IF - If 4 - SCARCE, SUPERB 1972 HARDLY PLAYED UK ORIG EX++ LP with UNSPLIT INNER

	£		107
	$		142

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

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 – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrived damaged in them at some time. More details on my packing nearer the end of the listing.

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 ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important to 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.

Artist or Band: IF

Album Title: If 4.

Producer(s): Lew Futterman.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Sector 17; The Light Still Shines; You in Your Small Corner.

Side 2: Waterfall; Throw Myself to the Wind; Svenska Soma.

Label/Format: United Artists – original format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both immaculate: ultra clean, fresh and highly attractive with barely a spindle trace to be seen, maybe one fine one on side one. This superb very early pressed copy looks barely played, this reitterated by pristine sound throughout.

Cat Number: UAG 29315.

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: 136 grams. A very good solid weight for this year.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: if albums were only very modest sellers.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: UAG 29315 A-1U / UAG 29315 B-1U (these are very large, clear and punched, NO scripting).

Stamper Codes: 1 G / 1 M [G being a very first stamper]

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘STERLING’ ‘LH-2’ / ‘STERLING’ ‘LH’.

Musicians: John Mealing - organ, electric piano, background vocals, arrangements; Terry Smith - guitar; Jim Richardson - bass; Dennis Elliot - drums; Dick Morrissey - tenor sax, alto sax, flute, arrangements; J. W. Hodkinson - vocals, percussion; Dave Quincy - tenor sax, alto sax, flute, arrangements.

Brief Info: A somewhat overlooked jazz-rock band that had considerably more success in Europe than their native UK. They made just two albums on Island before switching to UA, this was their fourth [obviously]. It did not sell well and is very elusive. Sounding not unlike a more commercial Nucleus with vocals, more easy on the ear and melodic, If played tuneful progressive jazz-rock and even within this fairly specialised field, they only had limited success. This set was recorded live in Memphis, Atlanta and London and for me is one of their very best. Longer solos and some blistering saxophone work, this is brilliantly recorded too. Now with more interest in such bands this title is becoming ever more difficult to track down. Always hard in top conditions and this copy is unlikely ever to be found much better, the record especially so, it looks and plays practically as new. The silver foil type cover also very fine with hardly any real wear, but a few press marks on the back, for good measure, the inner sleeve has no edge splits. A copy for the vinyl loving jazz-rock fan and long overdue this band got the recognition they deserved.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High: these ‘metallic’ looking foil sleeves are incredibly hard to find without dulling or peeling of the surface, most dull and age badly, often with ugly darkened ring wear. Finding little-worn examples like this one on offer if very difficult indeed.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): and only marked down a little for the press marks on the back, this is a totally unforgiving cover and few will even get close to this. An unlaminated gatefold cover that has foil type surfaces. The inside is matt and smooth with conventional card. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse. Both front and back are embossed making it even more fragile. This includes the original artwork inner sleeve.

Cover Front & Back: Both look similar and both impossibly difficult. Even the most careful collector found this one difficult to keep in top conditions. Ruthlessly revealing and uncompromisingly fragile, this in real term has little wear and minimal blemishing. The back has a fine rim rub at the top, still the least I have ever seen on this cover. Most all have thick and heavy ringwear as full circles along with rubbing too. Both sides have little rubbing and this silver and black cover has a lovely real shine and geuine freshness – that is what makes the real difference. With minimal traces of dulling evident, even with angled viewing this sets a very high standard and quite honestly, few will ever better it. There are a few quite fine press marks on the back, minus those, I would have graded still higher. Study the pictures and you judge, when was the last time you saw this one looking this fine? And to be clear, all the outer faces have a shiny silver finish. Very difficult to photograph due to reflection, so if any appear other than silver looking, it is purely a trick-of-the-light. Flash photography on this does not work.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Practically as made.

Top Edges: Both pristine, so rare like this.

Bottom Edges: Again exceptional for storage edges, just mildly thickened on the card ends in places.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with little wear and no chipping to the foil. A little thickening and minor burring seen viewed end-on. Record enters on the back edge, both guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: The spine is in remarkable condition and that is not putting too finer a point on it as all the foil is intact and unpeeled or scuffed. Most of these will be eroded and worn away, this one is almost as new with just a tiny central hairline crease that has not affected the text. I have seldom seen any silver cover with a better spine edge than this, I would hardly have thought this possible. Solid, straight with minimal compression, just a slight tilt to left being critical. Folded squareso the edges meeting up near flush and parallel allowing for the minor spine tilt. All text is near perfect and unworn and there is barely any traces of rubbing to the unprotected surface that even still retains a super shine.

Corners: Amazingly, barely any tip wear at all, and all retain excellent or better shape.

Cover Summary: An exceptional all-round example of this scarce and immensely fragile 1970’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. Just the rear press marks stops this being exceptional, so even though superb, not quite for the perfectionists. However, this attractive item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: with the printed side meriting (++). The other side is plain white and has a few fine surface creases near the bottom, probably there from day one in manufacture. The more interesting printed side is superb, clean and has just a couple of fine hairline creases that show little. It has a neat recessed top opening that is also neat and undamaged. No edge splits and hardly aged at all , this is also ring wear prone but has avoided any and has no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): with nothing more than ultra fine and faint hairlines that just catch angled light. How many records this considerable age will not have a few of those, let’s be honest and realistic. A superb visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and quite heavily pressed, especially for the year of issue, being the time of the great oil crisis and shortage. A copy barely handled or likely played, try finding this elusive title much better. Visually a super record that should please most-all 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This scarce UA record plays even above its high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong and powerful, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Brilliantly produced with fantastic sound, this really makes the system sound work. Barely any traces of surface sounds and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing for a fairly challenging album. Few copies will match or outperform this first pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this excellent record – not heard this title for at least 6 years when I last offered a copy. It will prove difficult to find better and can be strongly recommended.

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 Terrarium 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 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 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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 2 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). 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 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.

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] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced 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 [£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’.