JAMES TAYLOR Sweet Baby James RARER ORIG UK 1970 EX LP with SUPERB EX++ COVER.

	£		32
	$		42

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, 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.

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: JAMES TAYLOR

Album Title: Sweet Baby James

Producer(s): Peer Asher

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Sweet Baby James; Lo and Behold; Sunny Skies; Steamroller Blues; Country Road; Oh, Susanna.

Side 2: Fire and Rain; Blossom; Anywhere Like Heaven; Oh Baby, Don’t You Loose Your Lip on Me; Suite for 20 G.

Label/Format: Warner Bros, original first issue orange format with matt, very gently textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a tiny few very light, fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. Another from the collection purchased from new by one owner and appearing hardly played.

Catalogue Number: WS 1843

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: 134 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce as a first issue, the label changed to the more familiar green format in 1971 making first issues only relatively briefly available on orange.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: WBWS 1843 - A2 / WBWS 1843 B2

Mothers / Stampers: D 1 / B 1

Musicians: James Taylor – guitar, vocals; Chris Darrow – fiddle, violin; Carole King – piano, vocals; Danny Kortchmar – guitar; Russ Kunkel – drums; John London – bass; Randy Meisner – bass; Red Rhodes – steel guitar; Bobby West – double bass.

Brief Info: The second album by the highly talented American singer-songwriter. It was issued in 1970 to high critical acclaim and sold well in both North America and the UK, it was Grammy Award nominated for Album of the Year. Many regard this as his best ever album with ten of the eleven songs self-written. This is a lovely looking copy that appears hardly played, but pressing quality is often a factor. The first song on side two has a few gentle, sporadic and brief pressing crackles, that a trait on some records that can barely be seen as a visible blemish, but can be heard now and then. Proving yet again a full-play grade is essential prior to selling an album. Such blemishes have nothing to do with usage or stylus abuse, it’s simply a pressing thing that happens occasionally. The only clue to these is scrutiny under light where tiny speck glints appear in the vinyl. Viewed in room light would give no such clues of any pressing blemish. So this record would have played with them from new, and most likely the same pressing batch would be the same. They are quite light, and with the other ten songs playing superbly with little else unwanted, I still must offer this beautiful first issue album. The very wear-prone cover is gorgeous, and to date, probably the very best I have seen, indeed this first catalogue number sleeve could prove a huge upgrade for some as its rarely seen as such. With the brief light blemishes on ‘Fire and Rain’, this not quite for perfectionists, but this will still prove very difficult to find better.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a single unlaminated format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse with the correct WS 1843 catalogue number. Subsequent pressings has this changed to the new Kinney number, so be aware of substitutions. First issues also included the white polylined inner sleeve as supplied with this copy.

Cover Front: One very fine half moon surface crease apart, this superb front cover has little else to fault. As most from this collection, it was cover-protected for most of its time. A tiny few ultra fine edge hairlines barely even register and the fresh unfaded portrait of Taylor looks fantastic with barely even a trace of rubbing. Unfaded with no sticker issues, this is a joy to hold and view and it will prove beyond difficult to match or find better.

Cover Back: A very fine and faint vertical surface crease trace near the spine edge hardly registers. There is little else to fault on what I consider an exceptional back. The lack of ring wear both sides is another massive plus.

Top Edge: Thin, but straight with any trace of rubbing minuscule.

Bottom Edge: A little very patchy rubbing mostly near the centre and right tip, most of the ink still intact and matt thin storage edges seldom escape with much less.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with any thickening little and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: A sensational spine that looks practically mint as made. Solid, straight with minimal compression, the white surface immaculately clean with no toning or ageing at all. All text is perfect and unworn, also perfectly centred on the very narrow depth as-seen.

Corners: Most of any tip rubs tiny and light (slightly more on the bottom right), excellent or better shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this wear-prone 1970’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a heavy-duty white polylined inner that is UK patented with ‘Foreign Patents Pending’ text. The paper has aged with the usual darkening of the seam adhesive side areas, but has little real creasing, only natural light crinkle. Both window circles are perfect and crisp, the lining still fresh and clear, there are no edge splits or repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: arguably better, this a cautious grading. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface traces marks, very light, mostly wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. As stated, tiny glints seen in the pressing on ‘Fire and Rain’ with ultra scrutiny under bright light, these usually culprits for those brief sporadic pressing crackles detailed above. Spotting these comes with experience and knowing what to look for, they would usually be overlooked even with a standard surface check, they only catch light and show when the angle is spot on. They remain pretty much invisible in normal light and viewing conditions. Visually still a super record that should please many 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 quality album mostly plays even above it’s high visual grading with little else to fault bar a few sporadic brief crackles purely in the pressing as mentioned already. These pretty much confined only to ‘Fire and Rain’ that opens side two, with just one on the following song. All others songs plays great with hardly anything else unwanted – so that’s the vast majority of this album. A beautifully produced and recorded album with high sound quality, and all other songs excel with clean sound and no tracking issues*. It will still prove difficult to find better as a first pressing and has been lightly played only and stored to the usual high standard by the one owner from new. The brief, light blemishes on ‘Fire and Rain’ apart – and they are hardly loud or major being honest – nothing else spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It could still prove difficult to find significantly better and can be highly recommended to many collectors. But not quite for purist audiophiles who want perfection at any cost.

* 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 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, 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’.