PRETTY THINGS S.F. Sorrow RARE UK 1-BOX 1969-70 PRESS. inc LAMINATED 'DAY' COVER

	£		87
	$		115

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.

FINALLY: Late payers will now be blocked at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: PRETTY THINGS

Album Title: S.F. Sorrow.

Producer(s): Norman Smith.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: S.F. Sorrow is Born; Bracelets of Fingers; She Says Good Morning; Private Sorrow; Balloon Burning; Death.

Side 2: Baron Saturday; The Journey; I See You; Well of Destiny; Trust; Old Man Going; Loneliest Person.

Label/Format: Columbia – very early second pressing with the single box logo. These are one of the most elusive Columbia formats and not available for long before the second box was added. These have matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both still very clean and fresh with moderate spindle marks. A fine one on side one has scratch a tiny portion of text and shows a little more. A lovely clean record that offers super sound throughout on this most challenging recording.

Cat Number: SCX 6306.

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: 133 gram. A solid typical pressing for this still very early copy.

Rarity & Overview: Rare: and seldom seen or offered. This being a second issue from around 1970 on the elusive single EMI box logo, these arguably even rarer than the first pressing. A format that came and went pretty quickly, soon replaced with the two box labels. Towards the mid-1970s, the album was repressed as a double set with ‘Parachute’ on Harvest.

I regard this album as a true masterpiece – nothing less – within the genre, there are not to many better albums than this remarkable issue. It sold poorly, overlooked by most until some time later meaning first and second issues have always been sparse. Indeed this copy still carries the ‘1’ mother codes and early, still single letter stampers as seen a little further down. The main matrixes are just the same as the first pressing as well and the cover still made by Ernest J. Day, the only difference of any note are the inner flipbacks are now manufactured inside. It even has the sepia promotional inner sleeve. So a very fine overall copy and one for those wanting to experience a still early example on Columbia. Do not underestimate how rare this version is.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Original Year of Release: 1968 (this album was repressed in 1970 on the single box format).

Matrix Nos: YAX 3738-1 / YAX 3739-1.

Mothers / Stampers: 1 M / 1 0 [to reitterate the information above, these are first mothers and still very early stampers, this album simply failed to sell initially].

Musicians: Phil May - vocals; Dick Taylor - lead guitar, vocals; John Povey - organ, sitar, percussion, vocals; Wally Allen - bass, guitar, vocals, winds, piano; Skip Alan - drums; John ‘Twink’ Alder - drums.

Brief Info: S.F. Sorrow was the fourth Pretty Things album – and few, if anyone could have predicted the major shift in sound and sublime quality of the music that was to come. Generally regarded as the first rock ‘concept’ album, even pre-dating The Who’s ‘Tommy’. Based on the character Sebastian F. Sorrow from a story by Phil May, the band’s vocalist and guitarist. It follows the troubled life of the character from birth, war and love, eventual tragedy and madness – all sounds somewhat sombre but this is a stunning album and the band took a major step into a new era and direction. Now with a far more ‘progressive’ sound, many original fans were left confused and initially this wasn’t accepted. But time as crowned this daring album as a rock classic (nothing less than a masterpiece by myself) and most-all rock fans want this in their collection.

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios at the same time Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd were recording their debut classic ‘A Piper at the Gates of Dawn’ and The Beatles ‘Sgt Pepper’. What a wonderful time of creativity with classic after classic being issued towards the latter part of the 1960s. Superbly produced by Norman Smith, this has mind-blowing sound, it experimented with early synthesisers including the Mellotron and other devices. What came out was little short of astonishing, but predictably failing to sell and is now highly sort-after and elusive. With that in mind, I have no qualms in offering this very slightly later pressing. The Columbia label changed from the black and turquoise format to the black and white with one single EMI box design and this is still a very early copy. The record has been played a few times and has gentle fine surface marks seen under bright light, but purely superficial. It plays with lovely clean sound with effortless tracking and still ultimate detail that matches the first made. Indeed this is the same record just with a different label. Most collectors will know single EMI box Columbia records are far from easy to find.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: and probably being harsh, this looks better still. A gatefold format with front and back laminate. This wraps around the closed edges and inside and ends under the inside panel. The main inside is matt and smooth. Printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day. Includes the EMI sepia promotional inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: Both front and back retain a very fine shine, with high degree of freshness and clarity. Minimal traces of dulling on the front and only fairly light on the back around the thick record’s rim shape more seen under light. No lifting or peeling, some fairlyfine and small spine edge creasing, any others few and mostly very fine. Viewed normally full-on, both sides graphics look impressive and for a cover approximately 44-years-old, this has survived well and remains attractive.

Cover Inner Gatefold: A little light staining (or toning) near the central top edge area which I am sure is from the inside seam adhesive that in most cases will darkened over time. Ultra faint traces are seen near the top and bottom edges which reitterates this point still further. There is little else to fault on this clean and attractive centrefold.

Top Edges: Both edges are near perfect up to the very tip of the corners that have just tiny rubs. Smooth, flush and straight with full laminate retention.

Bottom Edges: Very similar with just a little thickening of the inside panel towards the right. This so hard to avoid totally when stored all these years.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with just a little thickening seen viewed end-on, no trimming guaranteed. Record enters on the back edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with only light compression (or tilt) and folded squarely, so the edges meet up closely together and very near parallel. Unusually, this has no laminate peeling and remains smooth and shiny. Just two or three ultra fine surface hairlines only. All text present and neat with minimal affect from the fine hairlines.

Corners: Any tip rubs are modestly small and light. Fine to very fine shape retained.

Cover Summary: Overall, a very strong example of this early Ernest J. Day cover, with blemishes few and light, it will prove hard to find much better.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: the sepia style unlined EMI promotional inner is still clean and attractive with hardly any creasing. One neat small edge repair for a mild movement split which hardly even shows. All edges now sound and neat and this vintage inner will also prove difficult to find much better.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: a very fine visual copy that is clean with equally fine shine and quite heavily pressed. A copy played several times, but no penetrating stylus scratches and in normal daylight any visual blemishes are marks are minimal and light. Viewed more critically under bright angled light fine surface marks are seen but these superficial with barely any affect on the splendid sound. Visually a splendid record around 43+ years old, it 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 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 magnifient and timeless album plays even above it’s generally impressive visual grading with very little 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 indeed and a clean pressing from Columbia. A complex recording with brilliant music. No rock fan could not be impressed with sublime ‘Balloon Burning’, this never fails to give me that rare ‘tingle factor’ that only the best music and sound ever can. Few copies will outperform this still very early pressing significantly I feel sure – I truly think these one EMI box copies are at least as rare, and arguably rarer than the very first issue. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played modestly and has been generally well stored and handled. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, the odd polite reminder of what you are listening too – a vinyl record well into it’s forties – is near impossible to avoid totally. Personally, I have no issue with that. This 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’.