THE ZOMBIES Odessey & Oracle V. RARE ORIG UK 68 EX+ LP

	£		371
	$		492

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: THE ZOMBIES

Album Title: Odessey and Oracle.

Producer(s): Al Kooper and The Zombies.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Care of Cell 44; A Rose for Emily; Maybe After He’s Gone; Beechwood Park; Brief Candles; Hung Up on a Dream.

Side 2: Changes; I Want Her, She Wants Me; This Will Be Our Year; Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914); Friends of Mine; Time of the Season.

Label/Format: CBS - deep orange with smooth finish, double ridged inner circles. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both very clean and attractive with only light and relatively faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area.

Cat Number: S 63280.

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: 140 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rare and always has been. Now regarded as a ‘lost’ classic, this sold very poorly and is highly elusive in mono and stereo. Lightly played, clean and attractive examples are immensely difficult to find.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: SBPG 63280 A2 / SBPG 63280 B2

Musicians: Colin Blunstone – vocals; Rod Argent – organ, piano, keyboards, vocals, mellotron; Paul Atkinson – guitar; Chris White – bass, vocals; Hugh Grundy – drums.

Brief Info: A psych-pop classic and recorded at a time when the band were no longer getting on and splitting soon after. Many regard this legendary album as the only real Zombies long-player as others included cover versions and singles. The mixing for the two versions of the album was complex and the mono and stereo versions vary. This has distinct Beatlesque overtones and also reminds of ‘Pet Sounds’ era Beach Boys. Strangely this went almost unnoticed by the buying public of the day and it failed to sell at all well, it did not even enter the album charts hence the rarity of the early examples today. This is a lovely stereo copy that plays beautifully and includes an attractive cover that has only minor wear or blemishes. For fans of this band and genre, it will prove difficult to find much better – and if so – at what price?

Cover Grade and Format: Strong EX and actually looks better still. A single format with front laminate, this wraps around the closed edges but only goes on to the back via the spine. Printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day. This original cover has no reference to stereo, clearly CBS did not deem a specialist stereo necessary and simply used the available mono ones still left over. This album was a very poor seller.

Lamination & Front: The laminate is very clear and has a lovely shine and freshness. All fully adhered with no lifting or blisters and hardly any traces of friction rubs or dulling. The right corner tips have rubbed, most on the bottom. There is a mild record impression and some creases. No too many and mostly on the lighter side of moderate with modest visibility. The artwork looks superb seen through unfogged laminate, any surface marks are few and very faint and this gorgeous front will not prove too easy to find much better.

Cover Back: The mainly unprotected back is highly vulnerable to all forms of wear, but this one has little. Just faint traces of handling or grubbiness and any marks or rubbing very light and little also. Mild traces at the bottom only. The lack of ringwear and creasing is very good news and I suggest unusual. The spine edge has laminate for around three-quarters of an inch, the end being clean and grime-line free. So a very fine back to complement the attractive front.

Top Edge: Thin but minimal traces of wear.

Bottom Edge: Little wear again, a light graze can just be felt with the fingertip near the left corner area.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with little wear and no feathering, guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Fine and thin, this has three surface chips, two of which have largely removed two letters of the otherwise perfect spine text. The ‘C’ and ‘E’ have mainly gone from the word ‘ORACLE’ as can be seen on my spine text close-up picture. This apart, little else to fault being solid, quite straight with minimal compression, all laminate solid and present except on the chips of course.

Corners: Light tip rubs on the spine, light+ to moderate corner rubs on the front right pair. Very fine shape retained on spine, mildly less so on the others.

Cover Summary: A very strong all round example of this fragile late 60’s Ernest J. Day cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better – finding this at all is challenging enough initself. This beautiful item should please many, if not most collectors. Only enough relatively minor blemishes or wear to concern the most discerning collectors. Any doubts etc…

The Inner: The has an unlined promotional CBS inner circa around 1969. Grades EX+ with just one corner crease but clean and no edge splits.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX to EX+, A super visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with only a small few light surface marks or hairlines that have no sound. Visually a super record that should please many, it not most collectors again.

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 snippetts 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: This ‘lost’ psych album plays even above its high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. 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 no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: 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, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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. 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 and offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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.

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

NOTE: I NO LONGER SEND TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. ANY BIDS WILL BE IGNORED.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £12. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.