Nick Drake Five Leaves Left 1969 UK Misprint First Press Island ILPS-9105 Tested

$

672

• Nick Drake.
• Five Leaves Left.
• Rare Original 1969 UK Pressing Run (see "Notes" below).
• Gatefold Jacket.
• Smooth Pink Island "black block" Labels.
• Production mistakes between Labels, Jacket, and Vinyl Play Order (see "Notes:" below).
• Original inner sleeve is not available as it was missing or replaced with a new one when 1st bought).

Item Details
Manufactured in: United Kingdom
Produced By: Joe Boyd
Recorded: 1969 At Sound Techniques, London by John Wood
Pressing By: Phonodisc Ltd., London, UK
Made and printed by: Ernest J. Day & Co. London, UK
First Issue: July 4, 1969
This Issue: 1969 (based on Matrix codes, labels, and jacket)
Label: Island Records ILPS-9105
Runout Deadwax Matrix Numbers:
Side 1: (stamp:) (stamp:) ILPS 9105 A//2 1 1
Side 2: (stamp:) (stamp:) ILPS 9105 B//2 1 1

Notes: The total number of FLL first pressings sold in Nick's lifetime has been estimated to be as low as 4000 or at the highest 5000 (3000 in the first year of release). Besides the matrix code, what validates a copy as a 1969 original first pressing are several production mistakes on both the jackets and labels. The first mistake is on the top right side of the gatefold. The "Three Hours" track here is misnamed as "Sundown." Also, look at the last verse. It is not the one Nick used in the final recording take. It should be a repeat of the first verse. The next mistake is in the song list on the rear outside face of the jacket. The titles for Side 1 tracks 4 & 5 are reversed from what one hears on the vinyl. Jacket order is "Day Is Done" followed by "Way To Blue." What actually plays is "Way To Blue" followed by "Day Is Done." Original editions of the 1969 releases are also verified by having what collectors call the "pink black block" label design as shown in my photos with a deep inset groove. On this pressing the label for Side 1 does have the correct play order for tracks 4 & 5 while the jacket does not. This copy has both a "smooth label texture and a "1 1" in the matrix with no additional 3rd numbers like 2 or 3. That identifies it as having the vinyl pressed by Phonogram Ltd. Some parallel production lots of first pressings run at Phonogram actually had the same song order mistake on both the jacket and the label. The last known mistake is in the credits for Side 2, Song 5, "Saturday Sun." The percussionist Tristan Fry's first name is misspelled as "Tristam." I did a search on "Tristam" in the Discogs database and found other albums crediting Tristan with that same misspelling of "m". Either they made the same mistake or possibly he answered to either spelling. However, "Tristan" is his actual birth name (October 25, 1946) and this spelling is considered by most curators to be a misprint. Anyone claiming to be selling a 1969 "first pressing" must have the above documented characteristics. I'm OK if you pass by on my copy but make sure the one you do go for is validated according to the first pressing characteristics documented above so you know you are really buying a first press run copy.
Was bought used originally by this seller many years ago and now offered from his private collection (you have absolutely known provenance). Has had just a few plays by me only on an expertly setup high-end audiophile turntable, arm, and cartridge. Has never been exposed to heat or tobacco smoke and always stored vertically in a specially designed record cabinet (Rackit brand) to prevent warpage.
All vinyl sides are cleaned on a VPI HW-16.5 record cleaner. I use the Audio Intelligent "One-Step" formula that requires no rinsing and leaves no residue. It is alcohol free and uses enzyme agents to remove pressing mold-release compounds, fungi & bacteria, finger oils, and many other environmental contaminants. Made with laboratory-grade pure water(50X purer than distilled water). I neutralize residual static charge from both vinyl and new inner sleeve with a Milty Zerostat. I wear nitrile surgical gloves while cleaning and play testing to avoid any chance of transferring finger oils to the vinyl.

Very sensitive play testing was performed straight off my Ayre P-5xe fully balanced phono preamp over Sennheiser HD 600 headphones using a Schiit Audio Valhalla 2 tube headphone amp fitted with NOS Soviet Voskhod matched tubes (see last photo).

Track list
For track listings, please see my attached record label photographs.

I take close-ups under photo lamps so you can see nearly everything I describe in the jacket grading. After cleaning I use very bright light and close visual inspection on each side to assign "visual-only" grades. However, I always perform play testing with thorough coverage on high resolution equipment to assign play grades.
Grading Details
Note: Grading LPs by text characters is subjective and at best are only a guide as no two used records are of exactly the same quality. I do not use "EX" grades as my VG+ is right below "NM-." I never sell a "G" play grade and very rarely ever sell a "VG" play grade. Please, refer to both my photo evidence and detailed descriptions to judge by YOUR OWN grading standards. Play quality is the absolute most important grade and cannot be accurately predicted from visual-only inspection so those are separately graded and described in detail.

