GRATEFUL DEAD American Beauty RARER ORIG UK 1971 EX++ LP, FANTASTIC SOUND/COVER.

	£		57
	$		76

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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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

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. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: GRATEFUL DEAD

Album Title: American Beauty

Producer(s): Grateful Dead and Steve Barncard

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Box of Rain; Friend of the Devil; Sugar Magnolia; Operator; Candyman.

Side 2: Ripple; Brokedown Palace; Till the Morning Comes; Attics of My Life; Truckin’.

Label/Format: Warner Bros, first press format with deep green matt, quite smooth surfaces. This has the correct first issue WS 1893 catalogue number.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only light, quite fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. Side one has hardly any and this superb first pressing looks hardly played and plays with fantastic clean sound.

Catalogue Number: WS 1893

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Few vintage records are ever perfectly ‘flat’, so some slight or very gentle arm movement is normal. If any record I offer has more than that, I will mention it, and it can be assumed all I offer should track without issues, even on budget turntables.

Weight of this Record: 157 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce, this was no major seller in the UK and failed to chart. First issue copies in this fantastic condition are rare. Only a few weeks after issue, the catalogue number was changed for the Kinney repressings, the labels became paler and the vinyl much thinner.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: WS 1893 A-1 *T / WS 1893 B-2 *T

Mothers / Stampers: K 1 / H 1

Musicians/Credits: Jerry Garcia – guitar, pedal steel, piano, vocals; Mickey Hart – percussion; Robert Hunter – lyrics; Bill Kreutzmann – drums; Phil Lesh – bass guitar, guitar, piano, vocals; Pigpen (Ron McKernan) – harmonica, vocals, lyrics; Bob Weir – guitar, vocals. With: David Grisman – mandolin; David Nelson – electric guitar; Ned Lagin – piano; Dave Torbert – bass guitar; Howard Wales – organ, piano.

Brief Info: Album number six, and second album issued in 1970, it was a prolific and creative time for this famed American psychedelic band. ‘American Beauty’ is a superb follow-up in a similar vain to the classic ‘Workingman’s Dead’, both were heavily influenced by Bob Dylan and Crosby, Stills and Nash with beautiful melodic quieter vocal songs. All shorter standard length compositions rather than the long expansive tracks they became known for. For me these two 1970 albums were their very best along with their debut. This is the first copy of this I have had in ages, and to date, the very best example – it plays superbly throughout and the cover equally impressive as-seen. A rare opportunity for fans of this legendary original band.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): arguably better. A single format with front laminate, thjis covers all the folds and ends on the back via the spine. The main back panel is matt and smooth, this has the correct first issue catalogue number. Printed and made in England by West Brothers Printers Ltd, includes the original polylined inner sleeve.

Lamination & Front: Another classic rock cover front and this one does nigh-on maximum justice. That beautiful rose graphic looks fantastic under shiny, fresh and clear laminate that has hardly any dulling, even under light, any lifting only very fine and patchy on the spine edge, and a tiny one on the bottom right corner tip – few will have less. Cover-protected by the one careful owner from new, this gorgous piece of cover art is a delight.

Cover Back: One fine thumb surface crease apart, just left of centre, this very wear-prone back has little else to fault and is very rarely seen as such. Any blemishes few and faint, the lack of ring wear on this dark surface is a massive plus and no sticker issues. An exceptional back to match the exceptional front.

Top Edge: Straight, smooth and unworn.

Bottom Edge: The fold is as above, just a little thickening of the end panel card to the left.

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

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this classic 1970’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find better. This beautiful UK first issue item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a heavy-duty polylined white inner that has aged a little with the usual darkening of the white paper and seam adhesive. There is little else to really fault. This is UK patented with ‘Foreign Patents Pending’ text. Two crisp, very neat window circles and intact polylining that is still nicely clear. The odd mild crease with a little natural crinkle, all edges have no splits or repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): arguably better. A superb visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and heavily pressed. A copy appearing hardly played on all the evidence with any surface traces few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Visually a super record that should 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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant, more vocal Grateful Dead album plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely 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 hardly even registered and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Few available copies will match or outperform this early first pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been very well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find better and can be strongly recommended. This is Grateful Dead at their melodic best.

* 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 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.