ELVIS PRESLEY 1st ALBUM 1956 U.S RCA VICTOR ORIGINAL

	£		50
	$		66

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AS USUAL, ALL OF THESE ITEMS WILL BE CLEANED AND PLAY TESTED BY MYSELF PRIOR TO LISTING. 

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EVERY ITEM THAT I SELL COMES WITH A FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. I ALWAYS DO MY UTMOST TO GIVE AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF EVERY RECORD THAT I LIST. HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH YOUR ITEM, THEN SIMPLY E-MAIL ME AND THE PROBLEM WILL BE RESOLVED. IT IS MY AIM TO ENSURE THAT EVERY PURCHASER IS 100% HAPPY SO PLEASE BID WITH CONFIDENCE.

POSTAGE DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE FOR MULTIPLE PURCHASES.

"ELVIS PRESLEY"

12" LONG PLAYER BY ELVIS PRESLEY

U.S. RCA VICTOR RECORDS (LPM 1254) MONO ORIGINAL 1ST PRESSING

YEAR: 1956

MATRIX No: G2 PP1282-3S/G2 PP1283-5S

VINYL WEIGHT: 145g

THE ITEM

YOU ARE BIDDING ON AN ORIGINAL AMERICAN 1956 1st PRESSING OF ELVIS PRESLEY'S VERY FIRST LP FOR RCA VICTOR. THIS ICONIC RECORD HAS BEEN REISSUED MANY MANY TIMES ALL OVER THE WORLD BUT THIS IS THE VERY FIRST ORIGINAL COPY. THE RECORD LABEL HAS THE 'LONG PLAY 33 1/3' LETTERING AT THE 6 'O' CLOCK POSITION WHICH LATER REISSUES OMITTED. IT ALSO HAS THE GROOVE RUNNING AROUND THE LABEL, VERY SIMILAR TO U.K. DECCA PRESSINGS FROM THE 50s/60s AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL, IT HAS THE 'WANDERING' PICK UP GROOVE AT THE END OF THE DEAD WAX, WHERE THE PICK UP MOVES IN AND OUT TOWARDS THE CENTRE OF THE DISC, AS FOUND ON OLD 78rpm RECORDS. THIS ONLY APPEARED ON THE ORIGINAL 1st PRESSING AND NOT ON SUBSEQUENT REISSUES.

THIS RECORD WAS RUSH RELEASED BY RCA VICTOR IN MARCH 1956 DUE TO DEMAND, AND EVEN BEFORE ELVIS HAD BEEN GIVEN THE CHANCE TO COMPLETE THE RECORDING OF 12 TRACKS AT THE RCA STUDIOS. HENCE, THIS RECORD COMPRISES OF 7 RCA CUTS AND 5 EARLIER SUN CUTS FROM 1954/55 WHICH RCA PURCHASED FROM SAM PHILIPS.

THE SLEEVE HAS BEEN VOTED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST 100 SLEEVES OF ALL TIME.

THIS COPY IS IN VERY NICE CONDITION, CONSIDERING IT'S AGE AND WOULD BE A SUPERB ADDITION TO ANY PRESLEY COLLECTION. OFTEN CITED AS THE FIRST ROCK AND ROLL ALBUM EVER RELEASED, THIS IS A GENUINE PIECE OF MUSIC HISTORY AND IT'S VALUE SHOULD NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED. 

VISUAL GRADING SIDE ONE:

BEARING IN MIND THAT THIS RECORD IS 53 YEARS OLD AND IS ALSO BY ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR PERFORMERS OF ALL TIME, IT IS IN SURPRISINGLY FINE CONDITION. WHILE THERE ARE SOME VISIBLE SURFACE LINES/RUB MARKS, THERE ARE JUST A FEW LIGHT NEEDLE LINES AND THE ODD TINY SCRATCH OCCASIONALLY. THESE TINY MARKS ARE THE ONLY THING WITH ANY REAL TANGIBLE DEPTH AND THE ONLY MARKS LIKELY TO CAUSE ANY AUDIO INTERFERENCE. OBVIOUSLY USED, BUT WITH NO MAJOR DAMAGE AND WILL GRADE VISUALLY AS A VG TO VG+.  

