KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King 1969 UK pink "I" A3/B3 great copy

	£		411
	$		545

KING CRIMSON - IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING (AN OBSERVATION BY KING CRIMSON)

An excellent plu copy of this increasingly hard to find and one of the most highly sought after 1969 UK first pressings of this prog rock holy grail, on the coveted pink "i" label, STEREO ILPS-9111

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1   ILPS 9111  A//3 with stampers "1 1 2" at 3 o'clock

Side 2   ILPS 9111  B//3 with stampers "1 1 7" at 8 o'clock

The appearance of the flat, thick vinyl is excellent plus (EX+). Both sides of the vinyl (nicely solid and completely flat) have retained their original beautiful, jet black lacquered sheen and wonderfully impressive luster - gorgeous! A real gleamer, and obviously sparlngly played. Even under a very bright light, and with very close scrutiny, side 1 still looks perfect and on side 2 it is only just possible to detect a few small and very, very wispy hairlines and a small area of "dulling" (so faint and hard to detect that I am unable to even show it in a photo!) and it goes without saying that these very minor blemishes are strictly surface only and completely non-intrusive in terms of both appearance and sound quality (superb throughout). There can't be many copies of this rare first press vinyl that are in better condition than this!

The labels are also excellent plus (EX+). Beautiful labels with the coveted Island pink white "I"logo and black text on the light matt textured pink background remaining perfectly intact in all it's glory on both sides. Under a bright light I can just about make out a couple of small and very ,very faint spindle trails adjacent to the centre hole on each label. But apart from that, perfect! 

The E.J. Day non-laminated gatefold sleeve is also excellent plus (EX+)..  Such an iconic sleeve, and so rare to come across a UK original in as unbelievably good condition as this. All edges remain firm with barely any scuffing at all, the corners remain near perfectly defined right angles with minimal rubbing and no compression; the spine is also rigid and unmarked with all text remaining perfectly intact. The inside of the gatefold is brilliant with no written names, nasty marks or doodles anywhere and no buckling adjacent to the spine (quite common). Hard to fault, in fact, with all of the incredible art work and text, and all of the colours, remaining rich, vibrant, and as clearly defined as the day this album was first bought. Remarkable!

Finally, the quality of the audio is excellent+ (EX+). Wonderful tone and clarity throughout, even at higher volume and on higher frequencies, as you would expect from a record that has obviously been played only sparingly. You may notice the very occasional nano second of static and just the merest hint of some very, very light background crackle at the very beginning of side 1 and towards the end of each side, and the very occasional and very, very light background crackle during the quiet phase of "Moonchild", but that is no more than you would expect from a brand new record receiving it's very first play. Put simply, stunning stereo audio reproduction!

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. 21st CENTURY SCHIZOID MAN including MIRRORS

2. I TALK TO THE WIND

3. EPITAPH including MARCH FOR NO REASON and TOMORROW AND TOMORROW

Side 2 :

1. MOONCHILD including THE DREAM and THE ILLUSION

2. IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING including THE RETURN OF THE FIRE WITCH and DANCE OF THE PUPPETS

Comes with original poly-lined Island "PLASTIC  BAGS CAN BE DANGEROUS" inner sleeve with the original "Made in England" and "British Patent No..." text, along with date stamp of "40 /099" and with no splits, rips or tears - just some mild creasing and light age discolouration - and remaining in very good plus condition and 100% functional. Note that I always post the record in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the original.

In summary a truly excellent plus condition copy of this increasingly rare and highly sought after 1969 UK 1st pressing prog/psychedelic rock classic - worthy of being the centrepiece of any vinyl collection and only continuing to gain in value. Original UK press copies of this LP with the vinyl and outer gatefold sleeve in condition as impressive as this are now seldom seen.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

 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 50 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 £6, Royal Mail special delivery; continental Europe £11 and Rest of the World £15, Royal Mail 1st class international Airmail, 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