July on Major Minor 1968 UK original Holy Grail Psych Monster GREAT vinyl

	£		962
	$		1,275

This is an extraordinary psych record from July, on Major Minor. Only a few hundred of this were pressed and it slipped away almost unnoticed at the time but has become one of the most wanted of early psych records.

Whoever had this in their collection before me clearly didn't listen to it much because the vinyl is great! It plays through really loud and clear with almost no surface noise, no obtrusive clicks or anything, just a sound as good as new records you'll buy today. There are a few spindle marks on each side which I guess are from the only times the previous owner listened to it.

Vinyl is a EX condition and I've looked after it carefully.

Grading the vinyl .... the one flaw is one obvious scuff on the run in of side one which is visible in the pictures - it's very quiet but audible in the first few seconds of the music, so I've uploaded a music file and you can hear it for yourself: http://extinctandendangered.co.uk/july.mp3  Apart from that scuff the vinyl shows only the lightest of marks and very little surface noise or sound deterioration. Unusual in this condition and a solid EX

The sleeve is a G by record collector standards - remarkably it's pretty good in that there are no spine splits from the record, but it is a bit creased and has a split on the top right hand edge.

Free postage on this, and of course it'll be very carefully packaged.

I'm not a dealer, just a collector selling off a few bits and pieces, and I know how disappointing bad grading is so my grading is very careful!

The whole album is available to listen to on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxhiAFm9pgE - please note this is NOT a recording from my copy, but just something that someone else has posted!

 The black mark that shows on the vinyl in one of the pictures is grime on my camera's sensor - not on the record!

 A friend who is a more serious record collector than me and who has seen and heard this copy sent me a message to say that I was undergrading it.

I've bought enough records to be pretty sure that most dealers would grade this a NM-/VG, but I want to make sure the person who buys this is pleased with the condition rather than feeling it isn't as good as they hoped.

If I bought a record in this condition graded as EX I'd think the grading was conservative and I'd be really pleased that the person grading didn't overgrade. If I bought it was NM I'd think it was overstating it slightly. It's better than EX and plays closer to NM. I've uploaded another sample from the middle of the record http://www.extinctandendangered.co.uk/julysample1.mp3 to show how it sounds further in.

As for the cover, I've bought records with sleeves worse than this graded as VG. This sleeve shows normal wear and tear for a record sleeve that's nearly fifty years old. If I bought this graded VG I'd think it was reasonable, if I bought it as a G, I'd be pleased that the person grading didn't overstate the condition.

Basically, I don't want whoever buys this to be disappointed. As a collector I'm grading a conservative EX/G but most dealers and sellers would probably grade NM-/VG.

I bought the record in a small village in Scotland where it was tucked in amongst a collection of the usual musicals and tijuana brass. I guess someone in the village knew someone in the band and was given a copy or bought one to support them, listened to it a couple of times and then never listened to it again. I listened to it a three times just to enjoy it, then recorded it digitally to listen to that rather than risk the vinyl, so I'd guess it's been played fewer than ten times. It plays crisp and clear, with about as much surface noise as you'd expect from new vinyl.

It's in great condition, and unless you're holding out for mint/mint you won't be disappointed with this copy.

 I've uploaded videos so you can hear how clearly this copy plays... and listen to what a great album it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9w5eu6Abqs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBbyZu4GGMY

I also should mention - the picture of the back cover makes it look like the spine has been taped up... It hasn't! They only had a shiny laminated finish on the front cover, but the lamination comes around the spine and overlaps the back. The spine is solid and untaped.