VISUAL GRADING SIDE TWO:

VERY SIMILAR IN APPEARANCE TO SIDE ONE ALTHOUGH THERE ARE A COUPLE OF SLIGHTLY LONGER SCRATCHES. HOWEVER, WE ARE STILL TALKING LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF A TRACK, SO NOTHING HORRENDOUS. AGAIN, SHOWING A FEW SURFACE LINES/MARKS, BUT OVERALL STILL IN VERY GOOD CONDITION WITH NO MAJOR ISSUES.

LABELS:

THIS RECORD IS AN ORIGINAL 1956 AMERICAN 1st PRESSING ISSUED ON THE BLACK RCA VICTOR LABEL WITH SILVER LETTERING. BOTH LABELS ARE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION WITH NO WRITING, TEARS OR STICKERS. THERE ARE SOME LIGHT SPINDLE LINES ON EITHER SIDE BUT NO OBVIOUS WEAR AROUND THE CENTRE HOLE. THERE IS NO FADING TO THE LABEL WITH THE SILVER PRINT STILL BEING VIVID. NOTE THE 'LONG PLAY' LETTERING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LABEL AND THE CIRCULAR GROOVE, BOTH INDICATIONS OF A 1st PRESS. OVERALL, EXCEPTIONALLY TIDY AND FAR BETTER THAN YOU MIGHT EXPECT FOR A 53 YEAR OLD ELVIS LP.

COVER GRADING:

FRONT:  THIS IS THE ORIGINAL 1st PRESS 'THICK CUT' AMERICAN SLEEVE WITH PASTED ON BACK. IT HAS THE 'ELVIS PRESLEY' IN PINK AND GREEN BUT THE RCA LOGO IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER REMAINS IN BLACK AND WHITE (LATER ONES WERE COLOURED IN THE SAME PINK AND GREEN AS PRESLEY'S NAME). IT ALSO HAS THE CATALOGUE NUMBER IN THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER. AGAIN, LATER COPIES OMITTED THIS. OVERALL, THE FRONT OF THE SLEEVE IS IN VERY NICE CONDITION WITH NO OBVIOUS CREASES AND ONLY A LITTLE VERY LIGHT RUBBING IN PLACES (VERY RARE FOR THESE FRAGILE U.S. SLEEVES WHICH NORMALLY MARK VERY EASILY). THERE IS A VERY LIGHT HINT OF RINGWEAR BUT IT IS HARDLY NOTICABLE. OTHER THAN THAT, THERE IS JUST A LITTLE VERY LIGHT BROWNING ON THE FRONT IN PLACES. THIS MAY BE REMOVABLE, BUT I HAVEN'T TRIED. OVERALL, A VERY TIDY SLEEVE FOR A 53 YEAR OLD RECORD. 

BACK:  THIS IS OF THE AMERICAN PASTED VARIETY AND, AGAIN, IS IN VERY NICE CONDITION. IT IS COMPLETELY FREE OF CREASES OR OTHER MAJOR DAMAGE AND STILL RETAINS THE MAJORITY OF IT'S ORIGINAL WHITENESS, SHOWING JUST A LITTLE VERY LIGHT RUBBING/DISCOLOURATION. THE ONLY OTHER BLEMISH IS A SCRIBBLED OUT NAME IN THE TOP RIGHT CORNER AND THE ADDITION OF A FURTHER NAME CENTRE TOP (THE RECORD OBVIOUSLY CHANGED HANDS AT SOME POINT). OTHER THAN THAT, EVERYTHING ELSE IS AS IT SHOULD BE AND IS VERY PLEASING TO THE EYE.  

EDGES:  BOTH TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES ARE IN VERY GOOD CONDITION WITH JUST A FEW MINOR MARKS. THE LOWER EDGE HAS A SMALL SPLIT(2cm) ON THE OPENING EDGE AND A LITTLE WEAR ON THE SPINE CORNER. THE TOP EDGE IS PERFECTLY INTACT.

