JONI MITCHELL Song to a Seagull RARE ORIG 68 UK EX+ LP

	£		53
	$		70

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World in 2010.

Artist or Band: JONI MITCHELL

Album Title: Joni Mitchell [Song to a Seagull].

Producer(s): David Crosby.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: I Came to the City: I Had a King; Michael from Mountains; Night in the City; Marcie; Nathan La Franeer.

Side 2: Out of the City and Down to the Seaside: Sisotowbell Lane; The Dawntreader; The Pirate of Penance; Song to a Seagull; Cactus Tree.

Label/Format: Reprise – original tri-colour riverboat format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both generally clean and attractive with light+ to moderate spindle marks, moderate on side two. A few minor light marks other than the spindle ones.

Cat Number: RSLP 6293.

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: 156 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Quite rare as a genuine first UK pressing, . Most seen are later pressings on the Reprise tan labels. As Joni’s reputation grew and her works became more ‘popular’, the earlier titles were purchased later, hence the originals are elusive and when offered, often in very poor conditions. This is one of the earliest examples you will ever be offered. It’s very heavily pressed with the very first matrixes and early stampers. It includes the original made in Canada gatefold cover, the country of her birth, so this for me, adds significance. The labels do not include the original album’s title ‘Songs to a Seagull’ and is self-titled. This is a lovely copy and it plays with great sound. With minimal backing, this has no great volume to mask unwanted sounds, so delighted to state there are few here anyway and this was a real pleasure to listen too. Although the labels have more spindle marks than I would possibly like, they have no reflection on the super-clean playing surfaces that show no significant marks. This was owned by a lady owner, her name is on the cover front and back, but neatly. Without doubt she used the labels as guides to the spindle and the moderate marks do not tell the correct story on number of plays. As I have stated many times before, spindle marks are purely subjective and only a rough guide to the usage of the record. Here, they lie, this record has not been played many times which is reitterated by clean, high-quality sound. Such a copy of this original album is rare, make no mistake.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: RSLP 6293 A-1*G STEREO / RSLP 6293 B-1*G STEREO

Mother & Stamper Codes: R 1 / 1 A

Musicians: Joni Mitchell - guitar, piano, vocals; Stephen Stills - bass.

Brief Info: A beautiful debut from one of the most gifted female singer-songwriters of all-time. ‘Song to a Seagull’ – the title somewhat hidden on the cover, written in small birds flying off a ship and only obvious when you it’s there – is a conceptual album with two named sides. Pretty much a solo set with just a little bass from Stills, this is a delicate album and often suffers accordingly from vintage record players of the day. The earliest copies are notoriously difficult to even find let alone in high quality playing conditions. This has little to fault and the sound and details embedded in these deep original grooves are a gateway into the recording studio itself. This was a poor-seller, just a fringe entry in the US charts but failed to make any impact in the UK. This has to be easily her rarest album here, this includes the Canadian gatefold cover and a massively pressed record – this is one of the very few I have seen and the cleanest all round example by far. I can hardly believe this record is 42 years old, even pre-dating Neil Young’s debut on the same label. Even from the outset, it was more than obvious this lady was special, exuding class from the very beginning. If your collection is missing one of the earliest ever issued in the UK, well it will not be easy to find a much better example. All details below.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High.

Cover Grade and Format: EX at least,and given the format, it’s very arguably better still. This is an imported Canadian cover used for the UK market. I guess the record companies did not consider it worthy of a special printing initially and used ‘spare’ ready-made ones. A very heavy thick card format with the US-style paste-on panel inside the gatefold, this was unlaminated and is slightly textured to the touch. It was printed in Canada as is confirmed on the front and inside. Both front and back has the original owner’s name neatly written, the back has 50 per cent faded. If these signatures are an issue, do not bid..

Cover Front: A superb front with little to fault bar the neat signature as mentioned above. This is near the top edge towards the right and clearly visible. A really attractive front with minimal traces of wear or grubbiness and crease-free. Very slight rub traces on the spine edge and one very small corner tip rub (bottom right). Great colour and fantastic artwork, the original title is seen written by the small birds flying off the ship. This vintage cover, made in Joni’s native country will not be easy to find much better.

Cover Back: The same name is again present (just) in the same area but this has faded somewhat. This side has a little mild speckle which only really notices on the brown ink near the central area. Few of these types avoid it on the darker colour but here is very mild indeed. A few small surface marks but no ringwear or creasing and all quite similar to the front. These backs are rarely seen much better and please remember the considerable age.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Little to fault inside here, all the song lyrics included.

Top Edges: Any rubbing or blemishes are small, light and mild, very solid and dead straight.

Bottom Edges: Both have the artwork to connect front to back and this has barely rubbed or worn at all. Both secure and solid, no splits and again, straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little wear and no feathering, both guaranteed untrimmed. The solid front has rubbed slightly on the very end. Record enters on the back edge.

Spine and Text: Very solid and robust, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up perfectly together and parallel. Little wear at all, very slightly discoloured and the artwork and text all present.

Corners: Mild and small tip rubs but little else, fine shape is retained by practically all.

Cover Summary: A very strong all round example of this very fragile late 60’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This still beautiful item should please many collectors, if the sigs. are an issue, again, please do not bid.

The Inner: The heavy-duty polylined plain white inner is included, lightly aged with a little creasing and a few marks. The lining secure and very neat and edges unsplit.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX+ at the very least, think I have undergraded this rare beauty. A super visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed. With just ultra fine and faint surface blemishes, most-all hairlines that have no sound at all, I consider this an exceptional copy of a rare record. The price guides again undervalue this, this is way harder to find than the ‘Clouds’ album and is very hard to find this clean. Played far less than the spindle marks may suggest, this will be more than obvious to any winning bidder. Visually a super record that should please many 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 snippetts 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: This rare debut plays even above its high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. 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 are minimal indeed and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing for what is a typically challening early acoustic Joni album. Few hiding places for blemishes but little here anyway. Few copies will outperform this ultra early pressing significantly I feel sure. Remember also, the few originals that did sell, were often played on mono record players, many music-lovers did not own stereo units at this time hence a high percentage would have been subjected to heavyweight, thick stylus ploughing through the grooves reeking havoc to the delicate sound. All serious collectors will know what I mean – this record has NOT been subjected to kind of use or wear. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played modestly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, the first worthy original I have seen for years. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. Do not underestimate how rare this album is on this label and in such fine all-round condition.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: 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, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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. 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 offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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 (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

NOTE: I NO LONGER SEND TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. ANY BIDS WILL BE IGNORED.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £12. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.