David Bowie : Space Oddity 1E/1E

This highly collectable pressing is a superb example of a record that has one, only been lightly played and two, has been so well preserved.  It is so 'clean' and plays to a very high standard with very little 'background'.  Visually it is stunning!

Of course as it is a first 1E/1E pressing on the RCA Victor label it has the Titanic Music credits.

The cover and lyric inner are also in excellent condition with very little wear.  A full grading is given below on all aspects of this classic album.

LSP 4813 // BPRS 4501 1E / BPRS 4502 - 1E // A3 etched on both at 9pm

The audio on S1 is Near Mint (Mint- in many sections / track 1 Near Mint- / track 3 Ex+) 

The audio on S2 is Near Mint- (Mint- in many sections / track 3 Ex+)

The cover is Ex close to Ex+

The lyric inner is Ex+

The labels are Near Mint

Visual grading

This must be the 'cleanest' 1E/1E press that I have ever seen it is stunning!  There are no scratches or marks and having looked under various lights I cannot detect any obvious hairlines either.  There are no radial lines, no groove wear and this is a vinyl that has been very carefully handled over the years - it still has a beautiful glossy sheen.  There is also very little spindle wear suggesting it has only been very lightly played and the run out grooves and labels are also in sublime condition.  Wow!

Play grading  

The quiet acoustic build up on 'Space Oddity' has only a minimal amount of very light static and provides an impressive start.  It so often begins with a crackle or worse!  As soon as Bowie's vocal comes in the playback is stunning and it continues in the same way.  There are two light crackle sounds just after the first 'Planet Earth is blue' line but aside from that this all time classic plays with wonderful audio, in fact I cannot stress enough just how good it sounds!  The clarity of each note is so 'clean' and it is obvious this vinyl has not been played very much at all.  To the end it plays with sublime clarity and even the end section has no 'background'.  A stunning Near Mint- version I would say.

'Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed' is 'as new' from the first groove to the last.  A bold statement but I have listened to this track twice now and I am confident in grading it as Mint- as there is no 'background' at all.  The long instrumental section is breathtaking and you can turn it up to loud without fear of distortion.  Audio does not get better than this!

'Letter To Hermione' has only very light static on the intro and then plays very well indeed.  Near the end of the first verse and into the second there are some light ticks but they are very much in the background as they are so quiet.  The third and final verse plays to perfection and there is only a little crackle at the end of the fade out.  This is Ex+ in my opinion.

The quiet intro on 'Cygnet Committee' has barely any static and from then on it plays with remarkable clarity and even during the quieter sections there is no intrusion on the superb audio.  I played every second of this 9 minute + epic (obviously!) and the playback is so impressive, I'm not sure I have heard a better version!  There is perhaps a minor hint of inner groove distortion as you approach the end but this is vinyl and what you expect on a final track.  It is minimal and totally non-intrusive.  This is a Near Mint version I am happy to say.

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The opening grooves on this record are so clean and that is such a rarity!  The intro on 'Janine' again provides another example of how well this vinyl has been preserved, it is faultless.  The audio is again so 'clean' and the only 'background' is one light click at the end of the second verse.  Apart from that the playback is stunning and you cannot fail but be impressed by definition of the audio here.

'An Occasional Dream' has only light static on the acoustic intro, very minor and non intrusive.  The first vocal is very clear with hardly any background static and then plays with great accuracy and precision.  There is no intrusion on the audio and all I heard was the odd mega light dust tick.  As per the first track on the side I would grade this as Near Mint- .  There is a little static literally at the end of the fade out.

The intro and first verse on 'The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud' has a little underlying static but again this is not intrusive and the music and vocal still plays very clearly with no clicks or pops - just one crackle sound on the last line.  It continues in much the same way and the 'It's really me' section plays with superb sound and definition.  Thereafter it plays with great clarity and only a minimal background static towards the end.  I am sure many sellers would grade this higher as there are no clicks or pops but Ex+ in my opinion is an honest appraisal.

From the very first note 'God Knows I'm Good' plays with stunning clarity and carries on in the same precise way.  The entire track plays without interference and is as close to audio perfection that you will find on a genuine first RCA press.   The acoustic guitar has such a definite clarity of sound and the same applies to the vocal.  A fantastic Mint- version.

'Memory Of A Free Festival' has such a clean intro and no-one needs me to say how rare this is for a 1E/1E press.  There is hardly any static and there are certainly no clicks or pops.  As the vocal begins the quality remains although there is a little static distortion on one line.  It continues to play with excellent clarity and with very little 'background'.  There are a small number of mega faint ticks just prior to the 'crowd' section but please believe me when I say they are oh so quiet!  I only mention them to be complete in my grading which I know my regulars appreciate.  The 'choral' section has great sound and only the bare minimum of distortion which you always find and the quiet end section could not play any better.  A Near Mint- version to close this classic album.

In summary this first press on the RRCA Victor label plays with very impressive clarity and depth and for a highly collectable 1E/1E to have no loud clicks or pops is rare.  Yes there is one light click on S1 and a small number of very quiet ticks but in my opinion this does not affect the overall quality of the 'listen'.  As stated the vinyl is visually in superb condition and the cover and lyric sleeve are also extremely clean.  A great 'package' overall.

The Cover

The cover remains strong and is in lovely condition.  The top edge and spine are near perfect and only the bottom edge has some rubbing - this is the only obvious wear!  The bottom right corner has a little rubbing but the other three are in great order with no real wear.  The opening edge has no handling wear either.  The front cover is very clean with only small scratch line just above Bowie's lip!  There is also one faint crease top right and another lower right.  The back cover is nigh on perfect with only minimal ringwear.  This is a fine example and will not disappoint.

The Lyric Inner

So often missing or badly ripped this particular one is very impressive with no side splits and only a minor amount of age related fading around the edges.  There is very little creasing.  A superb clean example.

The Labels

The orange RCA labels have no marking or writing and not too much spindle wear.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

This record has been professionally cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

LSP 4813 // BPRS 4501 1E / BPRS 4502 - 1E // A3 etched on both at 9pm

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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Postage & Packaging

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