CAT STEVENS Mona Bone Jakon RARER TEXTURED PINK RIM LP

	£		46
	$		61

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Artist or Band: CAT STEVENS

Album Title: Mona Bone Jakon.

Producer(s): Paul Samwell-Smith.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Lady D’Arbanville; Maybe You’re Right; Pop Star; I Think I See the Light; Trouble.

Side 2: Mona Bone Jakon; I Wish, I Wish; Katmandu; Time; Fill My Eyes; Lilywhite.

Label/Format: Island – first issue pink rim with the deep circle ridge and beautifully textured, flat-matt surfaces. These among Island collectors are the amongst the most sort-after as they were around for all too short a time. This album was initially issued on the pink i format. I consider these very first pink rims to be as rare, if not more so than the full pinks. Massively pressed with deep punched matrixes (dual on side one) and often better pressed than the very firsts which often suffered crackle. So often this album disappoints with less than clean sound but this massive 1970 pressing is a joy. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Simply a beautiful pair: my personal favourite Island format, these bright, vivid early pink rims with textured surfaces are pure class. Both ultra clean and highly attractive with only very faint and few spindle traces. Although the cover has a little wear, the record looks little handled or likely played, this is a real beauty.

Cat Number: ILPS 9118.

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: 153 grams, a full 10 grams heavier than the last pink i first pressing I offered. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: The album itself is fairly rare on the original full pink i format, a late ‘pink’ and this did not sell at all well, it failed to even chart in the UK and managed a very lowly US chart position. This copy on the early and prized textured pink rim format with it’s substantial weight and wonderful good looks is equally rare. Only a small few were issued on this format before becoming much lighter with the impending oil crisis and those gorgeous ridged and rough surfaces became totally smooth. These early pink rims are of connoisseur quality.

Original Year of Release: 1970, this was likely pressed in 1971, one of the first to include the new blue inners with the original address (on inner and cover). Later covers, although looking the same, had the later ‘st peter’s square address. The original covers, although still printed by MacNeill Press, had the ‘basing street’ address. Beware of substitutions.

Matrix Nos: Side two has dual matrixes: ILPS 9118 A2 [roman punched] / ILPS 9118 B2 [roman punched] and ILPS 9118 B2 (scripted), I think the second was for clarification as the first is unclear and error corrected.

Musicians: Cat Stevens – guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, strings, vocals; Alun Davies – guitar, backing vocals; John Ryan – bass; Nicky Hopkins - bass, keyboards; Harvey Burns – drums, percussion; Peter Gabriel – flute; Del Newman - strings, arrangements.

Brief Info: After his departure from Deram, Stephen’s signed for Island records and this was his first on his new label. Now sounding very different with more ‘darker’ material, this was the first of a string of superb albums and eventually they sold well. But initial sales of this album were disappointing and it failed to even chart on the UK. Hence pink originals and the early-pressed pink rims are rare and again vastly underpriced in the price guides. Beautiful material, performances and production, this is a high-in-demand album. It includes the wonderful ‘Lady D’Arbanville’ and the sublime ‘Katmandu’ on which Peter Gabriel, then of Genesis, plays flute. The flimsy cover rarely wears well and this has a little wear and creasing but the beautiful record more than compensates. Being such a heavyweight, the cover stood little chance of being unaffected but still a reasonable one. As stated above, often heard with less than clean sound, but this one plays with rich clarity and depth with little unwanted at all. So wonder these heavy pressed textured pink rims are so prized by Island collectors, they rarely fail to please and this does just that. Fans of this quality artist, do not lose this one.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very high: a very thin lightweight cover, the card weight and thickness is hardly up to the job of housing this heavy record. It bends so easily and is highly vulnerable to all forms of wear and damage.

Cover Grade and Format: Very Good. A single unlaminated, matt-finished format with original Island address on back. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press Ltd.

Cover Front: This is actually still attractive with modest real wear. Only slight rubbing around the rim near the top and bottom with minimal ink abrasion, so mild ringwear. Many are seen with deep penetrating rull ring circles, being so thin, this is difficult to avoid, hence, this front is really quite nice. The top left corner has clearly taken a moderate knock at some time so a little creasing in this area, hardly major but present nonetheless. A little edgewear encroaches also. The main areas are clean with any rubbing mainly light as are any creases and the vulnerable artwork is still attractive with fine colour retained. A cover known to fade over time.

Cover Back: The creasing to the same corner as the front apart, this has little else to fault being clean, fresh and devoid of grubbiness or ringwear. This side more like excellent.

Top Edge: The most of any rubbing near the left corner, little elsewhere.

Bottom Edge: Moderate rubbing on this resting edge.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little wear and no feathering or trimming. When viewed end-on, it will even more apparent just how thin this card is, a very, very fragile cover. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Quite solid and reasonably straight with a little, mainly slight compression. All text is present with just a small clip to the ‘O’ in ‘MONA’. This a real bonus on this one, I have seen several with the majority of text eroded.

Corners: All have rubbed but not excessively and all retain fine to very fine shape. The knock on the spine top has not really affected the corner end itself to any great degree.

Cover Summary: A Very Good all round example of this very fragile early 70’s cover, one that will prove quite difficult to find much better. This still attractive item should please many collectors but not the perfectionists. Put into context of its delicate disposition and the very heavy record inside, this is in pretty good shape.

The Inner: One of the earliest pressings to include the ‘new’ blue polylined inner. A few of the earliest pink rims still included the plain white inner. This one in fine EX+ condition and only slightly aged with very mild glue darkening on the seams, few avoid this over time. Still with fine colour, maybe slightly faded but all edges unsplit with no repairs and including the correct early address of ‘island records ltd basing street london w11’. Barely any creasing and with few marks, this complements the rest of the set well and is guaranteed original, not swapped.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX+ / EX++, a super visual copy that is very clean, fresh and shiny, intense black and heavily solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence. Just the odd small surface mark and a very ultra fine and faint surface blemishes seen under light. Visually a super record that should please most collectors, this looks little played.

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 snippetts or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This wonderful record plays up to its high visual grading and most all exceeds it with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. A genuine high fidelity production that has in-the-room quality. Rich, warm bass and gorgeous vocals and backing, nothing will glean more information from this recording than this deep grooved example. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. So often ruined by constant crackle and even pressing sounds, this suffers none of that and was a delight. Few copies will outperform this early pink rim pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly carefully handled. The beauty of this landmark album for Stevens outweighs any light cover wear. Audio quality for this seller is paramount, why else would I invest so much money into my system? Minor marks and blemishes, when they have little to know effect on sound both me little and you cannot play a cover. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. Those wonderful labels are worth the price alone. Please see my similar era Free (second album) also on offer, that is really extra special.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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 taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET - PLEASE SEE MY TYPICAL PACKING BOX PICTURE.

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 Moth 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 thick boxes (NOT Mailers or Cruciforms, these do not offer maximum protection). The record(s) 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 THREE or EVEN FOUR 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. 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. Please see my picture of a typical finished box packet that will now be used on ALL transactions as from now. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. These boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand based on over 6,000+ items sold in over 8 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. Even one of these stiffners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); 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 [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 neccessarily 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’.