KING CRIMSON IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON 1970 UK Pink Island RAREST A1/B1 EXCELLENT

	£		51
	$		68

KING CRIMSON - IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON

An increasingly rare and highly sought after copy of this 1970 UK very 1st press prog rock classic on the pink "i" ISLAND label, STEREO ILPS 9127

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1  ILPS 9127 A//1 with stampers "L" and "3 4"at 2 o'clock and 2.30 o'clock respectively 

Side 2  ILPS 9127 B//1 with stampers "L" and  "2 6" (very difficult to make out) at 9 o'clock and 9.30 o'clock respectively 

 The appearance of the thick, heavy duty vinyl is excellent+. Completely flat and when viewed in normal daylight still retaining a beautiful glossy and jet black lacquered sheen. Even under a bright light the only blemish (and that's too strong a word) is just a few surface only, superficial paper scuffs. The single exception to this is a 7mm circular scratch towards the end of "Cadence and Cascade" which results in eleven mild (but clearly audible) clicks. I have to say that I only identified this small scratch upon play back when the clicks occurred and I had to study the vinyl very closely and under a bright light in order to identify the culprit. A pity, because apart from this the vinyl is in superb condition and obviously underplayed, remarkable considering it's 48 year antiquity; but because of this small scratch I can only grade the overall condition of the vinyl as excellent minus (EX-).

The labels are excellent.  All black text, the white "i" logo, and the iconic pink matt background remain perfectly intact. Just a few very fine and faint spindle trails adjacent to the centre hole on each label.

The heavily matt textured E.J. DAY gatefold outer sleeve is excellent+. This sleeve is notorious for scuffing, what with no lamination and the heavy texturing, but any scuffing/rubbing on this sleeve is minimal - each edge remains well defined and rigid with no scuffing at all on the top edges and just a little, and very mild, occasional scuffing on the bottom front edge. Similarly each corner remains a well defined right angle with just a little rubbing/scuffing on the corners at either end of the spine; and the spine itself remains firm, unblemished and with all writing perfectly legible. The opening sides remain firm with no fraying or feathering on the front side opening edge, and just the merest hint of a little fraying along some of the front edge of the back opening side. The texturing, colouring, richness and vibrancy of the artwork, on both the front and reverse sides, remains as exquisite as ever and completely unblemished and this applies also to the inside of the gatefold which when opened out comes across as near perfect...in fact the only blemish is a light name in hand written biro towards the top of the left side of the inside of the gate fold (see photo). There really can't be too many 1st pressing copies of this iconic gatefold left which are in as good a condition as this. Wonderful!

Finally, the overall quality of the audio is excellent. There is wonderful tone and clarity throughout and with no distortion, even on the higher frequencies and at higher volume. No skips and virtually no background crackle/interference at all. The exception to this in the 2nd track on side 1, "Cadence and Cascade" where there is some occasional very mild background crackle and 10 light clicks (for which I can find no obvious cause) towards the beginning, and a further x11 mild (but clearly audible) clicks at the very end due to a 7mm small scratch (you'll have to look hard to identify it). If it wasn't for these blemishes on "Cadence and Cascade" (still very listenable, by the way, and no skips), I would have no hesitation in grading the audio quality as "superb". But because of the aforementioned "Cadence and Cascade" clicks I believe that excellent overall is accurate.

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. PEACE - A BEGINNING

2. PICTURES OF A CITY (including 42nd at Treadmill)

3. CADENCE & CASCADE

4. IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON (including Libra's Theme)

Side 2 :

1. CAT FOOD

2. THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE

3. MERDAY MORN

4. HAND OF SCEIRON

5. GARDEN OF WORM

6. PEACE - AN END

Comes with original Island poly-lined white inner with correct British Patent No's and correctly dated, and with no splits or tears but some mild creasing at the bottom corners and some mild age discolouration. Note that I always post the record in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the original.

In summary an overall excellent copy of this rare and highly sought after 1970 UK very first stereo pressing - a "must" for any serious prog vinyl collection and destined to continue to only increase 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 63 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 cardboard mailer along with at least two 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, Royal Mail 1st class, signed for  :  £4.00, 

Continental Europe, Royal Mail 1st class/Airmail, tracked and signed for : £10.00,

and Rest of the World, Royal Mail 1st class/Airmail tracked and signed for : £14.00. 

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding! Richard

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