A Night At The Opera 2/2 (First pressing)

This iconic LP is now over 40 years old and for a first pressing is in wonderful condition.  The vinyl has the famous 'Blair's', not 'Blair's cut' etched into the dead wax as per the early pressings.  It includes the original picture inner with cut corners and has no splits which is extremely rare to find these days.

YAX 5063 - 2 / YAX 5064 - 2 // Mother stampers GOR 1 & GTO 1

Side One is Near Mint (except for 'Seaside Rendezvous' Ex)

Side Two is Ex+

The picture inner is Near Mint

The 

labels are Near Mint

Visual grading

  Under a strong bright light I can detect a few faint hairlines on both sides most probably caused by sleeve removal.  There is also a fingerprint type mark on S1 although this has no affect on the audio.  Overall for an LP of this age it is still extremely clean which is rare to find on a very first pressing.

Play grading  

There is almost no lead in static to 'Death on Two Legs' and plays with great clarity and no background interference.  The remainder of the side maintains the quality and for the majority has Near Mint audio which is so rare to find on a first 2/2 pressing.  There are perhaps a few light dust ticks but you often find these even on new vinyl.  'Seaside Rendezvous', as is always the case, has some distortion which is caused when the grooves are pressed closer together so as to 'fit' the track onto the side.

'The Prophet's Song' begins with hardly any static and is a high quality listen throughout.  The 'now I know' section has sublime sound with practically zero interference.  This audio really is of top quality.  The quiet acoustic ending does have some faint static and one click and a little static also at the beginning of 'Love of my Life'.  However, it is not intrusive and when I'm play grading I do sit very close to the speakers!  For a 2/2 pressing the audio still plays with great clarity and depth.  The remaining tracks including 'you know which one' play superbly with just a touch of light static.

Overall this iconic LP plays with high end audio and when you consider it is now 41 years old that is no mean feat.  2/2 pressings of this quality are getting harder to find and whilst there is a little static, more on Side Two, it is not intrusive remains a wonderful listen.

Gatefold cover

The embossed G & L gatefold is in exemplary condition with only very slight wear.  It has retained its 'whiteness' very well and there is very little discolouration.  There is a little fading around the edges but is not major and some ringwear on the reverse but there are no discernible marks or stains anywhere.  The actual edges, wide spine and opening edge are in superb shape as is the inside of the gatefold.  It has been very well looked after.  Of course being a first pressing it doesn't have the glossy sheen of later versions.

Picture inner

This has the three cut corners as per the early pressings and has no splits, how rare it that?!!  There are just a couple of minor creases but it's been a long time since I saw one as good as this.

Labels

Both labels are in excellent condition with no marks or writing, just some spindle wear.

Play tested on my Technics SL-J110R turntable system

YAX 5063 - 2 / YAX 5064 - 2 // Mother stampers GOR 1 & GTO 1

Any questions please feel free to ask

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