EGG - FIRST ALBUM - RARE ORIG UK 1970 DERAM NOVA EX+ LP, RARER STICKERED COVER.

	£		94
	$		125

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

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 – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

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. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full 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. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

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: EGG

Album Title: Egg

Producer(s): Egg

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Bulb; While Growing My Hair; I Will Be Absorbed; Fugue in D Minor; They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano…; The Song of McGillicudie The Pusillanimous (or Don’t Worry James, Your Socks are Hanging in the Coal Cellar with Thomas); Boilk.

Side 2: Symphony No. 2: Movement 1, Movement 2, Blane, Movement 3, Movement 4.

Label/Format: Deram Nova with matt, very gently textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both in lovely condition: very clean, fresh and highly attractive with only a small few (or less) very fine, gentle and faint spindle marks, these too on very revealing surfaces.

Cat Number: SDN 14

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: 143 grams. A typical solid Decca pressed record.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Very scarce: Deram Nova is a very collectable progressive label, a spin-off from the Deram label for band’s that were deemed more experimental and with lesser commercial potential. Few titles on this label are easy to find and this is no exceptional – even harder in this type of condition with both the record’s complex sound and material difficult, and the black cover rarely seen even decent. The record has several quiet passages and only the least-played and best looked-after copies are worthy of listening to, this has little unwanted and plays beautifully. It looks hardly even played and few will better it. The cover is strong also, horrendously wear-pronbe, the back being black and unprotected, few will survive unworn. In terms of wear, this one has little, also the rare error correction sticker is included, it being one of the neatest I have seen. Even the inner sleeve is superb and as a package, this copy will take some beating.

Original Year of Release: March 1970

Matrix Nos: ZAL-9409.P-2W / ZAL-9410.P-2W

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 C / 1 I

Musicians: Dave Stewart - organ, piano, tone generator; Mont Campbell - bass, vocals; Clive Brooks - drums.

Brief Info: Brilliant debut album from ‘Canterbury’ prog-rockers Egg, issued on the short-lived and rare Deram Nova label in 1969. It was critically well received but failed to sell. They went on to issue a second album on Deram and that too suffered the same fate. Now highly sort-after by prog-rock collectors, but seldom found especially in high-grading conditions. This trio were clearly highly talented, their music had jazzy elements as well as psychedelia, complex music and time-structures and sounding quite similar to early Caravan and even Soft Machine minus the reeds and equally challenging. The album is largely instrumental and compellingly brilliant also with fantastic sound and production. Like most on Nova, this was over-looked and the band split shortly after the second album, Stewart joined Hatfield and the North. A third album ‘The Civil Service’ was issued with material gleaned before the end, it was issued on Virgin’s Caroline sub-label. The Deram pair are notoriously difficult to track down and this example will take a lot of beating (no pun intended). This exhilarating prog mini classic will seldom be heard better or cleaner than this.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): a single format with the front laminated in Clarifoil, this wraps around the closed folds and ends on the spine back for approx half-an-inch. The back has the mono/stereo peep-hole indicator and the large hand-applied credit correction sticker. The original blue inner sleeve fills the circle to indicate this is a stereo copy. Printed and made in England by Moore & Matthes Ltd.

Lamination & Front: Although laminated, this is a difficult front and very revealing. The main enemy is probably lifting, being so intensely black, any major lifts will look unsightly and distracting. So glad to state there is just one very small one on bottom edge, few escape this lightly. The laminate surface retains fine shine, still quite fresh and clear, some gentle dulling is seen when tilted to light, and few will ever not being honest. Any rim impression is light and this has few creases which is again good news. Four fine ones on the spine (any others tiny and hardly noteworthy here), and a fine one on the bottom right tip. Hardly any marks or impressions (rim apart) and this difficult front looks impressive will not prove easy to find better.

Cover Back: This back includes the large black sticker which I think was used to cover incorrect credit information printed on the cover. Often this is seen torn or ripped off by the curious to see what was underneath. Apart from a little crinkle from hand-application, there is little else to fault on this fragile part. The rest of the cover is very fine, yes some surface rubbing mainly near the bottom edge and lesser so near the top, but in terms of this one, it really is mild. Hardly creased with any marks or blemishes tiny and very few. The peep-hole is crisp and undamaged as seen. One most often seen with heavy ringwear and major rubbing, this has fared very well overall.

Top Edge: Mainly straight, given the fact Clarifoil laminate shrinks and pulls, still very smooth and barely worn.

Bottom Edge: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with minimal hints of wear, any thickening or burring very little and faint as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: A lovely spine: solid, straight with any compression light, again quite thin in manufacture. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate, also fairly well centred on quite a narrow depth – again seen in close-up.

Corners: Any small tip rubs are very minor indeed and very fine to excellent shape is retained, also avoiding any significant knocks or dinks.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this very uncompromising cover, one that could prove very difficult to find better. This still attractive cover should please many collectors and indeed could even prove an upgrade for some.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): this in blue to denote a stereo record is inside. Minimal ageing with even the seam areas avoiding the usual adhesive browning, the odd small mark or tone spot near impossible to avoid as the very least. This Decca-style is polylined, this is very clear and neat as seen through two immaculate window circles. All edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT to EXCELLENT(+): a very fine visual copy that is impressively clean, with lovely shine and very solidly pressed. A copy appearing very modestly played with any surface marks being very fine and faint as seen under bright angled light. There are NO penetrating stylus marks and any whispy or fine surface blemishes are purely superficial with no audio affect at all. For fine looks and sound quality, this will also prove hard to beat.

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 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 brilliant, somewhat ‘lost’ prog gem plays, for most-all, even above it’s high visual grading with very little to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound with no tracking issues*. Superbly produced by the band, this has real high fidelity sound values and will please the discerning rock listener. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this on a highly challenging recording with complex sound and arrangements – some very quiet passages too and most-all is clean and quiet. Although an exceptional clean pressing by Decca, the odd sporadic tick is near unavoidable on a record now around 45-years-old. With varying groove widths, some incredibly fine for the quiet areas, just the odd microscopic piece of stubborn debris will mean the odd click or crackle trace. But few copies will outperform this very early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played only lightly and has been generally treated with due respect and not played many times. All the sound is fully focused, precise, clear and sharp, with no pressing noises or clipping. It will take an incredible example to better this significantly and nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful disc, and clearly this is worthy of strong recommendation.

* 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.

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 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. 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 - 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 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 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 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 VPI-17 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 14 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 – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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’.