SPINE:  THE SPINE IS INTACT AND IN VERY GOOD CONDITION WITH NO SPLITS OR RUBBING, JUST A COUPLE OF TINY CREASES. ALL OF THE TEXT IS PERFECTLY LEGIBLE. THERE IS A LITTLE VERY VERY LIGHT WEAR AT THE EXTREME ENDS BUT NO COMPRESSION MARKS AND IT HAS RETAINED IT'S SHAPE. OVERALL, STILL VERY TIDY. 

INNER SLEEVE:  THIS RECORD COMES WITH A POLY LINED INNER SLEEVE ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT THE ORIGINAL ONE. 

AUDIO GRADING:

SIDE ONE:  WHILE THE VINYL DOES SHOW SOME SURFACE MARKING AND THE ODD TINY SCRATCH, AS MENTIONED ABOVE, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE ARE PURELY SUPERFICIAL WITH NO IMPACT ON THE AUDIO QUALITY WHATSOEVER. THERE IS BARELY ANY BACKGROUND NOISE ON THE RUN IN AT ALL AND ANYTHING THAT CAN BE HEARD HAS GONE ONCE THE SOUNDTRACK BEGINS. THE SOUND QUALITY IS REALLY GREAT FROM THE BEGINNING WITH NO OBVIOUS OR HEAVY DISTORTION AT ALL, JUST A LITTLE LIGHT CLIPPING OF THE TOP END FREQUENCIES GIVING A LITTLE  STATIC TYPE BACKGROUND NOISE OCCASIONALLY, THOUGH THIS COULD HARDLY BE CLASSED AS DETRIMENTAL TO THE OVERALL SOUND. ALL SIX TRACKS PLAY THROUGH WITHOUT ISSUE, THE ONLY EXCEPTION BEING TRACK 5 (I LOVE YOU BECAUSE) WHICH HAS A COUPLE OF TINY SCRATCHES CAUSING A LIGHT TICK FOR A FEW REVOLUTIONS. FOR THE REST OF THE SIDE THERE ARE NO REPETITIVE CLICKS OR POPS AT ALL, JUST THE OCCASIONAL SOLITARY TICK, USUALLY CAUSED BY A DIRT SPECK IN THE GROOVE. THE GAPS BETWEEN THE TRACKS ARE VIRTUALLY SILENT, JUST A LITTLE LOW LEVEL BACKGROUND OCCASIONALLY BUT NOTHING THAT COULD BE DESCRIBED AS SERIOUS SURFACE NOISE. OVERALL, THIS SIDE PLAYS BRILLIANTLY WITH ONLY LIGHT EVIDENCE OF USE AND A FABULOUS SOUND FOR A RECORD THAT IS OVER 50 YEARS OLD. 

SIDE TWO:  THE AUDIO QUALITY OF THE SECOND SIDE IS VERY SIMILAR TO SIDE ONE. THE RUN IN IS EXTREMELY QUIET WITH JUST A LITTLE VERY LIGHT BACKGROUND NOISE AND THE SOUNDTRACK IS CLEAR AND STRONG WITH JUST VERY LIGHT SIGNS OF USE. THE ONLY MARKS TO NOTE ARE A VERY SMALL SCRATCH BETWEEN TRACKS ONE AND TWO WHICH IS PRETTY WELL CAMOFLAUGED BY THE SOUNDTRACK AND ONLY REALLY OBVIOUS IN THE GAP BETWEEN THE TRACKS AND A SMALL SCRATCH ON TRACK THREE WHICH CAUSES A LIGHT BACKGROUND TICK FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE TRACK, BUT NOTHING THAT IS DETRIMENTAL TO THE OVERALL SOUND. OTHER THAN THAT THERE ARE NO REPETITIVE TICKS OR CLICKS THROUGHOUT THE SOUNDTRACK, JUST THE OCCASIONAL SOLITARY LOW LEVEL TICK. JUST THE LIGHTEST HINT OF BACKGROUND NOISE BETWEEN TRACKS.  

