The Doors First Lp EKL- 4007 First 1967 MONO ARC West Coast Pressing w/Inner

	C$		375
	$		272

The Doors sensational and legendary self-titled debut album.  This is the famous and highly sought after Mono version (EKL-4007). This mix has several differences which one notices very quickly when one is familiar with the more common Stereo version.  The sound of the drums in particular are more upfront and punchy.  There are many other differences but they vary from song to song. 
The copy I am offering was pressed in 1967 at ARC (American Record Corporation) in Los Angeles, CA., This is rather unusual as most of Elektra Records' lps (on the West Coast)  were pressed at the more common 'Monarch' Pressing plant which was also situated in LA.  However, due the sudden success of The Doors single, "Light My Fire" in July/August 1967, Elektra Records reached an agreement with ARC to press a few thousand Lps to help meet demand.  To my knowledge, there was only one pressing run for The Doors first album at ARC.  
As most collectors know, this is a very difficult pressing to find in Near Mint condition from start to finish. Even sealed copies can sometimes have pressing issues and worse, found to be warped.  Therefore, due to the rarity and historical significance of this pressing, I have taken the extra time to grade each song individually. Over the last 35 years I've had dozens of copies go through my hands. On balance, this is the cleanest vintage Mono pressing of The Doors debut album I've ever come across.  
Side 1 
1.  Break On Through ..............Ex+ 2.  Soul Kitchen.........................NM- 3.  Crystal Ship..........................Ex+  4.  Twentieth Century Fox.........NM- 5.  Alabama Song......................NM- 6.  Light My Fire.........................Ex+
Side 2
1.  Back Door Man ...................Ex+ 2.  I Looked At You....................Ex+ 3.  End Of The Night.................VG+ 4.  Take It As It Comes...............Ex+ 5.  The End................................Ex(-)
As you can see most of the songs play extremely well and aside from some minor and intermittent surface noise on 'End Of The Night' and the first minute or so of 'The End', most of the surface noise is confined only to the linking grooves.     
Cover: Excellent(-) .....Spine is straight without any issues....as is the back. In fact, when given a quick look, the cover looks superb. That's because when originally  purchased by me it was in its original shrink wrap. However, the shrink wrap was torn in several places and I felt it made the cover look bad so I removed it. That being said, there are roughly four creases on the front cover but I find them to be mostly non-distractive and inoffensive.   Stereo cover affixed with "Mono" sticker at the top....something that was occasionally done when they ran out of Mono printed jackets.    
Original Inner-Sleeve: Excellent......One corner has a crease and not surprisingly (due to the exceptional weight of the record), there is a 1" split at the bottom edge.  A higher quality inner will be included to house the precious record.
Record: VG+  ~ NM(-).....the thick and heavy vinyl shows some light scuffing, hairlines, and benign pressing marks....virtually none of these have any bearing on the audio. I'm certain this record was hardly played. Both olive-drab colored Elektra labels are slightly textured and are near perfect with barely a spindle trace to be seen....which is extraordinary.  Please read the above (song by song) details which will give you a better idea of the condition of the record. Only 2 songs grade below a full Excellent grade. The audio is clear, sharp, bold, and balanced. A rare and beautiful pressing which should satisfy most collectors.   
Matrix Numbers:       Side 1           EKL 4007 A      (A)         ARC 9 - 16 - 7  (Very faintly etched)                                  Side 2           EKL 4007 B      (A)        ARC 8 / 30 / 7   (Very faintly etched)

I will always combine shipping to save you money.
International buyers, please contact me for shipping rates and delivery options.