ROLLING STONES AFTERMATH '66 UK Decca UNBOXED STEREO SKL 4786 earliest 1W/1W EX-

	£		52
	$		69

THE ROLLING STONES - AFTERMATH

Rare and highly sought after original UK 1966 12" LP, with shiny and 1st press 1W / 1W matrix vinyl on the DECCA label, STEREO SKL 4786

Matrix Numbers : Side 1  XZAL - 7209 - 1W with stampers "C 2 D" and "1" at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively ;  

Side 2  XZAL - 7210 - 1W with stampers "1" and "A" at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively 

An extremely collectable, impressive condition and highly presentable copy of this rare and sought after 1st press rock/blues gem with excellent audio quality

Both sides of the flat vinyl gleam with the original jet black lacquered sheen. The vinyl is nice and weighty, totally flat and appears to be in excellent condition in normal daylight; it is only with closer inspection under a bright light that some wispy hairlines and just a few small and extremely light surface-only scuff marks come into view - certainly nothing feelable or below the surface here - and on side 1 only there is some mild shadowing, again only detectable when viewed in a good light and the vinyl is tilted at an angle. Trivial, not impacting upon the overall excellent quality of the stereo playback (just some sporadic very, very mild background crackle - see below for further details on audio quality) but nonetheless noticeable under a good light so I therefore grade the condition of the vinyl as an overall EXCELLENT MINUS (EX-).

The condition of the labels is EXCELLENT PLUS (EX+).  Beautiful, with the colours remaining rich, vibrant, and perfectly defined, and all label text in original perfect condition. If you look very closely under a bright light you may just be able to detect a couple of small and extremely faint spindle trail adjacent to the centre hole on each label...otherwise perfect! Note the "unboxed" DECCA silver text - a UK first press indicator.

The condition of the iconic front-side laminated gatefold sleeve is a solid VERY GOOD PLUS (VG+). The top and bottom edges remain firm, as does the spine, with no scuffing; each corner remains a nicely defined right angle with absolutely minimal rubbing only; the front side laminate remains remains nicely intact with no lifting and just the occasional 1-2cm non-obvious 1-2 cm laminate creases adjacent to the top edge, bottom edge, or spine and a 5cm diagonal laminate crease towards the bottom left corner; the front side pale purple colouring remains vibrant and the front side definition remains excellent. The reverse side also remains impressively intact with no unwanted writing or creasing, but there is just the hint of some mild ring wear towards the top and bottom edges, x3 light (but clearly noticeable) age marks towards the opening side edge (see photos - one in the middle, two at the top left corner), and some very mild age discolouration towards the right edge. Nothing nasty, and lots to be impressed with, but not quite excellent so a VG+ is in order.

The audio quality is a EXCELLENT (EX). These t1960's thick vinyl pressings were made to last, and they do! This copy plays really nicely with great tone and clarity even at higher volume and frequency. There are no clicks, skips, jumps, repeats, or obvious background interference - just some very, very light background crackle during a couple of the quieter moments ("Lady Jane" for example) during some of the intermissions, and during the dead wax run-ins and run-outs : I stress that none of this crackle is sufficient to obviously impinge upon the excellent stereo sound quality and for the vast majority of the record is to all intents and purposes non-existent, and there is certainly nothing here to prevent every track from being a great listen. What a brilliant and breakthrough album this was for the Stones, and so difficult to take in that this rare first pressing is 55 years of age! Enjoy.

The track listing is :

Side 1:

1. MOTHERS LITTLE HELPER

2. STUPID GIRL

3. LADY JANE

4. UNDER MY THUMB

5. DONCHA BITHER ME

6. GOIN' HOME

Side 2 :

1. FLIGHT 505

2. HIGH AND DRY

3. OUT OF TIME

4. IT'S NOT EASY

5. I AM WAITING

6. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

7. THINK

8. WHAT TO DO

Comes complete with the original "THE EQUIPMENT" Decca poly-lined inner sleeve with correct "Patent Applied For" and "Made In England" text with barely any creasing, no seam splits or tears or obvious age discolouration, and remaining fully functional and in overall truly excellent condition. 

A highly collectable copy of this increasingly rare and hard to find 1966 UK 1st press Rolling Stones gem - a "must" for any serious vinyl collection.

POSTAGE COSTS :  For the UK, £5 using Royal Mail 1st class signed for; 

for continental Europe £13 using Royal Mail 1st class tracked and signed for,

and for the rest of the world £18 using Royal Mail 1st class tracked and signed for. I make no profit from postage.

Note that I always insert the vinyl(s) into a new plain white poly-lined inner sleeve in order to protect the original during postage, and separate this from the sleeve itself  to prevent seam splits. I use thick cardboard stiffeners and take great care in my packaging to ensure as far as possible that these precious records reach their destination in exactly the same condition as when they leave me.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other listings for more 60's and 70's classic vinyl.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting UK vinyl for over 50 years from a variety of sources : my own collection, friends and family, car boot and garage sales, door-to-door leaflets, and even through placing an advert in my wife's costume hire shop window! My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no questions asked" refund policy. If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. There is NO RESERVE on this item. Richard

Descriptions of any records I sell comply with the Rare Record Price Guide grading guidelines :

Mint  The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Excellent  The record 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 record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

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 of edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

Fair  The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.

Poor  The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing

Bad  The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.