FREE Fire and Water RARER ORIG UK 1970 TEXTURED PINK ISLAND EX LP, SUPERB SOUND.

	£		161
	$		213

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: FREE

Album Title: Fire and Water

Producer(s): Free and John Kelly

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Fire and Water; Oh I Wept; Remember; Heavy Load.

Side 2: Mr. Big; Don’t Say You Love Me; All Right Now.

Label/Format: Island – first issue format with matt, deeply textured rough surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both look terrific: very clean, fresh and highly attractive examples showing only minimal spindle marks, only seen with angled viewing. This format was available for the briefest time, soon to be smooth and then on pink rim.

Cat Number: ILPS 9120

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: 156 grams. This is heavy, also pressed by Philips/Polydor.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: A notoriously difficult album to find with a clean pressed record and decent cover. Pressed several times in different forms – and that just the early ones – many suffer crackle, often heavy and pressing issues with distortion. That beautiful music and sound often ruined. But this ultimate first pressing delivers with superb audio quality with little unwanted. The sound of a first issue is unlikely to be beaten, modern digital copies have always especially disappointed me. This album more often seen heavily played and badly scratched, combine that with inconsistent pressing quality, finding the earliest copies especially that offer the finest audio quality is beyond difficult. Well this one appears very modestly used with two gorgeous textured labels, and importantly, it has no pressing issues. Also, by its unforgiving nature, the cover has fared quite well, with most of any wear on the edges, but not the spine or opening. Made with very flimsy thin card, and in this case, with a heavy record inside, that is almost the least to be expected. The textured pink label originals are at more of a premium anyway and not seen too often, so with all considered, this is a scarce very fine example. Certainly one of the very best I have seen or heard ever.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9120 A//1 1 ? / ILPS 9120 B//1 1 1 1 2 C

Musicians: Paul Rodgers – Vocals; Paul Kossoff – Guitars; Andy Fraser – Bass; Simon Kirke – Drums.

Brief Artist & Album Info: A classic and popular album in the Free catalogue, but so very difficult to find devoid of often significant pressing issues. A trait of the time for this label, when was the last time you heard a ‘perfect’ copy of King Crimson’s 1970 ‘Lizard’ album? I consider Fire and Water to be almost as difficult. But this Philips originals plays beautifully and offers that stunning production and detail discerning collectors crave. Featuring their best-known line up of Fraser, Rodgers, Kossoff and Kirke this band had a wonderfully unique sound. Beautifully produced by themselves and John Kelly, the driving bass lines are especially noteworthy. On ‘Mr Big’ and the supreme long version of ‘All Right Now’ the strings throb and resonate with significant impact and detail, you can actually see the speaker cloth moving. Brilliant blues-tinged rock, Free really deserve more acclaim than they ultimately get. Kossoff is a legendary guitar hero and Rogers vocals are sublime and expressive, together with that wonderful bass-rich sound they made stunning music. All preserved and heard to near maximum advantage on this genuine first issue. Knowing just how variable pressing quality is on this title, I will never buy any copy without hearing it first, and this one failed to disappoint. Now my reference copy as I put to disc for my own future pleasure – put simply – this blows away any modern digital copy I have heard. Those stunning deep bass notes fully intact and powerful, they simply seem lost or diluted on revamped or tweaked modern versions. Never mess with perfection, and this is how Fire and Water should be heard, and its simply stunning.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(–): a single unlaminated format with a matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press, includes the Polydor/Philips date-coded (June 1970) inner sleeve.

Cover Front & Back: Thin matt card with a thick heavyweight record inside usually means heavy ringwear and rubbing. But in terms of this, it has little. Gentle rim impression with light dulling seen around it under light, but no penetrating ringwear or ink erosion which is seldom avoided. The front has some fine marks, the back hardly any. Some creasing, mostly fine, again viewed normally, not showing too much. Colour remains strong with no fading, no sticker marks or tears, the graphics overall quite impressive.

