KING CRIMSON - In the court of the Crimson King - ILPS 9111 UK Pink Island

	£		185
	$		245

KING CRIMSON - IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

Island ILPS 9111 Original UK Pressing on the PINK ISLAND Label

Stamper Matrixes A2 and B4

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Some general remarks: Despite all those loud market shouters declaring this title as "rare", "once in a lifetime", "virtually never turns up for sale" etc. ILPS 9111 Pink Island is not a rare record at all. Each week new auctions turn up and it is pretty easy to grab one. The problem with this title is the CONDITION OF THE VINYL. We all know that the benchmark for grading is "Moonchild" on this one and 99% of all records auctioned are playing noisy, are crackling or even have clicks or pops. To find a real near perfect copy is quite a task. 

The very first PINK ISLAND copy was pressed by Island and bears the Matrixes A2 and B2. It has the rough textured label and is considered by many as "the holy grail". Obviously people think it delivers the best sound compared to the A2/B3 or A2/B4 pressings (made by Polydor in the UK). I own all 3 variations and can confirm that the playback quality on the A2/B2 is superb. Nevertheless it is not better than the A2/B4. It sounds a bit darker in places and a bit less dynamic too. These differences are very, very small and the individual personal taste rules here. The A2/B3 sounds thinner than the other 2 pressings, although being very dynamic. It has a hint of harshness in the upper frequencies. I compare my pressings on top notch equipment, using the expensive BENZ MICRO SLR Gullwing MC-cartridge with the Micro Ridge cut diamond. It reveals everything from any Vinyl which sometimes can be a curse, especially with 40+ year old records. When I grade a record as Excellent, I am pretty sure many other sellers would not hestitate to call it Near Mint. When I give a record the "Near Mint" grading it is practically flawless. I am collecting Vinyl since 35+ years and own hundreds of records from the day they came into the shops. "In the court..." was fascinating me from the very start but it also was frustrating when I tried to achieve back-up copies or other Stampers. I am pretty aware of the fact that "Moonchild" is not necessarily musically inspiring but I hate it when a record crackles or pops. So here we go.......

The Vinyl: NEAR MINT

Held up into a very strong light I have difficulties detecting any hairlines at all. It has a small surface mark at the beginning of "Moonchild" which only can be heard very soft in the background for a few revolutions when the Volume is turned up to a nearly noisome level. Don't get me wrong: I mention this for the sake of being as precise as possible. My opinion is that people deserve to know every bit of anything when intending to spend their money for such an item. I had brand new records being not nearly as good as this one. Even the very quiestest parts of "Moonchild" play just perfect. The same applies to the other 4 titles. As with all the records on our planet you will hear a very few faint static single clicks here and there. I am sure many music lovers would call me a nitpicker when listening to this copy because they don't know what I am talking about but as I said before: you can be assured that you get what I am describing. The Vinyl sits flat on the turntable.

The Labels: NEAR MINT

The Gatefold-Sleeve: EXCELLENT(-)

No rips or tears or splits. A bit of unavoidable edge and spine rubbing. That's it.

Inner Sleeve: Very Good+

I downgraded it due to a small tear on the top, it is a bit creased too but in general in really good condition besides some mild yellowing due to its age. This is the CORRECT BLUE INNER Sleeve.

If you ever intended to own this title in practically flawless condition - here it is.

In case of any further questions please don't hesitate to mail me. I will answer promptly.

Due to the somehow weird eBay policies regarding postage please ignore the postage fee below. I decided to fix shipping at 7 GBP to anywhere in Europe and 9 GBP to the rest of the world. This includes the fees for "signed for/registered" and also Insurance to make sure the record arrives safely. It also allows to track it during its transit. The record ships from Germany.

I pack my records professionally in stiff record mailers leaving the Vinyl (housed in Nagaoka anti-static bags) outside the Sleeve.  

Good luck.