KING CRIMSON IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING * UK 1ST PRESS A2/B2 * PINK LABEL
£
97
$
129
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Description
Original UK first pressing with rough textured labels and A2/B2 matrix numbers.
This has the following first pressing matrix numbers:
Side one: ILPS 9111 A 2
Side two: ILPS 9111 B//2.
After the matrix numbers the other stampers are:
Side one: 1 4
Side two: 1 5
which makes this one of the earliest copies.
As this is quite rare I have given it a play-grading. I listened to it twice all the way through. It plays all the way through with NO JUMPS, NO SKIPS, and NO STICKING.
It has crackle and clicks in the quiet parts but the loud parts sounded excellent. Despite the varying amounts of crackle and clicks, there was no distortion anywhere.
As so much of this record is quiet it is difficult to give a play-grading for the whole album - some parts are Excellent and some parts are much lower. I have decided that the best thing to do is to break down the grading and do it track by track.
Side one
21st Century Schizoid Man: The random sequence at the very beginning, before the music starts, is crackly and has about a dozen clicks, but when the music starts it sounds really good. This track sounds excellent in the loud bits but crackly in the quiet bits. The play-grading for different parts of this track varies between Excellent and Good so overall grading for this track = Very Good.
I talk to the wind: A quiet track and so it had quite a lot of crackle and some general soft clicking in the background, but no loud repetitive clicks. Overall grading for this track = Good.
Epitaph: The loud parts sounded excellent but it has crackle in the quiet parts and a very crackly run-out at the end. The play-grading for different parts of this track varies between Excellent and Good so overall grading for this track = Very Good.
Side two
Moonchild (a) The Dream: The first part of Moonchild had some crackle and swishes and a repetitive click near the end, but considering the quietness of the track it wasn't bad. Overall grading for this section = Very Good (minus).
(b) The Illusion: The instrumental part of Moonchild is really quiet and it had quite a lot of crackle and some general soft clicking in the background and a few repetitive clicks. Sometimes the crackle was almost as loud as the music (which is incredibly quiet at times) and although it was a bit distracting from the very soft music, it never overpowered it. Overall grading for this section = Fair, mainly because the track is so quiet.
The Court of The Crimson King: The loud parts sounded excellent but it has crackle in the quiet parts. The Fire Witch sequence sounded excellent, but the Dance of the Puppets was a bit crackly. The play-grading for different parts of this track varies between Excellent and Very Good (minus) so overall grading for this track = Very Good (plus).
The labels are in Very Good condition. Just spindle marks and normal signs of use for a well-played 43-year-old record.
The cover is in Very Good condition. It has normal signs of use for its age. The spine, edges and corners are scuffed but not split. Some of the text on the spine has been worn off, but not all of it. The part that says 'IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING' is still readable, but quite a lot of the rest of it has been worn away, but it is not worn through.
Overall, a perfectly playable, respectable, collection-filler copy of the rare first pressing, but it is not mint (or even close to it) so please bear this in mind when bidding. Thank you.
My LP gradings are based on the UK Record Collector grading system. Please make sure you are familiar with the grading system before you place a bid .
Please make sure that you understand the grading system:
MINT: The record looks brand new and has no signs of ever having been played. The cover and packaging look brand new.
NEAR MINT: The record shows minimal signs of having been played, with no marks on the playing surface and perhaps some light spindle trails on the labels. The cover and packaging look almost like new.
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 will be torn, stained and / or defaced.
POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.
BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.
Where an item falls between two grades then plus or minus (+ or -) may be added.
Further information can be found on my page.
P&P rates
P&P in the UK is £4.50 (each additional LP add £1.00)
P&P outside the UK - all items are sent with signed-for delivery (no exceptions, so please don't ask).
Europe = £11.00 (each additional LP add £2.50)
Rest of the World = £14.50 (each additional LP add £3.50)
Returns policy I try to describe/grade my items accurately. Please don't bid if you are the type of person who will complain over some small issue I have overlooked. However, if I have made a mistake and the item is SIGNIFICANTLY not as described it can be RETURNED for a refund. No part-refunds will be considered, so please do not ask.
Please feel free to ask any questions.
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