RARE BIRD Rare Bird A/B2 1st PRESS CHARISMA 1969 VG+ COVER & Superb AUDIO
  £   80
  $   106

 


£ 80 Sold For
Sep 28, 2025 Sold Date
Sep 18, 2025 Start Date
14   Number Of Bids
  Great Britain Country Of Seller
eBay Auctioned at
 
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Description

I will declare a lower amount on the customs form for all countries so as to avoid/decrease high import charges.  However, in the case of the EU all purchases are subject to VAT which eBay collect at point of sale.  No shipping to Russia currently.   Rare Bird : Rare Bird A / B2 1st Press 1969 Charisma
This first pressing plays with superb audio on both sides with only very minimal background and nothing intrusive.  As always I have play graded every track in full and the clarity, depth and warmth of the audio is so impressive.  There are no clicks or pops and I have only graded one track as Ex+ due to a few seconds of light static and a handful of minor ticks, all other tracks grade higher.  The well known 'Sympathy' plays with great quality!
The front laminated cover is in very good condition overall with the main wear being some creasing on the front cover in one corner.  The original Patents pending inner sleeve is in excellent condition.
This is actually the very first pressing with the A/B2 matrix.  There is a variant 2 with a slightly different matrix. 
CAS+1005+A   //   CAS+1005+B2
The audio on S1 - T1 Near Mint- / T2 Near Mint / T3 Ex+ / T4 Mint-
The audio on S2 is Near Mint- (T3 & T5 Mint-)
The cover is VG+   The original Patents pending inner sleeve is Ex
The textured Charisma labels are Near Mint
Visual description
The vinyl is in excellent condition and still has a strong glossy look and no scratches.  Under a strong bright light I can only see a small number of faint hairlines and a little mottling here and there but this really is very faint.  Under 'normal' light you certainly don't notice it and it has no impact on the superb audio.  There is no groove or surface wear and the textured Charisma labels are super clean with only very minimal spindle wear.  When you play S1 you can see the vinyl has a small rise on one edge, not a warp as such and it has no affect on the audio or stylus of course.  It is hardly noticeable when you play S2.
Play Grading
The intro on 'Iceberg' is so close to perfect with only a couple of minor ticks and 3/4 barely audible statics.  As the pace picks up the playback is stunning and the depth of the audio could not be any stronger.  The opening vocal section is so clean with just the one static tick sound and the second more powerful vocal is faultless.  It continues to play to a very high standard and the long instrumental section is a fine example of that with barely any background, the passage led by Gould's deep bass sound is 'as new' without a doubt.  Ashton and Field's work is superb also.  The quieter closing piece is so clean with barely any static and overall Near Mint- is deserved.
The quiet intro on 'Times' has only the lightest of background static and the opening vocal is perfect.  From then on it plays with genuine quality and the clarity and depth of the audio is sensational.  No issues here, the sonic quality is breathtaking and again Near Mint is fair.  There is just one other very quiet static.
'You Went Away' plays with exceptional clarity and warmth and especially during the quieter moments.  Again the intro has barely any static and the opening vocal section is stunning.  The first instrumental is 'as new' as is the next more powerful vocal from Gould.  There is a little static right after for 3/4 seconds and the next vocal is as close to perfect as could be.  There are a handful of ticks during the quieter part of the instrumental towards the end and then the powerful closing section plays with great quality.  An Ex+ version but with many sections playing better than that.
The intro on 'Melanie' is deep and strong with zero intrusion and the opening vocal is just as impressive.  The brief quiet section plays with stunning clarity and the next vocal again has no interference.  The rest of the track keeps up the good work with only a couple of minor statics, no interference as such.  Mint-
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The intro on 'Beautiful Scarlet' is 'as new' and Gould's opening vocal section is of the same exact standard.  The instrumental bridge has no background and the second vocal is as good as the first.  The quieter mid vocal has only a handful of minor static ticks and a couple of light ticks, not clicks I hasten to add!  The clarity is very impressive.  The final section plays without fault and overall Near Mint- is a fair assessment of the audio.
Now 'Sympathy' is a track I know very well (!) and it plays with great clarity and depth from start to finish.  The opening vocal has only a couple of 'moments' of light static and from then on plays with genuine quality.  There is no actual interference, barely any static, and again Near Mint- is deserved.
'Natures Fruit' plays with superb audio through every vocal and instrumental section.  I noticed only a couple of barely audible statics and one very quiet tick so has to be graded as Mint-
The quiet organ intro on 'Bird On A Wing' is perfect and the opening vocal is has no intrusion either.  As it continues the clarity of sound is again the stand out feature.  It's only the mid instrumental that has 2/3 static ticks / sounds but they are quiet and as the volume increases the playback is stunning.  Rare Bird do show that you can have great instrumentals without a guitar! Two minor statics just prior to the final vocal and the remainder has no background aside from one dull tick at the end of the fade out.  Let's say Near Mint- again.
The quiet percussive intro on 'God Of War' plays with stunning clarity, there are only 2/3 minor statics, and the 'choral' section is flawless.  The first 'vocal' is so quiet and yet the playback is 100% perfect.  The next choral passage is the same and it continues to play with incredible clarity, depth and warmth for a final track.  The instrumental is so strong and powerful although here it does sound like the organ is trying to replicate a guitar solo.  Nothing wrong with that of course.  I cannot emphasise enough just how well this entire instrumental section plays - outstanding power and definition and literally no intrusion.  The final brief vocal / closing instrumental are on the same level and concludes this superb album with a well deserved Mint- grade.
The Cover & Inner Sleeve
The cover is in very good to excellent condition some shelf wear.  The edges and thin pinched spine are so clean with barely any wear and the two right hand corners have only minimal rubbing / wear.  The opening edge looks like it has hardly been handled also.  The laminated front cover is very clean and as can be seen does have a couple of obvious creases in the top left corner.  Aside from that it is in great condition with only very minimal laminate lift by the bottom edge and a small number of minor creases around the edges.  The back cover is very clean when you consider it isn't laminated and has hardly any marking.  There are some faint score lines but these can only be seen when you hold the cover at a certain angle and some light ringwear also.  A strong example overall.
The original Patents pending inner sleeve is in superb condition with no real marking - just the glue showing through on the top and bottom edge - and only a little creasing.  No side splits or tears.
CAS+1005+A   //   CAS+1005+B2
Play tested on my Rega P2 with AT VM-95EN Cart / Denon PMA-520AE Amp / B&W 684 Speakers
This record has been professionally cleaned on my Pro-Ject VC-S machine
  I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.


