MOODY BLUES Children's Children RARE Orig UK 69 MONO LP

	£		51
	$		68

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: THE MOODY BLUES

Album Title: To Our Children’s, Children’s Children.

Producer(s): Tony Clarke.

Engineer(s): Derek Varnals; Adrian Martins; Robin Thompson.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Higher and Higher; Eyes of a Child I; Floating; Eyes of a Child II; I Never Thought I’d Live to be a Hundred; Beyond; Out and In.

Side 2: Gypsy; Eternity Road; Candle of Life; Sun is Still Shining; I Never Thought I’d Live to be a Million; Watching and Waiting.

Label/Format: Threshold – Magenda and White mono format.

Label Conditions: Both are very clean and attractive with moderate spindle marks that only show under light.

Cat Number: THM 1.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 146 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Stereo examples are relatively easy to find but mono copies are much harder. By the end of the decade the mono format was on its way out and few ‘new’ titles were being issued in the single channel format.

Original Year of Release: November 1969.

Matrix Nos: XARL-9281.P-3A / XARL-9282.P-2A

Stamper Codes: 2B G / 1 U

Musicians: Justin Hayward - guitar, vocals; John Lodge - bass, guitar, vocals; Ray Thomas - vocals, flute, percussion, harmonica; Mike Pinder - keyboards, vocals; Graeme Edge - drums, percussion, vocals.

Brief Info: A prolific band around this time and this was the second of two albums issued in 1969. This for me was one of their very best albums ever and considering the quality of their early albums, that is a very bold statement. A conceptual and haunting album with beautiful lush melodies again with wonderful use of the mellotron and never afraid to experiment. Few, if any bands used that wonderful instrument more than the Moodies. The track ‘Candle of Life’ is absolutely sublime and for me, ranks as their best song ever, here sounding even more detailed in mono. Blending electric and acoustic pop-psychedelia and now becoming more progressive too, this is a album no-one could fail to like and this wonderful group went from strength-to-strength. Playing this copy was a sheer delight from start to finish – a rare opportunity to hear this late Threshold mono pressing that plays beautifully with little unwanted. A tiny few light ticks near the record’s end from the only small mark of significance on two very clean playing surfaces. A top quality thick pressed record and few will survive in much better shape, although it’s been played a number of times, this mono record has survived largely unscathed and the sound is sharp and focused throughout. I enjoyed this classic immensely and is my first mono experience of this title for simply ages.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: High: this is flimsy and vulnerable to all forms of wear.

Cover Grade and Format: EX++ and so hard to find like this. An unlaminated gatefold format that was printed in England by Garrod & Lofthouse and including the ‘Patent pending’ text. The red mono inner is included as well as the original lyric insert sheet.

Cover Front & Back: The front looks absolutely fantatic and has barely anything to fault, the odd ultra faint surface mark if scrutinised closely but little else. The back is similar with just a very fine surface crease towards the top right but it’s near invisible. The general lack of marks and particularly ringwear is unusual but great news of course. Both sides will prove immensely difficult to find better.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Practically perfect again and looking wonderful..

Top Edges: Hardly any wear at all.

Bottom Edges: Light, patchy rubbing only.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with little wear and no feathering. Record entered on the back edge.

Spine and Text: A superb spine which has remained uncrushed with fine definition retained. Solid, straight and very thick. Slightly tilted to right, hardly a surprise as this is very flimsy but this will prove incredibly hard to find better on the earliest printed examples. Hardly any real wear, slight rubbing to the ends and odd small rub traces on the bottom fold (but look hard). All text perfect and unworn, this is real delicate and very nice indeed.

Corners: Small tip rubs but all retain very fine shape and good definition.

Cover Summary: A magnificent all round example of this earliest printed version. One that will prove near impossible to find much better. This beautiful item should please most-all collectors.

The Lyric Sheet Insert: Mint, as made, nothing to fault at all.

The Inner: This has the Decca-style polylined red mono inner in EX++ condition. Clean with few marks or creases and all edges unsplit. It has the date code: 10-69.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX+/EX with just one very small mark near the end of side two that omits a small few light ticks, the only blemish on the entire album. Any other marks are ultra fine and light surface traces that have no audio sound. This beautiful record has largely avoided the perils of the mono record player from the 1960s – a let’s face it, few ever will. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed. Visually a super record that 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 snippetts 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 beautiful record plays even above its high visual grading with little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear which for any mono record is even more important. Such records were not really designed to be played on high-end stereo turntables but when they survive so relatively unscathed, they are wonderous. More and more serious collectors are now demanding the mono pressings of the classics. They don’t sound like the same as the stereo mixes. They have deeper basslines and dynamics and subtle differences to the details. Sound quality is astonishing with a wide dynamic range and real clout. The Moodies Blues albums were always amongst the very best produced albums from this era. High quality pressings and sound and only abuse and overplaying ruined the wonderful sounds. Well these grooves have survived and how – magnificent, sharp and fully focused. Barely any surface sounds and no other noteworthy pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing for a fairly difficult album. As stated, a small mark near the album’s end does have a few brief light clicks – a mere blemish on what is an outstanding mono record. All Moodies albums have quiet passages and few of the early pressings still sound like this now. Few copies will match or outperform this high quality mono pressing significantly I feel sure. Practically nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this truly sublime record – a long standing favourite I never tire of hearing again. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better, and finding the mono version is always a challenge initself. Even with the odd minor blemish, I simply have to strongly recommend it. One of the greatest albums ever in my humble opinion, it helped close the greatest decade in music perfectly.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets out ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is no bad thing. Also: any item with a value over £40 will have to be insured as well, but for any item that sells for over £150, I will pay the extra insurance (then the lower shipping price applies).

I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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. 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 offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 4,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course of multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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. (Only for items under £40)

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (Compulsory for items over £40).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA including RUSSIA and nearby countries. (Airmail Only):

1 LP, value less than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8.

1 LP, value greater than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, [£500 Maximum]) = £11.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP, value less than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £12.

1 LP, value greater than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500 Maximum) = £15.

For items that sell over £150, I will pay the insurance, so the lower shipping price will apply.

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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.