Led Zeppelin IV First pressing Peter Grant credit. No Morris. Plum Atlantic

	£		63
	$		83

LED ZEPPELIN

IV

First pressing credentials

SEE BELOW

WELCOME MUSIC LOVERS

After forty years of collecting I am reluctant and excited to be making the move to sell my entire record collection. One record at a time.

Played before listing. Rare Record Price Guide used for grading.

SATISFACTION OR YOUR MONEY BACK

LED ZEPPELIN

IV

First pressing credentials

Peter Grant credit on labels, no photographers credit on inner, no inverted feather, plum labels and so on.

UK FIRST PRESSING release on the Swan Song / Atlantic label. 1971

·      Catalogue number. 240 012 deluxe

o  Matrix & stampers

A. 240 012. B//(CROSSED OUT). A 3  1 2. PECKO DUCK

B. 240 012 B4 PORKY  1.1   4  6

QUICK LOOK AT GRADES

SLEEVE. VERY GOOD PLUS

INNER. ACCEPTABLE /GOOD

LABELS. EX / VG+

o  VINYL LOOKS 
A. Very Good Plus

B. Very Good

LABELS

A.        Excellent

B.         Very good plus

o  SOUNDS

A. Excellent minus
B. Excellent minus

Now here is a detailed overview of this records condition.

SLEEVE REVIEW

FRONT. Looks fine. No stickers or names, no indents. Very presentable and grading as excellent. 

 BACK. Much as the front. This panel has some small surface marks, and two very small areas where the surface has rubbed a bit. One near the top right corner, the other about an inch away from the tree on the left hand side, hard to notice but is there. I’m grading this side as very good plus. 

Inner panels look great with no fault.

SPINE.

No splits. Not much rubbing, but some. Not bad and grades very good.

OPENING.

Surprisingly good. Quite flat. No rips or tears. No bad feathering. So grades Very good plus. 

TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES. 

No splits but both top and bottom edges have rubbing that has taken away most of the surface layer. Grades Very good minus.

CORNERS.

Not too bad, but not immaculate. Top and bottom corners by the spine are the most rubbed. Corners near the opening edge, have some mild rubbing. And has opened into a one inch split in the bottom edge. 

COOL FEATURES.

Many of you will spot the first pressing signifiers. Peter Grant credit on label and inner. No Keith Morris, photographers credit on the inner. Plum labels. No inverted Feather. And of course the matrix numbers. It has the great first press audio too!

INNER SLEEVE REVIEW

What can I say (It wasn’t me) could be one thing. As you can see the inner is in reasonable condition. In spite of a previous owner deciding to tape the edges that had split. Two small tears top edge. I can only grade this as acceptable / good at best. 

LABELS

A.  Looks really good, light spindle marks. Grades Excellent.

B.     Much as side one, has some age spots so grades Very Good plus.

VISUAL GRADES

SIDE ONE.

Not bad at first glance. No major scratches or defects present. I can see under light quite a few very fine, superficial marks dotted about here and there. Certainly a good looking side in general though not pristine. Grades Very Good plus

SIDE TWO. 

Much as side one. Plently of unmarked surface. There are superficial marks, a couple of moderate 2 inch long scratches. And one moderate and quite noticeable scratch that runs across the first and second tracks. Looks like a needle slip at some point. I didn’t hear this ticking when the side was played which is a relief. Very good

AUDIO GRADINGS (typed as I listen)

SIDE ONE.

T1. Black dog.

Re we go. There is some very feint crackle during the lead in. Once the music starts all is sonic and sounding loud and awesome. Some light crackle during the (Ah, ah ah a) not bad, but there. Nice warm sounding recording. Unwanted distortion during top, or low notes. 

So a great sounding track, no distraction sounds. Light background static here and there in the quiet parts, but this is pretty low level. Grades Excellent minus

T2. Rock and roll.

Quiet between tracks. Nice and loud. Sounding great with no issues. Grades as Excellent

T3. The battle of Evermore.

