JIMI HENDRIX, Electric Ladyland (NEAR MINT 1ST PRESS)

	£		260
	$		345

ARTIST: JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE

TITLE: ‘ELECTRIC LADYLAND’

FORMAT: DOUBLE VINYL LP

YEAR OF 1ST RELEASE: 1968

PRESSING: 1ST

LABEL: TRACK

CAT. NO: 613008/9

MATRIX NO. SIDE A: 613008 A1

MATRIX NO. SIDE B: 613008 B2

MATRIX NO. SIDE C: 613009 A2

MATRIX NO. SIDE D: 613009 B2

RECORDS CONDITION: NEAR MINT

‘Electric Ladyland’ is one of, if not the, crowning glories in the Hendrix catalogue. This is the album that contained his most amazing moments of pop perfection, some of the greatest electric improvised blues jams ever committed to tape while completing the package with some mind bending special effects and studio trickery that surely pushed this 1968 recording equipment to its absolute technical limits!

That you will get the greatest aural impression of Jimi Hendrix classic 1968 album with this stunning first pressing almost goes without saying. The sheer audio perfection both these records give you is nothing short of staggering. I’d always urge anyone with a serious interest in the music of a great artist, particularly one from the 1960’s like Hendrix, to seek out the first pressing because the clarity and depth of the sound will always take your breath away, especially if you’ve become accustomed to listening to CD re-issues or general vinyl re-pressings. The first vinyl issues are always first generation masters direct from the original master tapes, it often seems that with each subsequent re-issue and re-pressing the sound moves one step further away from the sound originally intended by the artist.

This Near Mint grade applies to both these extremely well maintained albums. They both have the shiny, pristine appearance of new vinyl, they both have that wonderful feel of late sixties quality in their appearance and their heavy weight! Neither of these albums have any damage, absolutely nothing other than the vaguest suggestion that both records have been played a very few times. The spindle wear is extremely minimal, showing as little as two or three plays on a couple of sides and not much more than that on the others. Both records have no marks or defects in the vinyl, there is nothing other than the very occasional, totally non-sounding paper scuff. There is an absolute minimum of surface noise to report, the run-in grooves are close to silent, and even better is the fact that over all four sides I only heard one or two faint pops and clicks, if that! This is such a hard to find original double album anyway, but in this condition I’d say it’s as close to “like new” as it is possible to find without actually being shrink-wrapped!

COVER CONDITION: NEAR MINT

This is a fully laminated gatefold sleeve that has remained in the kind of immaculate condition that you would rarely think possible after 36 years. I can’t emphasise this strongly enough, this album cover is so close to new it’s incredible, it’s a rare and collectable classic album cover without fault. The whole laminate has remained firmly in place, nowhere is there any lifting, and apart from one or two of the tiniest ones imaginable near the spine there are no laminate creases either. This thorough covering has insured that the entire album cover has maintained a supreme glossy sheen that is generally only associated with brand new covers. I have never seen a finer example of this great record sleeve and I must stress, the Near Mint grade is applied with the same principles that I grade my vinyl – that is anything that gains a Mint grade has to be New without exception, the fact that this sleeve is so like new it’s incredible is irrelevant to the fact that this is a second hand item, albeit one that has been in just one collection for 36 years and has been handled with so much care that even now it has retained it’s delightful “as new” quality.

There’s really very little to comment on, I’ll cover all the usual points as a matter of routine though. The whole gatefold sleeve is completely intact, there is no un-sticking; the top and bottom edges are smooth and un-touched and the spine is still firm and without creasing; the whole cover both inside and out has no serious creases and it’s even hard to spot any light ones; the front back and inner are un-harmed and have never had any stickers or such like attached to them; finally, the whole sleeve artwork has retained the bright clear colours exactly as it would have been presented on the day of it’s original purchase in 1968. This is a shining example of a well cared for classic album cover!

ANY OTHER DETAILS: STEREO

TRACKLISTING:

Side One

‘And The Gods Made Love’

‘Electric Ladyland’

‘Crosstown Traffic’

‘Voodoo Chile’

Side Two

‘Little Miss Strange’

‘Long Hot Summer Night’

‘Come On’

‘Gipsy Eyes’

‘Burning Of The Midnight Lamp’

Side Three

‘Rainy Day Dream Away’

‘1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)’

‘Moon Turn The Tides….Gently Gently Away’

Side Four

‘Still Raining Still Dreaming’

‘House Burning Down’

‘All Along The Watchtower’

‘Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)’

Postage & Packing is UK £2.00 / Europe £3.00 / US £5.50 / rest of world £6.00. Payment is by Paypal, cheques or postal orders payable in UK Sterling only, well concealed cash in UK Sterling only or International Money Order payable in UK Sterling only.

I specialise in selling rare, collectable and hard to find vinyl. All of our ebay listings are play graded, when buying rare records over the internet I suggest that you settle for nothing less. I have been a collector of records and a trader for over 20 years and, as such, I use the experience I have gained in this area to grade & describe the records as accurately as possible. Good luck!