ASH RA TEMPEL SCHWINGUNGEN '72 German 1st press OMM 556020 superb kraut prog EX+

	£		127
	$		168

ASH RA TEMPEL - SCHWINGUNGEN

A beautiful German original 1st press copy of this rare and sought after 1972 prog/kraut rock classic, on the OHR label, Stereo OMM 556020

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1  28 0664 141 S1 OMM 556 020 A with stampers "1" and "E" at 2 o'clock and 12 o'clock respectively and also machine stamped "1972 C72  G"

Side 2  28 0664 141 S2 OMM 556 020 B with stampers "1" and "E" at 6.30 o'clock and 5.30 o'clock respectively and also machine stamped "1972 C72  G"

The appearance of the vinyl is excellent plus (EX+). Completely flat, gleaming vinyl with jet black lacquering and in normal daylight no visible marks or blemishes at all. With close scrutiny and under an intense light some very light, wispy hairlines and very light paper scuffs are just detectable on each side of the vinyl, with nothing "feelable" or obviously below the surface here - truly excellent! Clearly this record has had far less than it's fair share of plays, borne out by it's still truly impressive appearance after 47 years and the wonderful stereo sound reproduction. Truly excellent plus!

The labels are excellent. Beautiful 1st press off white smooth textured background with green text all perfectly intact, and the iconic pink "ear" logo on the side 1 label similarly in beautiful condition. Not even the usual one or two very faint spindle trails adjacent to the centre hole on each label - brilliant! The only reason for not grading the condition of the labels as "near mint" is the hand written name on the side 1 label : it's neat, it's small, it's reasonably faint, but it's there...hence the grading condition of "excellent" overall for the labels.

The condition of the beautiful front and reverse side laminated outer gatefold sleeve is excellent (EX). Beautiful colouring and art work still retaining it's original vibrancy and clarity on both sides. No nasty or obvious creasing, no discernible ring wear, and each edge remains rigid and devoid of any scuffing except for a 1.5cm scuff on the reverse side bottom edge next to the bottom right corner. The spine is near perfect with just a little compression/surface creasing at the very top, and each corner remains a nicely defined right angle with minimal scuffing on each. There are some occasional (less than 10) 1cm or smaller laminate creases, all very light and only really detectable under a bright light, adjacent and perpendicular to the edges, a very small area of whitening on the reverse side about 6cm from the middle of the opening edge, the odd "nick" and a couple of very small areas which are very slightly discoloured through age, and just the merest hint of a little fraying on the reverse side opening edge but these are all very minor and superficial blemishes and do not detract from the overall truly excellent condition of this gorgeous outer sleeve, the inside of which is hard to fault.

Finally, the quality of the audio is overall excellent plus (EX+). Brilliant tone and clarity throughout with no clicks (apart from the very occasional nano second of static no doubt caused by the odd speck of dust in the grooves through decades of storage), no skips, no jumps, and no repeats. The stereo sound quality really is hard to fault and I cannot imagine that there are many original German 1st pressings such as this which are in as overall excellent condition and with such impressive audio reproduction as this copy. 

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

LIGHT and DARKNESS

a) LIGHT : LOOK AT YOUR SUN

b) DARKNESS : FLOWERS MUST DIE

Side 2 :

SCHWINGUNGEN

a) SUCHE

b) LiEBE

Comes with original polythene lined, plain white and die cut inner sleeve with no tears or rips - just some minor creasing towards the bottom corners and remaining 100% fully functional. Note that I always post the record in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the original.

In summary a truly impressive, excellent plus copy of this increasingly rare and sought after 1972 German original prog classic - a worthy addition to any serious rock vinyl collection and only continuing to gain in value.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60's & 70's classic vinyl listings.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for almost 50 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960's and 70's origin. Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boot sales, auctions, and even through putting up a "vinyl wanted" notice in my wife's shop! I am now retired and take great delight in being able to spend more time scouring the country and attending boot sales and auctions in the hope of unearthing more vinyl gems...I am 64 years of age now and am still discovering bands and music of the 60's and 70's that I have never come across before. Wonderful! Richard

My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no quibble" refund policy. 

On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl thick cardboard "crucifix" style mailer along with at least two thick cardboard stiffeners. I take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection. 

For this item postage & packaging will be UK £4.00, Royal Mail 1st class signed for; continental Europe £9 and Rest of the World £13, Royal Mail 1st class tracked and signed for. 

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding!

NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines :

Mint

The records 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 are torn, stained and/or defaced

Poor

The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents are badly damaged or partly missing.

Bad

The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler

27/07/19 : Since putting up this ebay listing I have given this LP a careful but thorough clean and have to say that the audio quality is now (unsurprisingly) even better than tat as described in my listing; in particular, the sound quality for track 2, side 2 is now a solid excellent with just a little, very mild background crackle in evidence at the beginning and end of this track - nothing intrusive here at all, and the overall audio quality for the entire album really is terrific.