A little feint crackle between tracks and in the background of the mandolin intro. Once things get going it sound great. No distortion of top or low notes. Good to hear the separation between the lead and double tracked vocals. 

A little bit of static here and there, nothing of great note. Grades as Very Good Plus. 

T4. Stairway to heaven.

Off to a good start. The acoustic guitar sound beautiful and warm. Some background crackle, pretty minor. Throughout the track the sound is really good. On the very last line (and shes buying a stairway to heaven) there is some moderate crackles for a couples that goes on into the dead wax. Over all this track doesn’t disappoint and grades as Very Good plus. 

So a side that cant really be faulted. No skips, or jumps. No bad crackle, some light crackle in selected quiet areas, but not a great deal and in no way distracting. I’m grading this side as Excellent minus. 

SIDE TWO.

T1.Misty Mountain Hop.

Off we go! Good start. Tiny bit of crackle in the lead in and about 2 bars of the intro. Mentioned for accuracy and not because I hear it as problematic. Track sounds warm and loud. So this whole track sounds really good. Grades as Excellent.

T2. Four sticks.

One of the more experimental recordings on the album. Lots going on instrumentally and you can really hear it all with this pressing. No top or bottom end distortion during peaks. Warm sounding and free of any troublesome noise. Grades Excellent. 

T3. Going to California.

There’s a very little background static hear in the lead in and first few bars. It sits in the back and doesn’t really affect what I am hearing and enjoying. Vocals and guitars sound very crisp and clear. Ok, just heard a pop just before Plant says (watch out), just happens once so may be a bit of dust. Great track, grades Very Good plus

T4. When the levee breaks.

Quiet between tracks. A  really beefy mix here. Surprisingly there is no top end distortion on the harmonica parts, so that is a big bonus. Sounding really good. Grades as Excellent. Some crackle in the dead wax. 

So this side has no real issues sonically. A bit of mild crackle in isolated parts, and nothing there that stopped my enjoyment of this cracking side. I am grading the side as Excellent minus. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well this was an enjoyable listen. No disturbance in the force caused by unwanted skips, clicks or bad crackle. Audio mix sounds hot and you can really hear much more going on in each song compared to later pressings, or CD pressing. You can see this has been played and enjoyed and it shows some visual signs accordingly. It neither sounds nor looks overplayed. The sleeve is pretty good compared to some I have seen considering the age. It is a shame about the inner being taped, but hey ho. There is the potential to swap it out if you come across another copy with a trashed LP but fine inner. So if you are a high roller and looking for a seriously mint copy, then this isn’t for you. If you want a pretty decent playing copy of a rare and classic album, then this should do you just fine, as this copy has much more life left in it.

GRADING YOUR VINYL

I use the classic U.K Rare Record Guide grading system. Detailed below are their guidelines.

MINT

The LP or single is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items are in perfect condition.

EXCELLENT 

The LP or single 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 LP or single has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and an occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover and contents without any major defects.

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 edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

POSTAGE

All records come with a protective poly sleeve, and new white inner. Records are shipped outside of the sleeve within reinforced cardboard packaging to ensure safety during transit.

I post to most locations worldwide. Please check before bidding if I can send it to you. Prices in GBP

U.K - 1-3 single LPs 4.00 Royal Mail Second Class Signed for

Europe -12.95 Royal Mail International Signed for. For each additional LP or 12" add 2.20

USA - Australia, Japan -18.95 International Signed for. For each additional LP or 12" add 3.80

Overseas orders valued over 80 will be insured for an additional 3.90

PAYMENTS

Paypal

Is accepted from all buyers. Payment must be made no later than three days after the sale closes. If payment has not been made within this time I reserve the right to re-list the item.

Cheque or Postal order

UK buyers are also welcome to pay by cheque or postal order. Payment should be received no later than five days after the sale closes. Please allow one week for cheques to clear once being received.

I hope I have covered everything you need to know. Message me if you have any questions. I am happy to help. 

Thanks for stopping by!