FREE (2nd) - RARER UK 1969 Island Pink i N/M LP & Cover

	£		91
	$		120

stylishvinyl Store



FREE (2nd) - RARER UK 1969 Island Pink i N/M LP & Cover

Search

Artist or Band: FREE

Album Title: Free.

Producer(s): Chris Blackwell.

Track Listing:

Side 1: I’ll Be Creepin’; Songs of Yesterday; Lying in the Sunshine; Trouble on Double Time; Mouthful of Grass.

Side 2: Woman; Free Me; Broad Daylight; Mourning Sad Morning.

Label/Format: Island – Pink i format with smooth finish and very deep large inner ring ridge (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both in beautiful conditions with a more unusual finish, the paper appears thin and almost semi-transparent. Yes another variation on the pink Island label. Spindle marks are  few and faint and this one looks little played.

Cat Number: ILPS 9104.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 135 grams. A good average weight for this one.

Rarity: Pink copies of this classic album are getting harder to find, especially ones that are clearly hardly played. The wonderful cover always challenging to find clean and this copy sets the bar high.

Original Year of Release: 1969.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9104 A SP 4307-1A / ILPS 9104 B SP 4308-1B. These more unusual matrixes are hand-etched and scripted.

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘Bell Sound sf’ on both in tiny swash-style typeface. (curly scripted serifs)

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): and this being ultra critical, this very wear-prone cover has barely any at all and looks simply superb. An unlaminated gatefold format that was printed and made in England by E. J. Day.

Cover: Front & Back: Both sides are little short of as made and look incredible. Supremely clean, fresh with barely any marks, creases or blemishes at all. The white back is as clean as I have ever seen and barely a hint of any rim marks – mere trace viewed point-blank. The odd tiny edge and corner tip rub trace are just seen only but little else. Worthy of a second look, they do not get seen like this too often. Another from a quality collection that was cover protected from new.

Cover Inner Gatefold: One or rock’s greatest centrefolds: looking stunning with nothing to fault. The girl is seen blowing dust from Rodgers’ square stone amid the sparse gravestone scene. Marvellously morbid and more than a hint of eroticism, this will not be seen much better than this.

Top Edges: Very light and faint patchy rubbing on the front.

Bottom Edges: Both practically unworn and all four are very straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little wear and no feathering or trimming. Record entered on the back edge.

Spine and Text: Absolutely stunning: this thick, white spine has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Very solid, straight and uncompressed. Folded almost square so the edges meet up closely together and almost parallel. The fine text is unworn and there is NO grubbiness to the fragile pale surface.

Corners: Any tip rubs are ver small and all retain very fine to excellent shape. The spine pair probably even better.

Cover Summary: One of the best covers ever put around a rock album and a genuine Island classic. A truly fantastic example that does it maximum justice and worthy of the price alone. Finding this one anything like ‘perfect’ is a huge ask, but this comes mighty close and could prove a substantial upgrade for many collectors. Certainly up there with the best I have seen, just holding this one gives pleasure as so few will even get close. This will please most-all collectors, even the highly discerning ones.

The Inner Sleeve: MINT(-): the plain white lined inner has barely aged and the only traces of any ‘wear’ are very mild record rim impression. This is the genuine one this record was purchased with and the lack of wear or damage gives strong clues to the lack of record usage. This is still clean, uncreased with all edges intact, one microscopic nick on the top opening edge only (but look hard).

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR MINT(-): and visually a stunning copy with playing surfaces that almost remind of new. A barely played record that is ultra clean, intense black and very solidly pressed, any surface trace blemishes barely even register, even under light. All evidence suggests it’s hardly been out of the cover and ONLY PLAYED A FEW TIMES so few making the open market with better this beauty for looks.

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.]

PLEASE TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THE PICTURES TO MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND.

I OFFER A FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE IF BUYERS ARENOT COMPLETELY

HAPPY WITH THEIR PURCHASE.