THE NICE The Thoughts of Emerlistdavjack RARE ORIG 1st PRESS UK 67 MONO EX++ LP

	£		70
	$		92

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 will now be blocked 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 NICE

Album Title: The Thoughts of Emerlistdavjack.

Producer(s): Glyn Johns.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Flower King of Flies; Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack; Bonnie K; Rondo.

Side 2: War and Peace; Tantalising Maggie; Dawn; The Cry of Eugene.

Label/Format: Immediate – original very pale lilac format with matt, smooth surfaces. Side two includes the embossed ‘K T’ tax codes in pristine, unworn condition.

Label Conditions: Both in superb clean, fresh conditions with any spindle traces very fine and faint, barely any at all. All evidence suggests this classic album has hardly been played, this reitterated by superb dynamic mono sound.

Cat Number: IMLP 016.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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: 136 grams. A very good weight for this record.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: first pressings on the pale lilac label in mono are rarely seen in this type of condition. The cover immensely wear-prone and the record so easily damaged or worn by old heavy-tracking, thick mono stylus. A complex recording with immense sound and rarely will it be heard better than this. Most copies are seen in the later deeper pink labels.

Original Year of Release: 1967.

Matrix Nos: IMLP 016 A-1L / IMLP 016 B-2L (machine punched)

Stamper Codes: 1 R / 1 R [very early indeed, ‘R’ being the second stamper in the sequence]

Musicians: Keith Emerson - organ, piano, harpsichord, vocals; Lee Jackson - bass, guitar, vocals, tympani; David O’List - guitar, trumpet, flute, vocals; Brian Davison - drums, tubular bells, tympani.

Brief Info: I consider ‘The Thoughts of Emerlistdavjack’ – a title that combined parts of each band member – one of the most important albums in rock history. A landmark and groundbreaking transition from psych-rock to progressive-rock. This blends together the two genres and came up with something very new and different, it also introduced us to Keith Emerson. Formed in 1967 by Andrew Loog Album as a backing band for P. P. Arnold but they soon established themselves in their own right. This was their first album and one of the true classics of the era and never bettered. The Nice were amongst the very earliest pioneers of ‘progressive rock’ and this 1967 gem blended psychedelia with jazz elements and classical influences around an integral rock sound. A massively talented band with musicianship much higher than average, they made five albums before splitting at the end of the decade – Nice while it lasted. Emerson then formed ELP with Greg Lake (King Crimson) and Carl Palmer (Atomic Rooster) and developed The Nice sound still further. This groundbreaking debut is regarded as a mini classic, but I would go much further, it’s importance in the development of rock music is beyond dispute. The trend of the day was psychedelia, this album advanced this further and invented a totally new genre and opened the dawn of the prog-rock era. Brilliantly produced by Glyn Johns, this has audio quality almost ahead-of-it’s-time and almost matches the dynamics of the first ELP album. The mono version is wonderfully punchy and dynamic and ‘Rondo’ for me remains one of the definitive tracks of this new era of rock music. Played loud, this gave me that rare tingle-factor that only the greatest recordings ever can, this is simply brilliant. A record very lightly played and the sound FULLY intact with very clean detailed and powerful sound. All the complexities of the production and sound unspoilt by any mono record player mishaps or worn stylus. Even the cover has withstood the test-of-time as well, this massively prone to all forms of wear and rarely seen without significant issues.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: and arguably better still. A single unlaminated format and with an unforgiving matt finish, it has the correct original IMPL 016 number. The front graphic is inside a rectangular box which has a subtle and slightly different finish with a very delicate ‘sheen’, this seen critically under angled light .It is made with typically thin card and without the support and protection of laminate, combine this with predominately black artwork and quite a thick record, few will fare well over the years. Printed and made in England (uncredited) and including the polylined inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Ringwear is always the main threat to this cover and very few will avoid it. The early-made records were quite thick and pressed into the dark card leaving rim impression and eroding the ink (ringwear). This front has only merest fine traces near the top and bottom and amongst the least I have seen on an original sleeve. Very light rubbing traces are seen near the very bottom edge but little else. Still clean, fresh and attractive, the lack of creasing another major plus. A faint sticker residue dull trace near the top right barely even registers with normal full-on viewing, only seen under light. There is NO tearing or surface damage at all from this minor blemish trace. The main band graphic looks fantastic as seen in close-up, and given all the facts, this front has faired very well indeed.

Cover Back: Again, massively prone to all forms of wear, incredibly, this has even less hints of ringwear than the front. In fact, this has little to fault at all bar minor handling traces. Both sides will prove very difficult to find better these days.

Top Edge: Thin but still straight, any rub traces very few and equally light.

Bottom Edge: Again straight but moderate rubbing to this vulnerable storage edge.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and still mainly sharp with barely a hint of wear and guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way. Record enters on this edge that shows minimal traces of thickening.

Spine and Text: A very fine hardly worn spine, just a light traces of toning staining. Solid, straight with a little gentle compression in places. The ends are deeply nipped in manufacture, these retain very fine definition. All text is unworn, nigh-on perfect and also well-centred.

Corners: Minimal tip rubbing to the top corners, moderate to the lower ones as per the main edge. Very fine shape retained.

Cover Summary: In terms of vulnerability, they do not get too much tougher than this. A 1967 matt black unlaminated cover made from very thin card. A high percentage of covers from this era were laminated and flipbacked for more robust construction and longevity. This had no such protection and is a smooth-back, combine that with a fairly thick record inside, it has little chance being honest. The perfect recipe for ink erosion, creasing and especially ringwear. So with that in mind, this is a very fine example with most of any wear on the bottom storage edge. This should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a plain white polylined inner that is UK patented. This has aged little with minimal creasing and two crisp undamaged window circles and clear lining. All edges unsplit with no repairs. It has ‘Foreign Patents Pending’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a super visual copy, and few available mono originals will be found a great deal better. Very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed on top-quality vinyl. Any surface traces being few, very fine and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. A copy hardly even played for sure, this reinforced by immaculate, near perfect sound. It should please most-all collectors, even the highly discerning sound purists. Pale lilac first issues are rarely seen like this and a copy that does nigh-on maximum justice for this psych-prog classic.

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: Historically, one of the most important records within the development of ‘rock’ music. Up their with the early groundbreaking classics like Floyd’s ‘Piper at the Gates of Dawn’, ‘The Doors’, ‘In the Court of the Crimson King’ and ‘The Velvet Underground and Nico’. When heard, many forget how far this dates back, practically nothing had been heard like this before. This groundbreaking, pioneering psych-prog classic plays up to, and most all even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. It has strong, distortion-free mono sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and incredibly detailed sound. Just listen to ‘Rondo’ with its pulsating driving sound, this was way ahead of it’s time and remains, for me anyway, The Nice’s greatest ever track. Barely any traces of surface sound and no tracking issues, this is an exceptional clean pressing for a fairly challenging and complex album. All Nice albums are somewhat ‘difficult’ with quiet passages and intricate sound. So many were ruined by careless handling and too many plays on piledriver equipment from the past – the monos especially so – what a joy to be able to offer what clearly is a beautiful, hardly played mono original. The single-channel mix is incredible with amazing sonic power, dynamics and punch. Even the production ahead-of-it’s-time, to hear one as it was first pressed is a privilege not to be dismissed lightly and it remains unique to the analogue format. Few examples will better this significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp and devoid of mono noise from one speaker, the result of uneven wear from heavy tracking or worn thick stylus. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. it will prove very difficult to find better and is strongly recommended. Indeed, this vintage original could prove a major upgrade for many and these are rarely seen as such.

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’.