BEATLES WITH BEATLES INSANELY RARE WITHDRAWN, LIMITED EDITION MFSL AUDIOPHILE LP

$

330

WE CURRENTLY HAVE   MORE THAN 1,000   LISTED ITEMS.   TO DISPLAY ALL OUR AUCTIONS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER (BY ARTISTS' NAMES)    ►CLICK HERE

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·       THE BEATLES – WITH THE BEATLES - ORIGINAL 1981 LIMITED EDITION HIGH-QUALITY 'ORIGINAL MASTERS' AUDIOPHILE, EXTENDED DYNAMIC RANGE VIRGIN VINYL LP MFSL-1-102

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

BY FAR THE RAREST MOBILE FIDELITY ALBUM IN EXISTENCE – MINT (OR SEALED) COPIES ARE ALL BUT UNKNOWN AND CHANGE HANDS FOR AS MUCH AS $1,000.00

·       INCLUDES:

(1)          ORIGINAL "RICE PAPER" MFSL INNER SLEEVE

(2)          INNER, CUSTOM-MADE MFSL CARDBOARD COVER

·       ORIGINAL WHITE MFSL LABEL (NO OTHER STOCK MFSL PRESSINGS OR LABELS EXIST)

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       ORIGINAL, THIN CARDBOARD COVER (NO THICK CARDBOARD COVERS WERE EVER PRODUCED FOR THIS TITLE)

·       ORIGINAL GLOSSY, LIGHTLY LAMINATED COVER

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·       FAIRLY THICK VINYL PRESSING On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the thickness of the vinyl as 7.

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you'll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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According to the legend, this BEATLES’ MONSTER RARITY was created through a unique confluence of production mishap, corporate stubbornness and legal contest of wills between Apple and Mobile Fidelity. The legend has it that, when Apple leased the original master tapes to Mobile Fidelity Audio Labs, MFSL initially created the metal stamper and used it for a short while for a very short-lived first (and only) press run of the album before the stamper was accidentally dropped and broken, rendering it useless for further production. Alas, when MFSL asked Apple to re-lease the tapes so that the stamper could be recreated, Apple declined, leaving MFSL in a limbo and unable to continue production of one of its more promising titles. As a result, copies of “With the Beatles” on MFSL label are tens, possibly hundreds of times rarer than ANY OTHER BEATLES TITLE RELEASED ON THIS LABEL. Mint or still sealed copies are for all practical purposes nonexistent. We are reasonably confident that less than 50 sealed and less than 200 mint copies of this album exist worldwide, and most of them are jealously owned and guarded by the private collectors. You are looking at one of this rare specied: BID NOW, DON’T WAIT! 

Ah, but wait. that's not the end of it. We have more:

We are not buying for one second the official MOFI explanation about the reason for the album's rarity. And the reason we are not buying it is that it simply makes no sense. Why would EMI or Apple decline to re-grant access to their master tapes simply because of the human error with the stampers?. It's not like MOFI people sought to destroyed the Beatles' master tapes or threatened to set ablaze the EMI tape archive. 

We have an alternative - MUCH BETTER and more plausible - explanation why this album is so rare.

Just look at the MOBILE FIDELITY front cover, for crying out loud!:

The legendary Robert Freeman black & white photo of the four Beatles, which leaves one half of each face in the dark (and adds a certain mystique and a whiff of Dr.Jekyll-and-Mr.Hyde darkness to their characters) is so brazenly and so ridiculously, embarrassingly RETOUCHED on the cover of the Mobile Fidelity edition that it looks like a child was playing and was allowed to vandalize the original Freeman cover photo. It looks like Mobile Fidelity - for whatever reasons known only to them  - decided to have someone from their graphic design team TOUCH UP the Freeman's photo -- with what appears to be a (gasp!) -- WHITE CRAYON!!! (We. Kid. You. Not.)

If you compare the original Freeman photo with the cover of the Mobile Fidelity version, you will immediately notice how harsh and crude the contours are, and how the "dark" halves of the Beatles faces have been artificially (oh, horror!) "whitened" to make their dark halves stick out. Alas, the horrible intervention was more than simply crude: it was nothing short of HILLARIOUS!  We are not talking professional photoshopping here:  we are talking 5-year old Lindsay Lohan doodling over Mona Lisa with a white crayon! The result of this "correction" is nothing short of skull-numbing!: John Lennon looks cross-eyed, George Harrison looks like a mongoloid, Ringo looks like a  character from the Star Trek and Paul McCartney's face is about as pockmarked as Manuel Noriega's.. EMI must have gone ballistic and apoplectic when they saw what the bunch of classless and clueless Yanks had done to their beloved cover - one of the rock's most iconic - and immediately barred the MOFI team from accessing any aspect of the original album, master tapes included. That's what we think it is -- but this is merely our speculation: you be the final judge.  In essence, we believe that EMI declined to relicense this title to the MOFI after they realized that Mobile Fidelity tampered with the integrity and original artistic concept of the graphic design in a really, really major way. Again, just look at the attached A/B comparison and judge for yourselves! (please don't laugh while you are bidding, you may enter the wrong amount :-)

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This is a rare opportunity to acquire this great album in its FINEST audio format, no longer in print, and no longer easily obtainable.

