JOHN MAYALL "A Hard Road" 1967 UK 1st STEREO PRESS EX+

	£		67
	$		89

 
JOHN MAYALL "A Hard Road" 1967 UK 1st STEREO PRESS EX+ UNBOXED LABELS, OUTSTANDING AUDIO - SOUNDS STUNNING

JOHN MAYALL AND THE BLUESBREAKERS
A Hard Road

ORIGINAL UK DECCA (SLK 4853) FIRST *STEREO* PRESSING (February 1967) OF JOHN MAYALL AND THE BLUES BREAKERS' SENSATIONAL "A Hard Road" LP

PRESSED ON QUALITY HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL WHICH DELIVERS A BEAUTIFUL, CRYSTAL CLEAR AND RICH SOUND WITH AN IMPRESSIVE LOUD CUT AND ABSOLUTELY SENSATIONAL AUDIO REPRODUCTION - WARM AND ASTONISHINGLY DETAILED WITH EVERY NUANCE IMPECCABLY RENDERED - DECCA ARE RIGHTLY FAMOUS FOR PRODUCING SOME OF THE BEST SOUNDING RECORDS OF THE PERIOD AND THIS IS ONE OF THEIR FINEST

THE LP HAS THE FIRST ISSUE BLUE w/SILVER TEXT *STEREO* UN-BOXED DECCA LOGO LABELS WITH THE EARLY DECCA CHARACTERISTIC GROOVE (discontinued in 1969)
MATRIX: ZAL - 7652 - 1W / ZAL - 7653 - 1W (very first stereo matrix)
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 2 (B) /(KT crossed out) BU & 1/H w/ 'KT' TAX CODE ON BOTH RUN-OFFS
AND IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL, FRONT LAMINATED COVER “Printed in England by Robert Stace” WITH THE CHARACTERISTIC TOP AND BOTTOM 'PINCHED' SPINE
COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL DECCA COMPANY INNER SLEEVE

Lineup: John Mayall, Peter Green, John McVie, Aynsley Dunbar

Eric Clapton is usually thought of as John Mayall's most important right-hand man, but the case could also be made for his successor, Peter Green.
The future Fleetwood Mac founder leaves a strong stamp on his only album with the Bluesbreakers, singing a few tracks and writing a couple, including the devastating instrumental "Supernatural." Green's use of thick sustain on this track clearly pointed the way to his use of this feature on Fleetwood Mac's hits "Albatross" and "Black Magic Woman," as well as providing a blueprint for Carlos Santana's style.
Highlights include the uncharacteristically rambunctious "Leaping Christine" and the cover of Freddie King's "Someday After a While (You'll Be Sorry)."

Track Listing:
Side 1: A HARD ROAD / IT’S OVER / YOU DON’T LOVE ME / THE STUMBLE / ANOTHER KINDA LOVE / HIT THE HIGHWAY / LEAPING CHRISTINE
Side 2: DUST MY BLUES / THERE’S ALWAYS WORK / THE SAME WAY / THE SUPER-NATURAL / TOP OF THE HILL / SOMEDAY AFTER A WHILE (YOU’LL BE SORRY) / LIVING ALONE

LABELS: The labels are clean and unmarked with a little rubbing round the centre hole but only light/moderate spindle traces - played but certainly not over-played and also extremely well handled as is evident from the beautiful, practically unmarked playing surfaces and the sensational audio it delivers
VINYL Visual: Both surfaces still retain their original deep, glossy sheen with no dulling and only a few very light and superficial brush marks - these have no audio consequence - the playback is superb
VINYL Audio: Absolutely sensational audio reproduction on this LP - incredibly detailed with a crystal clear, deep, rich and warm sound (and a superb loud cut) - very, very impressive indeed and another fantastic Decca engineered release (one of their finest). On playback at a loud volume (which is how I always listen to my records prior to listings and it's always a real pleasure to return to this one as it contains the jaw-dropping Pete Green instrumental "The Super Natural" which never fails to give me goose-bumps) there are no scratches, no skips or jumps, no surface noise and no clicks or pops. The whole LP plays beautifully and cleanly throughout with practically silent run-ins and track divisions, sensational audio clarity and stereo separation, no groove-wear and no distortion, sounds stunning and is very critically graded a strong EXCELLENT++ for audio (virtually flawless) - fabulous copy of this outstanding LP and very, very highly recommended
SLEEVE: The front laminated cover is in EXCELLENT+ condition. The front surface has a beautiful deep glossy sheen with very little rubbing and the unlaminated back is clean and unmarked. The (pinched) spine is straight and true and displays all the text clear and bold. There is a little 'feathering' to the opening edge but it's very minor overall, a very fine example indeed

PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE RECORD AND SLEEVE
I HAVE UPLOADED AS MANY AS I CAN BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ON REQUEST
SUPERB FIRST UK STEREO PRESSING OF THE JOHN MAYALL CLASSIC WITH PETE GREEN'S STUNNING INSTRUMENTAL "The Super Natural" - FANTASTIC LP WITH STUNNING AUDIO - VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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 333 (GS 5.4.2 (333))