BLIND FAITH – SUPERB ORIG UK 1969 EX++ LP, PLAYS SUPERBLY with BEAUTIFUL COVER.

	£		80
	$		106

ONEADAYRECORDS – Serving-up a Christmas & New Year Feast of Entertainment

I would like to wish all my customers, regulars and newcomers, a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR

Over the Holiday Period, I am offering some interesting Christmas ‘Crackers’ – the theme this year being ‘Rock Classics’ – ENJOY!

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 traceable 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 up to 4 to 6 weeks 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.

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. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: BLIND FAITH

Album Title: Blind Faith

Producer: Jimmy Miller

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Had to Cry Today; Can’t Find My Way Home; Well All Right; Presence of the Lord.

Side 2: Sea of Joy; Do What You Want.

Label, format and Condition: Polydor with matt, gently textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with one or two ultra tiny, fine and faint spindle traces. Another from the collection owned from new by one owner and clearly this one hardly played.

Catalogue Number: 583059

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: 127 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Moderately scarce, early copies that appear hardly played with a little worn original cover are never easy.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: 583059 A//1 420 1 1 1 3 & 583059 B//1 1 1 2 8

Musicians: Eric Clapton – guitar; Ginger Baker – Drums, percussion, Steve Winwood – keyboards, vocals; Ric Grech – bass.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Probably the first ever band to have the dubious tag of ‘supergroup’, but this is exactly what Blind Faith were. Featuring Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, both ex-Cream, Steve Winwood (Traffic) and Rick Grech (Family). This famous, but short-lived band only made the one album, generally, it received favourable reviews, but some at the time thought slightly disappointing, but it still topped the UK album charts. However, its stature has grown over the years – the buying public at the time probably expected more massively long Clapton solos and maybe even another Mr Fantasy – what they got instead were six songs, three of which are magnificent and even the slightly overlong ‘Do What You Like’ is a real grower. Arguably at the time, Blind Faith were more in the news for the somewhat daring cover they chose to put out for this album – and as always – sorry for not being able to show pictures due to Ebay rules. I will describe in detail (as usual) the conditions of all areas further down. The record appears hardly played and offers very impressive sound throughout. Also worthy of note, this has no inner sleeve dulling to its surfaces, a trait this album often acquires over time. The November 1969 inner sleeve is also included. So, both original ‘girl’ cover, inner, record and sound are very clean and impressive. Not an album I offer often, so when I do so, it has to be an early top example, and this more than qualifies.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): an unlaminated gatefold format with matt surfaces with the outer ones having a gentle trace of texturing, the inside is smooth. This being the original UK ‘girl’ cover, some were offered in alternative plain covers as some retailers refused to sell this one. The American version was totally different, safe and bland in comparison. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press. The November 1969 date-coded Polydor-style inner sleeve is included.

Cover Front: Firstly, this one is constructed near a quarter of an inch deeper than standard covers with a distinctive overhang of the single thickness card over the back storage area, only a detail and of no other real consequence, but possibly slightly unusual? The infamous front cover graphic is simply superb, at the time, quite unusual not to print any details of either band name or title to its front. It’s one that rarely wear well, unless kept inside a protective sleeve, as this has been. It has minimal traces of rubbing, just a faint hint of dulling near the top seen critically under light. A fine horizontal crease near the top edge has modest visibility with few others which are even finer still. There is barely even a trace of any ink loss to this colourful graphic which retains genuine freshness and deep hue with no fading, sticker issues or ageing. This single thickness front will prove very difficult to find better. A prized cover for collectors, its notoriety famous and this one does it fantastic justice.

Cover Back: The back is superb as well with little to fault at all, the total lack of ring wear and freshness makes this an exceptional surface, and is rarely seen as such.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The black and white inside is also impressive with little to fault again, it has just a tiny tone spot and barely anything else at all. This includes both Polydor and Island Records distribution credits.

Top Edges: The fold and single thickness card are both straight, flat with hardly any rubbing or thickening.

Bottom Edges: Same again, I consider these storage edges exceptional, the being cover-protected by the one owner makes a massive difference and immediately apparent.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly very sharp with any thickening little and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on the back edge and are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced. The back edges not quite flush in the manufacturer’s trim to reiterate the fact.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with a natural central recess simply from opening. Folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. All text is unworn with a little sinkage into the mild recess, but all still easy to read and perfectly centred. The black surface has minimal patchy traces of any rubbing and again has no enhancements.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, very fine to excellent shape retained with no heavy knocks. Any tip creasing very small and light. Collectors will already know how delicate these areas are for this cover, again, few will be a great deal better.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this infamous late 1960’s cover, one that could prove very difficult to find much better. Again, sorry for not being allowed to show this one, because it really is impressive. This beautiful item should please many, and maybe even most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: only marked down for mild darkening of the white paper, this mostly near the seam adhesive area edges. It includes two pristine window circles, the polylining intact and clear with just one fine hairline scuff. Hardly creased with all edges unsplit with no repairs. This includes the very early /119 date-code, which means it was manufactured in November 1969.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): arguably better. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface traces few, very light, wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please many, if not 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 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 quality album plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly 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 are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. Later copies hardly compare to the very early copies that seem to carry that extra detail and dynamics – not all records are the same – and this copy really delivers. Few available very early copies will outperform this 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 within a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. 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 2.2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

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 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 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 it’s 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 the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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. 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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 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 D5000 SLR Digital 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.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new Nessie Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. 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. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 17­ years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

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 withdrawals. 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 can 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 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. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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, 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’.