PAUL McCARTNEY McCartney SEALED 1970 Apple STAO 3363 1ST PRESS RAREST VARIATION

$

1,000

Vinyl:  FACTORY SEALED!  MINT!  This is the 1970 Apple STAO 3363.  NO BARCODE! 1ST PRINT COVER VARIATION "MANUFACTURED BY APPLE RECORDS INC. 1700 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10019 PRINTED IN USA" 3-LINE CREDITS. 
This was Paul's "divorce" album from The Beatles and as such it's his own emancipation proclamation, much in tune with George and John's statements of purpose from this tumultuous Beatle year of 1970.  Inside is a fascinating collection of Paul's studio inventions, many in the vein of Singer-Songwriter style that would define much of the most popular music of the 1970s.  Paul presents it, though, in a fascinating Proto-DIY style that presages the way music would go more than 10 years after Paul's effort here.  He sets the tone for Independent Do-It-Yourself individuals and bands, especially on songs like Junk, OO You, Kreen-Akrore, Momma Miss America...And of course, one of his finest Love songs is here, Maybe I'm Amazed...a Crucial album.   Released April 20, 1970.  allmusic gives it 4 stars!!!
See Review Below!
Cover: SEALED!  MINT!  (see photos)   Nice high gloss on cover.  Front and back of cover artwork and text are rich, clear and bright, essentially flawless.  Seams, corners and spine are solid and remarkably clean, essentially flawless, with no bumped corners.  Photos and layout by Linda McCartney, making this a MINT COPY of a Linda McCartney print!

Original 1st US pressing, factory sealed copy of Paul McCartney's debut solo album. I wouldn't want to exaggerate but to come across a copy of this album in such condition is practically impossible. This is the 1970 pressing with the catalog number STAO-3363 and NOT the repressing when the catalog code was changed to SMAS-3363. 
The 1st pressing has 2 cover variations.  The more common variation has the Apple Records address in Hollywood, CA on the back cover.  This copy for sale has the other back cover variation and is the RAREST of them all.  It has the 3-line credits reading "Manufactured by APPLE RECORDS INC. 1700 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019 Printed in U.S.A."
Typically, this cover variation contains vinyl pressed at the Capitol Records pressing plant in Scranton, PA and the Dead Wax will indicate that this copy was mastered by Lee Hulko and Robert Ludwig of Sterling Sound having their initials "LH" and "RL" in the Dead Wax, but of course, this is just an assumption and I can't guarantee that.

Usually, this album's covers have severe wear and scuffing. However, this copy is in fantastic Mint condition. It can be said with confidence that it will be the final upgrade of this album in your collection. The factory shrink wrap contains breathe holes and despite some wrinkles and a tiny micro-tear in the shrink the album is in pristine condition.  I looked with a magnifying glass and noted that two of the corners are barely poking through the shrink (see photos--it's difficult to take photos of an album in shrink wrap and I tried to minimize glare.  If you'd like for me to take more photos, just let me know).  There is a vintage price sticker on the Front cover.  The corners are sharp and don't have any bumping.  This record has never been opened.  It has not been opened and resealed.  The record has never seen the light of day.  No writing.  Spine print is crystal clear.  The record appears straight; when I look with one eye down all 4 edges there's no big, ominous bow that would suggest that it's warped.

I will gladly accept the return of Sealed records as long as they have not been opened (i.e. as long as they are still in the condition I sent them in).  Every record has a "fingerprint" of imperfections in the seal and/or the cover and I separately photograph and keep these details to prevent fraudulently returned items...yep, there are a few rotten apples out there!)  I will not accept a previously sealed record that has been opened, even if the complaint is that the record is warped.  This is why I look down the edge of all 4 sides of the record, to assess for potential bowing.  Look for that in the description of the covers of all my Sealed items. Thanks!  By the way, I've never (knock on wood!) had a buyer complain that they received a warped Sealed record.  :)
Goldmine Standards.   

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McCartney Review

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Paul McCartney retreated from the spotlight of the Beatles by recording his first solo album at his home studio, performing nearly all of the instruments himself. Appropriately, McCartney has an endearingly ragged, homemade quality that makes even its filler rather ingratiating. Only a handful of songs rank as full-fledged McCartney classics, but those songs -- the light folk-pop of "That Would Be Something," the sweet, gentle "Every Night," the ramshackle Beatles leftover "Teddy Boy," and the staggering "Maybe I'm Amazed" (not coincidentally the only rocker on the album) -- are full of all the easy melodic charm that is McCartney's trademark. The rest of the album is charming, especially if it is read as a way to bring Paul back to earth after the heights of the Beatles. At the time the throwaway nature of much of the material was a shock, but it has become charming in retrospect. McCartney has, with time, increased in prestige and is uncannily "modern" in the DIY sense, impressive, considering when it was released, at a time when the direction in popular music, and Rock, in general were headed for a "back to the roots" style.