JULY S/T 1968 UK 1ST PRESS.MAJOR MINOR MMLP 29 PSYCH RARITY SUPERB VINYL+AUDIO
  £   1,320

 


£ 1320 Sold For
30 Mar 2020 Sold Date
23 Mar 2020 Start Date
£   100 Start price
36   Number Of Bids
  Great Britain Country Of Seller
eBay Auctioned at
 
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Description

JULY - self titled

A truly impressive and highly presentable copy (with the superb condition vinyl and stunning mono audio quality being the highlights) of this extremely rare and highly sought after 1968 UK 1st press psychedelic rock gem, on the coveted MAJOR MINOR label, mono, MMLP 29

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1 LP-029A-1B  with stampers "1" and "C" at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively, and "S.E.L." stamp at 12 o'clock

Side 2 LP-029B-1B  with stampers "1" and "C" at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively, and "S.E.L." stamp at 12 o'clock

The appearance and overall condition of the flat and nicely weighted vinyl is truly excellent plus (EX+). Both sides have retained an impressive jet black lacquered sheen and in normal daylight show no sign of wear and tear - a real "gleamer", in fact. Under a very bright light, and with close scrutiny, it is just possible to detect the odd wispiest of wispy strictly surface only and superficial hairlines on each side of the vinyl, and even under a bright light you will need to look very hard - completely non-intrusive in terms of both appearance and sound quality (which is terrific throughout). This record has obviously been sparingly played and it is hard to believe that it is now a 52 year antiquity in such fantastic condition as this...there cannot be many better! 

The labels are excellent plus (EX+). Gorgeous condition labels with the coveted MAJOR MINOR black and white text logo lettering, and all other black text upon the lightly matt textured red background perfectly intact. if you look closely under a bright light, you may just be able to detect a couple of very faint, and small, spindle trails on each label adjacent to the centre hole. Apart from that, perfect! Note the circular groove about 1cm in from the circumference on each label - a unique identifier of true first pressings.

The iconic front laminated Robert Stace outer sleeve is very good (VG). Such an iconic and beautifully designed outer sleeve, but also very fragile and extremely prone to wear and tear - this copy is a solid "very good" but no better. The edges remain firm with the bulk of each edge devoid of scuffs (though there is the odd "nick" on the top edge). However there is 2cm of scuffing adjacent to the opening side top and bottom corners, accompanied by a 1cm edge split, on the top and bottom edge respectively; there is also some light diagonal creasing at each of these corners on the front side, with some mild laminate lifting at the bottom right corner (I have tried to show these blemishes in my photos). There is also some mild laminate creasing towards the other two remaining front side corners. There are x9 1cm (or less) horizontal creases adjacent and perpendicular to the spine, five of which include a cardboard crease which impinges upon the spine - hence the spine is not "rigid". There is also 2cm of scuffing at either end of the spine adjacent to the top and bottom corners. Having said all that, the terrific art work on the front side remains largely intact, retaining great colour vibrancy and perfect definition - very nice. The reverse side (non-laminated) is in overall very good plus condition with no unwanted writing - just a little fading in areas and mild shelf wear accompanied by just the hint of some extremely mild ring wear.

Finally, the quality of the audio is overall excellent plus (EX+)...superb, in fact. Place the stylus on the dead wax preceding track 1 on side 1 and what do you hear? Silence! How often does that happen. And the same applies to side 2 and each of the interludes...silence! Brilliant tone and clarity throughout, even at higher volume and on higher frequencies. No skips, jumps, repeats, or obvious clicks (just the very occasional and very light background click which can only be attributed to either static or the odd speck of dust in the grooves resulting from decades of storage...in fact I identified one very light click on side 1, cleaned the vinyl and the click was gone!) and does not intrude upon the wonderful audio quality one bit, and no background crackle/interference either. This really is a terrific psychedelic rock album, and I doubt that there are many UK 1st pressings remaining in as wonderful condition as this as far as the vinyl and audio is concerned - as mentioned earlier, the outer sleeve does have some noticeable blemishes - and with such brilliant sound quality, with every track making for a great listen.

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. MY CLOWN

2. DANDELION SEEDS

3. JOLLY MARY

4. HALLO TO ME

5. YOU MISSED IT ALL

6. THE WAY

Side 2 :

1. TO BE FREE

2. MOVE ON SWEET FLOWERS

3. CRYING IS FOR WRITERS

4. I SEE

5. FRIENDLY MAN

6. A BIRD LIVED

Comes with poly-lined inner sleeve, with horizontal "British Patent.." and "MADE IN ENGLAND" text with no tears, splits or rips, but there is some creasing in the corners and mild (but noticeable) age discolouration towards the edges - nonetheless remaining 100% functional. Note that I always post the record in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the original.

In summary a truly impressive copy of this increasingly rare and highly sought after 1968 UK 1st press psychedelic jewel, admittedly with the iconic outer sleeve having noticeable blemishes (still a "VG" though) but with the wonderful condition of the vinyl and accompanying stunning audio quality more than compensating for this - worthy of gracing any vinyl collection and only continuing to gain in value.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60's & 70's classic vinyl listings.

bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for more than 50 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960's and 70's origin. Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boot sales, auctions, and even through putting up a "vinyl wanted" notice in my wife's shop! I am now retired and take great delight in being able to spend more time scouring the country and attending boot sales and auctions in the hope of unearthing more vinyl gems...I am 65 years of age now and am still discovering bands and music of the 60's and 70's that I have never come across before. Wonderful! Richard

My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no quibble" refund policy

On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl thick cardboard "crucifix" style mailer along with at least two thick cardboard stiffeners. I also take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection. 

For this item postage & packaging will be UK £6 Royal Mail special delivery, signed for; continental Europe £10 and Rest of the World £14, Royal Mail 1st class international Airmail, tracked and signed for.

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding!


NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines :

Mint

The records itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items, such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Excellent

The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and /or creasing.

Very Good

The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

Good

The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

Fair

The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents are torn, stained and/or defaced

Poor

The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents are badly damaged or partly missing.

Bad

The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler


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