LED ZEPPELIN Houses of the Holy SUPER A3/B2 UK 1973 EX LP. SUPERB COVER & SOUND.

	£		57
	$		75

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: Houses of the Holy.

Producer(s): Jimmy Page.

Track Listing:

Side 1: The Song Remains the Same; The Rain Song; Over the Hills and Far Away; The Crunge.

Side 2: Dancing Days; D’Yer Mak’er; No Quarter; The Ocean.

Label/Format: Atlantic – matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions/Info: Two superb labels with the darker early colour hue, these are as clean and fresh as they get, any evidence of spindle marks are minuscule, even with close scrutiny. This copy appears hardly played and plays as good as it looks – a point never to be dismissed lightly. I have heard far more poor sounding copies, that appear clean, that disappoint with crackle and pressing sounds. This is a top pressing with no issues, certainly amongst the very best I have heard thus far.

Cat Number: K 50014

Country of Manufacture: England.

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. Few record at this time were pressed heavy to the oil shortage of the period. Many also made with recycled vinyl with inferior sound accordingly, this has NO such issues.

Rarity: The title itself, moderate. But the early A3 / B2 matrix copies in very fine condition are much harder to find. Some early copies included an Obi strip , alas this does not have it, but for those who want a superb cover, inner, record and sound, this copy more than delivers.

Original Year of Release: 1973

Matrix Nos: K 50014 A3 / K 50014 B2 [punched and clear, not scripted]

Run-Out Groove Text: ‘STIRLING RL’ / ‘STERLING RL’.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Okay, let’s get 2015 going with a rock classic – Led Zeppelin’s brilliant fifth album and the first that never appeared on the famous Plum format in the UK. Often underrated, compared to the first four but unjustly so. How could any band follow classics of that stature indefintely? – answer, to do something a little different and Houses of the Holy works, for the most part, beautifully. Only slightly blemished (in my opinion) by two lesser songs: ‘The Crunge’ which experimented with a funk sound and the reggae track ‘D’yer Mak’er’, which really does not work for me. The other six songs are pure classic Led Zeppelin at their very best. Chart topping in both the UK and US this album again proved a popular big-seller. Please note, I have carefully placed the inner sleeve to obscure the closer image on the front cover, but NOTHING unwanted is hidden in terms of wear, marks or blemishes. This is a top-quality very early copy with all elements in superb condition. No Obi – these are becoming immensely hard to find – but the condition for the rest makes for an impressive copy. Indeed, both record, cover and inner sleeve could prove significant upgrades for many.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): and even this hardly does it full justice. An unlaminated, matt finished gatefold that has no text printed on it at all. This includes the correct textured card inner sleeve which was printed and made in England by MacNeill.

Cover Cosmetic Improvements: None Apparent.

Cover Front & Back: Both sides are in little short of supreme condition and appearing cover-protected from new – there’s the difference. This is ultra clean, immaculately fresh and hugely attractive with barely any wear or marks at all. To say this cover is wear-prone is putting it mildly: few will ever survive the years looking even half this good. The back quite honestly is little short of pristine. The front has just the odd gentle surface crease that hardly even shows. The beauty of the rich deep colour, lack of any grubbiness, wear or noteworthy marks makes for one of the most pleasing Houses of the Holy covers. Seldom seen like this, a cover of great beauty.

Cover Inner Gatefold: One of the greatest inner gatefold spreads you will ever with to see, I love this artwork and rarely have seen it look better. This looks jaw-drop gorgeous and is very deeply coloured with much more intense colour that subsequent printings. This is practically as-made.

Top Edges: Apart from a tiny rub to the tight corner tips, both edges are again in superb condition. Very straight with no fading, rubbing, scuffs or wear. Incredibly hard to find like this.

Bottom Edges: Similar again: a mere trace or rubbing to the front darker surface, which for the storage edges is incredibly hard to avoid totally.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both edges are clean and still very sharp with barely any hint of wear. Record enters on the back edge, both guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Solid, very straight with no compression or rubbing, maybe the merest hint of fading (being critical). Folded square, so the edges meet up very closely and parallel. No text was printed on this one and the design flows around with all artwork present. Even the same for the vulnerable spine folds, a tiny chip near the bottom end (going almost beyond critical).

Corners: Only very small tip rubs and no knocks, so excellent shape is mostly retained.

Cover Summary: One or rock’s most sublime covers and when seen in such incredible fresh and barely worn condition, a thing of genuine beauty. Finding a better one will never prove easy. Again, this could prove a substantial upgrade for many fans and collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: PRACTICALLY MINT: with the original MacNeill Press English credits and textured surfaces. Later ones were smooth and still often offered as original, but not so. This is in INCREDIBLE condition and defies all the perils it faces. No edge splits to the fragile seams, guaranteed with no repairs or enhancements again. Still incredibly clean, fresh with no age darkening or toning spots. The lack of creasing, noteworthy marks or even rim impression makes for an exceptional inner, a high likelihood the owner stored the record in a replacement sleeve that gave fuller protection of the inner itself, few are seen this nice. Even the top opening edge is razor sharp has no evidence of any usage. Try beating this one, it will never prove easy.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT / EXCELLENT(+): arguably better, this being quite conservative. A scarcer early A3 / B2 copy and appearing only lightly played. One fine surface mark on side one that has NO sound at all. But only under bright angled light, are ultra fine and faint surface marks seen, mostly whispy traces even finer than hairlines. I have never found ‘House of the Holy’ an easy album to find cleanly pressed. It was obviously mass-produced for predictable mass sales and pressing quality invariably suffers accordingly. This one has no ‘mixed-vinyl’ (e.g. recycled vinyl) dulling or marks within the pressing, hence the sound quality is clean and very impressive throughout. Viewed in normal room light conditions, this looks a lovely copy and it should please many collectors.

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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This early matrix record plays even above it’s high visual grading with very little to fault. It offers strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds minimal and barely anything really, even the most difficult songs play impressively clean. As most will know, this has some very gentle passages, indeed one major reason this record is so hard to find that offers clean sound. I have heard some copies with consistent crackle throughout, some even with pressing rasps and noise – this is NOT one of them. Total silence is near impossible or very difficult at best, but this record will take some beating. It will match or outperform most I feel sure and nothing spoilt the enjoyment on play-grade for this wonderful album. If absolute clinical silence is mandatory, well the digital formats offer that for sure, but nothing beats the power, dynamic range and delivery of early-made vinyl. Compared to the majority of others I have heard, this one proved outstanding, the fine, but more visible surface mark on side one totally superficial and non-sounding. This record will prove difficult to find better and is strongly recommended. Matched-up with the outstanding cover and super-clean, fresh textured inner, a very strong early-pressed copy. As stated already above, most elements of this set will prove major upgrades for many as I hope my pictures reitterate.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium 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 and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand+ based on over 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. 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 FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 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 £3 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’.