST PRESSING.

ALLOW ME TO JUST SAY THAT I HAVE SPENT AN ENJOYABLE AFTERNOON PLAY GRADING THIS. THE FIRST LISTEN WAS TO TRY AND IGNORE THE MUSIC, AND LISTEN PURELY FOR ANY NOISE. THE SECOND LISTEN WAS TO GET ABSORBED INTO THE MUSICAL DETAIL AND PRESENTATION. A FANTASTIC AFTERNOON!! I WILL INCLUDE IN THIS AUCTION A "REGULAR" COPY TOO, PLAY IT, COMPARE IT, DO WHAT YOU WILL WITH IT. IT MEANS YOU CAN KEEP A SUPERB COPY FOR AN INVESTMENT AND STILL HEAR (SOME OF) THE MUSIC!!

I AM SURE THAT I DO NOT NEED TO GO INTO THE WELL DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF THIS RELEASE. BRIEFLY, THE UK FIRST PRESS WAS THE ONLY UK PRESSING TO HAVE THE SOLID BLUE PRISM LABELS. THE MATRICES OF A2/B2 ARE LEGENDARY. BLACK INNER SLEEVE, HEAVY DUTY VINYL, DARK BLUE COVER WITH FOLDOVER SEALED LEFT SIDE; ALL THESE ARE ONLY AVAILABLE ON A FIRST PRESSING, AND THIS HAS THE LOT.

NO HIDDEN RESERVE PRICES, AND A LOW STARTER. RECORDS OF THIS CALIBRE DO NOT NEED A "KICK-START" OF ANY SORT. IT WILL FIND ITS TRUE MARKET VALUE WITHOUT INFLUENCE FROM ME.

THIS COPY IS IN SUPERB CONDITION. THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF WHAT IS ON OFFER:-

THE COVER:  IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. THE MIDNIGHT BLUE GATE-FOLD COVER SHOWS MINIMAL SHELFWEAR, BUT THERE IS LIGHT RUBBING TO BOTTOM EDGES AND OPENING EDGES ARE LIGHTLY WORN. NOTHING TOO DETRIMENTAL. NO RING-WEAR TO FRONT OR INSIDE, BUT JUST STARTING TO FORM TO REAR. INNER GATE IS LOVELY. ONLY SLIGHTEST RUB WEAR TO FRONT AND BACK COVERS. THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS FOLDED UNDER AND SEALED. A VERY VERY SOLID EXAMPLE.

THE INNER SLEEVE: IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AGAIN. NO DAMAGE TO ANY OF THE EDGES. NO SLITS, RIPS OR TEARS. JUST SOME LIGHT CREASING.

THE INSERTS: BOTH POSTERS ARE IN EXCELLENT TO EX+ CONDITION. PRINTED ON MATT PAPER, NOT HIGH GLOSS LIKE LATER ISSUES. BOTH ORIGINAL STICKERS ARE IN EXCELLENT UNUSED CONDITION. SLIGHT CREASE WHERE THEY WERE TRAPPED INSIDE THE GATE-FOLD HINGE. NONE OF THESE INSERTS HAS ANY PIN HOLES, TAPE MARKS OR "BLU-TAK".

LABELS AND VINYLS:  LABELS ARE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION (AT LEAST). SOME LIGHT SPINDLE TRAILS CAN BE SEEN IN ANGLED LIGHT, BUT VERY FEW IN NUMBER. NO DAMAGE OF ANY NOTE. THE VINYLS ARE A TREASURE. IN NORMAL LIGHT, NO MARKS CAN BE SEEN. IN STRONG ANGLED LIGHT, HAIRLINES CONSISTANT WITH SLEEVE REMOVAL ONLY, CAN BE SEEN. THESE ARE 2 MIGHTY SPECIAL VINYLS. GRADED (VISUALLY) AS EXCELLENT TO EX+.

