YES Fragile RARER ORIG UK 1971 ATLANTIC PLUM EX+ LP, HARDLY PLAYED, SUPERB SOUND

	£		69
	$		91

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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: YES

Album Title: Fragile

Producer(s): Eddy Offord & Yes

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Roundabout; Cans and Brahms; We Have Heaven; South Side of the Sky.

Side 2: Five Per Cent for Nothing; Long Distance Runaround; The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus); Mood for a Day; Heart of the Sunrise.

Label/Format: Atlantic, original red and maroon (‘plum’) format with matt, gently textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a couple or three very light, fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. This sensational record plays beautifully throughout.

Catalogue Number: 2401019

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Up and Down Movement: Very Gentle only – tracking effortless with no unwanted sound. Few vintage records will ever be perfectly flat, any issues with significant movement or tracking will be mentioned in detail if applicable.

Lateral Movement (Side-to-Side): Barely a Trace.

Weight of this Record: 121 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce on the plum label, even more so hardly played and with a fine looking cover. This was quite a late album on this label format, the last prior to the change.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: 2401019 A//1 1 2 1 4 & 2401019 B//1 1 1 2 0

Musicians: Jon Anderson – lead and backing vocals; Steve Howe – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals; Chris Squire – bass guitars, backing vocals, electric guitar; Rick Wakeman – Hammond organ, grand piano, RMI 368 Electra-Piano and Harpsichord, Mellotron, Mini-Moog; Bill Bruford – drums, percussion.

Brief Info: The fourth Yes album, and for many one of their very best. It sold well, peaking at No. 7 in the UK and 4 in the United States album charts. Superbly recorded and produced with sublime songs and musicianship from what most consider to be the very best Yes line-up. Intricate and complex with some very quiet passages, few early examples will be found much better than this. My play-grade was a revelation with barely any unwanted sounds at all, the record superbly pressed and hardly played. Gentle traces of inner sleeve marking on side two when inspected critically under light, but with NO sound whatsoever and barely even registering in average room light. A trait of a record not removed from its polylined inner for many years, common, and in most cases totally harmless as here. The cover lives up to it’s title – Fragile – few originals survive without often heavy rubbing, ring wear, light fading and sticker marks (or tears). This has a little light edge rubbing, but little else and also remains attractive. This one of the final ‘Plum’ copies sold as it includes a scarce K 50009 sticker on the back, indicating the change to the new Kinney label format was imminent. A very fine example, the record one of the cleanest I have heard in several years. Plum pressings in this condition are now fast becoming rare and I can hardly imagine hearing a much better copy of this progressive rock masterpiece.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: an unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. This has the correct and original 2401019 catalogue number and includes the new Kinney catalogue sticker number on the back as-seen. Basically, Atlantic were never going to waste Plum label records and covers until they ran out to be reprinted with the new Kinney credits. These original covers had the 8-page booklet glued to the centrefold, the two staples were never punched into the spine. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press and includes the November 1971 date-coded inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Some very fine rub traces seen on the top edge fold and a small one on the left spine edge fold towards the bottom and corner tips (those tiny). That apart – and few will avoid some edge rubbing at very best – this front is superb with rich deep unfaded colour. No light fading, for which this cover is very prone or creasing. The superb Roger Dean graphic is gorgeous with hardly a blemish to be seen away from the very edges. The lack of rubbing or sticker issues to one of his most famous and prized cover graphics is always the best news possible.

Cover Back: Tip rubs again, but hardly any on the folds visible on this side. A light crease on the top left corner and a faint dull below the sticker towards its right seen under light. The scarce Kinney sticker is sueprb, and clearly never removed or picked at, these were only ever seen on the last few original covers sold. Again the beautiful graphic is virtually unblemished – the lack of ring wear a major plus. Both front and back on these deeper coloured original covers will prove hard to find much better.

Cover Inner Gatefold & Booklet: Both left and right main faces are immaculate with nothing to fault. The 8-page booklet is the same – superb – clean, fresh, solidly adhered with its two original unloosened staples and manufactured adhesive. No creasing, tears or blemishes of any note. This inside will prove near impossible to find better.

Top Edges: Both straight, flat and flush with moderately light patchy rubbing.

Bottom Edges: As above, the very ends nearer moderate. Dark storage edges will rarely avoid some rubbing and in context, these have fared quite well. I have seen these and similar ones totally white and threadbare on many occasions.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The closed front is still sharp and straight. The back opening edges are still mostly sharp with any thickening little and light, mostly near the top on the back seen viewed end-on. All are guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: This is very impressive with any rubbing msotly confined to the very ends and that small one on the front fold near the bottom already mentioned. Solid, robust and straight with minimal hint of compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. The surface again retaining its deep colour and no bleaching out with natural sunlight. All text unworn – again a rare sight on this one – also nicely centred on the surface as-seen.

Corners: Quite light to moderate tip rubbing that few will avoid. Very fine shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this very fragile and unforgiving early 1970’s cover, one that could prove very difficult to find much better. This attractive item should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better, onlhy marked down for modest natural darkening of the white paper. One mild corner area crease, two crisp undamaged window circles and the polylining fresh and clear. No edge splits or repairs, this is date-coded 1171 (November 1971).

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++)/EXCELLENT(+): in terms of ‘usage’ marks, hardly any, as stated above, side two has mild inner sleeve dulling seen under light – it does nothing whatsoever, and hardly registers in average room light. This dulling nothing to do with usage or wear whatsoever, in fact the opposite applies – the lack of removal from the inner for many years a trait of polylined albums, Phonogram/Philips/Polydor seemed the most prone. Common and harmless, this is still a superb record that is very clean with fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy appearing hardly played on all the evidence with any handling or usage surface marks very few, light and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, hardly anything even registers. This record plays superbly and was a thrill to play-grade. Visually a lovely record that should please many collectors – and most for audio quality.

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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant prog-rock album plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Offering 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 barely even registered and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Even the several quiet passages play superbly. Few available copies will match or outperform this early plum copy I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this lovely record. Not heard a better copy of this in several years. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.