NEU orig 1972 GER 1st press S/T LP green Brain/ Metronome 1004 Prog/Krautrock EX

	£		58
	$		77

NEU - NEU!

A very nice copy of this increasingly rare and sought after 1972 prog/kraut rock original, on the German Brain Metronome label, stereo BRAIN 1004

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1  ST - 1004 - A (0664. 119 S1) PF (etched) with stampers "1 D" at 11.30 o'clock

Side 2  ST - 1004 - B (0664. 119 S2) PF (etched) with stampers "1" and "F" at 10 o'clock and 9.30 o'clock respectively

The appearance of the flat, thick vinyl is excellent (EX). Gleaming vinyl with jet black lacquering and in normal daylight no obvious marks or blemishes at all. With close scrutiny and under an intense light a few wispy hairlines and very light paper scuffs, along with some areas of the vinyl with very minor and superficial "dulling"  due the vinyl reacting with the inner sleeve, do come into view on each side of the vinyl, but there is nothing "feelable" or obviously below the surface here - these wispy hairlines and very light scuff marks appear to be purely superficial, but there are x2 mild clicks in the middle of track 2 on side 2, and some mild background crackle at the beginning of each side and during some of the quieter moments and for those reasons I grade the overall condition of the vinyl as excellent minus (EX-).

The labels are pristine. Beautiful 1st press olive green and light matt textured labels with no unwanted writing or marks and all text and the famous "BRain" logo remain perfectly intact. And not even any trace of the usual very light trails adjacent to the centre hole on each label - perfect, with the inference being that this vinyl has been underplayed.

The condition of the non-laminated gatefold outer sleeve is very good plus (VG+). This is a very fragile sleeve using thin cardboard and prone to ring wear, scuffing and creasing. Fortunately there is no obvious creasing (just a few very light 1cm surface creases adjacent and perpendicular to the spine on both the front and reverse sides - very trivial), and apart from some very light 1-2 cm of scuffing on the top front edge adjacent to the top right corner there is barely any scuffing at all, including the corners which remain nicely defined right angles with minimal rubbing only. There is a hint of "grubbiness" about the sleeve on the outside (inevitable for a predominantly white coloured gatefold which is 47 years of age) but again this is minor and the inside of the gatefold remains excellent, with no obvious marks or unwanted writing. The only other blemish, again minor, is that the reverse side is slightly offset from the front side when folded - very minor and definitely curable. In summary a very iconic sleeve which remains highly presentable.

Finally, the quality of the audio is overall excellent minus (EX-). Brilliant tone and clarity with some terrific tracks here. Prog rock, kraut rock, hard rock...call it what you like, this is cutting edge (at the time of it's release) rock music with some haunting tracks. The stereo audio quality on side 1 is excellent, with no clicks and just the hint of a little background crackle at the very beginning; on side 2 I noticed some minor background crackle during track 1 (a quiet track) and also x3 mild clicks mid-way through track 2, though close inspection revealed no obvious cause, so I can only put this down to dust in the grooves through years of storage for which a proper clean would no doubt go a long way to curing. This album makes for a great listen.

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. hallogallo

2. sonderangebot

3. weissensee

Side 2 :

 jahresuberblick

a) im gluck

b) negativland

c) lieber honig

Comes with original plain white side 1 die cut "MADE IN WESTERN GERMANY" inner sleeve, with a 5cm split on each of the right edge and bottom edge but remaining fully functional. Note that I always post the record in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the original.

In summary a very nice and highly presentable copy of this increasingly rare and sought after 1972 original pressing prog rock classic - a worthy addition to any serious rock vinyl collection and only continuing to gain in value.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60's & 70's classic vinyl listings.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for almost 50 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960's and 70's origin. Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boot sales, auctions, and even through putting up a "vinyl wanted" notice in my wife's shop! I am now retired and take great delight in being able to spend more time scouring the country and attending boot sales and auctions in the hope of unearthing more vinyl gems...I am 64 years of age now and am still discovering bands and music of the 60's and 70's that I have never come across before. Wonderful! Richard

My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no quibble" refund policy. 

On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl thick cardboard "crucifix" style mailer along with at least two thick cardboard stiffeners. I take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection. 

For this item postage & packaging will be UK £4.00, Royal Mail 1st class signed for; continental Europe £9 and Rest of the World £13, Royal Mail 1st class tracked and signed for. 

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding!

NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines :

Mint

The records itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items, such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Excellent

The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and /or creasing.

Very Good

The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

Good

The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

Fair

The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents are torn, stained and/or defaced

Poor

The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents are badly damaged or partly missing.

Bad

The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler

27/07/19 : Since putting up this ebay listing I have given this LP a careful but thorough clean and have to say that the audio quality is now (unsurprisingly) even better than tat as described in my listing; in particular, the sound quality for track 2, side 2 is now a solid excellent with just a little, very mild background crackle in evidence at the beginning and end of this track - nothing intrusive here at all, and the overall audio quality for the entire album really is terrific.