FREE - Heartbreaker - RARER Orig UK 1972 Island EX++ LP

	£		200
	$		265

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: FREE

Album Title: Heartbreaker.

Producer(s): Free & Andy Johns.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Wishing Well; Come Together in the Morning; Travellin in Style; Heartbreaker.

Side 2: Muddy Water; Common Mortal Man; Easy On My Soul; Seven Angels.

Label/Format: Island – Original pink rim format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both stunning immaculate with rich deep colour and total freshness. Ultra clean and attractive looking with any spindle traces tiny, few and incredibly faint. Indeed, struggling to find any at all on side one.

Cat Number: ILPS 9217.

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: 132 grams. A very good weight for this record.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Moderately scarce and try to find a much better example.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: Dual matrix copy: ILPS 9217 A-1 (ILPS 9217 A-2U) / ILPS 9217 B-1 (ILPS 9217 B-2U)

Stamper Codes: 1 MP / 2 OA

Musicians: Paul Rogers - lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, piano; Simon Kirke - Drums, percussion, backing vocals, rhythm guitar; Tetsu Yamauchi - bass guitar, percussion; Rabbit - electric and acoustic piano, organ, glockensppiel, backing vocals; Paul Kossoff - electric guitar.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Seventh and final album for this great British blues-rock band – almost difficult to imagine it was only 1972 when this fabulous band folded. Like the previous album Free at Last a little underrated title in their great catalogue but their trademark quality rarely lets up here. It includes their classic and popular single ‘Wishing Well’ and the beautiful ‘Come Together in the Morning’. Here the regular personel had changed and the line-up now was: Paul Rogers, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi and Rabbit (John Bundrick). Kossoff plays guitar on five tracks but is not credited now as a band member as such on the cover. This is a very early pressed copy and another beauty, the record especially has clearly hardly ever been out of its unique inner. A thick pressed record, Island not cutting back on this one even with the impending oil crisis looming where thinner pressed records were more the norm. The cover, a typical unlaminated Island format, being predominately white, is seldom seen anything like clean. This must be the very best examples I have ever seen and has barely any traces of grubbiness and has avoided any discolouration – a truly remarkable sight on such a cover. This one too has the most pronounced manufacture’s nipped spine ends which look fantastic, these are undamaged and very sharp. Viewed from the front, the most lovely ‘flats’ show on the deeply pinched spine ends, a lovely manufacture touch that adds extra class to this fragile cover, both these ends retain superb definition and no damage. This super-fine copy will please even discerning Free collectors, only one in a thousand will be found so well preserved and little played. Both record and cover be not beaten easily, and this will be one that will stick in my mind and others to be judged by in the future. This final album went out with a bang rather than a whimper and thus it should never be underrated.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High.

Cover Grade and Format: MINT(-): a single unlaminated format with matt, smooth surfaces. This original has the deeply pinched, shaped spine ends. Printed and made in England by Robor.

Cover Front: Pure class gorgeous – and coming close to reminding of new. A very light and faint record pressmark near the top that I have never seen avoided, but little else to fault with any other traces minuscule. Only a very few ever retain such whiteness and a genuine freshness and this too from a cover fast approaching forty. Nigh-on crease-free with two fantastic flats for the spine ends, this fragile detail (seen in close-up) so often gets bent, creased, buckled and grubby – well judge this pair yourself. Any tiny marks or blemishes barely even register and this final Free cover front will seldom be found better.

Cover Back: Again in superb condition with any rim impression very faint. One for the highly discerning collector.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both nigh-on perfect and dead straight with no friction rubbing or grubbiness, a rare sight on this cover.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly ultra sharp and crisp and guaranteed untrimmed. A tiny thickening trace near the bottom of the back being ultra critical. Record entered on this right edge.

Spine and Text: The star area of a very difficult cover. The deeply pinched spine ends are truly lovely, later examples were routine square, this pair are deeply pinched and retain great shape with no bending, creasing or grubbiness. Solid, straight with just a light trace of central compression. All text is perfect and unworn and this has not darkened or aged at all.

Corners: All in magnificent shape too with perfect pointed 90 degree shape retained with no rubbing or even tip creasing.

Cover Summary: A near immaculate all-round example of this very fragile early 70’s cover, one that will prove immensely difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please most-all collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a very thin paper and unlined inner, one of the very few I have ever seen with no edge splits or tears. It has a couple of small marks on the back side and some fairly light creasing. This has the song lyrics and great band picture.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): in terms wear or marks, practically none and the sound is absolutely fantastic. But the owner stored this inside a polylined cover to stop the lyric inner getting split and to protect the record’s playing surfaces. So the only relatively minor issue is some mild dulling to the surfaces from the lining. This has NO effect on sound of course and only really shows under angled light. I am absolutely certain this record has hardly even been played and has barely any traces of real marks e.g. hairlines, abrasions and certainly not a scratch in sight, my grading is reflected on that. This is barely even ‘inner-bag-rash’Hence, it has none of that patterning effect, merely mild patchy dulling. So what I am saying, the surfaces have a lost a little of their gleam but still retain fine shine. Still a lovely record and very solidly pressed on intense black vinyl. All but the most fussy visual collector will enjoy it.

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 impressive copy plays even above it’s high visual grading with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds barely even registered and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. If the mild surface dulling is an issue however, do not bid.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver 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.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or prompt payment is a problem, please do not bid.

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 and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 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. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. 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). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied. If you cannot pay, DO NOT BID.

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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, 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’.