Kak Pitman pressing. Top drawer vintage psych/prog vinyl for serious collectors

$

560

A stupidly rare and TOP original demonstration copy AND “Pitman pressing” of the self-titled debut and only LP by the true connoisseur’s West Coast psych band. The yellow US stereo pressing Epic labels are bryte and clear (haha!). There is literally only one spindle mark visible on the Side 2 label and none on Side 1, as I have tried to show in the photos. Absolutely superb copy. YOU WILL NOT FIND ANY BETTER. The Columbia Records Pressing Plant in Pitman, New Jersey (active 1961–1986), was known for its high-quality vinyl production, particularly for excellent quality control in the 1960s and 70s. Besides the “P” stamp, other Pitman pressings sometimes featured a 2-digit, letter and number stamp opposite the main matrix etching. The stamp can be very faint, sometimes appearing almost imperceptible or resembling a small, etched mark and requiring direct light to see. This Pitman copy has the faintly visible A and 3 etchings opposite the main matrix labeling, which I have tried to capture in the photos. It also has the much more noticeable black tab on the top-right of the front cover of Pitman originals, clearly visible in the photo. For the sound file I chose the most quiet, subliminal and ultimate psych track, Lemonaide Kid, to demonstrate the top quality of this copy and the total lack of surface noise. The vinyl has full and glossy shine. The lousy ION turntable and the equally lousy MacBook external speakers used for the video do not do justice to the utterly immaculate sound of this record on a high quality system. The four corners each have minimal wear from bumping, and on the top edge age-related drying of the glue along the seam on the back side has caused some slight contraction, all shown in the photos. Yet the cardboard is rock solid stiff and the cover overall appears like it came out of the shrink wrap just recently. The cover has full shine and no hint of any ring wear at all.

I am planning to list some ultra-rarities from my personal trove of vinyl LPs and 45s over the coming months. These have been painstakingly collected since the late 1970’s. Included are the absolute crown jewels of psychedelia, garage, prog, acid folk and folk-rock, all ranked 3-6 stars in Hans Pokora’s books. Artists like Vashti Bunyan, The Haunted, Fresh Maggots, Kaleidoscope, Plastic Cloud, Loudest Whisper, Reign Ghost, Synanthesia, Blues Section, Jormas, Mighty Baby, Sunforest, Trees, The Folklords, Anne Briggs, Kak, Moving Sidewalks and countless others. Most are stupidly rare, especially in such jaw-dropping condition. All have been extremely well cared-for across 4+ decades, and some are nearly un-played. In many cases, I also have the accompanying 45s for sale, including insanely rare non-LP tracks for e.g. Vashti Bunyan, Reign Ghost, Kak, Kaleidoscope, etc. I am selling these only reluctantly, and if the first few samples do not attract an appropriate level of interest, I will simply return the rest of them to storage. All records have been dust vacuumed on a Moth-MKII Pro Record Cleaning Machine. 

My vinyl rankings are only slightly modified from Goldmine Standard for grading Please read them (below) carefully. I will describe every LP and 45 in detail and include photos as well as sound files. If you pay close attention to the cover/vinyl condition descriptions, check the photos in high-resolution and listen to the sound files, then you should know exactly what you are aiming for before you start bidding. However, I have 100% positive feedback on eBay and want to keep it that way. If there is ANY issue after receiving a shipment, please let me know immediately so we can resolve it. Buyer pays packaging and insured shipping from Finland. Vinyl will be packed extremely securely to avoid any damage in transit. LP comes in a VRP rice paper-style inner sleeve. Note that the USPS Media Mail is not an option from Finland so please ignore that shipping rate. Both UPS and DHL Global Express Shipping are available from Finland. 

I do not use Mint (M) unless the album is sealed. Near Mint (NM) means I literally unsealed the record myself and played it once or twice to record it to cassette. Any surface noise is therefore a function of the pressing and not due to wear and tear. I do not use EX. 

Very Good Plus Plus (VG++) will show only very minor – if any – wear, has been extremely well taken care of and plays with top-notch sound. The cover is crisp with minimal defects, and the record label shows very few spindle marks or other signs of wear or damage. The vinyl retains full gloss and for 45s the picture sleeve is mostly intact. This is as close to NM as it going to get for 99% of rare vintage vinyl for sale anywhere. 

Very Good Plus (VG+) will show minor yet visible cover wear, has been well taken care of and still plays with generally excellent sound. Spindle marks on the label may be more pronounced, yet vinyl gloss and sonic clarity both remain solid and surface noise minimal. For 45s the picture sleeve is intact but has significant defects, such as seam splits, wrinkling or visible rubbing.

Very Good (VG) will show visible wear and tear on the cover, have significant spindle marks on the label and the vinyl will have lost some of its gloss and/or sonic clarity. Surface noise in evident. I will offer almost no LPs or 45s rated VG as I simply do not own them, except a very few that are exceptionally rare in any condition.