The Beatles. Abbey Road. Miss-Aligned Apple. Skinny Spine. Excellent.1st Press
£
43
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56
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Description
THE BEATLES
ABBEY ROAD
RARE 'MISS-ALIGNED APPLE' ERROR SLEEVE
RARE 'SKINNY-SPINE'
EXCELLENT PLUS VINYL
FIRST PRESS DARK APPLE LABEL 1969 STEREO
PAS10004
PCS 7088 STEREO SIDE ONE YEX 749 - 2 SIDE TWO YEX 750 - 1
The Beatles. Abbey Road. PCS 7088.Original 1969 Stereo. First Press. Rare Error Sleeve. Rare Skinny Spine, Rare Dark Apple.
Hardly Played! Superbly... Rare!
This is a RARE LP! Why? It is a genuine 1969 'First Pressing Error Copy', with the odd 'Miss-Aligned Apple' on the reverse of the sleeve, which had the famous green Apple, on the reverese of the sleeve, out of line, to the left, of the text. These were the very first records off the press and into the shops and numbers were low, as the release was stopped! When release began again in 1969 the corrected or 'normal' pressings had the Apple, in line with the text, not sticking out to the left! There has been much speculation as to why this happened, as sleeve 'proofs' were normally signed off before pressing, but not with this famous 'Error Copy', which is rare!
The First Pressings also had a darker green Apple label on Side One, which continued with the 'corrected' cover issues, but later copies, during the Second Pressing, had a lighter green Apple. This particular 'error' copy has the 'Her Majesty' before 'The End' on the Side Two label, but it does not have the credit on the sleeve, with just 'The End' closing the credits. Finally, what else makes this a First Pressing and another rarity? It has the 'Skinny Spine', which literally is just that; a very thin spine, where 'Abbey Road The Beatles' and then 'PCS 7088' is squeezed on. Shortly after the correcting of the Miss-Aligned Apple, but not quite immediately, the cover was totally changed and all subsequent releases had the usual 3mm spine. This is a 'Skinny Spine' and very, very rare!
The other, important, reason for this record's rarity is that it has seldom been played and is un-marked, with an Excellent Plus look to both sides of the vinyl, meaning no scratches, no scuffs, no visible marks and no spindle wear. Only under bright, sustained light, in a studied examination, can slight paper marks and evidence of playing or tiny hairlines be seen. This makes it rare, as (think about it!) most Beatles Records were owned by Beatles fans and played to death! The record, in its vinyl state, is as close to not being played as a 43 year old record can be, but my guess it that it was played, but seldom and CAREFULLY!
The Garod & Lofthouse cover, aside of the fantastic oddity of the 'Miss-Aligned Apple', is another tell-tale sign of this LP's rarity and provenace and again almost as rare as the 'miss-aligned Apple: it has the unusual 'Skinny-Spine', which is literally that; a spine that is very thin indeed, thus the whole LP thickness is 'thin'! Why? Nobody really knows, but it puts this LP on a par with the oddity of the Sgt Pepper 'Thick' spine, which is a collector's item just for that! It is fully laminated and is totally intact, having done an excellent job over 43 years, without ring wear. This would also rate as Excellent, with just some creasing and ageing to the laminate, but totally superb. It has a plain black, corner-cut sleeve, which is in really nice, undamaged condition. There is no writing ANYWHERE on this package!
As usual with EMI it has the Matrix, Mother & Stamper Codes within the run-off areas of the vinyl on both sides and these codes translate its provenance, with Matrix No (Side 1) YEX 749-2, with Mother being '6' and Stamper or Dye being 'PDR' or '602' and the Matrix (Side Two) YEX 750-1 and Mother '4', with Stamper 'ODR' or '502'. With the Matrices of '749-2 & 750-1', which is the final First Press evidence.
Grading is subjective and there is much confusion, conjecture and argument. All I can say, putting guide terms aside, is that this LP, I believe, is as good as it gets for a rare copy of Abbey Road, that is not 'Mint' or 'Near Mint', but high up in the ratings, having been ownder and played, but so carefully!
Sales in and to the UK only. Postage is quoted for a sale of up to £46.00 only. Above this and the record must be sent First Class Guaranteed Next Day Delivery, so please wait until I invoice you. Thanks.
Record Collector Magazine's Grading Guide:
MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.
EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.
VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.
GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.
FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.
POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.
BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler."
As well as the above grades, Near Mint is often used as well; this is really for a record that appears new but is known to have been played because the label has light spindle marks or because it has come from a previous owner and is assumed to have been played by them. For records which appear to fall between the accepted grades, + and - are also often added to the grading.
Excellent may have Plus or Plus Plus or Minus or Minus Minus attached, which act as points above or below the grade.
In addition to the basic grading, any individual faults should be noted separately such as if an otherwise Excellent cover has a name written on it, or a 7" single is missing its original centre etc.
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