LED ZEPPELIN 4 RARER LATE 1971 UK ATLANTIC 'PLUM' LP with FANTASTIC CLEAN SOUND.

	£		104
	$		137

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers will now be blocked at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: LED ZEPPELIN

Album Title: Led Zeppelin (IV).

Producer: Jimmy Page.

Executive Producer: Peter Grant.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Black Dog; Rock and Roll; The Battle of Evermore; Stairway to Heaven.

Side 2: Misty Mountain Hop; Four Sticks; Going to California; When the Levee Breaks.

Label/Format: Atlantic – red and maroon (‘plum’) format with matt, smooth surfaces. There are at least five variations on this label. This one being the final and totally correct version – is it any more common than any other? – well debatable as this record was not even available that long on the Plum label before the green and orange Kinney versions took over (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both are very clean, fresh and attractive with any of the modest spindle marks being very fine and faint as seen under angled light. This visually impressive, and in this case, a rarer VERY well pressed copy offers superb sound, this will take a lot of beating.

Cat Number: 2401012.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 125 grams. This a quite typical weight for this record, issued at a time of the great oil shortage when vinyl was used far more sparingly.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarcer on the plum labels, very quickly to be changed to far more common orange and green ‘Kinney’ format. The inner sleeve and covers both changed in appearance too. This has the matt-finished cover and heavier, darker inner sleeve with flipbacks. Both ultimately fragile and prone to wear – the inner especially that is often seen with tape reinforcing on the edges to avoid or hold together splits (often massive ones too). Indeed, the inner sleeve is one of the fragile ever issued and arguably is the most difficult part of this set. This had edge splits that I felt wise to repair as neatly as possible, this reduces the risk of them widening in the future. The most important factor bar none for me is the sound quality. This album was quite mass-produced within it’s brief time on the Plum label and top quiet sound quality is never guaranteed. But this copy delivers with stunning sound – it packs a real punch and has barely anything to fault – just the way any discerning Led Zeppelin collector and fan wants them. The wear-prone matt cover is also nice with very little of the usual rubbing most seem to have. I consider any example of this album that plays as well as this and overall looks this clean too is quite a rare find these days.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: 2401012 A // 3 1 3 3 & 2401012 B // 4 1 2 6

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘PECKO DUCK’ & ‘PORKY’

Musicians: Robert Plant – vocals, harmonica; Jimmy Page – acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin; John Paul Jones – synthesiser, bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin, recorders; John Bonham – drums. Guests: Sandy Denny – vocals; Ian Stewart – piano.

Brief Info: After the issue of three sublime albums, how could this legendary band offer even more? Well the answer was with this untitled album, always known as IV. It’s unscripted sleeve design suggested anonymity, but nothing was left to question over this album’s content. An undisputed masterpiece within the genre of ‘Rock’. Led Zeppelin were never so strident as on ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Black Dog’, two selections of undiluted brilliance. The blues standard ‘When the Levee Breaks’ is massively powerful, particularly through John Bonham’s thunderous drumming, and the group’s love of folk forms surfaces on the graceful ‘Battle of Evermore’, complete with a cameo from Fairport Convention’s Sandy Denny and the beautiful mandolins. ‘Stairway to Heaven’ has, of course, become the album’s best-known track, but the anthem-like stature it has since assumed should not obscure it’s groundbreaking companion songs. This album left much of heavy metal, and indeed rock itself, trailing in it’s wake. It charted at 1 in the UK and 2 in the US and has become an evergreen classic of huge stature and remains as popular and in-demand as when first issued. Conditions for collectors is always an issue: these monolithic masterpieces were so often played to destruction and so many fail to please when played on modern highly clinical equipment. The finer grooves on this album often meant just a tiny fine mark or light scratch sounded more freely than on earlier albums. The perilous final seconds of ‘Stairway’ often meant arms being lifted prematurely resulting in scratches on those ultra fine innermost grooves with annoying loud clicks ruining those vital last few words. Finding a copy that gives that ultimate audio satisfaction is challenging and so many crackle either with variable pressing quality or over-playing on old record players that simply tracked at vast weight. Well have no fears with this copy, the record plays magnificently with massive drive, power and sonic delivery of the music. Devoid of pressing and surface noise with no pops or clicks of any real note – this simply raises the neck hair and was a thrill to play-grade. Covers often seen very tatty and tired looking, often grubby, rubbed, ringworn and severely creased. The originals are matt finished, and they do not wear well unless kept and handled carefully. This one a very fine solid example with minimal wear. The inner sleeve, as mentioned further up, has neat central edge repairs by myself and finding one without splits is proving to be near impossible these days. But all the positives for this copy outweigh any negatives, the ultra fragile dark inner, this one with external flipback construction, is still very neat and pleasing. In the meantime, simply enjoy the stunning music from a Plum copy that does it more than top justice.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): a matt, smooth finished non-laminate gatefold format. Printed and made in England and including the original darker unlined inner sleeve. Later covers had a more shiny finish, and the inners were much paler often with the new Kinney catalogue number.

Cover Front: Clean, fresh and correctly, very matt-finished. Barely any wear, creasing or rubbing at all, any surface blemishes small and faint seen critically under angled light.

Cover Back: The back is largely the same with just the odd small corner tip or edge (fine) rub (being critical as well). The lack of any penetrating or heavy ringwear is a major plus, any rim impression gentle and faint.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Little to fault inside – the odd tiny surface rub trace, but these very dark revealing surfaces will not be too easy to find better.

Top Edges: Both straight with barely any hint of rubbing, also meeting near flush.

Bottom Edges: Only very light patchy rub traces, all impressive for clearly more wear-prone storage edges.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front is closed, neat and crisp with a real edge. The back opening is clean and sharp with minimal traces of any thickening or burring, these guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: A very fine spine: solid, straight with minimal compression or tilt. Folded close to square, so the edges meet up closely and near parallel. Barely aged or rubbed, no text was printed on this cover. Even the folds are clean and impressive as well, that never to be dismissed lightly.

Corners: Mainly small and light tip rubs with very fine to excellent shape retained.

Cover Summary: A very fine example of a difficult cover. All the main faces are impressive and so few will avoid a little wear to the edges and corner tips. This less tolerant first matt cover will please many and even possibly most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: but actually looking better. Finding an truly unsplit example of the first softer, darker and in this case, flipbacked inner sleeve is beyond difficult. This has little to fault bar my quite neat central area movement split repairs. As stated, I thought this wise to reduce risk for them potentiall widening in the future. I used the barest minimum PVA adhesive necessary for the job. This inner is made with soft unsympathetic very gently textured card, they were never lined. This one has the rarer external flipback construction as seen on my picture. Clean, fresh, no surface tears or creasing. This has aged well, and as for splits, well often these were present from day one. Movement in transit to retailers meant knifing by the thin record’s edges, finding one with no damage is just so difficult. This is still a very attractive inner and will take some beating as well.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: with a few mostly fine and light surface marks. But have NO fears, all are totally superficial and non-sounding. In fact, this is a superbly pressed record and plays accordingly. A clean, shiny, intense black and quite solidly pressed example with plays quite modest (in terms of an immensely popular record). There are no penetrating stylus marks and this is pressed on quality pure vinyl, albeit without substantial weight. But better that than mixing with recycled vinyl that was often the case at this time of the great oil crisis. The inner sleeve, although feeling fairly soft, has a mildly abrasive surface which was never record surface friendly, hence few of these are seen without a few gentle surface marks as a bare minimum. A record now into it’s 44th year – that a staggering fact in-itself – and few available examples with better this for sound. It should please many collectors but quite for the purists who only want unmarked vinyl, finding this title as such will also prove immensely difficult (and likely massively expensive).

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This timeless classic plays even above it’s still impressive visual grading with practically nothing to fault – and how glad I am to be able to state that. So often I am less than impressed with even clean looking copies of this title. I am sure mass production did not help, crackle and surface noise is quite common and ruins the real pleasure of these lovely songs, especially the more gentle acoustic ones. This ‘Plum’ pressing offers strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear and sound quality is very high indeed with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds barely even registered and this is up there with the very best pressed copies I have heard. These 1971 pressed originals offer the very best audio quality in terms of detail, dynamic range and sonice delivery, and this one failed to disappoint. The power of the band bursts from the speakers with grace and drive, it leads you directly to recording studio itself. Few plum copies will outperform this still very early pressing I feel sure. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – personally, I can easily tolerate the odd gentle reminder of what I am listening too, an original vinyl record, not a squeaky clean digital version – but this gave away few clues to this fact. A copy devoid of pressing noises or distortions, a clean and crackle-free example – NEVER take that for granted. When heard somewhere near it’s best, this is an album of immense beauty and it’s hardly any wonder most collectors want this in their collection. A special note must be made on Bonham’s drumming: this is real powerhouse stuff. Play the final song loudly and it will shake the foundations. The record offers exhilarating sound that will leave the senses realing – and nothing else is more important for me – my highest possible recommendation for this evergreen rock masterpiece.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.