GRATEFUL DEAD Blues For Allah EX+ '75 1ST PRESS SANTA MARIA ARTISAN 1A/1A INSERT

$

40

Vinyl:  EX+ Play Graded. Sounds Excellent!  Super high gloss vinyl.  Superb Fidelity!  Light superficial scuffs visible under bright light but have no impact on sound quality.  Grateful Dead Labels are Clean and Bright.   This is the 1975 Grateful Dead Records 1ST PRESSING!! GD-LA494-G.  1A/1A.  This is the audiophile acclaimed pressing, Mastered at Artisan Sound Recorders, Pasadena, CA and pressed at Columbia's Santa Maria, CA Pressing Plant!!.  Deeper waters for Dead exploration, this one has the mystical, inscrutable title song and the exuberance of Franklin's Tower, the delicate poetry of Crazy Fingers and the celebration of The Music Never Stopped.  Crucial Dead!  In'Sh'allah!  all music gives it 4 1/2 stars!!  See Review Below!
In The Dead Wax:  Side 1:  GD-LA494-A-1A  the glyph for Artisan Sound Recorders   D2   S ((Columbia's Santa Maria, CA Pressing Plant))
Side 2:    GD-LA494-B-1A  the glyph for Artisan Sound Recorders   B    S ((Columbia's Santa Maria, CA Pressing Plant))
Cover: VG+ (see photos).  NO BARCODE!  Includes the Lyric Insert and the original polyvinyl-lined sleeve that it was originally released with.   Interestingly Mickey Hart is not on the back cover...he had recently rejoined the band after being shamed away when his dad/manager absconded with Dead money (see "He's Gone")...Mickey came back late in the recording, but not before the cover art was finished!   Nice gloss on cover. Front and back of cover artwork and text are rich, clear and bright, with some ring wear. Seams, corners and spine are solid, with some wear, chipping and a small light crease.  No splits.  No writing.  Spine print is worn.  
Goldmine Standards.   I play grade every record that I sell on eBay as I have found you can't rate a record accurately by just visually inspecting it.  I wipe the dust off of every cover with clean, unscented baby wipes.  I professionally clean the vinyl.  (I also operate a Vinyl Record Cleaning business for your dusty/dirty records--if interested, send me a message).
U.S. Shipping:  $4 Media Mail.  Tracking included.  50 cents additional shipping per additional item, when the shipment is combined.   If you wish to take advantage of my COMBINED SHIPPING deal, simply select your items by clicking on "ADD TO CART" on the main listing page.  Do this for all of your selections and then go to your cart to checkout. Your combined shipping discount will be computed automatically.  Free domestic shipping if you spend $100 or more!  
All records are packaged securely with the vinyl outside the jacket (to avoid seam split in transit). The vinyl and jacket are sandwiched between two cardboard stiffeners and shipped in a custom cardboard record mailer box. 
INTERNATIONAL BUYERS!  I CAN COMBINE SHIP FOR YOU AND MINIMIZE SHIPPING COSTS!!!  IF YOU TELL ME WHICH ITEMS YOU WANT TO BUY, I CAN WEIGH THEM AND THE PACKAGING TOGETHER AND THEN GO IN AND ADJUST THE LISTINGS ACCORDINGLY TO REFLECT THE EXACT WEIGHT OF THE COMBINED SHIPMENT!  THIS WILL SAVE YOU A LOT OF MONEY!!!  IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THIS, SEND ME A MESSAGE TELLING ME WHICH ITEMS YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE.
I ship internationally through EBay's Global Shipping Program.  Check to be sure that they ship to your country. Feel free to ask any questions and happy shopping! 
Once you're satisfied with your purchase, please leave positive feedback and I will do the same for you.  If you're unsatisfied, please let me know so we can resolve it.  I do not give partial refunds.  Take a look at my previous feedback and buy with confidence.   I've qualified for the "Top Rated Plus" seal from eBay, awarded to the most reputable sellers who consistently deliver outstanding customer service.  Check my other items this week, check back often & CLICK ON "SAVE THIS SELLER" at the top of my listings page to be notified of New Listings as I will be adding more Rare items in the coming weeks!  Thanks!

Why buy a first or early pressing and not a re-issue or a ‘re-mastered’ vinyl album? 
First and early pressings are pressed from the first generation lacquers and stampers. They usually sound vastly superior to later issues/re-issues (which, in recent times, are often pressed from whatever 'best' tapes or digital sources are currently available) - many so-called 'audiophile' new 180g pressings are cut from hi-res digital sources…essentially an expensive CD pressed on vinyl.  Why  experience the worse elements of both formats?  These are just High Maintenance CDs, with mid-ranges so cloaked with a veil as to sound smeared.  They are nearly always compressed with murky transients and a general lifelessness in the overall sound.  There are exceptions where re-masters/re-presses outshine the original issues, but they are exceptions and not the norm.  First or early pressings nearly always have more immediacy, presence and dynamics. The sound staging is wider.  Subtle instrument nuances are better placed with more spacious textures. Balances are firmer in the bottom end with a far-tighter bass. Upper-mid ranges shine without harshness, and the overall depth is more immersive.  Inner details are  clearer.   On first and early pressings, the music tends to sound more ‘alive’ and vibrant.  The physics of sound energy is hard to clarify and write about from a listening perspective, but the best we can describe it is to say that you can 'hear' what the mixing and mastering engineers wanted you to hear when they first recorded the music.   

AllMusic Review by Lindsay Planer  [-]

The Grateful Dead went into a state of latent activity in the fall of 1974 that lasted until the spring of the following year when the band reconvened at guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir's Ace Studios to record Blues for Allah. The disc was likewise the third to be issued on their own Grateful Dead Records label. When the LP hit shelves in September of 1975, the Dead were still not back on the road -- although they had played a few gigs throughout San Francisco. Obviously, the time off had done the band worlds of good, as Blues for Allah -- more than any past or future studio album -- captures the Dead at their most natural and inspired. The opening combo of "Help on the Way," "Slipknot!," and "Franklin's Tower" is a multifaceted suite, owing as much to Miles Davis circa the E.S.P. album as to anything the Grateful Dead had been associated with. "Slipknot!" contains chord changes, progressions, and time signatures which become musical riddles for the band to solve -- which they do in the form of "Franklin's Tower." Another highly evolved piece is the rarely performed "King Solomon's Marbles," an instrumental that spotlights, among other things, Keith Godchaux's tastefully unrestrained Fender Rhodes finger work displaying more than just a tinge of Herbie Hancock inspiration. These more aggressive works contrast the delicate musical and lyrical haiku on "Crazy Fingers" containing some of lyricist Robert Hunter's finest and most beautifully arranged verbal images for the band. Weir's guitar solo in "Sage & Spirit" is based on one of his warm-up fingering exercises. Without a doubt, this is one of Weir's finest moments. The light acoustic melody is tinged with an equally beautiful arrangement. While there is definite merit in Blues for Allah's title suite, the subdued chant-like vocals and meandering melody seems incongruous when compared to the remainder of this thoroughly solid effort.