JETHRO TULL - This Was - RARE Early Island Pink i EX LP

	£		27
	$		36

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: JETHRO TULL

Album Title: This Was.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: My Sunday Feeling; Some Day the Sun Won’t Shine For you; Beggar’s Farm; Move on Alone; Serenade to a Cuckoo.

Side 2: Dharma For One; It’s Breaking Me Up; Cat’s Squirrel; A Song for Jeffrey; Round.

Label/Format: Island - Pink i format with a very deep ridge and very rough textured finish.

Label Conditions: Stunning clean examples and the most beautiful deep rich pink colour you could wish to see. Astonishing freshness and wonderful pronounced texturing. Okay not a very first pressing but one of the most delightful records you will see or hear, this third label variant still remains a personal favourite and would have been pressed during 1969. (Please see my label scan for any information needed).

Cat Number: ILPS 9085.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: An impressive 161 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Pink copies in superb playing conditions are never easy to find, so many subject to needle abuse from their distant past. This has avoided any such traumas and plays beautifully.

Original Year of Release: Originally 1968, this pressing would have been from around late 69 to early 70.

Matrix Nos: ILPS+9085+A2 / ILPS+9085+B2

Musicians: Ian Anderson - flute, mouth organ, claghorn, piano and vocals; Mick Abrahams - guitar, nine string guitar and vocal; Clive Bunker - drums, hooter and charm bracelet; Glenn Cornick - bass guitar.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Jethro Tull’s debut masterpiece and many reckon never bettered - a close call that - it even charted at 10 in the UK, not at all bad for a rock debut at this time. For sure this is rock classic, a debut of incredible maturity that fitted in nicely between blues and prog. Mick Abrahams was the darling of the clubs, and for a brief moment held a challenge to Clapton, especially with his showpiece ‘Cat’s Squirrel’. Shortly afterwards he left the band to form Blodwyn Pig. Anderson became the undisputed leader and live he and the band were tremendous. On record they rarely got much better than this and ‘Dharma for One’ that opens side two has probably the best ever (short) drum solo ever - this just has to be heard on stereo vinyl that images brilliantly - breathtaking sound, as is the whole album.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Moderate+.

Cover Grade and Format: EX, it would have had at least one extra + bar some toning on the spine. A gatefold format, laminated front and back, no flipbacks on this slightly later printing which was made in England by E. J. Day, London. One of Island Records greatest ever covers and one of the few that had laminate and this one looks very nice indeed.

Lamination: Both sides in fine condition: all solidly adhered bar a tiny bubble on the front bottom right corner. There is some friction rubbing and very modest dulling visible when angled viewed but normal viewing reveals little and the light surfaces marks also disappear too. The artwork looks fantastic and the overall lack of creasing is great news. The laminate ends well short on the opening edges but these exposed strips show little wear and due to darkness, little grime-line formation. Given the age of this classic cover, this is a splendid example, not quite good enough for the perfectionist but most collectors will enjoy it.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Both sides in great condition again and avoiding ringwear which these unlaminated faces can sometimes suffer. Any rub traces to the dark surfaces is again minimal and ultra light and this has barely aged at all.

Top Edges: Both in great condition with barely any wear, mild tone trace near right corner.

Bottom Edges: Both practically unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little traces of wear and no feathering. Record entered on this right outside back edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression, only the earliest pressings had the very wide thick spine, this is the ‘standard’ format, the late pinks and pink rims reverted back to more traditional style spines. Some laminate has peeled, mostly near the bottom half, this is not so unusual. There is some patchy toning and small erosion on a couple or three letters on the text but most is present - the most important title and band name are totally unworn.

Corners: Minor tip blemishes with the odd small rub and crease but all retain lovely neatness and shape. Small toning on back on the left pair.

Cover Summary: An attractive example of this famous old cover, not quite as old as the band look on the cover but this is now close on forty years old, it does it fine overall justice. This should please many collectors.

The Inner: The original polylined inner is included, one small edge tear and mildly aged but still attractive. UK Patented and foreign patents pending text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Strong EX with little more than light and faint surface blemishes (paper scuffs) or hairlines and of course these have no sound at all. One tiny mark on the final short song is ignored also until the run out grooves. This is a splendid vintage pink i copy that has clearly been played modestly. Very clean, shiny, intense black and very heavily pressed on high quality Island vinyl. It’s one that should please manycollectors.

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 snippetts 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 classic debut album plays even above it’s visual grading to the maximum with practically nothing to fault. Stunning clean stereo sound that has a powerful mix that even comes close to matching the first pressed mono. This plays with clean and very dynamic sound and devoid of the dreaded distortions so many of the early copies now have. The innermost songs with that delicate, difficult flute sections always are a concern for any copy played too many times on heavy equipment - no worries here, the sound is sharp with effortless tracking and clarity. It should now remain so for many years when played on a modern lightweight turntable. This is not an easy album and so often it disappoints even on clean visual copies. This has practically nothing to fault and plays devoid of irritating surface noise and pops and clicks. The short but spectacular drum solo on ‘Dharma for One’ sounds amazing with real power, depth and stereo imagery. Also the final short song, the delicate ‘Round’ plays superbly, I have heard this sound horrible on some copies, many with inherent surface noise. Overall I feel sure this little played copy should please most collectors.

End Piece: Again its frightening to think how old this record is, to find one very clean playing conditions always gives me a thrill, I never tire hearing this supreme album. Who would have thought over forty years ago Ian Anderson and his band would still be playing under this name. Glad he is too, I cnanot believe it’s been over a year ago I watched their 40th Anniversary concert last April. This record and cover were robustly made and its a good thing they were. Just holding this vintage stereo pressing is a joy - it was subsequently pressed many more times this being the earliest third impression, this is still a scarce record with the heavily textured surfaces and conditionwise it has more than stood the test of time. Play this record loud and prepare to be thrilled - a true classic worthy of a good home – Yes I rather enjoyed this one.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within 48 hours maximum. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO thick stiffners for even extra protection. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity and well as sender label. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 4,000+ items sold in over 7 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£39).

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.