Outer Jacket Inspection/grading:
(Front Face/Left Inside/Right Inside/Rear Face)
VG-/NM--/NM-/VG
The front face is has the most wear artifacts, especially at the bottom middle with a lot of sliding wear. The top edge has much lighter sliding wear but still noticeable. There is also a sticker scar on the right side of the moon. All edges have rubbing wear as shown in my photos. Both gatefold inside faces are in near-original condition except for some minor rub wear near the top edge. The rear face is much better than the front in comparison with partial ring discoloration in the lower left quadrant. The structural integrity of the album as a whole is till excellent with no seam separations. What I have described here is what the condition was when I first acquired it as previously used. Careful handling and storage did not add any noticeable wear artifacts while in my possession.

Vinyl Visual Inspection/Grading:
(Side 1/Side 2)
NM-/NM
Side 1 is very clean and new-looking. Under close examination under bright light I spotted a very microscopic reflective "dot" in the middle of T3 (for the "minus visual grade estimate). My best guess is that this is a pressing artifact like a very tiny "bubble" in the molten vinyl that did not flow away during pressing. However, I made myself a note to be sure and check that spot and see if it creates one or more click noises. Side 2 has a very clean and perceptually unblemished NM surface.

Play Testing/Grading:
(Side 1/Side 2)
VG++/NM--
Play testing is always performed after visual inspection and written notes get taken. I spot check each track by taking a few needle drops in each one. On wider tracks I take more play samples to get better coverage. I also listen to the lead-in, lead-out and some transition grooves to get a feel for the overall pressing quality. Anything that I find during visual grading that might cause serious noise always gets special attention. Note that my play testing method does not achieve 100% listening coverage. Below are my play testing rundowns for each side.

Side 1 Play
T1 of S1 had no perceptible noise but for 2-3 tiny HF ticks near the very end. The transition grooves into T2 were very quiet. T2 was also very quiet overall. Just a few tiny "micro tics" very far apart and non-distracting. The next trans-grooves were notably quiet. T3 is the widest track on the side so I took more play samples. The beginning of the track is at low volume levels which allowed me to detect a few very light HF ticks in the vinyl noise floor but within a few seconds the music loudness ramped up masking away most residual pressing noise. It remained that way until I got to sampling the "reflective dot" I found during visual inspection. It did produce 2 audible lower midrange frequency "thumps" a record rotation apart, but no other additional repeating noise per revolution. The 2nd half of the track was very pristinely quiet and clear. The trans-grooves into T4 were very quiet. T4 had hotter volume levels and there was no audible noise on any play sample. T5 also had a very clean vinyl background and it's lead-out grooves were also decently quiet. Aside from the effects of the "reflective dot" in the middle of T3, this side had an overall pristine listening quality much like a new pressing for this era of vinyl manufacturing. I would have rated it's play quality NM but for the middle of T3 soft "thumps" so I downgraded my final choice at VG++.

Side 2 Play
The lead-in grooves were pretty quiet. T1 has hot cutting levels and immaculate play quality with very inaudible vinyl noise. The transition grooves into T2 were pretty quiet. T2 had no noticeable vinyl noise on all play samples with very quiet trans-grooves following. T3 has low cutting levels at start with quiet vinyl and then cutting levels rise making for no audible noise on all play samples except for a few tiny random "micro-ticks" in the last few seconds as the levels ramped down. T4 was a longer track so I took more play samples. There was a single audible LF click in the first few seconds of play. All other play samples showed that track to be free of audible noise except for 2-3 very tiny HF micro-ticks near the end as the music level faded down. T5 had very immaculate audio on all samples. S2 as a whole showed itself to be very close to an NM "first play" pressing quality but I felt that the single LF click need a downgrade to MN-- or VG++. I chose NM-- for final grade but arguably it could be assessed differently by potential buyers depending on their own grading standards.

Both sides did not sound at all like worn vinyl. The transition grooves between tracks were remarkably low in vinyl background noise making a case for this copy being a very clean original pressing without much degradation from playing or handling by the original owner. I did not give it much play time while I owned it except for digitizing my favorite tracks for my Apple music library. I think a collector would be pretty happy with this original pressing and find listening to it enjoyable.

Packaging

• Records are placed outside the jacket to protect against seam splitting.
• The original inner sleeve is not included as it was either not present when I collected it or was swapped out for a fresh new one.
• After cleaning for sale I did place the vinyl into new MFSL-style "rice paper" plastic sleeve. This will keep vinyl surfaces clean and well protected during shipping and ultimately during buyer usage.
• Outer jacket is contained in a new clear polyethylene protective sleeve.
• Sent in high quality record mailer with 4 cardboard stiffeners and all corners double-taped.

Shipping

• Multiple shipping options will be made available to the buyer. I am also paying eBay for insurance on this item to to cover and protect my investment if lost in shipment. eBay will always refund the buyer when damaged in shipment but only if returned to the seller.