PRETTY THINGS SF Sorrow Orig UK 1968 MONO LP

	£		365
	$		484

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Artist or Band: PRETTY THINGS

Album Title: S.F. Sorrow.

Producer(s): Norman Smith.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: S.F. Sorrow is Born; Bracelets of Fingers; She Says Good Morning; Private Sorrow; Balloon Burning; Death.

Side 2: Baron Saturday; The Journey; I See You; Well of Destiny; Trust; Old Man Going; Loneliest Person.

Label/Format: Columbia – ultimate first issue format with the deeply textured surfaces. Many sellers now refer to these types as orange peel as it’s what they do resemble. They are deeply rustic with very pronounced surfaces with a deep inner ring ridge. (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both clean and attractive with less than moderate, and still quite faint spindle marks. Any wear around the hole rim is minimal and only minor traces of handling in terms of fingermarks that do tend to apply themselves on these very matt and black labels. Clearly this has been played several times but in no excessive.

Cat Number: SX 6306.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm. The mono format was much preferred by the band members and is rare more elusive.

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: A very impressive 160 gram heavyweight. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Rarity: Very rare an original first format mono pressing. Now regarded as one of the most prized mono progressive albums of all time. As much in demand as Pink Floyd’s debut album, but this is much rarer as it sold in far less numbers. Over time, this has been recognised as a masterpiece but like so many of this groundbreaking type, it sold poorly and most of the early examples that do surface are stereo. This is not a pristine example but still a very strong one, any blemishes to record or cover are few and relatively minor. With so few of these around, a few small compromises almost have to be made. With genuine near mint UK mono originals often commanding near four figure sums, this still super copy may just be the copy many (only slightly less discering) collectors have been waiting for. The mono mix very different to the stereo and for many, including the connoisseurs, the choice of the two (as well as the band themselves). Available copies that have not been reamed by a blunt mono needle or subjected to arm drops or jolts resulting in damaging deep, penetrating scratches are not seen often. An immensely rare and sort-after classic and one I thoroughly enjoyed viewing and listening too. Musically, almost too wonderful for words and one of the earliest genuine concept albums ever issued.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: XAX 3738-1 / XAX 3739-1. The Mothers are 2 / 2 with no Stampers visible.

Musicians: Phil May - vocals; Dick Taylor - lead guitar, vocals; John Povey - organ, sitar, percussion, vocals; Wally Allen - bass, guitar, vocals, winds, piano; Skip Alan - drums; John ‘Twink’ Alder - drums.

Brief Info: Generally regarded as the first rock ‘concept’ album, even pre-dating The Who’s ‘Tommy’. Based on the character Sebastian F. Sorrow from a story by Phil May, the band’s vocalist and guitarist. It follows the troubled life of the character from birth, war and love, eventual tragedy and madness – all sounds somewhat sombre but this is a stunning album and the band took a major step in a new direction. Now with a far more ‘progressive’ sound, many original fans were left confused and initially this wasn’t accepted by many. But time as crowned this daring gem as a rock classic (even masterpiece) and most-all rock fans want this in their collection. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios at the same time Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd were recording their debut classic ‘A Piper at the Gates of Dawn’ and The Beatles ‘Sgt Pepper’. What a wonderful time of creativity with classic after classic being issued towards the latter part of the 1960s. Superbly produced by Norman Smith, this album experimented with early synthesisers including the Mellotron and other devices. What came out was little short of astonishing but predictably it failed to sell well and is now highly sort-after and elusive, the mono pressings especially rare with far fewer made available. This very early UK-pressed original is in fine condition with any blemishes to cover and record fairly minor. The cover design is very different the UK version and here looks lovely. The record has been played a number of times but sound quality, for most, remains strong and highly enjoyable. Not quite for the audiophile purist but logic and commonsense has to prevail on mono records over 40-years-old. The very few people who purchased this album by choice in mono usually played it on mono equipment, if they owned stereos, surely they would have bought the stereo version as I guess most probably did. Thus these old single-channel records are more often seen with marks and minor sound degrading, in most cases this is the rule of thumb and there is little anyone can do about that these days. Vintage mono record players tracked as huge weights with thicker stylus – fact. It’s no small wonder so many gems are seen and heard in very poor conditions which makes this record a more than strong copy as this has been affected little by such equipment. These playing surfaces have only relatively few marks and importantly, barely any sound, there lies the difference. Any audio degrading is very modest indeed and most plays with lovely clean and focused sound with anything unwanted minimal and infrequent. I found this a pleasure to hear and truly it is a real experience in mono with more dynamics and arguably more detail. The album is presented in a different matter to the ear and little on this copy spoilt the experience. If absolute perfection is demanded, well wait for the near impossible and dig very deep. This landmark record is sure to please many, if not most collectors but the most discering sound and visual purist will have to wait for the near impossible. I now again use a quality moving magnet cartridge as I play and offer a high percentage of mono records which I feel the magnet sound delivers better than the often too clinical moving coil. These were the cartridges used mostly at the time of the era of music I prefer to offer and using my new Ortofon M2, this record gave a superb performance. Clearly a record that will depend somewhat to what its played on and to whose ear sensitivity. Mono records of this vintage were not really designed to be played on clinically revealing high-end stereo turntables like my LP12, but this was a joy, any relatively minor surface sounds or minor sound degrading pretty much washed over by the brilliance of the music. I have shown the super-clean record on my deck as proof of ownership as this really is a rare one. As I always state on my adverts where a record has been played a number of times with visual and minor sound blemishing, if in doubt, do not bid.

