EMERSON, LAKE and PALMER (ELP) Tarkus RARER ORIG UK 1st ISSUE 1971 ISLAND EX LP.

	£		62
	$		82

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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: EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER

Album Title: Tarkus

Producer(s): Greg Lake

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Tarkus: Eruption, Stones of Years, Iconoclast, The Mass, Manticore, Battlefield, Aquatarkus.

Side 2: Jeremy Bender; Bitches Crystal; The Only Way (Hymn); Infinite Space (Conclusion); A Time and a Place; Are You Ready Eddy?

Label/Format: Island – Original Pink rim format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with just one minor spindle mark on side two.

Cat Number: ILPS 9155

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. A very good weight for this one.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Moderate in theory but the genuine first Island pressings are far, far harder to find. If you find a copy on the Island pink rim format, it does not guarantee a first pressing. In fact most found are second Island pressings or even later Manticore examples. There are several differences between a first and second Island pressing namely: a) the first pressings have an A-1U / B-1U matrix number and include the ‘PORKY’ / ‘PECKO’ run out groove inscriptions and b) the cover is constructed from very thick and heavy card and was printed and made by the E. J. Day Group Ltd, the second examples were Howard’s or Robor covers. As a ‘first pressing’, this is quite a scarce record.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9155 A-1U / ILPS 9155 B-1U

Mothers / Stampers: 2 AG / 2 0P

Etchings: ‘PORKY’ / ‘PECKO’

Musicians: Keith Emerson – Hammond organ, St Marks Church Organ, Piano, Celeste, Moog; Greg Lake - Vocals, bass, electric & Acoustic guitar; Carl Palmer - Drums, assorted percussion.

Brief Info: Second album by the popular progressive trio, this a first issue with the E. J. Day cover which is thicker and more robust. Never easy to find in this lovely little-worn condition, most found are usually badly rubbed and ringworn. Side one is occupied by the title ‘Tarkus’ – a suite in seven parts and is an ELP classic. Virtuoso musicianship with super production and dynamics, all three members excelling. This is high class, high tempo prog-rock which pushed their sound even more forward after the classic debut.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): an unlaminated gatefold format with very matt surfaces and a real heavyweight. Thick card and superbly constructed, importantly, this original was printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group as seen on my close-up picture. Beware of later printed covers, these being much thinner and lighter by Robor being offered as ‘first’.

Cover Front: Seldom seen without significant rubbing and fading – this has neither. Three or four light spine edge creases apart, I would have graded even higher. Any marks or blemishes very few, fine and light with no sticker marks. Very nice indeed.

Cover Back: Superb with any blemishes again tiny, very few and light, one of the very few I have seen with hardly any traces of ring wear.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Very impressive with rich deep colour and hardly aged. It retains decent ‘spring’, and not floppy when opened out. Please note the ‘E. J. Day’ imprint as seen in close-up which guarantees a first UK printing.

Top Edges: Thick, robust, straight and flush with barely a trace of wear.

Bottom Edges: Practically the same, for storage edges these are exceptional, any rub traces few and very light.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both superb, crisp and very sharp. Record entered on the back edge, all are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: A difficult spine again in marvellous-shape. Thick and robust with hardly any wear. Solid, straight with no compression or crushing. Folded very square, so the edges meet up flush and parallel. All text is perfect and unworn and that is is a real bonus on this one, even the folds have no rubbing.

Corners: Any tip rubs are small and light. No knocks or dinks, better than excellent to near perfect shape being retained.

Cover Summary: Do not underestimate the rarity of an E. J. Day ‘Tarkus’ cover, they are way harder to find than the later versions and they are definitely more prone to wear. So this a hard find like this. Without any doubt, this will prove a massive upgrade for many prog and ELP collectors. The cover-protection since new means the difference of average and exceptional – and this one is almost that.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): these plain white inners pre-dates the blue Island inner. This is solid with little creasing or ageing. Unlined with all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+) / EXCELLENT(++): side one has a near microscopic fine mark that causes a brief few very gentle ticks at the very beginning, thereafter little else to fault – both sides look superb. Very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. The brief blemish apart, a lovely early issue record that should please many collectors, but not quite for purists who only want ‘perfect’ at any cost.

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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This rarer original ‘Tarkus’ mostly plays above it’s high visual grading with little to fault bar the brief gentle blemish at the start as mentioned – and this is not the easiest record to find that will do so. With such detail and complex sound embedded, this was a record that could be easily worn if not treated with due respect and many are heard with distortion or loss of clarity to the immense sound. It offers strong, dynamic, fully focused and powerful sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and utmost detail. This is a record with real hi-fi quality and will make any worthy system sound superb. Massive highs and lows in volume and intensity – yes a typical progressive album, this is a real roller-coaster ride. Few early issues will not have the odd minor blemish here-and-there, that is simply being truthful and realistic. But little spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this classic prog album. Finding pristine 1971 pressed copies will prove immensely difficult, vinyl purity was something of lottery at this time, and although this may not be pristine, it is still for most highly impressive with no tracking issues*. This record could prove difficult to find significantly better. With an outstanding ‘Day’ cover and for most part, fantastic sound, this will please many collectors, one with more positives than negatives and can be highly recommended overall.

* 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 programs. 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’.