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In The Court Of The Crimson King P-8080A (Japan) Atlantic Records w/ OBI

An Observation By King Crimson

This second pressing plays to a superb standard for the vast majority - the clarity, depth and power of the audio is very impressive.  There is only one brief section of interference on S1 during 'I Talk To The Wind' - some clicks in one brief section and then some light ticks near the end.  The rest of the side plays with stunning quality and S2 is just out of this world!  There is no interference and that is a genuine rarity as we all know.  It's not often you find 'Moonchild...' playing as clearly as this.

The iconic cover is visually stunning with no obvious wear and the Obi has only minimal creasing on the inside.  The two sided lyric insert is also in excellent condition.

This edition was pressed between the second and third issue and still has the Y 2000 on the Obi and on the back of the cover but has 'Made by Warner-Pioneer Corporation' on the labels not 'Warner Bros- etc...'

P-8080A // P-8080 A1  Y - 9 - : 2 - Y   1 - A - 7  (1) 〄

P-8080A // P-8080 A2  1 - A - 12  (1) 〄

The audio on S1 is Mint(-) (T2 Ex+ and also G for a few seconds)

The audio S2 is Mint(-)

The gatefold is Near Mint

The Obi is Ex+

The insert is Ex+

The labels are Near Mint-

Visual description

The vinyl is in excellent condition and still holds a very strong glossy sheen with just one tiny scratch on S1.  When looking at the record you do not even notice it and it's only when you play it that you know something is there!  Only on close inspection can you see it!  Aside from that it is extremely clean with only a handful of very faint hairlines and one small section on S2 of faint marking caused by the pvc inner sleeve sticking to the surface, this has no affect on the audio.  The Atlantic labels have hardly any spindle wear and only very minor faint spotting that you can only see at a certain angle.

Play grading

The very quiet intro on '21st Century Schizoid Man' has no background, not even a dust tick, and as the volume increases the audio plays with great power and depth.  The opening vocal section is perfect and the first part of the instrumental could not play any better, the sonic quality is so impressive.  It continues to play with stunning quality with nothing getting in the way of the audio.  Giles' frenetic percussion in conjunction with Fripp's guitar is so strong and the staccato section plays with imperious quality also.  The final verse has no interference and the end instrumental is equal to that.  A very busy track of course and yet the clarity and definition of the audio is outstanding right up to the final note.  This classic is Mint in every way.

'I Talk To The Wind' plays so clearly for the vast majority.  The intro / opening verse & chorus play with flawless clarity and it's only during the next verse that you can hear eight clicks and a couple of ticks due to the small scratch as described above.  From then on it plays so well with only a small number of light ticks on the final verse.  I will grade the majority as Ex+ and that one brief section as G I think that is a fair assessment.

The entire intro on 'Epitaph...' is faultless and Lake's opening vocal is just as 'clean'.  It continues to play with sublime quality through every vocal and instrumental section with no intrusion of any kind.  There are of course a number of quiet sections and yet they all play with genuine precision - the mid instrumental is a prime example of that.  Perhaps not as sonically impressive as the UK first pressings but there is no denying the quality of the audio.  Just a couple of dull ticks at the end of the fade out so I will grade as Mint accordingly.

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For once 'Moonchild...' plays with unbelievable clarity - a genuine rarity!  The intro is perfect and the first verse has just one mega quiet static, not sure why I am mentioning it really!  The rest of this opening vocal section has no background and then the first part of the instrumental plays with crystal clear audio.  It continues in the same way - the music is of course so quiet and yet there is no intrusion, a couple of barely audible dust ticks and a couple of minor statics no more.  I cannot emphasise enough how well it plays and we all know how rare it is to find clarity such as this during this long quiet instrumental piece.  Incredible really when you think this vinyl is over 50 years old now.  The sonic quality is STUNNING and to the very end it plays with exceptional audio.  I will grade as Mint- but I am sure many would dispense with the minus!

The unmistakeable intro on 'The Court Of The Crimson King...' has no interference and the opening verse is equal to that.  The next high octane is faultless and the second verse is... as good as the first!  The following instrumental once again plays with impeccable precision as does the rest from this classic.  The final two verses and instrumental passages play so clearly and the very quiet percussive section is just superb.  The few seconds of silence are totally silent which makes a change and the 'pipe' section has just one very quiet tick, nothing intrusive.  The end section is so strong and the volume can be turned up to max without there being any distortion.  A sublime Mint- version for sure.

In summary this Japanese pressing plays to a very high end standard with only that one brief section on S1 that is the only obvious intrusion.  The majority of 'I Talk To The Wind' still plays with stunning clarity but it is unfortunate there is that one tiny scratch there.  S2 however is just stunning!  As stated 'Moonchild' plays with a rare clarity and the classic title track could not play any better either.  So overall I fine example of this very collectable album.

The Gatefold. Obi & Insert

The textured cover is still very strong and has retained its original shape perfectly.  There is no real wear truth be told.  A handful of very faint 'specks' on the edges and a couple of very minor corner rubs, it really is in fantastic condition.  the wide spine is as good as new which makes a change.  The front and back cover are unmarked and the inside of the gatefold is also immaculate.  The Obi strip on the inside has only light creasing on the 'written' section but is still very clean and remains 100% intact.  Every aspect of this cover is in superb condition.

The LP sized English and Japanese insert is in excellent order with just minimal creasing and very light age related fading around the edges.

Play tested on my Rega P2 with AT VM 95 EN Cart / Denon PMA-520AE Amp / B&W 684 Speakers

This record has been cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

P-8080A // P-8080 A1  Y - 9 - : 2 - Y   1 - A - 7  (1) 〄

P-8080A // P-8080 A2  1 - A - 12  (1) 〄

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

Recent Feedback

Postage & Packaging

I will only send items items worldwide via tracked shipping.  This provides 'peace of mind' in case of loss or damage.  The shipping costs are shown below and combined shipping is always offered.  Any over-payment will always be refunded.

The Royal Mail only insure up to a value of £250 so if an item sells for more it may be wise to use a courier service (e.g. Parcelforce or DPD).  An extra insurance premium will be required but I will not know the exact amount until the final sale price is known.  Because of this I will sometimes have to estimate the cost and this will be shown in the listing.  Please wait for the invoice before making payment and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.  Many thanks.

All vinyls are packaged in strong over-sized custom made mailers with plenty of extra cardboard protection.  They are placed inside separate poly-lined inners outside the cover so as to avoid seam splits in transit and then placed inside a PVC sleeve to provide even more protection.  I pride myself on my high quality packaging as my feed confirms and if any customer has any specific requirements I am more than happy to help.

The mailers I use cost £1.00 each and I will use anything between 3-5 cardboard stiffeners which cost approx £0.18 each.  There is also the cost of the poly-lined inner and PVC sleeve to consider, it all adds up!  Not forgetting that eBay take 10% of the shipping fee also!!

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LPs/12" singles : £21.95 then £2.50 per extra

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