DAVID BOWIE Aladdin Sane ORIG UK 73 N/M LP + FC Insert.

	£		79
	$		105

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Artist or Band: DAVID BOWIE

Album Title: Aladdin Sane.

Producer(s): David Bowie & Ken Scott.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Watch That Man; Aladdin Sane (1913–1938–197?); Drive in Saturday; Panic in Detroit; Cracked Actor.

Side 2: Time; The Prettiest Star; Let’s Spend The Night Together; The Jean Genie; Lady Grinning Soul.

Label/Format: RCA Victor.

Label Conditions: Two stunning clean examples and certainly up there with the very best I have seen on this famous Bowie album. Both these labels look practically brand new, they have that very deep orange finish. I am struggling to find a single spindle trace and bear in mind just how popular this album was.

Cat Number: RS 1001 (LSP 4852).

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 143 grams, my heaviest pressed Aladdin thus far. [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 140 to 150 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, 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 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Moderate, this was a popular album and rightly so. Not so easy however with a practically Mint, early pressed record inside that plays to perfection. This copy includes the very elusive ‘David Bowie Fan Club’ membership insert. This was only available in some very early copies and many would have either been used e.g. filled in and posted back for membership, lost, damaged, or never included in the first place. This magnificent insert, that includes a printed (NOT handwritten written) signature by Bowie, that almost look personalised. It’s condition is again exceptional, as new and makes this vintage copy complete. Yes a big selling album, but how many of the very early pressed examples will still be found like this with all the inserts intact and looking attractive? – a scarce opportunity to own this climax and most brilliant Bowie album of the ‘Glam-Rock’ era.

Original Year of Release: 1973

Matrix Nos: CPRY 4543-3T / CPRY 4544-3T

Musicians: David Bowie – guitar, harmonica, keyboards, saxophone, vocals; Mick Ronson – guitar, piano, vocals; Trevor Bolder – bass; Mick "Woody" Woodmansey – drums. Guests: Mike Garson – piano; Ken Fordham – saxophone; Brian ‘Bux’ Wilshaw – saxophone, flute; Linda Lewis, ‘Honey’ Franklin. G. A. MacCormack – backing vocals.

Brief Info: From 1969 to 1973 represented, for me anyway, Bowie at his brilliant best, and this album, his sixth, was the most astonishing climax to his, and the glam-rock era. This is a superb complete early copy and they are not found that easily. I could hardly wait to get this one on the Linn, this is possibly my favourite Bowie album and it totally blew me away with the most astonishing sound. This hardly played record has the most astonishing high-fidelity sound and detail and is beautifully packaged. The inclusion of the ‘Fan Club’ insert in unused and clean condition is always a huge bonus. All nine of the self-composed tracks are pure Bowie classics, the tenth being a cover of the Jagger-Richards ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’ – a brilliant version it is too. Any fan of this great artist could hardly fail to treasure this quite magnificent complete copy of this breathtaking work.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: High: this discolours badly especially if stored in a smoker’s environment and the inner and cover often ringwear and rub badly.

Cover Grade and Format: EX+ and one that sets a high standard. An unlaminated gatefold format, made in England by Shorewood Packaging Co Ltd.

Cover Front & Back: Unlike the music and the great man himself, this cover does not age so well, but this one has remained in very fine condition with very little wear or discolouration. Any handling traces or significant marks are minimal and small, same for creases with just a couple of fine ones on the back near the top of the entrance edge. The lack of ringwear, major creasing or real grubbiness is a huge bonus too. The iconic front cover picture of Bowie is lovely and the artwork retains strong colour with no fading.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Ultra clean and wear-free, this inside is almost as made.

Top & Bottom Edges: All four unworn and dead straight too.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both clean, sharp with little wear and no feathering, guaranteed untrimmed. There is just a small graze trace on the back entrance near the top.

Spine and Text: Solid and very thick, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up near perfectly together and parallel too. Even this spine shows minimal traces of discolouration or ageing which again is unusual. All text is perfect and unworn and there is hardly any surface wear or rubbing at all including the folds.

Corners: All corners are in great shape with practically no wear at all, even the spine pair. All well defined and neat with fine pointed definition.

Cover Summary: One of the 70s most iconic and famous covers. Just holding this one will give pleasure and that’s not taking into account of the contents. This highly attractive, little aged example should please most collectors.

The Inner: EX++. Clean, minimal traces of any real wear, uncreased, no splits or tears and importantly shows little rubbing and no ringwear. Yes this unlined card inner is highly prone to ringwear and few ever avoid it. This very dark inner again does not wear well, simply removing this from the cover will rub and remove ink from the edges but this shows barely any traces of this which again should convince this copy has hardly made the trip outside. This was unlined and was a little harsh on the record’s surface and few examples will be seen with fewer surface marks. The one original owner had the good sense to put the record inside a lined alternative sleeve for maximum protection of this and the vinyl. This lyric inner will seldom be found as fine and will not be easy to find much better.

The ‘Fan Club’ Insert: Few available copies offer this now and delighted to see one again – it has been some considerable time. No only that, this is an exceptionally clean example, grading at Mint(-) or very, very close too. A beautiful insert that truly makes this early copy complete and very special for Bowie collectors. Clean with hardly a mark to be found with just a microscopic corner crease (top front right), being so tiny, not sure why I even mentioned it. A very fine sligthly darkned semi-crease can just be seen on the back near the edge fold, this being a little critical. A single folded insert, fully intact with very-sharp edges and the form totally unwritten on. This was designed to be cut (as the ‘Cut Here’ text and broken line rule suggests), filled in and returned to London for membership of the Official David Bowie fan club – and I guess a vast amount were, making a fully intact insert pretty scarce these days. Indeed in the past I have seen a few of these with the form partially removed but even these are not common. This, like the rest of the set, will delight Bowie fans and collectors.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Undergraded Mint(-). A superb visual copy that clearly has hardly ever been played and for a very popular classic album, this is highly unusual. Many bought by teenage girls on issue and played into destruction on less-than-worthy record players, collectors my age will remember them well. This is super clean, shiny, intense black and a heavy pressed RCA Victor record. A far heavier, more robust record than any other example of this title I have as yet. Even slightly later pressings were much thinner and some even pressed on the dreaded Dynaflex, so thin it bends in the middle. Visually a beautiful record that should please most-all 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 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 classic record plays up to its visual grading and above with nothing to fault. Superb high fidelity sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - audio quality is astonishing with a massive dynamic range and very detailed sound. Barely a noteworthy surface sound and no pops or clicks were noticed and this is an exceptional clean pressing that has a loud and forward – genuinely exciting sound. Mention of the title track must be made with its famous, almost free-form piano break, this has in-the-room quality and realism that will leave any listener breathless. The details embedded in these grooves will never be beaten by the digital format. The depth and dynamics are simply lost on other formats as are the complex vocal parts. This album has the most perfect production and sound qualities, stereo imagery is faultless and this will make any worthwhile system sound amazing. Few copies will match, let alone outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – almost reference standard sound that was a pure pleasure, I am unlikely to ever see, hear or offer a much better all round complete copy. This record will prove very difficult to find much better and is strongly recommended.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). 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.

THERE IS PACKING – AND THERE IS ONEADAYRECORDS PACKING.

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 heavy duty 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 VERY THICK stiffners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords (please see my picture of these stiffners and compare to the wafer-thin commercially available ones that offer pretty much zero protection). Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. The thick record and stiffner ‘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 [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2 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]) = £12. Add £3 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’.