Cream Disraeli Gears 1st Press 1967 Reaction Labels & Fully Laminated Sleeve

	£		31
	$		41

I am selling off some of my collection and over the next few months will be listing some very nice and very rare albums and singles from the 50's through to the 90's!! I will be listing The Beatles, Cream, Purple, Zeppplin, The Stones, Small Faces, Floyd, Creedence Clearwater, Beach Boys and many, many more so please add me to your watch list as I may have something you need to help complete you collection!!!!

Artist or Band: Cream

Album Title: Disraeli Gears 

Producer(s): Felix Pappalardi

Cat Number: 593003 

Label/Format: Reaction Dark Blue Textured Labels with Silver Text.

Country of Manufacture: UK

Side 1: Strange Brew; Sunshine Of Your Love; World Of Pain; Dance The Night Away; Blue Condition.

Side 2:  Tales Of Brave Ulysses; Swlabr; We're Going Wrong; Outside Woman Blues; Take It Back; Mother's Lament.

Matrix Nos: Side 1: 5930031-A?1-1111 Side 2: 593003-B?1-11

Stamper Codes: Side 1: None Side 2: None

Other Markings/Etchings: Side 1: None Side 2: None

Musicians: Ginger Baker: Drums, percussion, vocals. Jack Bruce: Bass, piano, vocals, harmonica. Eric Clapton: Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, 12-string guitar, vocals.

Brief Artist & Album Info: "Disraeli Gears" is the second studio album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the group's American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller in 1968, and reaching No. 4 on the American charts. The album was No. 1 for two weeks on the Australian album chart and was listed as the No. 1 album of 1968 by Cash Box in the year-end album chart in the United States. The album features the two singles "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love".

Drummer Ginger Baker recalled how the album's title was based on a malapropism which alluded to 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli:

"You know how the title came about – Disraeli Gears – yeah? We had this Austin Westminster, and Mick Turner was one of the roadies who'd been with me a long time, and he was driving along and Eric (Clapton) was talking about getting a racing bicycle. Mick, driving, went 'Oh yeah – Disraeli gears!' meaning derailleur gears...We all just fell over...We said that's got to be the album title".

The album was recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York during May 1967, following the band's nine shows as part of Murray the K's "Music in the 5th Dimension" concert series. Cream's American label, ATCO, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantic Records.

The sessions were produced by future Mountain bassist Felix Pappalardi – who co-wrote the tracks "Strange Brew" and "World of Pain" with wife Gail Collins – and were engineered by Tom Dowd – who would later work with Clapton on projects such as Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs and 461 Ocean Boulevard. The owner of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun, was also present during the sessions.

According to Dowd the recording sessions took only three and a half days, a feat considering the length of the album. The band's visas expired on the very last day of recording.

"Disraeli Gears" features the group veering away, quite heavily, from their blues roots and indulging in more psychedelic sounds. The most blues-like tunes on the album are the remake of "Outside Woman Blues", the Bruce/Brown composition "Take it Back" which had been inspired by the contemporary media images of American students burning their draft cards which featured harmonica work by Jack Bruce, and the opening track "Strange Brew" which was based on a 12-bar blues song called "Lawdy Mama" and featured an Albert King guitar solo, copied note for note.

CONDITION

Labels:  The Reaction Dark Blue Textured Labels with Silver Text Labels are both in Reasonable condition. There Are signs of Spindle Wear and Spider Marks showing as you Can see from my Pictures. There is no Writing, Label Lifts or other Marks apart from Two tiny Tears near the Spindle on Side 1:. Side 2: is the Much better side. In saying that they Are still a Very nice looking pair of Labels. I will grade these as Good ++!!!! 

Vinyl: Plays throughout absolutely Superb with no Pops, Clicks or Jumps. The record still Retains that glossy sheen though there are a couple of surface marks and thumbnails to be seen, these in NO way interfere with the superb sound quality. This Album plays up to and  beyond its visual grading with hardly anything of note to fault. It offers strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. A typical polished production from Felix Pappalardi. Minimal surface sound and no tracking issues. This play-grade proved a real pleasure when playing this fast disappearing album, this being the first example I have had for some time, and possibly the Best all-round one for me yet. It will prove quite difficult to find a significantly Better copy and merits a Very strong recommendation. I would grade both sides as Very Good ++!!!!

Cover:  This is an Original 1970 UK 1st Press Fully Laminated "E.J Day" Cover. The cover art was created by Australian artist Martin Sharp who lived in the same building as Clapton, The Pheasantry in Chelsea. The photography was by Bob Whitaker, known for works by The Beatles including the controversial Yesterday and Today "butcher" cover. The front cover consists of a psychedelic collage with the title centred and band name below, surrounded by a floral arrangement. Martin Sharp was attempting to capture the sound of the music in the cover, which he describes as a "warm fluorescent sound". What a Fantastic Cover. The Colours are still Vivid and Bright without any Dulling or Fading. There are no Laminate Lifts, Splits, Tears or Writing anywhere. There are Quite a few Creases to the Front and Back but None of these are Split or Torn. All three Edges are lightly Rubbed and The Opening is Frayed and all four Corners are Bumped. It's nigh on IMPOSSIBLE to find this in Anything approaching Excellent Condition as most are Spent, Torn and Worn due to the age and nature of these Fragile Covers!! This is Now over 50 Years Old so some of the Faults listed Are to be Expected. However I would be happy enough to grade this as Good +!!!!

Cover Summary: Not seen often, this one is inDecent condition with only Reasonable clues of age. This classic cover should (as described) please Many collectors.

Inner Sleeve: Unfortunately this is Not the correct Inner for this Album and the Plain White one Supplied is in Excellent condition.

Album Played For Grading: I play/grade ALL records I offer before submitting, I also play them in their 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. I use a Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge and Linn Lingo, with my Linn system and Forest Totem Speakers. This system is guaranteed  to pick up any distortion or interference within the sound.

Grading: In my opinion I REFUSE to believe that there is ANY record that can be truly graded as Mint, the BEST that could be offered is Mint- (minus)!!!! Especially so from the 50's, 60's, 70's or up to the present date!!!! Even copies bought new today would have some form of imperfection on the Record or Cover!!!! Under that assumption I will NEVER use the word Mint in any of my descriptions and Mint- is the HIGHEST grade I would ever use. So I will only offer Excellent, Good or Poor with a -(minus), +(plus) or ++(plus,plus)!!!!

Postage: All of my records will be professionally packaged. I use Dependapack Vinyl Record Mailers that have locking tab closures with strong locking tab record wraps. I also use corrugated record stiffeners and extra strong tape marked with Handle With Care. This is to ensure your Valuable Record/s are protected whilst in transit. I will add a nominal fee of .40p to my postage and packaging for this service. Any Record valued at £100 or more I would prefer to send by Special Delivery/International Signed For.

INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS PLEASE NOTE!!

I am NOT here to make a Profit on the Post. However MOST buyers (and rightly so) pay for Economy Postage which goes by Ship and not Plane. I have been instructed by the Post Office that Economy Postage can take UP to 10 weeks (and beyond) to reach some destinations. If you pay for Economy then that HAS to be the method I will ship your Item. Should at any time I (mistakenly) Overcharge I will Immediately Refund the payment. My Word is my Bond so please have Faith. I had to put this statement up because at the moment I seem to be paying more to send my Items than I'm actually charging. Unfortunately I have NO control over Postage rates.