JAN DUKES DE GREY Sorcerers 1969 UK RARE 1st press MONO DN 8 SUPER vinyl + audio

	£		186
	$		246

JAN DUKES DE GREY - SORCERERS

An impressive & highly presentable copy of this very rare and highly sought after 1969 UK first pressing of this prog/psych gem, on the coveted UK DECCA NOVA label, MONO DN 8

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1  ARL - 9272.P - 1A with stampers "1" and "U" at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively, and the "JT" tax code at 12 o'clock

Side 2   ARL - 9273.P - 1A with stampers "1" and "U" at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively, and the "JT" tax code at 12 o'clock

In normal daylight the appearance of the vinyl is truly excellent (EX). Gleaming, completely flat and heavy duty vinyl with jet black lacquering and a truly impressive sheen, with no obvious marks at all. Closer scrutiny under a bright light does reveal a number of small, light wispy hairlines and light paper scuffs on each side of the vinyl, but there is nothing that is either "feelable" or obviously below the surface. With this in mind I would grade the overall condition of the vinyl as very good plus (VG+).

The labels are pristine. Beautiful labels with all writing, all colouring, all art work, and the iconic "DECCA nova SERIES" logo perfectly intact. If you look closely at each label it is just possible to identify a couple of very, very faint spindle trails adjacent to the centre hole, apart from that perfect. Brilliant!

The front-side laminated and gorgeous UK Senol Printing outer sleeve is very good plus (VG+). Each edge remains firm with no scuffing whatsoever - remarkable for a 50 year antiquity such as this. Each corner remains a perfectly defined right angle with no rubbing and the spine is equally impressive with no blemishes whatsoever and all text remaining perfectly intact.The colouring and art work on the front side remains beautifully vibrant and clear , and on the reverse side there is barely any age discolouration, no unwanted writing or doodles, and all text remaining perfectly intact and legible - very impressive indeed. There are some minor blemishes, however : both the front and reverse sides suffer from some mild vertical cardboard crinkling/buckling, there is a very light stain line towards the right top corner on the front side (see photo) and an equally innocuous horizontal stain line towards the top left corner on the reverse side (see photo), there are x3 small and very light laminate creases on the front side in the bottom left quadrant, and a number of very light 1cm laminate surface creases adjacent and perpendicular to the edges on the front side all of which are only really noticeable when the sleeve is held at an angle in a good light. In summary, some minor faults but still an impressive condition and highly presentable outer sleeve.

Finally, the quality of the audio is very good plus (VG+). No nasty clicks, no skips, no repeats, no jumps, and just some minor occasional/intermittent background crackle during some of the quieter moments which is a little more pronounced and noticeable on side 2 with some low level, mild rotational crackle lasting for the first half of side 2...I stress that upon close inspection there is no obvious reason for this but suffice to say that original Decca nova vinyls are notorious for their fragility and sometimes not quite up to scratch audio quality; it seems that in this instance some paper scuffing may have hindered the quality of the audio though I suspect that a professional clean would improve the sound quality. You may also come across the odd very background light click but these are few and far between and non-intrusive.That is not to say that each and every track on this album does not make for an excellent listen - it does - it's just not always quite up to the level that the appearance of the vinyl would have you believe.  

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. Dragons

2. Rags, Old iron

3. 28th June, Village Song

4. High Priced Room

5. Sorcerers

6. Ode to a Schoolgirl

7. The Cheering Crowd

8. out of the Eastern Hills

9. M.S.S.

10. Texas

11. Yorkshire Indian Sitting in the Sun

Side 2 :

1. Wonder Child

2. Dominique

3. Trust me Now

4. Forms

5. City After 3.00am

6. Butterfly

7. Turkish Time

Comes with original excellent condition read and white MONO Decca inner sleeve with no tears or splits, no fraying and no unwanted writing - remaining 100% functional with some mild creasing towards the bottom corners.  Note that I always post the vinyl (each one in this case) in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the original.

In summary a very good plus condition (but closer to "very good" than "excellent") copy of this very rare and highly sought after 1969 UK 1st pressing prog/psych gem - highly presentable and playable, 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 more than 48 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 UK £4.00, Royal Mail 1st class signed for; 

Continental Europe £11 and Rest of the World £15, Royal Mail 1st class tracked and signed for. 

 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