URIAH HEEP Look at Yourself RARE UK 71 Bronze 1st Press

	£		158
	$		209

Hi, I am Mike, now 50 – yes the big FIVE-O! Old enough to remember the golden era of original, high quality music, bands, artists.

Also records from the 1960s and 70s bought from the shops from new, I have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 37 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and elusive items now. 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 reader – 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 one hundred percent is exact colour matching for covers - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. 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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortophon 520 Mk II cartridge (tracks at 1.75 grams). Amps: Arcam 2 x 125W Pre-Power. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO massively thick stiffners for even extra protection and bubble wrap if deemed necessary. These stiffners are the thickest possible and custom supplied for ‘Oneadayrecords’ – these are NOT commercially available and you will not have seen thicker protection anywhere. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used as well as ‘Fragile’ tape for that extra professional touch for the packet. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the cheapest and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 3,500+ items sold in over 5 years of Ebay trading (I am now one of most established sellers via Ebay) and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

Album Title: Look at Yourself.

Producer(s): Gerry Bron.

Track Listing:

Side 1: Look at Yourself; I Wanna Be Free; July Morning.

Side 2: Tears in My Eyes; Shadows of Grief; What Should Be Done; Love Machine.

Label/Format: Bronze – ‘Age of Man’ format with original Island credits. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both immaculate: very clean and highly attractive, almost as new with barely a spindle trace to be seen. Two of the most incredible Island-Bronze labels I have ever seen.

Cat Number: ILPS 9169.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 134 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: and this the ultimate first pressing and incredibly difficult to find in this type of condition. The cover especially is very difficult and fragile and this one has NO damage to the mirror frame, most have tears, splits or burring. This frame is pristine and razor sharp and the actual ‘glass’ has only light surface marks only really visible with angled viewing. The record is immaculate visually and plays the same and includes a super-clean inner as well. A incredibly hard title to find like this especially the absolute first-made.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9169 A-1U / ILPS 9169 B-1U

Stamper Codes: 1 RD / 1GM

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘PORKY’ on side one.

Musicians: Ken Hensley - organ, piano, guitar, acoustic guitar, vocal; Mick Box - lead guitar, acoustic guitar; David Byron - lead vocal; Paul Newton - bass guitar.

Brief Info: Uriah Heep’s third album and first on Bronze Records after the Vertigo Spiral pair. This is an album that got them (and the owner) more noticed by the pretty amazing cover and the slightly more commercial sound. Still unpopular with the critics of the day but their fans loved them. It includes one of their greatest tracks, the brilliant ‘July Morning’, one of their live favourites. As important as the record is for this set, and it’s a beautiful very first pressing, the cover is what’s so special here. One that never wears well and that is something of an understatement putting it mildly. With a very large cut-out box and an ultra shiny insert that resembles a mirror, this is usually seen in very poor conditions. The ‘mirror’ itself gets covered in deep penetrating scratches and gouges and dulls very quickly if not kept in cottonwool. Any creasing ruins it totally and although this had light surface marks they show little and normal viewing reveals little unwanted. It retains fantastic shine and high reflective quality, it has aged little at all. The now frail box around the mirror usually split, tears and creases having limited support from the cut out but here the ‘frame’ is like new and even devoid of hairline creases. Not only that, the cover front is mainly silver ink and we all know this means rubbing and darkening, this just has a light trace of rubbing at the top. Also included is the original thin unlined lyric inner. This is also in fantastic condition and has remained unsplit or torn or even creased. What a stunning set this is and believe me, it’s so rare in this condition. One for the connoisseur prog and Uriah Heep collector, I am very unlikely to ever find a better example with a first pressed record inside.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High+++: [Unlaminated covers are always the most vulnerable for rubbing, fading, sticker tears and ringwear, gatefolds are more prone still and the darker they are, the more this type of wear occurs and shows. Some sleeves have a textured finish or die-cut shaped edges or ‘windows’. These are even more delicate and the hardest to find in top condition. Fully laminated covers are more resistent to wear but often the laminate ages with dulling, creases and blistering. Many 60s covers have outer flipback construction, these are very vulnerable to damage]. (US covers are the most fragile of all, very rarely laminated and made with thick brittle card that rubs and ringwears badly. Seams and edges split easily). Please see format below to access this cover’s potential for wear and damage.

Cover Grade and Format: Very strong EX+ and almost certainly undergraded for its sheer fragility, it probably merits another (+). A single format, unlaminated with the front cut out square for the mirror. This reflective part is totally encased and cannot be removed as was the design of this original, rarer E. J. Day Cover. Slightly later versions were manufactured by Robor. This has the Island Records distribution credits.

Cover Front: I have largely described this above and I reitterate again, this is superb with few marks or blemishes but has a light friction rub at the top but barely any creasing at all. A little corner tip rubbing encroaches into view but few will ever avoid it as the silver ink is so delicate. The cut out edges for the mirror are pristine with no burring or feathering at all, never seen better ever. The ‘mirror’ has no creases of any real note with just a couple of tiny raised pin-head sized spots that just catch light. Light friction rubs that totally disappear with normal viewing and any surface marks are just ultra fine and faint hairlines, again they only show with scrutiny under light. This retains its mirror-like quality with great reflective quality and finding this much better will prove difficult. Due to the shine and reflection, I photographed the front without flash.

Cover Back: Again difficult to find like this, clean with few marks and no ugly ringwear that blights the majority. Barely any noteworthy creases and practically devoid of rubbing. Light cornertip crease bottom right but little else to fault.

Top Edges: A few tiny surface chips, very little rubbing.

Bottom Edges: Light patchy rubbing.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering. The front edge is double thickness as this mirror is encased and cannot be removed. Record entered on this right outside edge.

Spine and Text: This spine is thin and very fragile, it has a little compression in places but possibly there from manufacture. With the totally sealed mirror design this probably has effected manufacture on the spine edge a little. Minimal traces of wear, the odd tiny chip or two but most of the text is present if somewhat difficult to read being a pale blue on silver background.

Corners: The highly vulnerable corners have light to moderate tip area rubs, the most wear on the entire cover infact proving just how fine this one is. Small tip creases on a couple too.

Cover Summary: Few within the prog genre are more delicate or wear-prone than this. When such a large amount of card is removed to make a ‘window’, the weakening of the cover’s structure is more than obvious. The lack of damage to the mirror edges is unusual and a huge bonus and the overall lack of any significant wear makes a strong example that should please most collectors.

The Inner: EX++ unlined and with all the lyrics. Clean, attractive with few marks of blemishes, all edges secure and unsplit. The top opening has a recessed edge and even this is neat and sharp and the overall lack of creasing is highly refreshing. Still very white with no gum darkening or toning. A lovely inner to match the excellent cover.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX++ and very close Mint(-) and I bet most would grade as such. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and quite heavily pressed. Just a couple of ultra faint surface paper rubs almost certainly the unlined inner card inner the culprit – we have all seen them and many present from new but look very hard to see these. A copy that truly looks hardly even played on all the evidence. Visually a super record that should please 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 snippetts 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This lovely, first pressed Bronze-Island record plays up too its 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. Practically devoid of any surface sounds, this is a superb pressing and was a joy to play-grade, no pops or clicks were noted. Few copies will match or outperform this beautifully preserved record. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this scarce title. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better. Taking the whole package, its a copy I very strongly recommend, I doubt if I will ever find a much better all round example as a first pressing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

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 unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. 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 – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. US; Australia; Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£35).

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 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. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.