LEONARD COHEN Songs of … SUPERB UK 1967 EX+ LP, STUNNING LAMINATED STEREO COVER.

	£		36
	$		47

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, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled 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: LEONARD COHEN

Album Title: Songs of Leonard Cohen

Producer(s): John Simon

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Suzanne; Master Song; Winter Lady; The Stranger Song; Sisters of Mercy.

Side 2: So Long, Marianne; Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye; Stories of the Street; Teachers; One of Us Cannot Be Wrong.

Label/Format: CBS, intense orange labels with matt, smooth surfaces

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle traces minuscule, what a superb example this is.

Country of Manufacture: England

Cat Number: S 63241

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: 152 grams. A heavyweight pressing for this album.

Rarity: Early copies of this classic, in this condition are scarce.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: SPBG 63241 A1 / SPBG 63241 B1

Brief Info: The debut album by this famed, now sadly missed Canadian singer-songwriter. Well-known for his stark looks and voice, and music that can be described as downbeat. But hauntingly beautiful songs, this became a ‘bedsit’ favourite and his songs have been covered countless times by many artists with whole tribute albums being issued. Jennifer Warnes issued an entire album of his songs entitled ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ which is a reference high fidelity album of immense beauty that is more than worth checking out. Some of the best cover versions were recorded by Judy Collins and also highly recommended. Arguably not as bleak as his second album ‘Songs From a Room’, but still a typically dark album. But just a few plays will open your mind to this man’s world, his sound is still unique with monotone voice and solemn, poetic words. Deep material of relationships, sometimes harrowing, this had the ingredients of being a poor-selling album, but it did okay. Even his plucked guitar sound is haunting beautiful, that sound alone gives me that rare tingle factor only best sounds ever can. Gloom and darkness rarely ever sounded this good. Brilliantly produced initially by John Simon and later by Bob Johnston, he was employed to get the most atmosphere from these very downbeat and minimalistic songs – it works perfectly. This is a superb early UK copy with the first laminated cover, it even retains its original 37/6 pre-decimal price sticker. Also the gold, shaped Stereo sticker on the back. Both record, cover, and even the inner sleeve are lovely – the cover little short of immaculate, the record hardly even played, it being the heaviest copy I have ever held. A beautiful example to please most fans and collectors.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): and arguably even under-graded at that. A single format with the front laminated, the back is matt and smooth. The laminate cover all the folds, the front has its original pre-decimal price sticker, the back with the gold ‘Stereo’ shaped sticker as seen in close-up. Printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day, includes the CBD promotional inner sleeve.

Cover Front: The very best example of this vintage cover I have ever seen bar none. The laminate only on the early covers, removed for subsequent printings. It retains superb shine with any rim impression or dulling very gentle and light, mostly near the top. The black background makes this very revealing, and there is little to reveal bar superb fresh, clear good looks. There is no lifting with any creasing tiny edge hairline types only. I doubt if many will better this remarkably preserved example.

Cover Back: The exposed predominately white back looks fantastic and barely aged at all. Any hint of darkening is bordering on minuscule near the left edge, the card barely creased at all with no rubbing. Even the laminate end on the spine edge is so clean and unyellowed, it can hardly be seen. The Stereo sticker is Mint. Both front and back are of exceptional quality.

Top Edge: Very straight, barely any trace of wear and NO splits or repairs.

Bottom Edge: Any rub traces or blemishes tiny, few and faint.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly crisp and sharp with minimal hint of wear, this guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Absolutely immaculate, clean, fresh, straight with no compression. The ends are pinched in manufacture, all text pristine and beautifully centred.

Corners: All corners are near immaculate with any tip rubs tiny (bottom right). No knocks or dinks.

Cover Summary: A truly gorgeous example of this classic album cover, barely aged and fresh as they ever get. One to please most-all collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): the original unlined promotional inner has little to fault. Any creasing gentle and light with no hard creases. No edge splits or repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): with two exceptional clean playing surfaces, any surface traces are very fine and faint as seen with scrutiny under bright angled light. A very attractive, fresh visual copy that is very clean with excellent shine and heavily pressed. Clearly little played and one to please many, if not most 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 wonderful, melancholic, but beautiful record plays up to, and most-all 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 faint, the odd sporadic tick nearly impossible to avoid totally on more sparse and quiet songs. All is focused and devoid of crackle or pressing noises. Cohen’s voice and lovely acoustic guitar sounds in the room, the skill in the production makes the material even more beautiful and this album really does move the listener. Few copies will match or outperform this early pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – a true masterpiece of it’s type – no music lover or lyric enthusiast could fail to be moved by his poetic brilliance. Both record and cover will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

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 programs. 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 Black 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’.