Cover Grade and Format: I cannot grade this lovely looking cover less than EX. It’s a gatefold format with front and back laminate. This wraps around the closed edges and inside and ends on the four external interior flipbacks. This is the genuine mono SX 6306 cover (please see my close up) and was printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day & Co Ltd.

Lamination – Front & Back: The laminate on both sides is clean, fresh, clear and fully adhered with no lifting or blistering. Even under light there are minimal traces of any friction rubs of dulling, minor on the back simply seen because of the revealing nature of the black backdrop. Any creasing is very light and minor, mostly hairline types around the edges that few ever avoid, any marks are also light and and few and the artwork looks really lovely. I have taken a few close-ups to show just how clean this one is. Given the age of this cover and with such a heavy pressed LP inside all these years, I have to consider this superbly preserved and very attractive indeed.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The only blemishes are any real note inside are on the left and right edges. It appears the original owner put clear tape on these for protection. As per always, this dries out and peels off over time and left a fine darkened line. Not really residue or staining as such but a darker than white line looking no more obstrusive to the eye than an end of laminate line seen on many covers styles e.g. Decca or Deram et al.. A similar fine line is also seen on the central fold hinge but less apparent on the red areas of which there are more here. The main two faces are superb and look lovely, all the song lyrics are printed. The four flipbacks are very neat indeed and have avoided any sticking together and pulling that is very common on these types – in fact new avoid this. All four four attractive with little more than fine surface creases, the ends being unburred and avoiding any real grime-line formation to the ends. So minor blemishing, but few will be better these four main faces with a rare mono record inside, of that, I have few to no doubts.

Top Edges: Both have no wear and remain very straight.

Bottom Edges: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering, no trimming guaranteed. Record enters on the front edge, the back being totally closed. The tape ‘residue’ is also present inside the storage area as a fine line. Both front and back edge see the laminate end short of full width, there are NO tape marks on the front and back faces and the fine exposed strip is clean and near perfect with no damage to the artwork. One tiny faint scuff seen on a white area of the front, this being somewhat critical.

Spine and Text: A very fine spine: solid, very straight with minimal compression but the text slightly ‘sunken’ into a natural occurring fold by opening. All text is unworn and present but not quite so easy to read with the natural occurence of the cover being opened. This appears folded squarely but the bottom right corners do not quite align whereas teh top pair do – a minor manufacture blemish. The spine laminate is very solid and unpeeled or even cracked.

Corners: All are neat with excellent shape retained, any tip wear is slight.

Cover Summary: A very strong all round example of this classic late 60’s, original mono cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. Okay, a few minor blemishes but sufficiently light as not to impair the visual beauty of this classic sleeve. This beautiful item should please most collectors but not the highly discerning connoisseur.

