TRAFFIC Low Spark… SCARCE ORIG UK 71 ISLAND EX LP+Inner

	£		143
	$		189

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: TRAFFIC

Album Title: The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys.

Producer(s): Steve Winwood.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Hidden Treasure; The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys; Light Up or Leave Me Alone.

Side 2: Rock & Roll Stew; Many a Mile to Freedom; Rainmaker.

Label/Format: Island – original pink rim format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both in superb condition: very clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle traces tiny, few and very faint. This another gem from the superb collection of hardly played records, purchased from new by the one-and-only owner who played them very sparingly on a high quality system.

Cat Number: ILPS 9180.

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: 138 grams. A very good weight for this one.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce as a first issue with the beautifully crafted, shaped cover. So often missing the shaped inner sleeve or with it badly split or damaged. This is a superb example in every respect. Also the record is beautifully pressed with top quality sound, on occasions, I have heard some of these with pressing problems particularly on the final song ‘Rainmaker’, this one has no such issues. Never an easy one to find like this.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9180 A-2U / ILPS 9180 B-1U

Mothers / Stampers: 1 GG / 1 A

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘STERLING LH’ [on both sides]

Musicians: Steve Winwood – vocals, guitar, piano, organ; Chris Wood – saxophone, flute; Jim Capaldi – vocals, percussion; Ric Grech – bass, violin; Jim Gordon – drums; Rebop Kwaku Baah – percussion.

Brief Info: The fifth studio album and following the classic ‘John Barleycorn Must Die’ was always going to be a challenge. But this album delivers superbly and is one of my favourites within their catalogue. Like it’s predecessor, just six songs, but all beautifully crafted and delivered – I still feel this is a somewhat underrated gem. The cover is a work of art, when first issued, the corners were cut diagonally giving it an almost unique appearance – later pressings had the cover made traditionally square. The following album, ‘Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory’ [also on offer from the same collection], followed suit and also featured the distinctive shaped cover. This example is a beauty for looks and sound and even the shaped Island inner sleeve is unsplit and that seldom happens. For fans, this is just too good to let go.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: High: the format means creasing and laminate issues are common.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++) a single, fully laminated format. It has that beautiful shaped construction with the diagonal cut opposite corners. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group. Includes the Island shaped inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: A very impressive example of a quite fragile cover. The laminate both sides retains a superb shine, freshness and clarity. Barely even a trace of any dulling on the front with just little near the top of the back seen under light. One edge crease on the front and a single half moon on the back, any others are barely worthy of mention and the two I have mentioned hardly even show with normal viewing. All the laminate is fully adhered too with no lifting, peeling or blistering and what a difference that makes for maximum viewing pleasure. The edge strips where the laminate naturally ends a little short are all clean and unchipped. Any surface marks or impressions are very few and mostly very faint – a very mild one on the front, again only shows under light and truly, a much better example of this fantastic and almost unique style cover will prove very difficult to find. The band picture on the back is simply stunning with ultra vivid and supreme looking artwork.

Top Edge: Nigh on pristine with full laminate cover, this silky smooth to the fingertip with no scuffs.

Bottom Edge: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and incredibly sharp with no wear or feathering and guaranteed untrimmed. Being shaped, this entrance edge will seldom escape dinking or damage, even the cut corner is razor sharp.

Spine and Text: Two or three tiny and ultra fine rub-chips (but look hard). Solid, straight with minimal compression. No text was printed on this one and again the laminate in great condition.

Corners: A hugely unusual single cover with SIX corners – and all in superb condition, practically as made with no dinks and retaining ultra sharp and impressive shape.

Cover Summary: A wonderful example that sets the bar very high indeed. A much better all-round example of this very fragile 70’s cover will prove incredibly hard to find. This beautiful item should please most-all collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: this being somewhat critical on a fragile piece. A shaped unlined matt finished inner that has avoided any edge splits or tears. It has some record impression, but how many won’t have? The lack of creasing is good news and this one has aged little in real terms. Minimal traces of grubbiness with a few traces of tone spots. This includes the original ‘Basing Street’ Island address and was never lined.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: a very fine visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface marks light and reasonably faint. The unlined thin card inner never helpful to playing surfaces and few used replacements for this shaped cover. Any blemishes are purely superficial and very light and this record offers superb sound. Visually a lovely original record that should please many, if not most collectors again.

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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This early-pressed record plays even above it’s 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 hardly even registered and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this very lightly played one significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, withiin a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. 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/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 QED Silver 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 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 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 3 or 4 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). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as 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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (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 [£46 maximum]) = £10. (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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (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’.