A Day At The Races 4U/1U (Early pressing)

This early pressing is in excellent condition and Side Two actually has the first matrix pressing.  There is hardly any spindle wear and the gatefold remains very clean also.

EMTC 104 // YAX 5245 - 4U / YAX 5246 - 1U // Mother stampers RHH 3 & RPA 2

The audio on Side One is Ex (Ex+ in some sections)

The audio on Side Two Ex+ (first 20 seconds on 'Somebody To Love' is Ex-)

The gatefold cover is Ex+

Visual grading

  Under a strong bright light this vinyl is in superlative condition.  I can only detect one extremely faint hairline on Side One and Side Two is immaculate.  It is obvious it has been hardly played as you have to look with a magnifying glass to see any spindle wear!

Play grading  

The intro to 'Tie Your Mother Down' plays with a little faint crackle and a couple of light clicks but it soon dissipates and then plays with great power and depth and no further interference, a wonderful version.  'You Take My Breath Away' is such a quiet track that any interference is always very obvious but I only heard a few dust ticks and a minimal amount of static in a handful of places.  The clarity really is first class and rarely have I heard this track playing better on such and early pressing.  'Long Away' has near perfect audio and whilst 'The Millionaire Waltz' plays clearly it does have some louder static on a couple of the louder sections.  Overall though it is an excellent listen and the static is generally non-intrusive.  'You and I' ends the side with great sound, just a little static on the top end again.

'Somebody To Love' has a little crackle at the beginning and a few light clicks and yet still plays with great power and depth of sound.  To be honest it is only the first 20 seconds or so that has any interference, the rest of the track is superb.  'White Man' has one pop at the start and then has near perfect audio, a fantastic listen with just a minor amount of background noise at the end.  'Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy' and 'Drowse' plays with superb audio and barely any background static.  The clarity here is high end for a vinyl over 40 years old.  The quiet intro to 'Let Us Cling Together' has only a minimal amount of static and plays very clearly.  You expect a little interference but it isn't intrusive here and this classic track plays with great sound throughout, I only heard one dull pop.  The spine tingling ending especially plays with stunning quality.

Gatefold cover

These G & L gatefolds are notoriously found in poor condition and of all the Queen covers it is definitely one of the hardest to keep clean!  This one is in excellent shape and only has minor shelf wear.  The edges and spine are in excellent order with only a tiny amount of rubbing.  The front cover is very clean as is the back cover, the latter just has a little wear on the corners.  The inside of the gatefold has a little white 'spotting' around the edges but it isn't obvious.  The opening edge looks barely handled.  Overall this is an excellent gatefold and better than so many you see today.

Picture inner

This die-cut inner is in perfect condition with no wear or splits at all.  It is like new.

The labels

They are both in superb condition with barely visible spindle wear and no marking or writing.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

EMTC 104 // YAX 5245 - 4U / YAX 5246 - 1U // Mother stampers RHH 3 & RPA 2

Any questions please feel free to ask

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