Fairport Convention UNHALFBRICKING 1969 UK 1st press brilliant vinyl + audio EX

	£		54
	$		71

FAIRPORT CONVENTION - UNHALFBRICKING

A truly impressive copy of this increasingly rare and highly sought after 1969 UK original, first pressing folk/rock gem on the coveted (and very rare "block" logo) Island label, STEREO ILPS 9102

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1  ILPS 9102 A//1  with stampers "1 1 4" at 1 o'clock 

Side 2  ILPS 9102 B//1  with stampers "1 1 1 2" (difficult to make out the last two digits) at 1 o'clock

The appearance of the flat, thick vinyl is truly excellent plus (EX+). Gleaming vinyl with jet black lacquering and very earliest "A//1, and B//1" dead wax matrices. In normal daylight there are no obviously detectable marks at all - absolutely gorgeous with a beautiful sheen. It is only with close scrutiny and under an intense light that I could identify some small, very faint paper scuffs and wispy hairlines on each side of the vinyl...all superficial, non-feelable, and very trivial although there is a 2cm pencil thin line on side 1 and a 4cm pencil thin scuff on side 2 which are each slightly more noticeable under a bright light but, again, these are superficial and have no impact upon the wonderful stereo audio reproduction. Truly excellent condition vinyl and clearly far less than the expected number of plays for such a classic and 50 year old piece of vinyl such as this. It is now very rare to come across original A/1, B/1 UK ISLAND "block logo" 1st pressings of this folk gem, especially in condition as impressive as this...beautiful! 

The labels are excellent+ (EX+). Beautiful smooth textured labels with no unwanted writing or marks, and the iconic ISLAND "block" logos, on both the side 1 and side 2 labels, perfectly intact as is all of the black text. If it wasn't for the fact that just a few very light, small spindle trails adjacent to the centre hole on each are just detectable under a bright light, I would grade the labels as "near mint". 

The non-laminated ERNEST J DAY outer sleeve is in a solid very good (VG) condition. Such an iconic sleeve, and due to the relatively thin cardboard and non-lamination quite prone to damage and wear and tear. This sleeve is still impressive with great colour vibrancy and all art work, photos, and writing nice and clear, crisp and intact. Each edge, including the spine, is firm and the corners remain well defined right angles, and the opening edges also remain firm with virtually no fraying at all. There are some blemishes. however : there is intermittent, mild scuffing on the top edge and spine (which does impinge just a little on some of the spine text - see photo), and the scuffing is almost continuous (but still mild) on the bottom edge; there is mild rubbing/scuffing on each corner; and there is mild (but noticeable - again, see photo) ring wear towards the bottom edge of the front side resulting in some mild circular abrasions. the reverse side is excellent, by the way, with no ring wear and no unwanted writing or "doodles", but because of the front side ring wear (it looks worse on the photo than what it does in real life) I am only grading the overall condition of the sleeve as very good (but still highly presentable, I might add).

Finally, the quality of the audio is simply brilliant. No nasty clicks, no skips, repeats or jumps, and barely any background crackle (just a little at the very end of side 2 during the dead wax area and the merest hint of some very light crackle during a couple of the quieter moments and a couple of the interludes...negligible) - simply great stereo audio reproduction with brilliant tone and clarity throughout even on the higher frequencies and at higher volume. There is the occasional nano second of static and the very occasional (less than 6) very light click but I have to put this down to dust in the grooves through decades of storage because there is no visible blemish on either side of the vinyl which can be held responsible, and none of these clicks ("click" is too strong a word) impinge upon the overall wonderful stereo sound quality, with every track making for a great listen. Enjoy!

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. GENESIS HALL

2. SI TU DOIS PARTIR

3. AUTOPSY

4. A SAILOR'S LIFE

Side 2 :

1. CAJUN WOMAN

2. WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES

3. PERCY'S SONG

4. MILLION DOLLAR BASH

Comes with original white inner sleeve, with the original "PATENT NO....." and  "MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN" texts, and with no splits or tears (just some mild creasing) and remaining fully functional. Note that I always post the record in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the original.

In summary a truly impressive copy of this seldom seen, extremely rare, and highly sought after 1969 UK original 1st press folk gem - worthy of gracing any vinyl collection and only continuing to gain in value.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60's & 70's classic vinyl listings.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for almost 50 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960's and 70's origin. Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boot sales, auctions, and even through putting up a "vinyl wanted" notice in my wife's shop! I am now retired and take great delight in being able to spend more time scouring the country and attending boot sales and auctions in the hope of unearthing more vinyl gems...I am 64 years of age now and am still discovering bands and music of the 60's and 70's that I have never come across before. Wonderful! Richard

My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no quibble" refund policy. 

On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl thick cardboard "crucifix" style mailer along with at least two thick cardboard stiffeners. I take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection. 

For this item postage & packaging will be Royal Mail 1st class tracked and signed for : UK £4.00, continental Europe £9 and Rest of the World £13. 

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding!

NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines :

Mint

The records itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items, such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Excellent

The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and /or creasing.

Very Good

The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

Good

The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

Fair

The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents are torn, stained and/or defaced

Poor

The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents are badly damaged or partly missing.

Bad

The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler