THE SMITHS: What Difference Does It Make? TEST PRESSING
  £   78
  $   93

 


£ 78 Sold For
Nov 29, 2006 Sold Date
Nov 22, 2006 Start Date
£   4 Start price
17   Number Of Bids
  Great Britain Country Of Seller
eBay Auctioned at
 
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Description

THE SMITHS - What Difference Does It Make TEST PRESSING

A great chance to own:

The TEST PRESSING of the single in the ORIGINAL TERENCE STAMP sleeve!!!!!! The ORIGINAL 7" release in Near MINT condition with the redone MORRISEY sleeve!

ROUGH TRADE RECORDS, RT146, 1984, United Kingdom

Now this is pretty cool. The Smiths released this classic peon to clandestine desires as their 3rd single. With all four musicians at the top of their game, it's not difficult to see why The Smiths cut through the indie jungle at the time. The A side's razor sharp hammer on guitar part is like an alarm bell... so distinctive is Johnny Marr's melodic, almost afro beat jangle that you kind of wish you could just hear it on it's own. However, Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke crash in with their tight interlocking groove and it's then you know they've got you. While the backing track is all forward propulsion and awkwardly funky, Morrissey's vocal lilts in at a tangent, with his querying lyrics masked by his whimsical delivery. It's the tail out of the chorus when you get his real sentiment.. 'You must be looking very old tonight...'

The B side is often over looked, but any Smiths fan worth thier salt will know that Morrissey and Co. never overlooked the flip. 'Back To the Old House' is cut from similar forlorn cloth as their debut album... it's the sound of a dispairing voice whincing at a painful memory. The backing track is deceptively smooth; it's Stephen Patrick's delivery that makes the hairs on your neck stand up before they wilt again...

The Smiths developed their identity through distinctive artwork, often portraying filmstars in their favourite films. 'What Difference Does It Make' stood out from their early ouvre as it featured Morrissey himself on the cover, mysteriously holding a pint of milk. Of course it was not meant to be so, as the FIRST print run of the sleeve had a publicity shot from 'The Collector' with Terence Stamp in the same pose (but with a chloroform pad!). Terence Stamp objected to the use of his image and thus the single was issued again with Morrissey mocking the original image. After Sandy Shaw (a friend and collaborator of the band) intervened, Stamp finally gave his approval and the original sleeve was issued for the 12".

The REASON I'm giving you all this info is that you will (hopefully) be bidding on not only a RARE TEST PRESSING of the original single, but also a STANDARD ISSUE of the single. The TEST PRESSING comes with the TERENCE STAMP cover, and the STANDARD issue comes with the MORRISSEY sleeve, got that? This is a chance to own a PIECE OF INDIE HISTORY no less!

CONDITION OF TEST PRESSING VINYL and SLEEVE:Visually, the test pressing has to be graded NEAR MINT. There are no marks or surface scuffs on the vinyl whatsover. The label, which is plain white with 'Smiths New Single' written on it (and the cat. Number' has a couple of very light wear marks on the ridge. On PLAYBACK, the vinyl has a little surface noise, as is the case with many test pressings. I suppose that's why they're test pressings. Though you can still get audio enjoyment from it, I'd have to grade the playback as VERY GOOD (in accordance with the Record Collector Gradings) due to the slight surface noise. The TERENCE STAMP cover is graded at VERY GOOD. It's a little worn around the edges, and some of the cover has been torn on the rear of the sleeve. There's a tear at the bottom near the lyrics on the rear in particular. No need to worry because you're getting TWO sleeves!!!!

CONDITION OF STANDARD ISSUE VINYL and SLEEVE: The vinyl is a comfortable NEAR MINT, and the sleeve is EXCELLENT! The playing surface is absolutely spotless and the difference between this standard issue and the test pressing is aurally incredible. Every instrument is at it's visceral best and the sound just leaps out the speakers! The labels are spindlemarkless too. The Sleeve is crispy and has no ring wear. It looks like it could have been bought yesterday except for a small stain on the bottom flap. To be honest I haven't tried getting this off but I reckon you could with some lighter fluid to dissolve it. It's very light at any rate!

Let me just reitirate what you are getting with this listing: A TEST PRESSING of the single and a NEAR MINT copy of the single!!

Okay, I hope you enjoy your win and please don't hesitate to ask any questions about either record!




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