U2 The Joshua Tree SUPERB 1987 GERMAN (EUROPEAN) PRESS, GREAT SOUND/BLACK INNER.

	£		31
	$		41

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.95. Europe (including Russia) £12.95 (£1 per extra record). Rest of World £19.95 (£2 per extra record). All my records are sent in boxes and the price of them has increased over time and these are my first price increases for nearly 10 years. Royal Mail prices have also gone up again. I will never compromise on quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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 ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: U2

Album Title: The Joshua Tree

Producer(s): Daniel Lanois & Brian Eno

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Where the Streets Have No Name; I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For; With or Without You; Bullet the Blue Sky; Running to Stand Still.

Side 2: Red Hill Mining Town; In God’s Country; Trip Through Your Wires; One Tree Hill; Exit; Mothers of the Disappeared.

Label/Format: Island, customised format with matt, quite smooth surfaces. Side two has a small embossed symbol near the hole.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a tiny few very light, fine and faint spindle traces and no wear around the hole area. This copy appears hardly played and is superbly pressed with sound to match. Never something to be taken for granted.

Catalogue Number: 208219

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps or Lateral Movement: Assume all records I offer have no significant warping or lateral movement to cause sound or tracking issues. All should play fine even on budget turntables.

Weight of Record: 119 grams.

Country of Manufacture: Germany (for release throughout Europe)

Rarity: Moderate. Condition and sound quality being the paramount factor. I have far too many of these with pressing noises, inherent crackle and even distortion, this superb German pressed copy lacks these common traits and was a joy to play-grade.

Original Year of Release: 1987

Matrix Nos: DM 208219 A-1/2-87 II & DM 208219 B-1/2-87 IV

Musicians: Bono – lead vocals, harmonica, guitars; The Edge – guitars, backing vocals, piano; Adam Clayton – bass guitar; Larry Mullen Jr. – drums, percussion. With: Brian Eno – keyboards, DX7 programming, backing vocals; Daniel Lanois – tambourine, Omnichord, additional rhythm guitar, backing vocals.

Brief Info: A classic album that needs few introductions, most rock fans will know that album well enough. Suffice to say, it received universal acclaim on issue and justifiably sold well. Regarded as Irish band U2’s greatest ever work and it never ages with every song a gem. This is a very impressive German-pressed copy made for the European demand at the time. It is superbly pressed and was a genuine delight to play-grade. Few other pressings I have heard have come close to matching this – mass production often meant pressing issues which I have found too many have. So for those who want a clean, hardly played and well-pressed copy to enjoy without the usual issues, this is for you.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): and arguably better, to date, it has to be the best cover I have seen for this album in many years. The one owner from new cover-protected it and the difference being immediately apparent. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt smooth surfaces. Printed and made in Germany with the text in English, this includes its original black inner sleeve, this edition has no insert.

Cover Front: Very close to as-made with any handling traces or blemishes minimal and faint, this the best news possible on a clearly revealing dark surface. One to hold and admire.

Cover Back: Even better if anything and easily merits a Mint minus grading. The lack of ring wear and rubbing is seldom seen on this.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Again practically as-made and superb.

Top Edges: Solid and thick, flat and flush with barely any wear, just a hint of patchy compression being critical. This has the band name and title in tiny text on the front left area near the corner, this is all unworn.

Bottom Edges: As above with no text printed on these.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Mostly sharp with any thickening little and light. Record enters on the back edge, the front is close and factory machine cut (e.g. with a white edge).

Spine and Text: Solid, thick and straight with minimal compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. The text is unworn and beautifully centred, the main surface barely rubbed at all.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, better than excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this classic 1980’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find better. With most seen worn and aged, this beautiful item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): a black unlined paper inner that is white inside. Also fresh and neat with minimal hint of creasing and all edge folds naturally intact. No text was printed on this.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: arguably better. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface marks very light, most wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, hardly anything even registers. Visually a super record that 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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This quality album plays even above it’s high visual grading with very little to fault. Offering 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 this is a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Few available copies will outperform this top quality Germany pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this lovely record. It could prove difficult to find significantly better for sound and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade – visuals alone do not always tell a true story. I will try to 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 it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, 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 as will any suspicious bids or bid bid retractions. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal from­ winning bidders. I only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.