The Inner: EX+ with nothing more to fault than minor burring on the opening top edge with a tiny nick split. Few of these old unlined inners will remain in such fine condition with such a heavy record inside all these years. The edges are intact and with hardly any creasing and clean too. This has the early ‘Patents Applied For’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: VG++, does not really do this wonderful old record full justice. It does have light surface marks and fine hairlines with the odd light paper scuff or two. Also one longer fine line mark which again is only on the surface and superficial with no sound. In fact, this record plays pretty much devoid of any pops or clicks at all, just two or three very faint ticks were just noted only. These vintage thickly pressed heavyweight records were more able to withstand surface marks or even marks that appear more sinister, than records pressed from the 70s onwards where vinyl weight and thickness was (in most cases) drastically reduced. Truly, these marks, which are hardly many in number really, are pretty much all igored totally and are of no audio significance. If any deep penetrating scratches had been present on this record, I would not have purchased it. Rare or not, I will not offer scratched records that have major audible impact and that simply has not happened on this lovely record. I am simply realistic enough to know, many 60s mono records will sustain marks in their long lifetime, if we wait for visual and audio perfection all the time, such classics as this would simply rarely, if ever be offered. This is still a very pleasing visual copy that is clean with fine shine, intense black and very heavily pressed. A copy with less than ‘average’ in my opinion. When you see some records of this era played into submission with a swath of matted spindle marks and hole erosion, playing surfaces covered in fingermarks, deep marks and gouges, this is light years from that, and importantly, it plays very well with most of its quality sound intact and enjoyable. As long as a modest few, mostly light surface marks are acceptable, this is a rare record that will please many collectors. Any doubts, do not bid – simple.

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 snippetts or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This massively pressed, rare masterpiece, plays above its highly respectable, better than very good visual grading with little to fault. Strong, very dynamic and punchy sound and most-all sharp and focused. There is a little mildish crackle on the demanding louder build-up parts of the first two songs, but only very briefly with most all playing well. This a common trait of the mono record that has been played a few times, sometimes records can have this minor clipping or very slight sound degrading all the way through, but this one has largely avoided it with any traces intermittent and few. Just enough in the very briefest of places to remind what you actually listening too – an over 40-year-old mono record. Any other surface sounds are minimal indeed and no noteworthy pops or clicks were noted and this is a very clean pressing overall. Few copies, wherever they were pressed will outperform this rare example significantly I feel sure. With the majority of UK pressings, when they do surface, being very heavily played and badly scratched and clearly not audiophile standard, this has survived those heady days generally well and certainly better than many, even most. Both channels are clean and sharp and most all devoid of any ‘mono’ noises. Very little, if indeed any really spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. Again, I am realistic enough to know a few minor sound blemishes are almost normal on a mono record this age. Often, just a tiny few plays can cause havoc to those fragile grooves and sound seriously impaired, any degrading here is modestly light, brief and very infrequent with most of the songs playing very well indeed and even exceeding my expection. Stereo copies are easier to find and, still rare, they do surface more often, especially the black and silver label later pressings. This mono original will prove difficult to find significantly better and can still be highly recommended. A very rare opportunity to own an early-pressed copy on vinyl - most have to rely on CD revamps or reissues. If a little minor sound blemishing is unacceptable, do not bid, but I will state again, any here is mild and this gem gives a very fine account of itself. If this is to be played on a multi-thousand pound super-system, do not expect miracles, but on a quality, even lower-budget stereo (or indeed mono) audio system, this will sound fine and give many years and plays of real pleasure. I have been as honest and as accurate as I can, I know this will cause major interest, and so it should, only bid if you feel sure this is the copy you want. It will be posted FREE to anywhere in the world with signed for and insurance included – good luck.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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 taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. 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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon 2M moving magnet cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET - PLEASE SEE MY TYPICAL PACKING BOX PICTURE.

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 heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth 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 thick boxes (NOT Mailers or Cruciforms, these do not offer maximum protection). The record(s) 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 THREE or EVEN FOUR 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. 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. Please see my picture of a typical finished box packet that will now be used on ALL transactions as from now. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. These boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand based on over 6,000+ items sold in over 8 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. Even one of these stiffners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £12. Add £3 per extra LP. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 neccessarily 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’.