MC5 - Back In The USA - RARE ORIG UK 1970 Atlantic Plum LP. A LOST PROTOPUNK GEM

	£		127
	$		168

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.

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: MC5

Album Title: Back in the U.S.A.

Producer(s): Jon Landau.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Tutti Frutti; Tonight; Teenage Lust; Let Me Try; Looking at You.

Side 2: High School; Call Me Animal; The American Ruse; Shakin’ Street; The Human Being Lawnmower; Back in the U.S.A.

Label/Format: Atlantic – original red and maroon (‘Plum’) format with matt, very faintly textured surfaces, this seen more under angled light.

Label Conditions:Both clean, still fresh and attractive. Side one has a gentle dull mark, quite possibly within manufacture, this does not look like a ‘liquid’ mark to me, but is just my opinion. It only shows under light anyway. Spindle marks are moderate and light(+). A few more than I usually offer, but this record plays very well without any issues. An very scarce original album and these show up all too rarely.

Cat Number: 2400016.

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: 134 grams. A very good solid weight.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Very scarce: this as a first UK pressing on the Plum label. MC5 were not big sellers here and were largely ignored initially. This a relatively late Plum pressing as well, most seen are reissues on the Kinney Atlantic format with a new label design and catalogue number. Many now regard their albums classics, but like so many of these pioneering American bands, they were largely dismissed at the time. This album is rarely seen or offered as a true original.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: 2400016 A//1 1 1 3 & 2400016 B//1 1 1 2 (this copy even earlier than the one sold a few months ago)

Musicians: Rob Tyner – vocals; Wayne Kramer – guitar, backing vocals; Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals; Michael Davis – bass; Dennis Thompson – drums. With: Danny Jordan and Pete Kelly – keyboards.

Brief Info: The first studio album by this pioneering American protopunk band, the music less thrashy than the live debut ‘Kick Out the Jams’, now being a more straightforward hard rock album, even with a few quieter songs. Audiences at the time were dismissive and this sold even fewer copies than ‘Jams’, but time has reassessed this album with opinion now far more favourable for the new more straight rock sound. Most of the songs are self-written, but open and end with rock n roll standards, the final one being the title song written by Chuck Berry. A highly elusive album as a UK first-press original, this one a little more used than my previous one, but still a very fine example (or I would not offer it). For many, this revolutionary hard-hitting band a major part of the punk rock movement, and only later were their albums more fully appreciated. But by then, all the originals were gone and finding them incredibly hard. Indeed, this is my second ever original copy of this album, this is strongly recommended and a rare opportunity. This is a one of the rarest rock albums on this label.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: a single fully laminated format, printed and made in England by MacNeill Press. Includes the original date-coded Polydor inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: The laminate retains a very fine shine, clarity and freshness. Most of any issues are near the spine edge – some natural in the form of lifting which few of these seem to avoid. Laminate over time contracts and either bows the cover of lifts. This lifting is reasonably light on the front, more moderate on the back, there are a couple of tiny chips. There are a few small spine edge crease-cracks, these show more on the white front, whereas the lifting less. Some mild dulling is seen on the more revealing back under light, and a few mostly light surface creases here and there. A cover made with thin card and overall, this is quite flimsy that will never help any laminate issues. So a few relatively light issues, but nothing remotely serious and still a highly respectable example for both sides.

Top Edge: Thin but still quite straight, smooth with barely any wear and no scuffs.

Bottom Edge: Same again, if anything, better.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with very little wear. Any thickening or burring minimal and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Again thin, reasonably solid and straight with some compression that makes it appear a little uneven. A small few crease-cracks from the front ones on the spine. Practically all text present with just a small chip to the ‘S’ in ‘USA’.

Corners: Small tip rubs to the top pair, slightly larger on the bottom pair which is no surprise on the storage edges. Still no dinks and fine to very fine shape retained.

Cover Summary: A very respectable and fine all-round example of this highly elusive UK early 1970’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find much better. Although laminated, its thin card construction always will mean fragile. This still attractive item should please many collectors but not the perfectionists – good luck finding one that will.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: and only marked down a little for natural ageing of the seam areas where the adhesive always seems to darken. A Polydor-style inner that carries the important early date-code 31/0770 (July 1970) (as seen in close-up). Most seen are worn, torn and badly aged. Minimal creasing with two crisp untorn window circles and the lining fresh and very clear. All edges unsplit with no repairs, this looks just right for it’s considerable age.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(–): arguably better but this does have fine surface marks, but NO penetrating scraches. These mostly very whispy and super-fine, as suspected, the result of dry-cloth cleaning as confirmed by the owner. All these whispy surface marks seen under bright angled light and totally superficial with no audible affect. Still a fine visual copy that is clean with very fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy played a few times, but with very few actual stylus marks, it appears quite carefully. A lovely record and one of the rarest on this label, it could still prove hard to find much better.

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 somewhat ‘lost’ original protopunk album plays even above it’s high visual grading with very little to fault. Both cover and record will gently remind of its age with hints of usage. But still offering 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 are minimal and faint, very little at all in fact. Few available copies will better this significantly I feel sure. An album rarely bought by hi-fi connoisseurs and those few that do surface will often be trashed. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record that will seldom be seen or offered. With so few sold or even pressed in the UK, it will always prove difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended to many collectors.

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’.