Beatles Rubber Soul red MONO Japan + Abbey Road green

	£		41
	$		54

watch this space - more to follow . . .

This auction is for:

1. The Beatles: Rubber Soul - Japanese red vinyl MONO reissue series LP (1982 issue) - cat # EAS-70135 (Toshiba-EMI/ Odeon Records)

Condition: USED

COVER: 

The OBI strip is missing. The cover has aging and signs of general wear: scuffing, marks, scratches, a touch of ringwear and some mostly light edge-wear in one or two places. It has a small (4mm x 1mm) tear top right (on front of cover.) There is some wear to the corners as well as slight, feelable wear to the opening. What detracts most from the cover is a noticeable corner dent top left (front of the cover), and creasing in a couple of places (for example, top right, on the rear; and on a few places near the spine.) Insert with lyrics has light creasing, but is OK. To recap: the OBI strip is missing, there are general signs of wear and aging (incl. wear to the corners and the opening.) More serious flaws include a noticeable corner dent and creasing. Otherwise, the cover is still fully functional and intact (there are no seam-splits.) USED, but acceptable. I would grade the cover as 5 out of 10, with flaws as noted above.

RECORD:

It is not easy to establish such things with these pressings but, when examined carefully under bright light, the LP has at least one or two very faint scuff marks on each side, but there are no obvious scratches that I can see. The edge (outer groove) of the record shows some signs of handling and wear. There are three/ four spindle marks on both labels. Again, confirmation that this has been played. There is a little paper dust on both sides. What surface noise can be heard – in form of crackle and static – and which is part of the listening experience to varying degrees, is generally not overly intrusive. However, on “If you Won’t See Me”, “Nowhere Man”, “Think For Yourself”, “Girl”, “I’m Looking Through You” and “In My Life”, the surface noise is often more moderate (as opposed to light-to-moderate) and, on “Michelle”, for instance, it is often noticeable (4 out of 10). “In My Life” also has a brief ‘click’ (near the beginning of the ‘harpsichord’ interlude.) There may have been one or two soft ‘pops’ and ‘clicks’ that I picked up elsewhere, but play is still fairly solid despite these flaws. To sum up: this is a USED but not played-to-death copy and, while more or less continuous background crackle and static is PRESENT to varying degrees, this does NOT OVERWHELM the music. The record plays right through on both sides, It is an acceptable and often good copy – still enjoyable.  I would grade between 4.5 and 6.5 out of 10 (sometimes better, when the music is more to the forefront), with flaws as noted above.

2. The Beatles: Abbey Road – French dark green vinyl LP (1982 issue) – cat # DC 8 (2C 066 04243) (Pathe Marconi EMI)

Condition: USED

COVER: 

The cover has several signs of noticeable wear: pronounced creasing, edge-wear, ringwear. Apart from general wear, the opening is skewed, as is the spine (at the bottom.) The bottom seam is also bent. There is wear to the corners. Lettering on the spine is a little faded, worn, but it’s still legible. The cover has numerous markings including several scratches (some more serious than others), scuffs, and indentations. Otherwise, despite its heavily worn appearance, the cover is still intact (there are no seam-splits as yet) and functional, and the laminate still retains some of its shine. Because of the many serious flaws noted above, I would grade the cover as 3 out of 10 at best. 

RECORD:

When examined carefully under bright light, there is every indication that the LP has been heavily played. There are numerous scratches and scuffs almost everywhere on both sides of the vinyl, and there are plenty of spindle marks on both labels. There are markings on the vinyl, the odd thumbprint and signs of wear and handling along the edge (outer groove.)  Unsurprisingly, given what has been noted above, the record plays with ‘clicks’ and ‘pops’ in several places (a loud ‘pop’ at the beginning of “Something”) and with some moderate surface noise, in the form of crackle and static (numerous examples.) Oddly, and perhaps partly because it is such a great record, it is still both still listenable and enjoyable. The sound isn’t bad either – it is frequently fine – but the record is flawed by the instances of more noticeable surface noise that punctuate play every now and then. Plays right through on both sides. (When I first played it though, it skipped on “Come Together”, but not when I played this song a second and third time.) Essentially, what one is paying for with this record is the colour of the pressing.  Visually, it’s a treat. The LP is USED, playable, and still enjoyable despite its flaws. Grading isn’t an exact science, but I’d say it play-grades between 3.5 out of 10 and 6 out of 10.

Please note:

1. All items are from my personal collection and are sold AS IS - no returns or refunds. Please do not bid if you do not agree to this.

2. No shipping costs to buyer (shipping is included in the starting price.) Shipping is via Registered Airmail and I will confirm the Registered Airmail parcel number for your parcel once it has shipped. I keep all postage receipts.

3. All records will be well packaged, with the vinyl placed securely outside the cover (inside protective inner sleeve) so as to prevent seam-splits.

4. Payment is due within 5 days of auction end unless prior arrangements are made before the end of the auction. I will ship once payment from PayPal is available in my bank account. This generally takes between 3 to 5 working days.  

5. Please contact me before auction end with any questions.