ROLLING STONES …Buttons Unboxed Mono 2 Plays

	£		150
	$		199

Hi, I am Mike, I have been a music collector for over 30 years now. I always still try to offer 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 interested collector. You may notice I only submit one or two items a day for Ebay; time rarely allows more as I Play-Grade every record I offer (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - 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. 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. A ten pounds record that plays close to new is as important to the collector as a 250 pound record that plays less well. 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. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. Good luck.

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. 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. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed, you never know - I may just have a copy in stock

Please read all the information carefully - these adverts take an age to compile properly - so it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to read the details thoroughly. I really cannot take any responsibility if any bidder fails to read any facts that are clearly stated in the advert - that is out of my control I’m afraid.

Artist or Band: THE ROLLING STONES

Album Title: Between the Buttons

Cat Number: LK 4852 MONO.

Label and Condition: Decca red labels large unboxed original version with ffrr (full frequency range recording) and ear logo. Absolutely stunning examples of this very desirable label, one of the very finest of the 1960s. I have rarely ever seen a Stones album label this clean, these even surpass the immaculate labels for the Out of Our Heads labels I am offering also on Ebay at the moment. The owner told me he bought this from new and played only once putting it to tape. Well all the evidence agrees with his statement because finding labels this clean is astonishing. Both sides have a couple of light spindle traces and are almost as clean as new, bear in mind the age of this record. (Please see label scans for all information needed - and quite honestly have you ever seen Rolling Stones mono records labels this clean and beautiful?).

Country of Manufacture: England, UK

Rarity: Getting very scarce now, Early Rolling Stones albums are far harder to find than Beatles albums and finding them in such a condition is getting extremely difficult and fast disappearing - how many really still exist like this?

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: ARL 7644 5A and ARL7645 4A The tiny pressing numbers are: 1 and 1, but these are never easy to read, but these look clear.

Genre Type: Classic 60s pop/beat.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Legends in their own lifetime and featuring without doubt for me their strongest ever line up, the tragic loss later of the great Brian Jones deprived the Stones of their influential genius - all their Decca albums are truly essential. Between the Buttons great as it is, is not their very best album, but still set the standards for quality at this time. This copy on offer is lovely and plays superbly - I simply cannot imagine a mono (or stereo) copy playing better than this. A true vintage gem from the UK’s finest - every album on Decca is truly essential. A mono copy in a playing condition that is unlikely to be bettered - its almost perfect (please see my reference to mono vs stereo below). Produced by the legendary Andrew Loog Oldham - his final one for the band - hearing this classic via the original format is simply marvellous, nothing comes close to the true vinyl experience and when they play this well even more so.

Cover Condition and Details: Mint(-), single, laminated front, no flipbacks on this copy, Printed in England by James Upton Ltd, Birmingham & London. Mono is printed on front, back and spine. NO peep-hole in back to denote mono or stereo copy, these came much later. Record comes in its original lined inner which is near perfect with slight mild aging discolour only but very clean, untorn or split and a nice clean, clear window. It has the shop, ‘Simon’s Records’ etc stamped on it - very neat and clearly, this was purchased in Southend, Essex all those years ago. A super cover that realistically will be hard to find much better, close to mint covers of this great age are supremely rare and this one only falls slightly short.

Cover Lamination: Very strong indeed and has a very deep shine. Few marks and hardly any creases, any present are tiny hairlines types near the edges, hardly anything shows and look hard to see any. Early Stones covers were always quite thin and vulnerable to wear and creasing but this shows little and has clearly been stored superbly over its long life. The laminate has no peeling or dry areas and no indentations. This is close to perfect 60s lamination.

Cover Front: Immaculate and very attractive indeed and would be hard to find better. Beautifully clean and unworn with very deep rich colour, a hint of a pressmark from the very heavy vinyl inside if viewed from angled light. Under normal viewing conditions nothing can be seen and this is probably as light as you will ever find. A beautiful front example that a true pleasure to look at - I can hardly imagine finding this one better.

Cover Back: Black and white and not laminated, but still very clean and barely showing any signs of aging at all. The vaguest hint of mild discolour if being hyper-critical - being predominatly white it would be amazing if there was zero, but again this is just about as clean and still white looking as could reasonably be expected. It has no rubbing or wear usually associated with these types, minor tiny burr at very bottom again if being mega critical (getting very nit-picky now). Even the end of laminate line on the back is clean with no black soiling again often seen here. Not pure snowy white, but still white, not yellow or similar.

