DAVID BOWIE Aladdin Sane RARER UK ORIG 1973 EX++ LP COMPLETE c/w FAN CLUB INSERT

	£		56
	$		74

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’ – all are brilliant – 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: DAVID BOWIE

Album Title: Aladdin Sane

Producer(s): Ken Scott & David Bowie

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 – original deep orange format with very shiny surfaces that have gentle texturing.

Label Conditions: Both in truly stunning condition with deep glossy, unmarked surfaces. These look hardly handled and I doubt if this record has been removed from its cover for decades.

Catalogue Number: RS 1001 (LSP 4852)

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: 130 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Moderate, but finding copies with clean covers is the first major challenge. So many seen are grubby, darkened and toned, few younger fans protected the matt cover in a protective sleeve, but for those who did (as this one), the difference is immediately apparent. Then pressing quality becomes a major factor. This was reputed to have around 100,000 pre-orders before release and mass-production and perfect pressings rarely go hand-in-hand, and this album often has sound problems. Well this would have been nigh-on perfect bar a minute mark – almost too small to even seen – on the very start of ‘Time’ that emits around half-a-dozen or so clicks, when they quickly go, there is practically nothing else to fault on what is one of the closest to perfect pressings I have had. Remember also, this popular Bowie classic was often played to near destruction on the most basic of record players of the 1970s, and few survive like this. Some of the earliest pressings also included ‘The David Bowie Fan Club’ folded insert, which are no quite scarce in near mint condition. Clearly many fans of time filled in the questionnaire and sent to the fan club, thus this insert is often missing or half missing. This copy includes it practically as-made. So although the album sold in considerable numbers, finding complete really clean and impressive copies is actually quite difficult.

Original Year of Release: April 1973

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

Musicians: David Bowie – vocals, guitar, harmonica, saxophone, Moog synthesiser; Mick Ronson – guitar, piano, vocals; Trevor Bolder – bass guitar; Mick ‘Woody’ Woodmansey – drums. With: Mike Garson – piano, synthesisers; Aynsley Dunbar – percussion; Ken Fordham – saxophone, flutes; Brian ‘Bux’ Wilshaw – saxophone, flutes; Juanita ‘Honey’ Franklin, Linda Lewis, G.A. MacCormack – backing vocals.

Brief Info: Album number six and after the success of the previous ‘Ziggy’ set, this entered the UK album charts at No 1. I boasts one of the most iconic covers of the entire decade, and arguably ever. This for me is one of Bowie’s greatest works, it includes two hit singles in ‘The Jean Genie’ and ‘Drive-In Saturday’, and there is not a bad song or moment anywhere. One of the highlights for me is the frantic piano solo on the title song by Mike Garson. Cutting edge lyrics and driving tracks, this could hardly fail, and even today, it has not dated at all. Superbly produced and recorded, the detail and separation on the earliest copies is outstanding. As stated above, pressing quality can be an issue – I have heard some with nasty distortion and crackle places, and some even with pressing bumps that clunk when they contact the stylus – but this is NOT one of them. Yes, it has that tiny little mark at the very beginning of side two with six or seven brief mild clicks, but the rest is fantastic and was an amazing listen. The labels are immaculate and fresh, only the least handled copies can preserved them like this. Not quite perfect, but it will take an amazing copy to better it significantly and these do not surface often like this now.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): an unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by Shorewood Packaging Co Ltd. Includes the card lyric inner sleeve and the Fan Club insert.

Cover Front: One of the most famous cover fronts in rock history, and one that does it very strong justice. Any blemishes to this front due to wear or handling are minimal to barely any. It has a faint manufacturing machine mark near the right ear, but this is mostly lost in the artwork and very minor indeed, any hint of rubbing little, fine and light. The same for any discolouration of the unforgiving card surface, cover protection has clearly preserved this very well. There is barely a crease to be seen and no sticker issues. Bowie’s famous graphic looks superb with deep unfaded colour. Any clues of its genuine age are polite and very few, not quite pristine, but it will not be easy to find much better.

Cover Back: The back is equally impressive, and arguably better given how much white is present. The lack of ugly ring wear and grime is always the best news on a difficult back.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Superb with little fault, even being the inside, this often tones and discolours just as badly as the outer faces, this has avoided any real issues.

Top Edges: Thick, robust and very straight, also flat and flush. Hardly any traces of rubbing and any discolouration minimal as well.

Bottom Edges: As above, even better if anything, storage edges seldom fare this well.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with any thickening minuscule, even as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on the back edge, all are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: Very solid, thick and straight with barely any compression, also folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. All text is perfect and unworn, the surface and folds unrubbed, any discolouration to the white surface very light.

Corners: Any tip rubs hardly even register, better than excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this challenging 1970’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. With most of any minor blemishes natural in manufacture, and hardly any really, this beautiful item should please many, and possibly even most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: an unlined card lyric inner sleeve – the owner put a Japanese ultra soft inner sleeve inside to protect the record’s surface, which I left. This has little to fault bar a crease to one corner each side. The surface clean and fresh with all edges unsplit with no repairs.

The Fan Club Insert: NEAR MINT: A small fine corner tip area crease apart that hardly shows, this scarce insert sheet is practically as-made. These were intended to be cut in half, the form completed and returned to London to become a fan club member – clearly many would have been at the time. So finding these fully intact with no writing or issues is never easy. These only briefly came with first issues. As seen in my pictures, this is almost as-made and guaranteed original.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): that tiny, near microscopic mark at the start of side two is difficult even to see, and both playing surfaces are really impressive. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface traces few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. Viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please many 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 glam-rock masterpiece plays mostly even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault bar those tiny few brief mild clicks at the very start of side two. This offers 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*. Minus the tiny blemish, this is one of the cleanest and best sounding Aladdin Sane originals I have heard in years. This is so well recorded, produced and mixed, it deserves the highest quality pressing to fully appreciated, this one comes very close to giving just that. Few available copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. This has avoided pressing rasps, crackles and distortion, the culprit for the tiny mark uncertain, but given it comes and goes within a few seconds, do not be put off – the rest of the album’s brilliance far outweighs a few brief clicks. I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing else spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will still 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’.