HOW DOES IT SOUND?: JUST A LITTLE BIT SPECIAL, TO SAY THE LEAST. AS I SAID BEFORE, I HAVE GONE TO GREAT LENGTHS TO LISTEN TO EVERY NOTE OF THIS ALBUM, NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE. FIRST, THE SOUND IS FINELY DETAILED. TO HEAR THIS COMPARED TO LATER PRESSINGS WOULD MAKE YOU THINK YOU WERE HEARING DIFFERENT ALBUMS. THE RIFFS THAT USUALLY SIT FAR BEHIND THE LEAD GUITAR COME MORE TO THE FORE. THE QUIETLY SPOKEN WORDS SUDDENLY LEAP FROM THE SPEAKERS. THE DETAIL EXTRACTED FROM THE GROOVES ON THIS HUGELY HEAVY VINYL IS AMAZING. THE GOOD NEWS? SIDE 2 PLAYS WITH JUST 1 BARELY AUDIBLE "POP" ALL THE WAY THROUGH! THE BAD NEWS? SIDE 1 PLAYS WITH A HANDFUL OF MINOR CLICKS IN THE INTRO TO "BREATHE", AND HAS 3 CLICKS AT INTRO TO "TIME". THAT IS IT!!! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SILENT VINYL. INHERENTLY, A VINYL WILL PRODUCE A NOISE OF SOME SORT. IT ATTRACTS DUST AND FOREIGN PARTICLES. A GOOD PRO-CLEAN WILL ENLIVEN MANY AN OLD ALBUM, AND I WOULD THOROUGHLY RECOMMEND THE WINNER OF THIS AUCTION TO GET THIS PRO-CLEANED. THE ALBUM SOUNDS SUPERB NOW. WHAT A GOOD CLEAN COULD DO, I CAN ONLY GUESS.

TO SUM UP THE AUDIO PERFORMANCE HERE, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT I HAVE NEVER HEARD A BETTER COPY (I HAVE HEARD, PROBABLY, AROUND 40 "SOLID BLUE LABELS"). THIS IS AMAZINGLY QUIET, INCLUDING BETWEEN TRACKS AND SOME OF THE SURPRISINGLY QUIET PASSAGES ON THIS CLASSIC ALBUM. IS THERE A BETTER COPY OUT THERE?? HMMMMM............................

THATS PROBABLY JUST ABOUT ALL I CAN SAY ABOUT THE ALBUM. I WOULD MOST HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYBODY, INCLUDING THE MOST DISCERNING OF COLLECTORS. I HAVE TRIED TO BE VERY CRITICAL, BUT ALSO SUBJECTIVE. WE CAN ALL PICK UP DIFFERENT RESPONSES AT DIFFERENT FREQUENCIES. I STAND BY MY ASSESSMENT 100%, AND IF THE WINNER FINDS FAULT WITH THAT, THEY ARE MOST WELCOME TO A FULL REFUND INCLUDING POSTAGE BOTH WAYS.

PLEASE READ MY FEEDBACK RATINGS AND BID WITH THE UTMOST CONFIDENCE.

I WILL HAPPILY POST WORLDWIDE, BUT COST MAY VARY FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY. WHAT I DO IS CHARGE A SET RATE, AND ANY DIFFERENCE WILL BE REFUNDED IN FULL AS SOON AS I GET THE CORRECT PRICE. I DO NOT PROFIT ON POSTAGE.

INSURANCE OR ANY OTHER NEEDS WILL BE DISCUSSED WITH THE WINNER AFTER SALE.

I WILL ANSWER ANY, AND ALL QUESTIONS AS SOON AS I SEE THEM.

RETURNS ARE NO PROBLEM IF MY DESCRIPTION DOES NOT MATCH WHAT ARRIVES. I WILL REFUND YOUR FULL MONEY. PLEASE NOTIFY ME ASAP THOUGH. IT IS A GREAT SHAME TO SAY THAT I HAVE HAD RETURNS (3) BEFORE WHERE THE LP HAS BEEN SWITCHED, AND I HAVE RECEIVED A DIFFERENT ONE BACK. (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, SHAME ON YOU)

I PACKAGE ROBUSTLY AND TRY TO USE RE-CYCLED MATERIALS, AND POST VERY QUICKLY.

I ONLY CHARGE EXACTLY WHAT IT COSTS ME TO POST, WHETHER IT BE 1 ITEM, OR 10.

PLEASE KEEP WATCHING FOR MY FUTURE SALES. I AM REGULARLY SELLING RARE AND UNUSUAL ROCK ALBUMS OF HISTORICAL NOTE, AND WELL WORTH MARKING AS A "FAVOURITE SELLER" FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.