Cover Edges/Corners: Top: virtually unworn. Bottom: unworn. Record entry edge (right):unworn and very sharp. Spine: Solid and square and unworn, all text is pristine under the uncracked laminate, delicate tapering top and bottom still very apparent. Corners: All four show little wear at all and are still nicely shaped. Summary: A super all round example of this scarce original 60’s cover, one that would prove hard to find much better. This terrific cover should please most collectors.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-), I am tempted to say Mint because to me it looks just that, I simply cannot imagine a better copy, this is stuff dreams are made of. A stunning clean and shiny copy and pressed on very heavy top quality vinyl. I can see no marks, even surface marks, I view all my records under normal lighting conditions - not with a magnifying glass - if anyone has a cleaner, fresher, more virgin looking copy of this one, well all I can is, lucky you. This has to rank as the very cleanest looking Stones record I have ever seen.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: Mint(-) and close to full Mint because this plays quite brilliantly. No sound degrading whatsoever - just pure clear undistorted sound and the highest quality. There is no doubting whatsoever this record has hardly been played. To hear such a fine gem in close to virgin new condition is breathtaking. I can remember not a single pop or tick and any surface noise is barely worthy of a mention. A remarkable record and one to truly cherish. Please read the paragraph below to put a record like this into full context.

Mono vs Stereo: Always a matter of opinion. For any serious collector where there is a choice e.g. Beatles, Stones, Hendrix etc. both are essential. True Stereo albums give great imagery and presence whereas mono albums usually are more dynamic, louder and present the detail more clearly. Mono albums are far harder to find in genuinely top playing condition. Most were heavily played, particularly the truly great bands and artists, often covered in mark and scratches, many severe and labels that were a mass of spindle marks. The majority were played on vintage and unsubtle decks with heavy tonearms and thick styli (often sapphire, not diamond, that chipped more easily) that rendered heavy wear in a very short time to many a fine classic record. Wear to the delicate groove walls, particularly the innermost tracks to the labels were most vulnerable where the tracking angle became more severe and the backdrag actually stripped the delicate groove walls. This resulted in surface noise and mild/moderate distortion or worse. These old decks tracked by sheer weight and little of any refined engineering. Next time you see such a deck at a local record fayre, feel the weight of the arm, it almost makes you wonder how any records survived at all. The point of this paragraph is emphasise that when a truly clean, lightly played and great sounding 60s mono album (or stereo come to that) is offered, treasure it, because for sure thery are truly getting vary rare and precious - beware - demand only play-graded records.

Track Listing:Yesterdays papers; My obsession; Back street girl; Connection; She smiled sweetly; Cool, calm and collected; All sold out; Please go home; Who’s been sleeping here?; Complicated; Miss Amanda Jones; Something happened to me yesterday.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Final Summary: A mono recording of the highest quality and condition - its a gateway into the recording studio and no CD format will replicate the sound of the real thing. Just holding such an important record, now in its mid-thirties, gives pleasure. A superb cover - light years above the average, and a record that is as fresh and clean and could easily pass as new. This one has not just survived the 60s potential playing abuse, its looks pristine and sounds quite amazing. I think this fine classic should please any collector, even the connoisseurs who demand near the very best. - Mike..

Payment Details please read carefully:

Buyer pays: (UK) £2.50 P&P , for first-class delivery with standard £28 insurance. Items that sell over £80 will be sent via Special Delivery as standard at no extra cost which are insured for £250.

Europe: £4. This is covered up to £28 insurance and would be sent 1st-class airmail. A recorded airmail service is now in place for Europe too: this means any item will be fully insured to its true value, No customs sticker is needed for Europe, so this is a worthwhile investment. This costs extra £5, the item is tracked and the item has to be signed for - I will use this service to Europe as standard for very expensive rare items e.g. records over £125 at no extra cost.

USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and other Far Eastern countries etc: £5.50. This is covered up to £28 insurance and would be sent 1st-class airmail. Please note I do not profit on postage (my packing standards are high and the package weighs a little more).

Extra insurance with recorded delivery is available too for non-Europe countries but will cost an extra £5 also, the item will be covered for up to £250 or even £500 insurance for some detinations - customs label prices will be kept low.

I accept cash for payments worldwide in UK Pounds Sterling, Euros or US Dollars - but this at the senders own risk. Please send registered and insured if this method is chosen. I cannot accept responsibility if any cash payments do not turn up. This system is very reliable and rarely goes astray. The same goes for any shipped uninsured item, I can only try to claim for any undelivered or damaged article at basic insurance levels if no enhanced insurance is requested and paid for (unless the value threshold is high enough for me insure as standard, see above) PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT use surface mail, its too slow, with a higher risk of loss and damage.

Overseas bidders please note conversion rates for Pounds to Dollars and Pounds to Euros will be charged at 1.7 to cover PayPal or cash conversion costs.

PLEASE NOTE: Any PayPal user can now pay me with UK Sterling if they wish with no need to convert to US dollars (although they still can if they wish to). Any instant PayPal transaction from anywhere in the world will mean the item will be sent immediately - it makes deals fast and very efficient.

Mailing Details: All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken out of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with FOUR stiffners for extra protection (if space allows). More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. I now only accept PayPal, International money orders or cash from overseas bidders (UK Sterling, US dollars or Euros). Cash, cheques, postal orders and PayPal are fine from the UK. I allow maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if this does not happen I will relist the item and may send negative feedback unless an explanation is given. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask. Please keep watch on my Ebays, I have other intesting items coming very soon. Thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: As listening to every single record I offer all the way through is difficult timewise, can I make it clear 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. I still endeavour to play all the items in their entirity for grading if at all possible and is usually the case.