THE KINKS Village Green Preservation Society RARE ORIG UK 68 EX LP, PLAYS SUPERB

	£		367
	$		486

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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible.

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.

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 KINKS

Album Title: The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society

Producer(s): Ray Davies

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Village Green Preservation Society; Do You Remember Walter; Picture Book; Johnny Thunder; Last of the Steam-Powered Trains; Big Sky; Sitting by the Riverside.

Side 2: Animal Farm; Village Green; Starstruck; Phenominal Cat; All of My Friends Were There; Wicked Annabella; Monica; People Take Pictures of Each Other.

Label/Format: Pye – original format with matt quite smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both clean, fresh and attractive. A couple of minute chips around the hole and a few quite fine spindle marks. The record plays superbly throughout.

Catalogue Number: NSPL 18233

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 171 grams. A very heavy record even by Pye standards.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Rare in both mono and stereo, I have never found either format easy to find as this record did not sell well. Highly in demand these days, there simply are not enough originals to go round. The cover is one of the most fragile ever issued and just finding one in intact is a bonus. This one on offer is more than just ‘fully intact’, it is in very fine condition as-seen. The only slight blemish as such is in manufacture, it was not folded perfectly straight on the bottom edge and slightly tapers on the left.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: NSPL 18233 A-3 * T STEREO / NSPL 18233 B-4 * T STEREO

Stamper Codes: C 1 / C 1

Brief Artist & Album Info: By 1968 The Kinks had fallen from public grace in the UK, a bizarre fact made even more inexplicable as Ray Davies was at the height of creative brilliance. Still receiving high critical acclaim, this album, failed to capture the imagination of most record buyers of the time. Still writing beautifully honest pop songs about everyday events no longer appealed to Kinks fans, and it simply failed to sell. Listening to this now for a more mature record seller, simply brings home just how this man’s mind worked at the time, a work of absolute nostalgic brilliance and (for me) a strong contender for one of the best albums of the era. As time passes – like quality wine – this matures and just gets better and Better and BETTER! Playing this album makes it’s relative failure all the more bewildering – every track is superb, perfect songs performed, well, perfectly. A similar fate awaited the equally wonderful ‘Arthur’ that followed. Rarely ever has there been such an injustice of two albums failing to sell in the quantities they clearly should have done. Now after 50 years, there are not enough original copies to go around for the collectors who ignored this all those years ago (myself very much included). I think, as collectors and music fans get older, they look back on the nostalgia of pieces like this, helped of course by inclusion of past television programmes like ‘Heartbeat’, a series set in the 1960s and using music from this, and other similar albums to help set the scene for the story lines – it clearly gets more people interested in these bygone classics. The joys of the Village Green and cricket… taking pictures of people to enjoy when the subjects are no longer with you… the quaint old English customs and delights of the 1960s… the wonderfully bizarre song about an overweight cat that just sat and got fat (with sublime surreal psychedelic overtones)… old school friends that have disappeared, and where are they now?… and wonderful steam trains and technology of the past… this is diary of classic songwriting history, and a young mind working ahead of it’s time – the genius of Ray Davies. To get a copy of this in superb condition is a massive achievement. To say the cover is fragile is something of an understatement: even within a short time time, this flattened and creased. Even with modest use and handling, the edges got burred and tore. As the spine weakened, the laminate problems really set in, and most all seen are badly creased and often showing laminate loss. This one has suffered no traumas as such and is one of the best I have seen for some considerable time. Most Kinks albums got heavily played, this one has not been and plays beautifully throughout and is very well pressed on heavyweight clean vinyl. A work of songwriting genius that will never age and now firmly established in my personal favourite albums.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): grading this incredible example of an immensely fragile and delicate cover less would not be doing it full justice, these are more often seen in wretched condition. A flimsy gatefold format with the front being only thin single thickness card. The outer faces are laminated and this ends on the inside right external flipbacks. Both inner surfaces are matt, unprotected and smooth. The back retains its stereo NSLP sticker (as seen in close-up) to cover the mono details which was still the format of choice at this time. Clearly Pye records did not deem it viable to print a separate dedicated stereo cover. Printed and made in England and includes the plain polylined inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: The laminate retains excellent shine, freshness and clarity with no lifting on the front and only a modest one on the spine and and small finer one on the top edge. The stereo sticker is practically perfect a-seen. As stated, the bottom back edge has been folded a little off-square, so the left end rises a little and is not quite straight. Purely a manufacture issue, but hardly major. The lack of wear more than compensates. Any creasing little and light with minimal hint of dulling. Even rim impression to the very thin card is very light and faint, all graphics look fantastic as-seen. Both front and back will prove very difficult to find better.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The artwork is near perfect, clean fresh and unaged with hardly a crease to be seen. The record is stored to the right via the centre hinge area inside, thus the lack of wear to this area is seldom seen, there is just a tiny nick to the very bottom fold. Both flipbacks are almost as made, the bottom right is folded a little high as mentioned.

Top Edges: The back folded edge retains its laminate and is straight and barely worn, a possible small rub on the very left. The thin flimsy front has only gentle ‘curl’ to the right that few can hope to avoid at least. This remains clean and sharp, a likely tiny tip-in on the left corner that only registers viewed end-on.

Bottom Edges: Almost as above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The thin closed back edge is quite straight and neat with barely any trace of wear. Again the front edge is neat and crisp with minimal thickening or burring, naturally protected being a fraction left of flush by natural tilt to the thin flimsy spine. Gentle curl to its ends which is very difficult to avoid.

Spine and Text: As close to impossible to find unworn or flattened as they get. This has tilted slightly to the left, but if anyone has a totally erect and unflattened example, I sure would love to see it. This one has hardly any compression but has tilt to left, but avoided being totally flattened like many so. A superb spine that is unworn up to the very bottom corner end that has a small nick with ALL text present with no wear at all. Fully laminated with barely any peeling, clear and nigh-on unscuffed, the surface remains very smooth to the fingertip for most of its entire length. I consider a spine like this, on this cover almost exceptional, many tear and split badly which this has virtually avoided.

Corners: A little wear the spine ends with a nick as stated, the right corners are very impressive and neat with lovely crisp shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: An impressive example of this uncompromising and delicate, wear-prone 1960’s cover, sleeves of this era rarely came more flimsy or delicate than this. When picked up one-handed, it will bend quickly and severely crease and damage before you have time to support with the other hand. When all is said and done, this is a really attractive original example. As stated, I have seen this and ‘Arthur’ literally falling apart, split and creased into submission with the laminate actually hanging off and all edges split to shreds. This is why cellotape was often applied, even from new. Now well into its 50th year, this has hardly aged and most realistic collectors will know what this is like and will be delighted to accept it for what it is. A rare item and looking beautiful to the eye – not quite perfect, but it will prove hard to find a much better one. It should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a plain white polylined inner that is UK patented with ‘Foreign Patents Pending’ text. This has aged a little with some corner area creasing. It has two crisp and neat circle windows and a very clear, barely creased, intact lining. All edges fully intact with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: arguably better. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very heavily pressed – any record that exceeds 160 grams is heavy, this is over 170 grams – an exceptional weight even by Pye standards. A copy with only light plays on all the evidence with any surface marks few, mostly very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, little even registers. Visually a super record that should please many collectors.

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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant Kinks 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 are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. Few available copies will outperform this very early original significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played only lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

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 the item being offered with no digital enhancements. 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. 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 Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. 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 17­ 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. 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’.