BILLY JOEL STRANGER RARE ORIG LTD EDIT ½SPEED MASTERED MASTERSOUND AUDIOPHILE LP

$

22

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 500  LISTED ITEMS

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·       BILLY JOEL – STRANGER – ORIGINAL COLUMBIA RECORDS HALF-SPEED MASTERED, ANALOG, AUDIOPHILE, EXTENDED DYNAMIC RANGE VIRGIN VINYL, 'MASTERSOUND' COLUMBIA RECORDS LP HC-34987

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·       ORIGINAL RED COLUMBIA LABEL WITH WHITE MASTERSOUNDS LOGO AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LABEL

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. “MASTERSOUND” AUDIOPHILE 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)

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·       MACHINE-STAMPED MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) OF THE RECORD

·       MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) ENDS WITH '-2C/-2D'

·       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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Billy Joel teamed with Phil Ramone, a famed engineer who had just scored his first producing hits with Art Garfunkel's Breakaway and Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years for The Stranger, his follow-up to Turnstiles. Joel still favored big, sweeping melodies, but Ramone convinced him to streamline his arrangements and clean up the production. The results aren't necessarily revelatory, since he covered so much ground on Turnstiles, but the commercialism of The Stranger is a bit of a surprise. None of his ballads have been as sweet or slick as "Just the Way You Are"; he never had created a rocker as bouncy or infectious as "Only the Good Die Young"; and the glossy production of "She's Always a Woman" disguises its latent misogynist streak. Joel balanced such radio-ready material with a series of New York vignettes, seemingly inspired by Springsteen's working-class fables and clearly intended to be the artistic centerpieces of the album. They do provide The Stranger with the feel of a concept album, yet there is no true thematic connection between the pieces, and his lyrics are often vague or mean-spirited. His lyrical shortcomings are overshadowed by his musical strengths. Even if his melodies sound more Broadway than Beatles -- the epic suite "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" feels like a show-stopping closer -- there's no denying that the melodies of each song on The Stranger are memorable, so much so that they strengthen the weaker portions of the album. Joel rarely wrote a set of songs better than those on The Stranger, nor did he often deliver an album as consistently listenable.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY STEPHEN THOMAS ERLEWINE, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

The Columbia Records' Mastersound half-speed audiophile vinyl pressings of the late 1970's and early 1980's (there was only a handful of released titles) were not only audiophile masterpieces and connoisseur delights, they have become true pieces of audio history and its lore. These majestic recordings received an intense, meticulous and laborious treatment like very few other recordings in the entire history of the recorded sound. They are characterized by the massively extended dynamic and frequency range, mastering from the very first generation of original master tapes, almost compulsive attention paid to the detail and integrity of the pressing, the highest quality of the material and near-maniacal attention paid to the fine sonic detail and audio craftsmanship. To this day, many of these recordings remain unsurpassed, delivering music reproduction as close to the actual recording session as possible, without any loss of musical information inherent in the standard practice of mastering from the inferior "production" copies.

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

For its extraordinary contribution to the contemporary music, superb production, craftsmanship, fine musicianship, revolutionary significance and influence it exerted on numerous generations of musicians, songwriters and general public, or for some other inherent quality, this album was voted one of top-100 albums of all time in one of the largest poll of critics, music reviewers, professionals and producers ever organized: the poll, which was conducted in 1987 by Paul Gambaccini, the legendary BBC Radio A&R man, surveyed more than 50 top music professionals   (►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 NEAR MINT. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The record comes in its original inner, hi-grade MFSL PVC inner sleeve

(c)           The record is pressed on a RELATIVELY  thick, inflexible vinyl. This is NOT a thin, flimsy ('dynaflex' type),  vinyl, but not the thickest, most rigid vinyl either.

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

·       COVER

THE COVER IS NICE --- ABOUT EXCELLENT OR VERY GOOD+++.

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-         Cover has JUST A HINT of ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 2.

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

-        The cover has a few TINY pressure points in one corner (as if someone attempted to write the price code  on it with the ballpoint pen, but ran out of ink)  (BARELY VISIBLE)

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

-         Minor shelf wear noted on the seams (nothing significant)

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE COVER:

-        No split seams

-        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 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 warping

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

-        No glue traces or wax residue.

-        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 30 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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