LEONARD COHEN Songs From a Room RARER ORIG UK 1969 NEAR MINT LP, PLAYS SUPERBLY.

	£		97
	$		129

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and traceable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: LEONARD COHEN

Album Title: Songs From a Room

Producer(s): Bob Johnston

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Bird on the Wire; Story of Isaac; A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes; The Partisan; Seems So Long Ago, Nancy.

Side 2: The Old Revolution; The Butcher; You Know Who I Am; Lady Midnight; Tonight Will Be Fine.

Label/Format: CBS with matt surfaces that have a very gentle hint of texturing.

Label Conditions: Both immaculate, ultra clean, fresh and attractive with only one or two very fine and faint spindle traces. This superb deep orange labelled copy appears hardly played and again comes from the collection bought from new by one owner who clearly know how to look after them.

Catalogue Number: S 63587

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: 142 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: First issues are far more elusive and certainly harder to find in this stunning near mint condition. This A1/B1 heavier pressed original to date, the best I have seen or heard.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: SBPG 63587 A1 / SBPG 63587 B1

Musicians: Leonard Cohen – vocals, guitar, Jew’s harp; Ron Cornelius – acoustic & electric guitars; Bubba Fowler – banjo, bass, violin, acoustic guitar; Charlie Daniels – bass, violin, acoustic guitar.

Brief Info: The second album by this famed, now very sadly departed Canadian singer-songwriter. Well-known for his stark looks and very downbeat songs – he affectionally was known as the godfather of gloom. But hauntingly beautiful songs, this became a ‘bedsit’ favourite at the time and his songs have been covered countless times by many artists with whole tribute albums being issued. Jennifer Warnes issued an entire album of his songs entitled ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ which is a reference high fidelity album of immense beauty that is more than worth checking out. Some of the best cover versions were recorded by Judy Collins and these are also high recommended. A somewhat reluctant singer, he did not issue his first album until the age of 33. This one of his darkest albums ever, but just a few plays will open your mind to this man’s world, his sound is still unique with monotone voice and solemn, poetic words. Deep material of relationship, sometimes harrowing, this had the ingredients of being a poor-selling album, but it did okay. Gloom and darkness rarely ever sounds this good. Brilliantly produced by Bob Johnston, he was employed to get the most atmosphere from these very downbeat and minimalistic songs – it worked perfectly. This a stunning first issue UK copy that plays superbly with barely anything unwanted, that never easy for largely acoustic records. An indispensable and essential Cohen record, the man at his darkest and most compelling, there is no better tribute to this man than to simply listen to his voice and words.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR MINT: a single format with the front laminated. This covers all folds and ends on the back via the spine edge. The back is matt and smooth and includes the gold six-sided shaped ‘Stereo’ sticker which is virtually mint. Printed and made in England by the Upton Printing Group, includes the plain white, ‘PATENTS APPLIED FOR’ inner sleeve.

Cover Front: A magnificent laminated front – subsequent pressings were all matt – and this has little to fault with any gentle traces of dulling seen under light. No lifting worthy of mention and with any marks or creases practically minuscule, hardly anything at all. Even though protected, white fronts often brown and tone over time, this hard hardly aged at all and looks superb. This classic sparse album front will prove very difficult indeed to match or find better.

Cover Back: The odd ultra fine hairline trace apart, this back is almost as-made and again looking immaculate. Totally unaged or darkened, the matt surface really does come very close to reminding of new, as does the gold ‘Stereo’ sticker near the top right corner. Even the laminate end line on the spine edge has barely a trace of grubbiness, and even the laminate here gleams. Totally unrubbed with no ring wear or sticker issues, this back sets the bar very high.

Top Edge: Quite straight with the laminate smooth and totally perfect.

Bottom Edge: Straight and unworn again.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, ultra sharp with no thickening at all, even as viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced. The two ends are not cut flush in manufacture to reiterate the fact, and the laminate end on the front present, still fairly wide and totally devoid of grubbiness as-seen.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with barely any compression, the ends are lightly nipped in manufacture. All text is perfect and unworn as seen, also perfectly centred on the fairly narrow depth for ultimate good measure.

Corners: All immaculate as-issued, they hardly get much better. Perfect pointed shape retained with no dinks or even a hairline crease – amazing.

Cover Summary: A beautiful all-round example of this famous sparse cover, the laminate of course add extra class, and most seen do not have. This gem should please most collectors and indeed could prove a major upgrade for many fans and collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR MINT: a basic plain white unlined inner with two immaculate window circles. The only tiny polite hint of age is faint discolouration of the seam adhesive, and this is as light as it ever gets. No creasing, the paper still nicely white with no edge splits or repairs. This includes the first ‘PATENTS APPLIED FOR’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR MINT: arguably better, one very fine hairline apart, this is probably as good as a nearly 50-year-old record gets. A beautiful visual copy that is ultra clean with equally amazing shine and quite heavily pressed. A copy appearing hardly played on all the evidence with any surface traces – the fine hairline apart – minuscule. Visually a super record that should please most 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 snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This classic album plays up to it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Offering 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, barely anything at all, and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. Few available first issues copies will match, let alone outperform this I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has again been very well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Cover-protected, this almost immediately apparent when seen, nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove immensely difficult to find better and merits my highest possible recommendation.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

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 as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – 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 it’s 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 the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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. 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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

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, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new Nessie Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. 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. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 17­ years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

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 (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an 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: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. 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. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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 necessarily 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’.