MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND Messin SCARCE ORIG UK 1973 VERTIGO EX+ LP.

	£		28
	$		37

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 arrived damaged in them at some time. More details on my packing 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 ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important to 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.

Artist or Band: MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND

Album Title: Messin’.

Producer(s): Manfred Mann.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Messin’; Buddah; Cloudy Eyes.

Side 2: Get Your Rocks Off; Sadjoy; Black and Blue; Mardi Gras Day.

Label/Format: Vertigo – Original spaceship format with matt, smooth surfaces. Although issued in 1973 and the cover carrying the famous collectable Spiral logo on the inside, this album was never issued on the swirl format and the spaceship copies are the earliest made.

Label Conditions: Both immaculate: ultra clean, fresh and attractive with only one or two very fine and light spindle marks.

Cat Number: 6360 087 de luxe.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 115 grams. A fairly typical weight for this one, maybe a little below average.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: not a big seller and finding a better copy could prove difficult.

Original Year of Release: 1973

Matrix Nos: 6360087 1Y//2 420 1 1 1 0 & 6360087 2Y//2 420 1 1 1 2

Musicians: Manfred Mann – synthesiser, organ; Mick Rogers - guitar, vocals; Colin Pattenden – bass guitar; Chris Slade – drums.

Brief Info: The third Earth Band album and first on Vertigo, the first two were issued on Philips (I have the first on offer now). After the less-than-successful incursion into jazz-rock via Chapter 3, Manfred Mann assembled his Earth Band and ventured into progressive rock which eventually became successful for him. Brilliant live and still possibly underrated within the prog-rock ranks. The theme for this album is the destruction of the planet, hence the spooky alien-type gasmark on the front cover with planet Earth seen through the die-cut window. The early albums were not big sellers and this one is never an easy one to find. The cover is delicate with a die-cut large hole on the front – here it’s in very fine condition with mimimal traces of wear or ageing. Clearly made in the best Vertigo ‘swirl’ tradition, this would have made a classic ‘Spiral’ cover and only missed out by months before the label format changed. The record looks very little played and offers impressive, ver clean sound.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): an unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. The front has a die-cut hole on the front where planet Earth is seen. Printed and made in England, uncredited.

Cover Front: Another one often seen damaged, covers with cut-out areas often tear or get very tatty. The large hole circle on this one is pristine, immaculate. Ultra crisp and sharp with no chipping or burring, a perfect circle. The main area is very clean with just one tiny chip near the top right corner on the right edge. The only crease is ultra fine and vertical near the spine edge, that perfectly natural from opening and nothing to do with wear, it shows very little anyway. This rather spectacular front will seldom be found better.

Cover Back: An ultra fine surface stress rub on the top edge centre just about shows, this being ultra critical. Little else to fault on a back rarely seen without rubbing and ring wear, this is exceptional.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Little to fault again, any rub traces very faint indeed and the hole very neat and crisp.

Top Edges: Both straight and crisp with minimal traces of any wear, just the fine and fairly small back central stress rub, but NO split and NO repair necessary.

Bottom Edges: Minimal rub traces, just a little on the back near the right corner area.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front edge has a real tucked and folded edge, this has no wear and remains very straight. The back opening edge is also very sharp and avoiding burring or thickening, even viewed end-on, this also guaranteed untrimmed and not enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight, with barely any hint of compression, also folded square, so the edges meet up closely together and very close to parallel. All the graphic and text unworn as are the fold hinges. Rarely seen one like t his before.

Corners: Minimal tip rubbing, a little on the bottom right, very fine and mostly excellent (or better) shape retained.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this scarce and quite delicate 1970’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. These die-cut unprotected gatefolds usually wear quite badly unless cover-protected as I know this one has been. Even a potential strong upgrade for many I feel, this should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a Polydor style lined inner with two crisp window circles and minimal creasing. A little gentle crinkle and very faint darkening of the seam adhesive gives only a gentle hint of the vintage and all the edges are unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+) / EXCELLENT(++): and this being critical with side one having one fine surface mark that has no sound at all. Any other blemishes are minuscule, very fine and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. A very impressive visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and quite solidly pressed. A copy with very few plays on all the evidence. Visually a super record that should please the majority of 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 quality Vertigo prog album even exceeds it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. 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 barely even register and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will match or outperform this one significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played very lightly and has been very well stored and handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – a band at this time, still waiting to be fully discovered, things moved more apace after this one. This copy will prove difficult to find significantly better and is strongly recommended.

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’.