SUMMARY:

  A REALLY TIDY COPY OF A RECORD THAT IS NOW 53 YEARS OLD AND IS BECOMING ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND IN DECENT CONDITION OWING TO THE FACT THAT MOST ELVIS RECORDS SUFFERED VERY HEAVY PLAYING ON INFERIOR EQUIPMENT. THE SLEEVE IS SHOWING SOME FAIRLY LIGHT WEAR BUT, OVERALL, IS STILL IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. THE RECORD, WHILE SHOWING A FEW MARKS, PLAYS BRILLIANTLY FOR IT'S AGE AND APPEARS TO HAVE HAD A FAIRLY EASY LIFE. THE OVERALL SOUND QUALITY IS REALLY NICE WITH NO NASTY SURFACE NOISE TO SPOIL THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE AND NO MAJOR DISTORTION. ONLY THE ODD TINY SCRATCH STOPS ME GIVING IT AN EX- GRADE FOR SOUND. I WILL GRADE BOTH SIDES AS VG+ AND I THINK ONCE YOU HAVE HEARD THIS RECORD YOU WILL AGREE WITH MY ASSESSMENT.

EQUIPMENT USED FOR GRADING PURPOSES IS A REGA 3 DECK WITH SHURE CARTRIDGE, ARCAM AMP AND WHARFEDALE SPEAKERS.

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO GRAB A PIECE OF MUSIC HISTORY, SO DON'T MISS OUT!!!

GRADING:

SLEEVE:  VG+

SIDE ONE (visual):  VG/VG+

SIDE TWO (visual):  VG

SIDE ONE (audio):  VG+

SIDE TWO (audio):  VG+

GUIDE TO GRADINGS

    MINT: As new condition/unplayed

    NEAR MINT: No obvious marks or imperfections. May have very light paper lines/hairlines visible under strong light. Sound quality will be virtually perfect.

    EXCELLENT +: Record will display just the odd very light surface line/mark. No needle lines or scratches. Background/surface noise will be virtually non existent with the possibility of the occasional solitary tick. There will be nothing on the record to cause any audible flaws or distortion.

    EXCELLENT: Record will display one or two surface lines and/or light scuff marks. No needle lines or scratches. There may be a little very light background noise only audible on the run in/out. No obvious audible flaws or distortion and will only have had light use. Records graded as Excellent will still be very acceptable copies.

    EXCELLENT -: Record will show slightly more marks than an Excellent but not sufficient to drop it into the Very Good Plus catagory. Any marks will be purely superficial and will not be audible. a record that would otherwise be Excellent but has, perhaps, one light needle line will fall into this catagory. There may be very light audible noise on the run in/out but no scratches. The sound quality will still be perfectly acceptable although it will be obvious that the record has had a few plays.

    VERY GOOD +: Record will display light surface lines/scuffs, light needle lines and hairlines although there will not be any heavy or obvious scratches. Sound quality will still be perfectly acceptable although there will probably be a little light background noise, most obvious on the run in/out and a little minor distortion occasionally. Records graded VG+ will have had moderate use but have not been overplayed.

    VERY GOOD: Record will display several surface lines/marks, light needle lines and light scratches, some of which may be audible. The record has obviously been played many times but will still produce a good sound, albeit with some mild distortion occasionally. There will be no sticks or jumps and the record will play through fine.

I WILL NOT NORMALLY ADVERTISE ANY RECORD THAT FALLS BELOW A VERY GOOD GRADE UNLESS IT IS EXCEPTIONALLY RARE. I ALWAYS DO MY BEST TO GRADE RECORDS AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE. HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE NOT 100% HAPPY WITH YOUR PURCHASE PLEASE CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY SO THAT THE PROBLEM CAN BE SORTED. ALL ITEMS CARRY A FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. 

THANKS FOR LOOKING AND HAPPY BIDDING.