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If you are an American,  be forewarned: this is a VERY different version of the album from the one you are used to hearing: European mixes of the Beatles albums are generally different, more delicate and balanced and clearly devoid of echo, reverb and other sonic trickery used on American pressings.

This is the SECOND Beatles U.K.  album, and - like all European versions of Beatles albums - this one, too, is different from its American counterpart in the name, number of the tracks, mixing and overall packaging. This may be one of your final chances to grab a piece of history in a beautiful condition.

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For its extraordinary contribution to the modern music, superb production, craftsmanship, fine musicianship, revolutionary significance and influence it exerted on numerous generations of musicians, writers and general public, or for some other innate quality, this album was voted one of top-200 albums of all time in one of the largest poll of critics, music reviewers, professionals and producers ever organized: the poll, which was conducted by Paul Gambaccini, legendary BBC Radio A&R man, surveyed more than 50 top music professionals (including Roy Carr, Jonathan Cott, Robert Christgau, Cameron Crowe, Chet Flippo, Ben Fong-Torres, Charlie Gillett, Greil Marcus, Murray the K., Lenny Kaye, Bruce Morrow (a/k/a "Cousin Brucie"), Tim Rice (of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita" fame), Lisa Robinson, Robert Shelton (who wrote liner notes for Bob Dylan's first album), Ed Ward, Joel Whitburn, Pete Wingfield, etc.). For more details, see: "Critics Choice: Top-200 albums" compiled by Paul Gambaccini, Omnibus Press, Library of Congress Catalog No.7855565 (or ►click here  for the complete album listing)

For additional historical information on this album, including track listing ►click here

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THIS GROUP OR ARTIST ►  CLICK HERE

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·                               CONDITION:

·                               RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL AS STRONG NEAR MINT. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The album comes with the original MFSL cardboard inner sleeve

(c)           The record is STILL in its original inner, hi-grade MFSL PVC inner sleeve, which has - apparently with success - shielded the record from the harmful impact of elements over many years!

(d)          The record is pressed on a beautiful, high-quality, virgin-grade vinyl, which is usually used for audiophile, extended-dynamic-range, half-speed mastered and connoisseur pressings.

(e)           In addition, the record is pressed on a fairly thick, relatively inflexible vinyl.

(f)            Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

·       COVER

COVER IS NEAR MINT

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-         Cover shows JUST A HINT of yellowing on both sides, apparently from aging.

-         Cover has a few tiny wrinkles along the spine   (nothing significant)

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE COVER:

-        No split seams

-        No ring wear

-        No cut-out (drill) holes.

-        No cut-out corners

-        No saw-marks or indents

-        No dirt/dust rubbing stains (friction marks caused by rubbing against other covers)

-        No writing

-        No stamps

-        No tearing: no chips, dents or nicks on the seams

-        No peel-off marks

-        No stains

-        No mold or mildew spots

-        No stickers or labels

-        No water damage

-        No razor marks, scratches, pressure marks, lines, streaks, or  cuts.

-        No warping

-        No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover

-        No glue traces or wax residue.

-        No bar codes

-        No RIAA stamps or stickers. 

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

We offer THREE postage rates for both Domestic and International Mail: Media Mail, Priority Mail and Express Mail for domestic, and First Class, Priority International Mail, and Express International Mail for international orders. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND that you pay for USPS International Priority Mail OR International Express mail when making a payment in order to obtain tracking information, which is NOT available for First Class International shipments.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates ►click here. While you can be rest assured that ►our packaging is careful, sturdy and impact-proof, please note that damage, loss or theft in transit is always possible, and in the case of some countries even PROBABLE. To discuss this potential problem and ensure flawless delivery, please contact us thru eBay BEFORE placing a bid.

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE WITHIN 7 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED (THE BUYER PAYS FOR THE RETURN POSTAGE); Still sealed items MUST be returned sealed in order to be eligible for a refund Some restrictions apply. Please read our complete refund policy before placing a bid. ►Click here  for the full text of our policy

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