MOODY BLUES In Search of the Lost Chord UK N/M Deram LP

	£		43
	$		57

Hi, I am Mike, now 51. Old enough to remember the golden era of original, high quality music, bands, artists.

Also records from the 1960s and 70s bought from the shops from new, I have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 37 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and elusive items now. 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 reader – 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 one hundred percent is exact colour matching for covers - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. 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: I post all my UK items on FRIDAY every week, most will arrive Saturday to make signed-for delivery easier. 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 massively thick stiffners for even extra protection and bubble wrap if deemed necessary. These stiffners are the thickest possible and custom supplied for ‘Oneadayrecords’ – these are NOT commercially available and you will not have seen thicker protection anywhere. 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 as well as ‘Fragile’ tape for that extra professional touch for the packet. 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 NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the cheapest and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 3,500+ items sold in over 5 years of Ebay trading (I am now one of most established sellers via Ebay) and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

Album Title: In Search of the Lost Chord.

Producer(s): Tony Clarke.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Departure; Ride My See-Saw; Dr Livingstone, I Presume; House of Four Doors; Legend of a Mind; House of Four Doors (Part 2).

Side 2: Voices in the Sky; The Best Way to Travel; Visions of Paradise; The Actor; The Word; Om.

Label/Format: Deram – small circle format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both look superb, ultra clean with only very light and faint spindle marks.

Cat Number: SML 711.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: An impressive 151 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. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Rarity: The earliest and mono pressings are harder to find. This is not a first pressing but a beautiful copy with fantastic cover and heavy pressed record that plays practically as new.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Country of Manufacture: England.

Matrix Nos: ZAL-8270-3W / ZAL-8271-2W

Stamper Codes: 1 KH / 1 KI

Brief Artist & Album Info: The ‘Magnificent’ Moodies third album, the follow-up to the stunning Days of Future Passed, it features their most famous line-up of: Justin Hayward (12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, sitar, tablas, piano, mellotron, bass guitar, harpsichord, percussion and vocals; Mike Pinder (Mellotrons, piano, harpsichord, cello, acoustic guitar, bass and auto-harp); John Lodge (bass, cello, tambourine, snare drum, acoustic guitar, vocals); Ray Thomas (C flute; alto flute, soprano saxophone, vocals) and Graeme Edge (Drums, timpani, tambourine, tablas, piano). A wide and varied array of instrumentation that blends beautifully to create some of the most inspired and brilliant songs of the late 60s and early 70s. Few bands thrill me more today from this period than the Moodies, like many, if not most, I too discovered them later than I care to admit (but I was quite young at this time). Sublime melodies that use that most wonderful of instruments, the mellotron regularly – that lovely delicate ‘whooshing’ sound that gave their music a uniquely haunting edge. Along with Hayward’s perfect vocals which include poetic readings, this was innovative pop-psychedelia that evolved into early progressive music. Easy on the ear with infectious songs that remain in the subconscious for hours after playing. I remember from my schooldays hearing the wonderful single ‘Nights in White Satin’, reissued from the previous album, it left a lasting impression – I even had this song played at my wedding in 1984. This album is one of around seven essential albums to own, they set standards of excellence few ever could match. If a super-clean pressed example in very fine condition is needed for your collection, you will be hard-pressed to find a much better one than this.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Moderate+: [Unlaminated covers are always the most vulnerable for rubbing, fading, sticker tears and ringwear, gatefolds are more prone still and the darker they are, the more this type of wear occurs and shows. Some sleeves have a textured finish or die-cut shaped edges or ‘windows’. These are even more delicate and the hardest to find in top condition. Fully laminated covers are more resistent to wear but often the laminate ages with dulling, creases and blistering. Many 60s covers have outer flipback construction, these are very vulnerable to damage]. (US covers are the most fragile of all, very rarely laminated and made with thick brittle card that rubs and ringwears badly. Seams and edges split easily). Please see format below to access this cover’s potential for wear and damage.

Cover Grade and Format: Mint(-) at the very least, this was stored within a super-heavyweight gatefold protective cover since new and looks amazing. A gatefold format, laminated with Clarifoil front and back. It was printed and made in England by Robert Stace. The back has the ‘also available in mono’ text and includes the blue lined inner.

Front, Back and Lamination: Both sides look fantastic: ultra shiny, clear and fresh, the stunning artwork can be enjoyed to maximum advantage with no friction rubs or dulling. Marks are very few, even surface blemishes or hairlines and there is no areas of non-adhesion, all is solid and blister-free. Ending slightly short of full width left on the opening side, these exposed strips are clean with no chipping of artwork or grime-line formation. With one of the most stunning front covers in rock history, this magnificent cover does it full justice.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Clean and fresh again and looking superb – little to fault at all and in age-defying condition.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both practically as new and very straight, even these retain great shine.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Very clean and sharp with no wear or feathering. Record entered on right outside back edge.

Spine and Text: A superb spine too: solid, straight with no compression. All text is perfect and unworn under the very solid and uncracked laminate. A mild and ultra shallow fold-line only that forms from opening.

Corners: All in splendid condition, neat and sharp with little traces of any blemishing.

Cover Summary: One of the classic 60s covers and it will seldom be found much better. This is a gem and and it should please most-all collectors.

The Inner: The original blue polylined Decca-style inner is included in a very fine EX condition. Minimal creasing with a neat clear window, no edge splits and very clean overall. The edge seams have gum darkening which is hardly unusual.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-) with nothing more than ultra faint and super-fine surface hairline traces visible under angled light. Super clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed – a top quality UK Deram pressing, even the edges feel machine smoothed and not razor sharp like many. Lovely clean playing surfaces and sound to match. Visually a super record that should please most-all 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 super record plays up to its high visual grading with nothing to fault. A brave statement for a complex and critical album that has several very quiet passages. Strong, totally distortion-free stereo sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. All Moody Blues albums are vintage hi-fi favourites, the recording quality and pressings are second to none. The production and audio quality was ahead of its time and even today, some 40 years after issue, still astonishes. Barely any traces of surface sounds and no pops or clicks were noted. Few records this great age will play ‘silent’ in their entirety but this gives it a great shot. There is barely anything to fault on this record and it will take an amazing, probably unplayeld example to ever better it (likely eh?) Both channels are clean, sharp and totally unstressed, I feel very sure this record has been played very sparingly and has clearly been well stored and caringly looked after, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Yes even laminated covers can suffer yellowing and toning but this one has avoided it. Often the flute and mellotron on vintage Moodies albums can distort with an echo type reverb caused by groove wear – any mild distortion that ruins the beautiful sound. There is none of this present on this lovely copy and all is well focused and defined. Nothing whatsoever spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this classic album, this along with Can’s ‘Monster Movie’ was the highlights of this day. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

End Piece: One of the greatest albums of the 1960s by one of the greatest ever bands from any era. A copy worthy of this title, timeless, classic progressive popular music. Its amazing to think that the next two albums were arguably even better, it just proves what a fantastic band The Moody Blues truly were. Any music lover cannot fail to enjoy this album visually and aurally – treat your deck, ears and eyes to something special and dont let this slip through the Net again.

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 & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. US; Australia; Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£35).

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’.