GUN 1st Album RARE ORIG UK 1968 MONO EX+ LP, SUPERB SOUND, 1st ROGER DEAN COVER.

	£		105
	$		139

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’ – the theme this year being ‘Rock Classics’ – 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 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and traceable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

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.

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: GUN (sometimes known as THE GUN)

Album Title: Gun

Producer(s): John Goodison

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Race With The Devil; The Sad Saga of the Boy and the Bee; Rupert’s Travels; Yellow Cab Man; It Won’t Be Long (Heartbeat).

Side 2: Sunshine; Rat Race; Take Off.

Label/Format: CBS – original deep orange format with mono logo on left. These have matt smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only light, mostly fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. Very few in number, and along with the playing surfaces and sound quality, this much rarer mono record appears little used.

Catalogue Number: M 63552

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: 127 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Very scarce in mono and not seen often, especially in better conditions, and as stated further up, this appears little used and has a lovely clean cover.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: 63552 A1 / 63552 B1

Mothers / Stampers: A 1 / A 1 [these ultimate first stampers on CBS records are rarely seen which reiterate the few numbers mono copies were made]

Musicians: Paul Curtis – vocals, bass; Adrian Curtis – guitar; Louis Farrell – percussion. With: Barry St John – backing vocals; Sunny – backing vocals.

Brief Info: The first of two albums by the London trio Gun. Formed in the late 1960s, this British power-rock trio had early success but than faded and split. Treading an uneasy path at this time between pop and the impending progressive rock scene, Gun’s music never really fell comfortably into either category, but this debut was in its own way a pioneering force in prog-rock transition. The album’s opener, ‘Race with the Devil’ was a chart success, but this debut album had only moderate seller and the inferior second album flopped. The cover states the members as Paul Curtis, Adrian Curtis and Louis Farrell. But the Curtis brothers were born Gurvitz and became more well known under their real names. After they split they formed the Baker Gurvitz Army in 1973 with the former Cream drummer Ginger Baker. The album’s demonic cover artwork was the first one created by the famed graphic artist Roger Dean, he went on to become famous for his classic covers for progressive bands that include Yes, Gentle Giant, Uriah Heep, Earth & Fire, Badger, Budgie and Greenslade and many others. Gun were a hard hitting and very loud band using fuzz guitar and effects. By their own admission a ‘noisy and violent’ group. They sometimes used a brass section that gave their music extra drive and power and even included strings on ‘Rat Race’. The finale is ‘Take Off’ clocking in at a lengthy 12.5 minutes. The cover explains it as a lights-off, freak out and to be played at maximum volume. Its pretty awesome with frenzied guitars, often mastered backwards, all very surreal and exciting stuff. It can be argued they were a band a little too ahead of their time, and this debut album does them excellent justice and even modern day rock fans and us older progressive rock lovers will enjoy this. ‘Race With the Devil’ still sounds pretty awesome and a mini classic of its type. It helped play a part in the development of the progressive rock scene that hit the back end of the 1960s into the 1970s, and launched the career of arguably rock’s most famous and greatest graphic artist. Rare in mono and seldom seen in better conditions in either mode. This one very impressive and plays superbly, a rare opportunity.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: and arguably better. A single format with front laminate, this only covers the top and bottom fold, leaving the spine edge exposed. This a trait of many CBS album covers at this time, and most are very difficult to find without spine edge wear. Apart from a central rub, this has little. Printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day & Co. Ltd with the ‘Patents Pending’ text. Includes a CBS orange promotional inner sleeve.

Lamination & Front: Spectacular artwork by the famed graphic artist Roger Dean, this his first album cover that helped launch his career within this field. The demonic picture presumably to coinicide with the top 10 single ‘Race with the Devil’. The prized graphic seen to maximum advantage under mainly shiny, still largely fresh and clear laminate. Under light some moderately light rim dulling is seen, but the lack of lifting and only a few light surface creases are always great news on darker designs. Most of the creases fine and light with the majority confined to the edges. This elusive 50-year-old cover front will not be easy to find a great deal better these days.

Cover Back: Overall, this dark unprotected back is again impressive with little more to fault than a light rub trace and a small tone spot near the very top edge. A gentle fine semi-crease on the left edge just below centre and no others. The surface clean, also still fresh and lacking the usual ring wear these usually acquire over time. No tears or sticker issues, this challenging surface will also prove difficult to find better.

Top Edge: Thin, but straight with full laminate cover which remains smooth and unchipped.

Bottom Edge: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Thin card, but mostly sharp with any thickening little and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced. Both left and right of the cover front have laminate end panel areas, the exposed strips hardly worn at all.

Spine and Text: No suprise, this another thin edge and this was laminate protected, hence vulnerable. Solid, straight with minimal compression. Small rubs to the top end and a small central one which was eroded some of the fine ‘GUN’ text, the CBS and 63552 text each end has survived fully intact. Being honest, few will have much less wear overall, and often these types are threadbare with all ink gone. So in context, this is a very respectable one as-seen.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this clearly wear-prone 1960’s cover, one that could prove very difficult to find much better. This very impressive, and historically important ‘rock art’ cover, should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): an unlined CBS promotional inner sleeve with little to fault. The paper aged little with any creasing light. Two pristine window circles and the edge solidly intact with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface traces few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. Any blemishes – a mere couple – purely within the pressing itself that do nothing. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, hardly anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most 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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant album, largely overlooked due to other major albums issued within that year, plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering 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 are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. Few available copies will outperform this rare first mono pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp when played on a standard stereo system, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, this my first copy for some time and I have seen or had very few, especially in mono. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* 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. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

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 the item being offered with no digital enhancements. 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. 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 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 Nessie 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 17­ 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. 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’.