The Beatles : Rubber Soul 1/1 Loud Cut First Pressing

This very early 'Loud Cut' first pressing needs no introduction.  Any audiophile will understand the rarity and just how collectable this vinyl is and I am pleased to say it plays with superb clarity throughout, a full grading is given below.  It comes complete with a very clean E.J. Day laminated cover which has only a small amount of wear.

'The Gramophone Co. Ltd' etc printed around the perimeter edge with 'Sold in U.K. subject' text also.  This is the first label variation with the San-serif font and a space between the song title and the * indicator.  There is no KT tax stamp on this particular copy.

PMC 1267 // XEX 579 - 1 / XEX 580 - 1 // MH 5 / TA 2

The audio on S1 is Ex+ (Near Mint in many sections / track 7 Ex to Ex+)

The audio on S2 is Near Mint (Mint- in many sections / track 5 Ex+)

The cover is Ex-

The original Emitex sleeve is Ex

The labels are Near Mint-

 Visual grading

  For such a rare and collectable album the vinyl is in excellent condition with only a small number of imperfections.  It still has a very healthy glossy sheen and there are no scratches.  There is also not too much spindle wear so not over-played in my opinion and the quality of the audio certainly suggests that.  S1 is stunning and has only a small number of very faint hairlines and one longer one that is a little more obvious but it does not have any bearing on the very impressive audio.  S2 does have a few more hairlines, a couple of faint 'spots' and a 'squiggly' mark on tracks 3 and 4 but again they do not affect the audio in any way.  Not visually perfect but still better than so many you see and the audio is actually stunning!  The labels and run out grooves are also very clean.  Overall a highly creditable 'Loud Cut' pressing with very impressive audio.

Play grading

'Drive My Car' has barely any static on the intro and as soon as the vocal comes in the audio is so strong and clear.  Thereafter it plays with exceptional clarity although there is a barely noticeable skip during the 'And she said listen babe I got something to say' line.  It is so brief and easily missed!  Aside from that the track plays superbly well and there are no clicks or pops and the fade out is nigh on perfect.

The acoustic intro on 'Norwegian Wood' plays beautifully and continues in the same way.  In my opinion this is the first indication of the 'muddy' bass sound but the audio still plays with great clarity.  This is a stunning version and the sitar is the real star of the show here and plays very clearly indeed.  From start to finish all I heard was a small number of barely audible dust ticks.

'You Won't See Me' is without fault as there is just nothing that gets in the way of the immaculate audio.  There is no 'background' and plays to an incredibly high standard.  There are just a couple of light static clicks on the fade out.

'Nowhere Man' is superb from the very first note with only one light dust tick on the intro.  The 'muddy' bass and 'aggressive' vocal is more prevalent here and you can see why the band wanted to stop the production of these first pressings.  In spite of that you could not wish to find a better version of this track on a 'Loud Cut' pressing.  It plays with superb audio throughout and the fade out plays perfectly.

'Think For Yourself' and 'The Word' both play to a very impressive standard with no interference.  There is just a minimal hint of distortion on the latter but of course you expect that as you reach towards the end of the side.  It still plays fantastically well and again not a single click or pop on either track.

As any Beatles collector will know 'Michelle' always plays with a little static on the 'Loud Cut' pressings it is only minimal here.  A little more obvious as you reach the end but I must stress the audio still plays very clearly and you must remember this is a 54 year old record with no clicks or pops on the entire side!

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'What Goes On' is superb from start to finish.  A couple of mega quiet dust ticks on the intro only, the definition of the audio is stunning and I don't think the 'muddy' bass is that obvious here.  The vocals plays so clearly and this really is a very impressive version of this track.  No clicks or pops and a mega clean fade out.  Stunning!  

The following version of 'Girl' is quite simply one of the 'cleanest' I have ever heard, it is nigh on immaculate.  It is of course a quiet track and yet there is no interference at all.  I am just blown away the clarity here - no dust ticks and certainly no clicks or pops.  The audio plays with a definition that is just so rarely heard on any pressing let alone a 'Loud Cut' first pressing.  I would go so far as to grade this as Mint- it is that good.  Plus a superb fade out.  Wow!

'I'm Looking Through You' again plays with sublime quality and no 'background'.  What is impressive is that there is no distortion on the top end of the Hammond Organ, a rarity indeed!  Another stunning track!

'In My Life' has only a minimal amount of mega light static on the intro and from then on plays with wonderfully clear audio.  So far the sound quality on this side could scarcely be any better!  There is a little static during the 'piano' section but it is so much in the background and totally non-intrusive.  I would still say this is worthy of a Near Mint- grading.

'Wait' plays extremely well with only three faint dull clicks.  The 'aggressive' vocal sound is more obvious here but there is no obvious distortion which is a rarity for this track.

'If I Needed Someone' has a little distortion on the top end but you expect that and there is no other 'background'.  Overall a very impressive version and the distortion is only very minimal and there are no clicks or pops...again.

'Run For Your Life' ends the album with superb clarity and depth.  There is hardly any distortion here and that is something that cannot often be said for any final track on a mono record let alone one that is this old!  It really is a stunning version and may well be the strongest I have ever heard on a first press.  The fade out plays to near perfection with just couple of crackle sounds literally at the end.  Overall a fantastic end to this increasingly rare album.

In summary this highly collectable album plays very impressively with little to detract from the quality on offer.  Ok there is that mega minor skip on S1 and three quiet clicks on S2 but for an album of this rarity and age you will not find many better and indeed much of it plays with Near Mint quality.  Having listened to every second of the album (as I always do) I can confidently say that any collector would be impressed by the playback here and there is very little of the distortion that you so often find.  An indication I would say that the vinyl has not been played too many times.  The cover is also very clean with only a little wear on the back but no marking which is very rare.

The Cover

The E.J. Day laminated cover is very clean but with a little wear mainly on the back.  The edges have no rubbing/marking at all apart from one tiny crease mark on the bottom edge.  The thin pinched spine is in superb condition with no wear at all and all four corners are also very impressive with only a minor rub mark bottom right.  The opening edge is in excellent shape with hardly any handling wear and that is a rarity.  The front cover has no laminate splits and only a small number of faint creases, it really is in superb condition.  The white background on the back cover is extremely clean with none of the marking/staining that you so often see and only the flipback along the bottom edge has some wear/creasing and is also a little loose on the right corner.  That really is the only obvious wear and the other two flipbacks are in lovely condition.  This is certainly better than most 'loud cut' covers that you find today.

Inner sleeve

The original poly-lined Emitex sleeve is in excellent shape with no splits or tears, just some creasing here and there.  Rarely there is no age related fading.

The labels

They are in superb condition with no marking or writing and only a small amount of spindle wear.  There is no KT tax stamp on this album.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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