FRANK ZAPPA / MOI Cruising with Ruben & The Jets RARE ORIG UK 1969 VLP MONO LP.

	£		90
	$		119

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’ – lovely albums – some rare – 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 (£2 per extra record). All boxes sent FIRST-CLASS & TRACKED in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS with extra 7mm side protection and bubblewrap.

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: THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION

Album Title: Cruising with Ruben & The Jets

Producer(s): Frank Zappa

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Cheap Thrills; Love of My Life; How Could I Be Such a Fool; Deseri; I’m Not Satisfied; Jelly Roll Gum Drop; Anything.

Side 2: Later That Night; You Didn’t Try to Call Me; Fountain of Love; No, No, No; Anyway the Winds Blows; Stuff Up the Cracks.

Label/Format: Verve – original UK first issue VLP mono with matt, intense black, smooth surfaces. ‘SOLD IN UK…’ text as seen

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with spindle marks ranging from light to moderate. The record very clean, one surface mark seen on side one, but does nothing, and offers mostly superb mono sound.

Catalogue Number: VLP 9237

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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: 158 grams. A heavyweight first issue with very early stampers seen further down.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity & Overview: Original copies pressed in 1969 in the UK are scarce, the mono copy is quite rare with few even pressed in this mode, and selling in minimal numbers. Arguably, this is the rarest official UK issue Frank Zappa album. Those that surface are invariably in poorer conditions, those who still chose the mono mode did so to play on the appropriate equipment, often with disastrous results. By 1969 the mono mode was in decline, and fewer new albums within this year even were mixed in this way. Even by early Zappa standards, this was not a good seller and has become very hard to find as a true original. Like all the Zappa/Mothers first issue Verve albums, the cover is considerably different to the 1970s Select repressings. It was a single format with a laminated front and the rear flipbacked. The mono mode unique to vinyl, and not officially issue on that mode in the United States – DJ promotional copies on the yellow Verve label do exist, but are very rare indeed. Finally, a few American originals included two insert sheets – never issued in the UK – ‘Dance Steps’ and ‘How to Comb and Set a Jellyroll’. These are very rarely seen or offered as originals, indeed I do not even own these myself and only seen them once. So I have included repros of these rare inserts from the Old Masters box set to make this album more ‘complete’ – they are fun to see and own, even if not the real thing.

Original Year of Release: November 1968. [most likely early 1969 in the UK]

Matrix No: V 5055 A-1 / V 5055 B-1

Mothers / Stampers: 1 R / 1 G

Musicians: Frank Zappa – low grumbles, oo-wah and lead guitar; Ray Collins – lead vocals; Roy Estrada – high weazlings, dwaedy-doop and electric bass; Jimmy Carl Black and Arthur Dyre Tripp III – lewd pulsating rhythm; Ian Underwood – piano, saxophones; Don Preston – piano; Bunk Gardner – saxophones.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Zappa’s album of retrospective nostalgia and one of his most personal, certainly a risky album that few would have predicted. It must have raised a few eyebrows for those around at the time who bought the earlier psych albums as this is very different. An album that went back to the doo-wop sound of the 1950s, the music of Frank’s youth he was so proudly fond of and enjoyed in his younger days. The doo-wop sound was so faithfully reconstructed, it fooled many critics and listeners at the time to who was actually playing the music. Zappa originally decided to record this with a deliberate low-fi, scratchy sound but decided against it. Instead, he used a compressed production to emphasise the mechanical nature of the music – it works perfectly and is still one of Frank’s greatest ever ‘sound’ albums. Even when issued, the music style was very 1950s retro, so the mono mode makes is sound even more authentic, and is the choice of many fans. The late Ray Collins vocals rarely sounded better than on this amazing journey into the past. The Ruben parody still has elements of Mothers humour and fun, the balloon on the front cover states “is this the Mothers of Invention recording under a different name in a last ditch attempt to get their cruddy music on the radio”? – I would doubt whether much ever made it on the airwaves. When the ‘shock’ of this ‘retro’ album wore off, it has become a real favourite amongst serious Zappa fans. Originals almost lost these days – the mono version especially, this copy plays very impressively and only gives scant clues to age and vulnerability of the mode. An indispensible set for all FZ fans, this will not be offered often.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: a single format with front laminate. This covers the folds and ends on three rear external flipbacks. The main back panel is matt and smooth. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse and includes the plain white’PATENT APPLIED FOR’ inner sleeve. Also the two reproduction insert sheets. The picture on the back is a young Frank with pencil moustache.