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Postage & Packaging

I will only send items items worldwide via tracked shipping.  This provides 'peace of mind' in case of loss or damage.  The shipping costs are shown below and combined shipping is always offered.  Any over-payment will always be refunded.

The Royal Mail only insure up to a value of £250 so if an item sells for more it may be wise to use a courier service (e.g. Parcelforce or DPD).  An extra insurance premium will be required but I will not know the exact amount until the final sale price is known.  Because of this I will sometimes have to estimate the cost and this will be shown in the listing.  Please wait for the invoice before making payment and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.  Many thanks.

All vinyls are packaged in strong over-sized custom made mailers with plenty of extra cardboard protection.  They are placed inside separate poly-lined inners outside the cover so as to avoid seam splits in transit and then placed inside a PVC sleeve to provide even more protection.  I pride myself on my high quality packaging as my feed confirms and if any customer has any specific requirements I am more than happy to help.

The mailers I use cost £1.00 each and I will use anything between 3-5 cardboard stiffeners which cost approx £0.18 each.  There is also the cost of the poly-lined inner and PVC sleeve to consider, it all adds up!  Not forgetting that eBay take 10% of the shipping fee also!!

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LPs/12" singles : £6.50 up to 1kg then £1.00 per extra item 

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LPs/12" singles : £13.95 then £2.00 per extra

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REST OF WORLD (Tracked - Max 2kg)  

LPs/12" singles : £21.95 then £2.50 per extra

If you are not entirely happy with your purchase please contact me before leaving feedback and I will always resolve any issue, 100% guaranteed.  If you would prefer to send the item back I will also pay the return shipping cost if I am at fault, I am only human after all!!









 

 

 

 


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