Top Edge: Very thin but straight with only light patchy rubbing, most near the ends which is nearer moderate.

Bottom Edge: Rubbing is more moderate and less patchy.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, fairly sharp with any thickening or burring reasonably light (for thin card), these are guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, quite straight with a moderate compression in places. The ends are pinched in manufacture. The white surface is clean and devoid of toning or rubbing, all text is present and unworn, that I consider a significant plus.

Corners: The corners have moderate rubbing with fine shape retained and no knocks.

Cover Summary: A difficult cover, and this has some light wear and mild visual blemishes. Not for the highly discerning but this should please many collectors, especially those who understand just how challenging it is to find better.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(–): a Polydor-style polylined inner that is date-coded 0670 (June 1970), the exact time of issue in the UK. This has aged with the usual discolouration, especially on the seam adhesive areas. One tear on the front window I repaired as neatly as I could, but neat and crisp otherwise, the lining quite clear as seen. Modest creasing and one edge split I also repaired, the others are intact and fine.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: this being critical, compared to most very early copies I have seen and heard, this is close to exceptional. Very clean with excellent shine and heavily pressed with a substantial weight and two fantastic textured labels. A top-quality Philips pressing that, quite honestly, puts most others I have heard to shame – truly, over time, I have found this one of the most difficult Island albums to ever find that will play well throughout. Only under my bright ‘grading lamp’ are very fine and faint surface marks seen, totally harmless hairlines or finer wispy traces. The merest hint of inner sleeve dulling being ultra critical, this barely even registers, and even less so when viewed normally in standard room light. Unless visual perfection is mandatory, this superb genuine first issue will please many, if not most 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 Island classic plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault – and yes, I do know what a bold statement this is. It offers strong distortion-free sound with no pressing or tracking issues* and the visual evidence suggests this is pressed on very pure vinyl. Sadly, around this time of the oil crisis and shortage, many records were pressed on recycled vinyl or a mixture of old and new. Thus noisy records are far from uncommon especially around 1971-72. I have stated before, I bought a copy of King Crimson’s ‘Earthbound’ brand new, just to find a piece of old record label actually embedded in the playing area of the record, how much more proof was needed? I have been very disappointed with some very clean looking copies of this album before, and when discussing with collectors and customers, they have experienced just the same problems. Island records pressings were known to be variable: some superb at best, some noisy – King Crimson’s ‘Lizard’ a real case in point with some shocking ones experienced on occasions. This album is equally as hard, finding a pink, or even an early pink rim copy with minimal surface or pressings sounds is a real achievement. So, at last a copy with hardly anything to fault, any surface sound minimal, hardly any at all. The lack of loud irritating crackle a massive plus, all the vocals and instruments clear, focused and sharp without even a hint of clipping or degrading. An album with quiet passages, so ‘digital’ silence is unrealistic, but few will get close to beating this, the odd gentle tick being near impossible to avoid on such material. ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’, a more gentle, slow blues song being the most challenging on the set is unlikely to ever be heard ‘silent’, especially on very revealing equipment. The sound quality on this top-quality Philips pressing is VERY impressive with a wide dynamic range and that distinctive warm sound – the bass lines, as stated earlier, are high in the mix and very powerful giving the band their very distinctive sound. These on ‘Mr Big’ send shivers down the spine when played at volume. I have also found this album that does not tolerate heavy use or abuse well and I have heard several copies with high frequency clipping with the treble shattered by heavy pick-ups from the distant past – clearly this deep grooved copy has never suffered such abuse or mistreatment. Nothing whatsoever spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this sublime album, the mix and detail is just how it should – original as made, not revamped or faffed around with. A copy that merits my highest possible recommendation, if you have waited longer than you care to remember for a super-clean sound original – the wait could be over – this plays beautifully – do not lose this timeless classic.

* 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 programmes. 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’.