KING CRIMSON Red ORIG UK 1st Island Pink Rim EX+/EX+

	£		68
	$		90

I HAVE SOME RARE UK PROG LPs LISTED THIS WEEK.  ALL THE VINYL IS IN LOVELY CONDITION AND ABOVE ALL ELSE, PLAYS SUPERBLY.  PLEASE TAKE A LOOK!!!

KING CRIMSON – Red ORIG Island LP /ILPS 9308 (UK, Stereo, 1974)

Happy to present Crimson’s 8th UK LP, many believe their best, and a superbly crisp example with magnificent audio and an original review (maybe NME? I dunno) taped to the original blue poly-lined Island inner.  The review finishes thus:

“In total, this is a goddamn good last Crimson studio album…the subsequent musical careers of Bruford, Wetton and Fripp are almost guaranteed to be at least as interesting as this high-grade finale.  Which means nobody loses, of course.”

The single fully laminated sleeve was printed in England by Robor Ltd and has the 1st press ‘pinched’ spine ends.  Without embellishment, this is just a incredible example, maintaining virtually 100% full definition.  It’s flat, unblemished has nearly 100% sharp corners, NO creasing, a strong and sharp pair of opening edges, unworn edges and a fantastic fully defined, non-compressed spine with no chips or rubs. Most will certainly go M or minus but I’ll say EX+ (Excellent Plus) due to ever-so-slight ring impression (if you look very carefully), 2 virtually invisible grazes to the front laminate and a 1cm bit of wear to the bottom right corner edge.  Picky, I know but MY GRADE IS TRUE!  NO splits, tears, writing, dirt.  Lovely fresh laminate with no peel or lift.  Beautiful!

The classic pink-rim labels have the EG Music credit and apart from the tiniest finger smudge to one side are in a lovely state with next to no discernible spindle evidence.  NO writing, stickers, residue. 

The light mediumweight vinyl is again in minimum excellent, close to mint condition.  The matrices are:

ILPS 9308 A-3U / B-6U.  Interestingly it seems the mothers are 1 GG and 1 GM – a very early copy!

Visually there is very little to fault this fantastic disc with NO scratches, NO hairlines, only 2 of the smallest scuffs to ‘Providence’.  There’s no scrape marks or fingerprints and the surfaces maintain near ‘as new’ shine.  Visually although the majority would go M or NM, I’m saying EX+ (Excellent Plus) hoping to surprise and delight.  THE RECORD HAS BEEN CAREFULLY LISTENED TO and plays superbly as you would expect for such nice looks.  There is near silence throughout with lovely rich and warm definition.  The only thing I picked up was a half dozen ticks during the opening passage of ‘Providence’.  Other than that all else is loud, clean and clear with NO pops, snap, hiss not even any discernible crackle or surface noise.  NO distortion or loss of clarity on this most important of Crimson albums!  Super audio which should satisfy the most exacting audiophile standards!

As mentioned the original blue Island inner is provided with the review stuck to one side.  The other side shows some tape residue where I believe a photo used to be stuck.  Also on one side is the timing of the sides written in blue ink.   There’s one or two nicks to the opening edges.

A lovely Red ’74 original, and a very early press at that.  This LP is appreciated across the genres for its marvelous guitar work and incredible atmosphere.  Don’t miss this brilliant copy! 

CHECK MY OTHER ITEMS FOR MORE ORIGINALS

My Grade is True!!! - I Will Not Let You Down!

I GRADE ACCORDING TO UK RECORD COLLECTOR ALTHOUGH I AM VERY CAREFUL USING THE EX GRADE WHICH I BELIEVE IS SOMETIMES ABUSED.

PAYPAL IS PREFERRED, PLEASE CONSULT MY TERMS.  PERSONAL CHEQUES/POSTAL ORDERS ARE ALSO FINE BUT ONLY IN THE UK - PAYPAL ONLY FROM OVERSEAS PLEASE.

I PACK WITH THE UTMOST CARE! THOUGH I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE IN TRANSIT.  I usually use recycled mailers and boxes to keep the price down.  These are solid and not off cuts but if this is not acceptable PLEASE DO NOT BID! SPECIAL DELIVERY IS RECOMMENDED FOR ITEMS OVER £33.

NPB ALERTS WILL BE ISSUED IF PAYMENT IS NOT RECEIVED WITHIN 10 DAYS.  YOUR BID IS A CONTRACT. 

PLEASE MAIL ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES OR CONCERNS - I WILL DO MY BEST TO HELP AT ALL TIMES. 

ALL PHOTOS SHOWN ARE OF THE ACTUAL ITEM