IF – SCARCE Orig UK 1970 1st Press Island Pink EX LP

	£		36
	$		48

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe (including Russia) £12. Rest of World £16. ALL signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes.

NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible after the very significant Royal Mail price increases and will never compromise on solid, safe packing.

Artist or Band: IF

Album Title: If

Producer(s): Lew Futterman.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: I’m Reaching Out on All Sides; What Did I Say About the Box, Jack?; What Can a Friend Say?

Side 2: Woman, Can You See (What this big thing is all about)?; Raise the Level of Your Conscious Mind; Dockland; The Promised Land.

Label/Format: Island – Original pink i format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only very few light spindle marks that show little. These labels have the most intense deep pink colour and look fabulous. A fantastic record that more than makes up for any cover wear and never easy to find like this.

Cat Number: ILPS 9129.

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: 133 grams. A quite typical weight for this one.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: an elusive Island album, this band’s album did not sell well within a fairly specialised genre and this is their most elusive debut album. Issued in September 1970, it was one of the very last new releases on the pink format before the pink rim version took over at the very end of the year. It has what I consider to be the most difficult cover within the Island catalogue too. A silver coated surface with a foil-like finish – a bit like the Cream ‘Wheels of Fire’ original, but this being even more fragile. In most cases, it wears very badly. It peels, flakes and tarnishes so easily, often with vast patches of stripped areas, rarely seen much above very good and so often in very poor and hugely tatty conditions. This has some flaking to the edges, and I have yet to see one that hasn’t, but most of the main surface foil is still present and overall, this is still a decent example. The record more than compensates with superb looks and sound.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9129 A * 1 1 1 1 / ILPS 9129 B 1 1 2 2

Musicians: John Mealing - organ, piano, vocals, arrangements; Terry Smith - lead guitar; Jim Richardson - bass guitar; Dennis Elliot - drums; Dick Morrissey - tenor sax, soprano sax, flute; J. W. Hodkinson - vocals, percussion; Dave Quincy - tenor sax, alto sax, flute.

Brief Info: A somewhat overlooked jazz-rock band that had considerably more success in Europe than their native UK. They made just two albums on Island before switching to UA, this being their first. It did not sell well and is somewhat elusive. Falling between bands like Soft Machine and Nucleus but easier on the ear and generally more melodic. If played progressive jazz-rock and even within this fairly specialised field, they only had limited success. Now with more interest in such bands and more collectors trying to put together an Island run, this title is becoming ever more difficult to track down. Near impossible in top conditions, the cover must rank as one of the most fragile and poor lasting ever made. It has an ultra-thin silver foil type surface that peals and falls off almost my looking at and it simply does withstand any careless handling or less than meticulous storage. Most are seen in simply terrible conditions and put into perspective, this one is still quite strong. The record looks and plays superbly with nigh-on pristine sound with a quality production too. So not for cover perfectionist, but the record is real nice.

Cover Grade and Format: VERY GOOD: and putting into perspective, arguably a little better. A single format with a tin-foil-type coating over the top of card. Made in England by the E. J. Day Group and includes it’s original date-coded inner sleeve (seen in close-up).

Cover Front: Firstly, for the few who actually bought this album when still available on the pink label, many would soon have realised this cover was not going to remain looking new for very long. Hence, many applied clear tape around all the edges to protect the impossibly fragile surfaces. I have seen several of these with edge tape that over time has browned, loosened and fell off leaving large bare areas of plain card. If the tape remains, it has browned and aged making the cover look even worse than if rubbed. Clearly put on with the best of inventions, but as most know, tape browns and dries out over time.

Most of any wear on this front is seen on the very edges. This one never had any tape applied and are totally intolerant of any contact or friction and will simply shed the micron thin coating. So some chipping is close to unavoidable on or near the very edges. The main area of the front is still intact and strong with only a few light marks and any of the few creases, very light indeed. It retains a fine degree of freshness and minus the edge chips, a contender for the best I have seen.

Cover Back: Even more prone to wear with a large area of silver-style ink. Unusually intact and retaining a fine shine. Minor blister traces and any edge rubbing or chipping this side much less or apparent. Numerous fine edge surface creases but the lack of penetrating ring wear a real bonus, and given all the facts, both front and back are still quite attractive with far less wear than average.

Top Edge: Somewhat amazingly, this retains most of it’s surface foil with any chips or rubbs very small, few and light.

Bottom Edge: Two areas with moderate rubbing, the rest patchy with around 40 per cent foil retained, this has chipped on to the front face a little.

Right Edge(s), and Type: A little thickened but still fairly neat and guaranteed untrimmed. Again, this edge has chipped on to the front face a little. This entrance edge is beyond fragile, but still reasonably solid without any significant feathering.

Spine and Text: The spine is similar to the bottom edge with only some foil left intact and the text pretty much gone. Also chipping has encroached on to the front a little. Where rubbing and chipping occurs on this cover, it can become flaky on these areas, so future care is required with cover protection to stop it spreading further.

Corners: The corners have rubbed but far from excessively, so they retain fine shape overall.

Cover Summary: For me, the main two faces are (put into context) in fine condition. I have seen these with huge areas of exposed bare card, the surface almost stripped off in huge clumps. With due care, these will last indefinitely. Yes, the edges have rubbed and most will be. So not for the more discerning collector who will have to wait for the near impossible to be offered, but in the meantime, this should please many realistic collectors, and the record itself is very impressive.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): this Polydor-press Island record includes it’s original polylined inner which has aged little with mimimal discolouration. A very clear lining is seen through two immaculate window circles and has few real creases, only minor crinkle and all edges unsplit with no repairs. This is date-coded 11/70 (seen in close-up), so a very late Island pink record and amongst the last to be issued before the pink rim format took over.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT to EXCELLENT(+): a super visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and solidly pressed. A copy played very modestly and it appears with care. Any surface marks are few and light, mostly fine hairline types as seen critically under bright angled light and has no penetrating scratches at all. 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 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: The cover clearly has some wear but the record itself more than compensates and plays with superb sound. Even exceeding it’s high visual grading with very little to fault, this will not prove easy to find much better. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. No pops or clicks were noted and minimal traces of any surface sound, overall this is an exceptional clean pressing for a fairly challenging album. Few copies will match or outperform this ultimately early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly modestly handled. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. The actual record will prove very difficult to match or find better and can be strongly recommended.

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 Terrarium 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 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 stiffeners 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 8,000+ items sold in over 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 2 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). 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 FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £4.25

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 (£17 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’.