THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (ELO) SCARCE ORIG UK 1971 EX HARVEST, PLAYS GREAT.

	£		14
	$		19

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA

Album Title: The Electric Light Orchestra.

Producer(s): Roy Wood and Jeff Lynn.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: 10538 Overture; Look at Me Now; Nellie Takes Her Bow; The Battle of Marston Moor.

Side 2: First Movement; Mr. Radio; Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre); Queen of the Hours; Whisper in The Night.

Label/Format: Harvest – original format with Gramophone Co Ltd text on rims, these have matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, still fresh and attractive with light+, less than moderate spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. These are mostly faint and show little.

Cat Number: SHVL 797.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

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: 122 grams. A quite common average weight for the year when vinyl mass was reduced due to the oil shortage. Better this than being heavy with recycled vinyl, this record plays superbly.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce as a very early issue. Early ELO were far from commercial and like many new bands on Harvest, this one did not sell that well.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: SHVL 797 A-1U / SHVL 797 B-1U (both are error-corrected, bizarrely, the first matrixes were by Philips, as clearly seen, the correct ones are by EMI).

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 T / 1 GR

Musicians: Roy Wood - Guitars, Bass guitar, Cello, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, percussion, period woodwind instruments; Krumhorn, vocals; Jeff Lynne - Guitars, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals; Bev Bevan - drums, percussion, vocals; Bill Hunt - French horn, hunting horn; Steve Woolam - Violin.

Brief Info: Future mega-stars and sellers of millions of records but this debut ‘ELO’ album was VERY different. This was not pop-music or even commercial, but far more ‘progressive’ which being on the Harvest label should come as no real surprise. Formed almost the same time as The Move folded, this album has an almost unique sound. Guitars are largely replaced by grinding cellos and the heavy use of reed instruments are all played by the multi-talented Roy Wood. Uncommercial and only briefly charting for four weeks at a lowly 32. It faired even worse in the US barely scraping into the Billboard charts. Now regarded as one of the early Harvest classics and greatly sort-after. The early original pressings are highly cherished, the sounds on this record were heavily influenced by Wood’s brief presence, and gave few indications of what to expect later as the sound became more commercial and highly polished. With the band later wanting a more easy-listening sound and bigger audience, Wood left the band early. This copy is very early indeed and it plays superbly, it does not have the insert sheet however. Special mention of the production by Wood and Lynne – it’s fantastic with genuine high fidelity sound values. All those complex string sounds sound incredible and a copy I enjoyed immensely.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: all the main faces look very impressive, most wear being on the storage bottom edges. A fragile unlaminated gatefold format with all surfaces textured. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse. Includes the Harvest promotional inner sleeve, no insert.

Cover Front: Firstly, I must reitterate just how soft and fragile this cover is, to the fingertips it almost has a soft leather-like feel and it is seldom seen devoid of often significant wear. This front looks fantastic with little to fault bar a little rubbing to the very edge of the bottom edge. Barely any creasing, no grubbiness and no speckle (rubbing) to the small raised dots of the textured detail. Excellent freshness and colour, any actual surface marks very few, gentle and faint as seen with scrutiny under light.

Cover Back: This side is even more prone to wear due to the record resting against it, hence so many are rife with ringwear. Not this one, it has barely any traces at all, most of any rubbing is again near the vulnerable bottom edge, but even this is quite modest, most seen near the bottom left corner. Overall, largely the same as the front.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The odd tiny fine corner crease apart, little else to fault on equally wear-prone textured surfaces.

Top Edges: Very straight with unusually little wear, not ruling out the odd small enhancement if scrutinised closely.

Bottom Edges: Moderate to moderate+ rubbing, all ink eroded on these perilous storage edges that seldom escape with none. On a positive note, no splits or repairs.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with very little real wear and guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on back edge, the front being closed.

Spine and Text: Any rubbing tiny and light up to the ends, that being quite unusual as well. Solid, straight with barely any hint of compression. Folded square so all edges meet flush and parallel. More unusually for this one, all text is almost perfect and hardly worn, this never be taken for granted. Both folds little worn either with no scuffs or major abrasions. With card this soft, this is another plus.

Corners: Soft card, no protection, so moderate tip rubs is not surprise. Fine to very fine shape retained which is quite respectable for this one.

Cover Summary: Apart from the bottom edges, a strong all-round example of this very fragile early 1970’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find significantly better. This still attractive item should please many collectors, but not the more discerning or perfectionists.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a very impressive polylined Harvest promotional inner with no damage and minimal creasing. Lightly aged with the usual adhesive darkening on the seams, but this has aged far less than the majority seen. All edges unsplit (with no repairs), the bottom corners are vented in manufacture as always.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT / NEAR EXCELLENT: with some surface marks on side two seen under bright light (only when the angle is right), few on side one. All purely superficial and fine with NO sound. In fact this early copy plays superbly well. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with impressive shine and solidly pressed. A copy with quite modestly plays on all the evidence reitterated by near flawless sound on which is a highly revealing and complex recording. Visually a super record that should please many collectors, but like the cover, not for visual perfectionists.

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 snippets 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: For me, sound is the ultimate factor for any record and this vintage Harvest classic plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds minimal and faint, overall an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues* – so often not the case on Harvest records made in this year. This one pressed on pure vinyl, not recycled as many of the more heavily pressed were in this year of the oil shortage. Noteworthy are the sound of those grinding cellos, you hear the bows scraping across those tight strings that give an in-the-room resonance. This is audiophile quality and hi-fi connoisseurs will love this. Few available copies will match or outperform this very early pressing I feel sure. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful album, this is early ‘progressive’ ELO, not the commercial more ‘pop’ act they later became after Roy Wood departed. This copy could prove difficult to find significantly better and can be highly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

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 as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – 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 it’s 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. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

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 soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 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 boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, 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. When larger boxes are used, 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. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 14 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. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

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] = £4.75

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an 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: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. 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 necessarily 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’.