YES (1st) RARER ORIGINAL UK 1969 Atlantic Plum EX++ LP

	£		68
	$		90

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: YES

Album Title: Yes.

Producer(s): Paul Clay & Yes.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Beyond and Before; I See You; Yesterday and Today; Looking Around.

Side 2: Harold Land; Every Little Thing; Sweetness; Survival.

Label/Format: Atlantic – Original red and maroon (Plum) format.

Label Conditions: Both look superb: very clean and attractive with only very light and faint spindle marks. This has the hallmark of a hardly played record, reitterated by superb clean sound.

Cat Number: 588190.

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: 135 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: Original plum copies are scarce and elusive, in this condition quite rare.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: 588190 A 1 1 1 1 1 2 / 588190 B 1 1 1 2

The Band: Bill Bruford - drums, vibes; Tony Kaye - organ, piano; Peter Banks - guitar, vocals; Chris Squire - bass, vocals; John Anderson - lead singer and incidental percussion.

Brief Info: Brilliant debut album from one of rock’s evergreen progressive bands, some even consider it their best ever. It was clear even from these early days, this band were very special and technically up-there with the very best around at the time. From these early beginnings, things progressed fast and soon they became one of the biggest and most successful within their field. This is a fantastic original example, the matrixes make it clear it’s a very early pressing, it has a lovely clean, little worn cover (never easy to say the least), record and insert. The sound is immaculate throughout and without doubt, it’s hardly been played. For those wanting the earliest originals in beautifully preserved condition, this will take a lot of beating.

Cover Grade and Format: EX+ a gatefold unlaminated format with a matt finish and very delicate indeed with a single thickness front. Rarely seen devoid of major rubbing, scuffs and ringwear. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press with the correct original Cat. No, beware of substitutions with the Kinney number that are nigh-identical that apart.

Cover Front: Superb and incredibly rare to find with so little wear and devoid of creasing. Being so intensely black and thin, it has all the recipes for significant rubbing, creasing and scruffiness. This has a little light surface rubbing but in terms of this cover, only very mild, most of any little present near the top edge. My picture, taken with flash, actually over-emphasises a little. Clean, fresh with few marks with just a few ultra fine edge hairline creases that barely show. The lack of creasing is significant too as this front is so thin. The Yes artwork is bright and vibrant with little wear either and overall this is a very nice front.

Cover Back: Very similar to the front and the lack of ringwear is great news, few avoid it. Again a few light rubs, odd faint crease and minor surface marks when scrutinised closely. No sticker marks either side which is worthy of note as this cover is highly intolerant. Also handling and fingermarks have been avoided, any sweaty or greasy hands on this will leave marks that are nigh-on impossible to remove on the matt black surfaces, this has not happened here.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Very mild traces of set-off on the bottom left where dark ink rests on white is near unavoidable and here it’s as light as it ever gets. A small light stain on the bottom edge near the fold and a small dull near the top right edge just right of centre (this barely even shows but I mention all I see). A highly attractive centre that has avoided creasing and rubbing.

Top Edges: Very light rubbing to the back edge, the front remains very sharp which is unusual.

Bottom Edges: Light rubbing only, both slightly thickened. Being the resting edges, this is pretty much normal, again this is quite minor.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with little wear and no feathering, both guaranteed untrimmed. Any burr traces to the thinner front edge are tiny and faint. Record entered on the back edge.

Spine and Text: A lovely intense black spine with barely any wear. Solid, straight with minimal compression, folded squarely so the right edges meet up very closely together and parallel. All text is perfectly unworn.

Corners: Light and small tip rubs but little more, very fine shape is retained.

Cover Summary: Another one of classic rock’s most wear-prone covers, rarely seen within a grade of this beauty. I feel sure this please most collectors and bettering this will prove difficult.

The Inner: The polylined inner has aged a little but is still in fine condition.

The Insert: EX++, very clean and sharp-edged and original. Later ones had the Kinney number on them. No hard creases at all, very minor handling ruffles if being somewhat critical. It is double-sided with lyrics and looks superb.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: I feel I should grade Mint(-), almost as made which would be correct. But faint manufacture marks can be seen (but NOT heard) on the first song. Very light and minor pressing surface blemishes only, totally superficial and non-sounding. Present with close inspection nonetheless, so I grade EX+ / EX++ visually. A super visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. Any other ‘use’ surface traces or hairlines are very few and ultra faint and this is a lovely vintage record. This record looks hardly played on all the evidence and sounds fantastic. I feel sure it please most 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 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 brilliant record plays even above its high visual grading with 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. Barely any traces of surface sound and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will match or outperform this quality ‘Plum’ pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure 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 prog classic. This lovely complete example 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 (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

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’.