Cover Front: Brilliant artwork which always looks better under laminate. This retains fine shine, freshness and clarity with no lifting. Viewed under light, some gentle surface dulling is seen, but barely registers with normal full-on viewing. There is one moderate crease near the right edge towards the bottom, others are only fine edge types that few will ever avoid. So gently aged, but still very attractive, the colour of the graphic intense and superior looking to the 1970s version.

Cover Back: The unprotected rear panel has a tendency to brown and age, this one has done that to a moderately light degree. But has no actual real wear as such. The lower right text confirms (along with the catalogue number), it is a mono record, that will sound ever better played on a stereo record player. All three flipbacks are solid, neat and undamaged. A little creasing, again how many will avoid this?, but clean with no grime to the laminate ends. Very slight burring to the bottom end being somewhat critical, but mostly the ends are still crisp and neat. A challening back with polite clues to age, but being so elusive, it will prove hard to find much better.

Top Edge: Thin, but very straight, smooth and unworn, very impressive.

Bottom Edge: Similar to above, but with gentle scuff traces near the ends.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front edge has thickened a little, seen viewed end-on, the back edge is still quite sharp. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: A impressive spine with only four very fine surface creases that show little. Still solid, straight with hardly any compression, the ends very gently tapered in manufacture. Crucially all the blue text is practically perfect and unworn as seen under the solid and unpeeled, clear laminate.

Corners: Light to moderate tip rubs with fine shape retained, avoiding bashes, any dink evidence light and small.

Cover Summary: Arguably Zappa’s rarest UK-made album and cover, unlike many albums where there was a choice of modes, this was a dedicated mono cover, most companies for these ‘late’ monos, used stickers to denote the record mode inside. This a fine example, a little aged yes, but still attractive, and age (arguably) enhances this one with the very retro music. An essential set, many fans will enjoy this one.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): with only a little, quite gentle patchy darkening of the white paper. Little else to really fault, this is a plain basic white unlined solid inner sleeve with ‘PATENT APPLIED FOR’ and ‘MADE IN ENGLAND’ text. Little creasing, and all edges unsplit with no repairs.

The Inserts: To be clear: the UK album never included these inserts. A very few early American copies included a pair of insert sheets and these have always been very rare indeed. I have only once seen them as an original, this dating back to my teenage years. So I include for FREE to any winning bidder, a pair of repros taken from the Old Masters box set to make this album more like ‘complete’. Great fun and rarely seen – one shows how to comb a Jellyroll hairdo, the other how to perform the bop dance steps.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: I think this more than fair as there are no penetrating stylus scratches, and the record plays very impressively with little unwanted. A fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and quite heavily pressed. There is a surface scuff line on side one, non-feelable and it does nothing audibly. Any other marks are mostly fine and faint as seen under bright light. In fact any other marks are few, this is a mono original that has survived the perilous ‘Dansette’ era intact and still sounding great. A copy with modest plays on all the evidence, not for visual perfectionists, but finding this one with no blemishes will prove beyond difficult. Visually a lovely 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 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 unique mono record plays even above fine visual grading with very little to fault. Offering strong, mostly very clear sound with a wide dynamic range and full-on delivery of the retro style music. The 1950s doo-wop material is best enjoyed in mono to give that extra feel of authenticity, this was a pleasure to play-grade. The songs pulsate, the original percussion and bass out of print on CD for many years will never be matched, sound somewhat hard to describe, this has to be experienced. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. The visual blemishes are practically all ignored, few copies will outperform this mono original pressing significantly I feel sure. This mode still unique to vinyl, and likely to be for the forseeable future. Unfortunately for many years, digital and later vinyl repressings were totally ruined by overdubbing which for me made the album sound very fake and totally unlistenable. This is the real thing, just how Zappa wanted it to be heard. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played sparingly and has been generally well stored and reasonably well handled. Yes a few marks, but superficial, few rare monos surface unscathed – this sold in tiny numbers, even in stereo. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, one of Frank’s favourites and most personal. It could prove difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

End Piece: Few could have predicted the fourth Mothers of Invention record – the final original album they made on Verve – would have sounded like this. But clues for Zappa’s fondness of ‘Greasy Fifties Love Songs’ were on Freak Out! with a few of these songs included on that classic debut, albeit different versions. Ruben and the Jets with the original warm, pulsating sound, is for the connoisseur collector, this copy really rocks just like it should, the mono mix very, VERY special. With of course the original sound and mix – for those who have never heard it, well they have never heard it for real. Zappa produces an immaculate parody of the music from his younger days with astonishing authenticity, proving again what a versatile band the early Mothers were. All early copies are getting hard to find and copies still offering clean and enjoyable sound elusive and prized. Totally indispensable, a rare opportunity – SNAT! – bop bop bah bop bop bah – rarely sounded better.

* 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’.