JIMI HENDRIX Electric Ladyland TRACK UK LP NEAR MINT

	£		145
	$		192

JIMI HENDRIX - ELECTRIC LADYLAND

• TRACK
• 613008/09
• MATRIX:613008 A-1 / B-2 ; 613009 A-1 / B-2

THIS STUNNING ALBUM HAS A RATHER INTERESTING STORY ATTACHED TO IT SURROUNDING THE SLEEVE, BUT I WILL SAVE THAT FOR THE SLEEVE DESCRIPTION.

A VERY SOUGHT AFTER 2 LP SET, AND THIS IS IN VERY VERY COLLECTIBLE CONDITION INDEED.

PLAY TESTED ALL THE WAY THROUGH 4 SIDES TO ENSURE ACCURACY OF DESCRIPTION

THE RECORD

THE 4 MATT BLACK LABELS ARE IN SUPERB CONDITION. THERE ARE NO STAINS OR MARKS, AND THE SILVER TYPEFACE IS BOLD AND IN ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION. THE SPINDLE HOLES ARE TOTALLY UNWORN, AND CLEARLY THE LP HAS BEEN PLAYED WITH CARE. IN FACT I BELIEVE IT HAS HAD FEWER THAN 5 PLAYS EVER, DUR TO THE NUMBER OF SPIDER LINES NEAR THE SPINDLE HOLE. ACTUALLY IT MAT BE FEWER, AS TWO SIDES HAVE ONLY 2 SPIDER LINES, ONE HAS THREE, AND THE LAST HAS 6. THIS IS THE SIDE OPPOSITE TO VOODOO CHILE, WHICH WAS THE STANDOUT TRACK ON THE ALBUM, AND I BELIEVE THIS WAS PLAYED A COUPLE OF TIMES MORE THAN THE OTHER SIDES. HAVING SAID THAT, CLEARLY THIS IS AN ALBUM SET THAT HAS HAD VERY VERY LITTLE PLAY

THE VINYL HAS RETAINED ALL OF ITS SHINE, AND LOOKS SUPERB. EVEN UNDER INTENSE ILLUMINATION THERE ARE A FEW LIGHT HANDLING LINES VISIBLE WHEN TILTING THE VINYL INTO THE LIGHT, BUT THESE WILL BE NON SOUNDING, AND A S I SAID THERE ARE ABOUT FIVE IN TOTAL . THERE IS ALSO ONE VERY LIGHT AND I DO MEAN LIGHT SCUFF, BUT ONCE AGAIN THIS IS NOT GOING TO SOUND. THE VINYL LOOKS NEARLY NEW

GENTLY LOWERING THE STYLUS ONTO THE RECORD

 NEAR SILENCE!!!

THE RUN IN GROOVE HAS NO  BACKGROUND NOISE WHATSOEVER ! JUST A BIT OF STATIC

THE STEREO PERFORMANCE FROM ALL SIDES OF THIS ALBUM IS MAGNIFICENT, AND THE CLARITY OF SOUND IS JUST IMMACULATE. VERY TRACK PLAYS TO PERFECTION. THERE IS NO FRYING BACON WHATSOEVER, AND NO CLICKS, OR DISTORTION FROM GROOVE WEAR.

I DID HEAR THE VERY VERY ODD LIGHT POP, PROBABLY FROM LODGED DUST, AND SOME VERY OCCASIONAL LIGHT AND BARELY AUDIBLE STATIC IN ONE OR TWO SPOTS

I BELIEVE THIS WOULD BE VERY VERY HARD TO UPGRADE FROM, AND I AM PERFECTLY HAPPY TO GRADE THIS VINYL NEAR MINT

THE SLEEVE

WELL AS I MENTIONED THERE IS A STORY BEHIND THIS SLEEVE, AND TO BE HONEST I HAVE HEARD THIS SAME STORY ONCE BEFORE ON A PREVIOUS LISTING A YEAR OR SO AGO. THE ORIGINAL OWNER PURCHASED THIS WHEN IT WAS ORIGINALLY RELEASED BACK IN 1968 FROM A RECORD STORE. THE FAMOUS NAKED LADIES SLEEVE HOWEVER HAD BEEN TURNED INSIDE OUT, IN OTHER WORDS THE SHOP KEEPER HAD FOLDED THE SLEEVE THE OTHER WAY TO ENSURE THE NAKED POSES WERE ON THE INSIDE GATEFOLD AND NOT ON THE OUTSIDE. I SUSPECT HE DIDN'T WANT TO OFFEND PURCHASERS, OR TO PROTECT UNDERAGE KIDS FROM HANDLING THE SLEEVE. THE PREVIOUS OWNER WAS TOTALLY UNAWARE THAT THIS WAS THE CASE, AND HAS KEPT IT LIKE THIS SINCE 1968.

NATURALLY I HAVE REVERSED THE SLEEVE, BUT THIS HAS CAUSED TWO THINGS GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS I SUPPOSE. THE BAD NEWS IS THAT THE LAMINATE ON THE SPINE SPLIT AS I WAS REVERSING THE SPINE. NOTHING TERRIBLE, AND IT HASN'T IMPACTED ON THE FRONT OR BACK SURFACES, AND YOU CAN SEE THIS FROM THE PICTURES I HAVE POSTED. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE OUTER SLEEVE WHICH USUALLY SUFFERS FROM CREASING AND RING WEAR HAS BEEN PROTECTED SINCE NEW BY BEING THE INNER GATEFOLD, AND IT LOOKS MAGNIFICENT, ALMOST LIKE NEW IN FACT.

THE FRONT SURFACE IS FLAT AND CLEAN, AND GLEAMS LIKE NEW. I HAVE COUNTED ONLY THREE TINY LAMINATE LINES , TWO NEAR THE SPINE, AND ONE ON THE TOP EDGE, THERE IS ALSO A SMALL THUMB LINE. TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES ARE VIRTUALLY SHELF WEAR FREE, AND THE OPENING EDGE IS VERY SHARP AND REFLECTS HOW FEW TIMES THE LP'S HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN OUT OF THE SLEEVE.

THE REAR SURFACE IS EVERYBIT AS GOOD AS THE FRONT. OPENING THE GATEFOLD REVEALS THE VERY GLOSSY PICTURE OF JIMI. THIS WAS OF COURSE THE OUTER GATEFOLD FOR ALL THESE YEARS, BUT HAS BEEN PROTECTED BY A PLASTIC SLEEVE SINCE NEW, AND IS THEREFORE IN FANTASTIC CONDITION.

WITHOUT THE LAMINATE ON THE SPINE SPLIT I WOULD BE GRADING THIS SLEEVE NEAR MINT, WITH IT IT STILL WARRANTS AN EX+ GRADE. IT JUST LOOKS MAGNIFICENT.

I HAVE PUT IT BACK IN A NEW PLASTIC SLEEVE TO PROTECT THE LAMINATE FROM ANY FURTHER EXPOSURE

A SUPERB EXAMPLE OF THIS CLASSIC AND SOUGHT AFTER ALBUM

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR BID IF YOU CHOOSE TO GO FOR IT

REGARDS

GARRY