WOODEN HORSE (First Album) VERY RARE ORIG UK 1972 YORK LP, PLAYS VERY WELL.

	£		157
	$		208

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

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks 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. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full 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. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

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. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: WOODEN HORSE

Album Title: Wooden Horse

Producer(s): Deke Arlon and Wooden Horse

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Crazy Thoughts; Wake Me in the Morning; Trees; Northern Beaches; This is a Song; Broken Bottles.

Side 2: Eastbound Train; Gentle Mind; Come Around; Feel; Letter; Loving Man.

Label/Format: York Records with matt surfaces that are gently textured.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a tiny few very light, fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. Any tiny tiny spot imperfections are purely within manufacture.

Catalogue Number: FYK 403

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: 143 grams. York Records were a tiny and rare off-shoot of Decca Records, this was pressed by the more well-known parent company. So although the label itself is rare and seldom even seen, it was manufactured by Decca so quality is virtually assured.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Rare, this using the term correctly. Forget mass-produced classics described as ‘rare’, it’s finding them in top condition that makes those harder to find. This album sold in near minuscule numbers – their follow-up is reputed never to have been issued at all. So this debut is not as hard to find as that, but is still a very elusive album that went largely ignored on issue. This copy appears hardly played, but does have a couple of fine surface marks that do virtually nothing. This delicate album plays very well indeed with little unwanted, and that is some achievement for a fragile record like this. The fact is was manufactured by Decca means a high-quality pressing and more tolerant of relatively minor visual blemishes. Certainly not one seen often and for sound, it will not be beaten easily.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: XZAL-11135.P-1L / XZAL-11136.P-1L

Mothers / Stampers: 1 B / 1 B [an ultimate first pressing with the very first stampers] But how many were actually pressed at all?

Musicians: Susan Traynor – vocals; Neil Brockbank – Bass; David Mateer, Malcolm Harrison – vocals, acoustic guitar; Stephen Marwood – vocals, acoustic lead guitar.

Brief Info: ‘Wooden Horse’ is the debut album from the band of the same name. They originated from Australia, toured and stayed in England and cut two albums. The second ‘Wooden Horse II’ was apparently withdrawn and not even issued making that an immensely difficult record to find, especially with a cover. Although this debut album is not as rare as ‘II’, it is still a very elusive and scarse title in its own right. A really lovely quite delicate folk harmony set and a delight to listen to. Comparisons can be made to the likes of CSNY, Trees and Spriguns, even Peter, Paul and Mary, but slightly less polished and mellow than them all which makes their sound even more delightful. Like other gems of the period, this went largely unnoticed and lost in the mist-of-time. Their female vocalist became better known during the 1970s as Noosha Fox in the short-lived band Fox who had a couple of hit singles and album. This album has become very collectable and sort-after by folk fans and the label is also very desirable. This copy appears little played, as stated it does have a couple of fairly fine surface line marks, but are superficial, non-feelable or sounding. The very thin unprotected matt cover has a little wear and minor blemishes, but very respectable as-seen. Given its considerable rarity, this is a copy that will please many collectors and the audio quality remains highly impressive for a delicate set of genuine beauty.

Cover Grade and Format: VERY GOOD(++): a single unlaminated format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by the Upton Printing Group, includes the Decca-style polylined inner sleeve. Interestingly, the back states ‘Laminated with Clarifoil’. Maybe intended to be, but wasn’t, probably to keep the cost down for a album that had little chance of commercial success?

Cover Front: Thin card and delicate, so the heavy record has pressed to cause some light to near moderate ring wear mostly to the top and bottom. A small puncture mark near the bottom edge and two minute, possibly staple holes to its right that show little. Not too much creasing and those present mostly quite fine with very modest visibility. As seen, a vintage HMV price code (B) sticker near the top right, those were used to denote the costs of records by the company instead of pricing different records individually – a system not utilised (from memory) for very long. Overall a very respectable front that does of course remind of age to a certain degree.

Cover Back: The back is better with the puncture mark now really small only. A little grubbiness near the edges with any ring wear very light and gentle only. A little burring to the top edge towards the right, but generally all is neat and still quite clean with any creasing again quite light and equally light.

Top & Bottom Edges: Moderately and consistently rubbed, but being white, this has far less visual impact. No splits or repairs.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, fairly sharp with any thickening or burring only light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: More against-the-odds, spine remains in very impressive condition with hardly any real wear at all. Solid, but thin, straight with barely any compression. All text is nigh-on perfect and unworn and also quite well centred on the narrow depth. Any rubbing to the white surface at the very tip ends.

Corners: All rubbed at per the edges, again pale, so less evident. Fine to very fine shape mostly retained with no bashes.

Cover Summary: A highly respectable example of this elusive cover, enough to remind of age, but most on the top and bottom edges. Such a fragile cover, and a shame it was not laminated as clearly was the original intention if you believe the cover’s ‘Clarifoil’ reference that failed to materialise. Not for perfectionists or purists, but if ‘perfection’ is demanded from the rarer albums, they would hardly ever be offered at all. This is still a very nice example that will please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): the Decca-style polylined inner is still clean with two immaculate window circles, the lining fresh and still quite clear. Minimal creasing with all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: arguably better. Even with a couple of quite fine surface marks each side that are visible, this grading is more than merited in my opinion. It appears very little played and offers clean impressive sound above this grading. The fine marks are non-feelable or penetrating, thus superficial and of no affect to the quite delicate music and songs. Any other visual blemishes seen with more scrutiny under bright light are very fine and faint and totally harmless again. Still a very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and quite heavily pressed. Manufactured by Decca with the prized 1 B / 1 B ultimate first mother and stamper codes. These are rarely seen, but go a long way to reiterate just how few copies of this album were even pressed. Whatever number were made, this for absolutely certain, is a very first run. 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 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 superb vocal-harmony folk album plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything 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 an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. Complex top-quality harmonies including Susan Traynor – later better known as Noosha Fox – the music mellow and quite fragile, so the best news possible, it was manufactured by Decca. For me, the very best and most reliable manufacturer of quality vinyl in the UK. With little real volume, the odd gentle faint tick is nigh-on impossible to avoid totally, but barely anything at all spoilt my pleasure whilst play-grading this, my first ever copy of this rare album. Few will outperform this prized 1B/1B pressing significantly I feel sure. The relatively minor visual blemishes are almost entirely ignored*. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played only lightly. Agreed, storage could have been better, but at 45-years-old, I have seen vast numbers of covers in far, FAR worse condition than this. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It could prove very difficult to find significantly better 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 2.2 grams.

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 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 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 it’s 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 programs. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 14­ 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. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

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 withdrawals. 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] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced 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’.