CLARK-HUTCHINSON A=MH2 RARE ORIG UK 1970 DECCA NOVA LP

	£		166
	$		220

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options.

Artist or Band: CLARK-HUTCHINSON

Album Title: A = MH2.

Producer(s): Peter Shertser and Ian Sippen.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Improvisation on a Modal Scale; Acapulco Gold; Impromptu in E Minor.

Side 2: Textures in 3/4; Improvisation on an Indian Scale.

Label/Format: Decca Nova (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both look fantastic: ultra clean, fresh and highly attractive with only very light and faint spindle marks. A copy that looks hardly played reitterated by stunning sound.

Cat Number: SDN.R.2.

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. A typically fine weight for this Decca record.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Very scarce: a highly collectable label for prog connoisseurs. The Nova series on Decca featured bands and artists that had minimal commercial potential and few sold in any great numbers.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: XZAL-9021-P-1W / XZAL-9022-P-1W

Stamper Codes: 1 U / 1 U

Musicians: Mick Hutchinson and Andy Clark play the vast array of instruments.

Brief Info: An extraordinary work and the debut album from this progressive duo. A cult classic album and one most progressive connoisseurs rate very highly. Mick Hutchinson is a highly gifted guitarist and here he pushes the instrument to new boundaries. Superbly recorded this is a wonderfully creative album blending rock with blues, jazz and Eastern elements. Being on Nova, this was thought to have little commercial potential by Decca and its hardly the most common album you will ever see. Something of a ‘lost’ classic on vinyl, finding a better example of this record will prove difficult and the actual sound could hardly be better. Blistering guitar and a dynamic production and very ‘progressive’ set indeed. The record has a few very faint whispy surface marks but these have no sound and this record offers supreme sound. The Nova label bands and artists are highly sort-after by specialist collectors and this must rank as one of the very best on this rare label.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a single format with front Clarifoil laminate. The back has the peep-hole mono/stereo indicator. The original blue inner is included which denotes this is a stereo copy. Printed and made in England by Moore & Matthes Ltd.

Lamination & Front: This front has minimal traces of wear: a tiny cornertip crease top right but little else. The laminate is very solid and fully adhered with no lifts of blisters. Very clear, fresh and shiny, only under angled light can some light friction dulling be seen. The artwork so intense black, it is very revealing. With normal viewing this looks nigh-on perfect with any barely any creasing at all. This starkly brilliant Nova cover front will prove hard to find much better.

Cover Back: The back is exceptional: still very white with minimal traces of any grubbiness or wear, the lack or ringwear is great news too. The peep-hole crisp and neat. A very fine old price sticker residue trace showing as a round dull, can be seen under light but this has not disturbed the surface at all, so no tears or pull marks. Barely any creasing or rubbing and retaining an unusual freshness for these types, this back complements the superb beautifully. The text includes a section by John Peel who was clearly a great fan of this act.

Top Edge: Just a tiny rub to the right corner tip.

Bottom Edge: Practically wear-free.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering, guranteed untrimmed. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: The spine is nigh-on perfect: solid, straight with barely any compressions, the ends tapered in manufacture. All text is perfect and unworn, but centred a little low under the solid and uncracked laminate.

Corners: All four are very neat indeed and retain great shape with mimimal traces of wear.

Cover Summary: A very strong all round example of this rare late 60’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This elusive item should please most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: the typical Decca-style blue inner denoting a stereo copy to fill the peep-hole on the back cover. This is polylined and this remains firm and has great clarity seen through two immaculate crisp window circles. One corner crease and maybe a little faded but all edges intact with only mild rub traces near the edges.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: this being arguably harsh as the record plays practically Mint as made. Side one does have numerous fine and faint surface marks seen under light, side two very few. My best explanation of this is dry cloth cleaning which is not as nearly safe as many think. Any dry friction rubbing to a record’s surface with no matter what, can and will leave fine surface marks. These are totally superficial and non-sounding and only really seen critically under light. Still a fine visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed. I am sure this has been played little reitterated by wonderful clean sound. Visually a super record that should please many collectors, but not for those who only want surfaces that look like new.

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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This rare Nova record plays above it’s visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high indeed with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. A beautifully produced album with genuine high fidelity sound, this sounds little short of when made, the fine surface marks are simply ignored. Any surface sounds registered little and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing for what is a challenging album that does have some quieter moments. Complex guitar sounds and multi-instrumentation, this is a piece de resistance of engineering and the guitar sounds are little short of extraordindary. All being equal, this should have sold a lot of copies and with more promotion it probably would have done, but like so many acts on this cult label, many are well-kept secrets. Not perfect visually, but more than compensated by clear, focused and blistering sound, Decca pressings are second to none for toughness and quality, clean sound. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record only my third ever and it’s been some while since I had the others. With sound this clean and a cover looking superb, a copy strongly recommended – any doubts however…

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.

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.

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 stiffners 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: 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 & 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 [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 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 [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, 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’.