PAUL McCARTNEY (BEATLES) VENUS+MARS RARE ORIG '76 LP w/SHRINK,POSTERS & STICKERS

$

56

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 100  LISTED ITEMS

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·      PAUL McCARTNEY & THE WINGS – VENUS AND MARS -  ORIGINAL 1976 APPLE/CAPITOL  RECORDS STEREO LP SMAS-11419 (THIS IS NOT A COLUMBIA REISSUE)

·      ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·      CAPITOL RECORDS, WINCHESTER, VA PRESSING

·      ORIGINAL, BLACK APPLE/CAPITOL LABEL WITH 'CAPITOL DOME' LOGO AND SILVER AND WHITE PRINT (THE LABEL MIMICS THE ORIGINAL, EARLY '50s ITERATION OF THE CAPITOL RECORDS LP LABEL)

·      THE ALBUM INCLUDES BOTH LARGE ORIGINAL POSTERS AND BOTH STICKERS, ALL IN PRISTINE CONDITION

·      THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·      ORIGINAL GATEFOLD COVER

·      COVER IS STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL SHRINK (CELLOPHANE) WRAP WITH A NIFTY STICKER STILL AFFIXED TO THE WRAP.

·      THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

·      CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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Venus and Mars confirmed, if nothing else, that Paul had totally mastered the craft of turning out hit "product." Many of the songs are the sort that stubbornly stick in the head whether you want them to or not, and the production is the most polished since the break with the other Beatles and George Martin. And yet there is often something calculated and impersonal in its slickness.

The title track itself, which boasts a typically seductive McCartney melody, proved than Paul could still write lyrics when he saw fit to. "Venus and Mars" cleverly makes use of the various connotations of the word "stars." The setting of the version that opens the album is a sports arena, abuzz with anticipation just before a rock show. In the lyric about the "good friend following the stars," the friend could just as easily be a groupie or a rock fanatic as an astrologer; and the stars might even be Venus (Linda) and Mars (Paul) McCartney.

Sure enough, the track segues -- or, rather, explodes -- into "Rock Show," as spirited a celebration as any on record of the excitement, crowds, noise, and lights at a big rock concert. (Paul admitted that the references to Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl were a "hint" of Wings' future plans to tour the U.S. the following year.

Yet when "Venus and Mars" resurfaces on Side Two -- in the grand old Sgt. Pepper/Ram/Band On the Run tradition -- "following the stars" takes a different context. The sports arena has metamorphosed into an Isaac Asimov-inspired starship, fueled by Linda McCartney's gurgling synthesizer. Had Paul chosen to extend the "Venus and Mars"/"Rock Show" idea throughout the rest of the LP, he might have produced an ambitious and fascinating concept album. In any case, he at least now had a great framework for a "Rock Show" of his own, which he would shortly put to use.

If Venus and Mars' other selections struck many fans and most critics as being a bit slick and lyrically vacuous, they are nonetheless quite diverse musically, ranging from heavy metal to '30's nostalgia to a musical interpretation ("Magneto and Titanium Man") of the Marvel Comics Paul had taken to reading. Like Abbey Road and John's Walls And Bridges, Venus and Mars trails off with a joke. The last "real" song, "Lonely Old People," is followed by a brief rendition of "Crossroads," the theme music to a soap opera then in favor with Britain's senior citizens.

Augmented by the jangling guitars and trilling woodwinds of guest artists Dave Mason and Tom Scott, the ultra-catchy "Listen To What the Man Said" quickly scored Wings their eighth consecutive American Top Ten hit (and third Number One). This single, and the album from which it was lifted, were the first McCartney records to sport the familiar Capitol logo since the Beatles' "Lady Madonna." Paul had just signed on again for the record-shattering sum of eight million dollars.

Venus and Mars first appeared on the Billboard charts on June 14, 1975, reaching #1 and spending a total of 77 weeks.

Nicholas Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, pg. 181.

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY PAUL McCARTNEY ►  CLICK HERE

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THE BEATLES ►  CLICK HERE

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·                          CONDITION:

·                          THE RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)         WE GRADE THE VINYL  AS  NEAR MINT. Some VERY LIGHT AND SUPERFICIAL abrasions – mostly sleeve scuffs -  are (barely) visible, but are probably inaudible,  and do not affect visual integrity or beauty of the vinyl. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)         The record comes in its original custom inner sleeve, unique to this title

(c)         The album comes with BOTH large posters and BOTH stickers in beautiful condition

(d)          The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

(e)         Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

·                          THE COVER

COVER IS STRONG NEAR MINT,  STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL ►SHRINK WRAP

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-       Cover has a minor 'bump' (dent) on the opening side (BARELY VISIBLE)  (VISIBLE ON BACK SIDE ONLY)

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

We offer three postage rates for domestic orders: USPS Media Mail, USPS Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail and three rates for international shipments:  USPS First Class, USPS Priority International Mail, and USPS Express International Mail (in a small number of cases, we will, at our discretion and for purely technical reasons, substitute First Class Mail with eBay's Global Shipping, which is fundamentally the same service at about the same cost). INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND (BUT DO NOT INSIST) that you select USPS International Priority Mail when making a payment.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from one region of  the world to another. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates, please click on " Shipping, returns, and payments" tab in the header of our listing.

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CRITICALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

(A) All orders valued at $50.00 or more will be shipped fully insured against loss, damage or theft by ShipCover, eBay's contracted insurer, at our expense (B) Yes, we do combine items into a single shipment; in order to enable this feature, the winning bidders should WAIT until their last item of interest ends and ONLY THEN make a payment. Doing otherwise will result in multiple shipments to the same customer and forfeiture of multiple shipping charges already paid. (C) Because we do not play-grade our items, we do not know how the purchased item will play on the buyer's equipment. We can only make reasonable inference on the record's playing condition based on its visual appearance. (D) This seller will NOT cancel erroneous, frivolous and prank bids. The bidders can do so on their own, by visiting eBay's Site Map, then clicking on Bid Retractions link. (E) This seller does not specifically grade or describe certain items, such as: shrink (cellophane) wrap and accompanying extras (inserts, booklets, etc.); however, the presence of these items WILL be noted and accompanied by the gallery photo(s). (F) Please do not submit any bids on our items if you have insufficient user history. (G) Other than in very rare justified cases, failure to pay for the item you won amounts to a fraud and will result in a permanent ban on bidding on our future listings. (H) We will NEVER deliberately, knowingly or willingly provide a false, deceitful or misleading information.

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE (POSTAGE INCLUDED) WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED; STILL SEALED ITEMS MUST BE RETURNED SEALED IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND.   NO EXCEPTIONS!

FINE (BUT IMPORTANT!) PRINT

 (1) The year indicated in the title bar is the year of the original release,  NOT necessarily the year of the actual pressing; for the actual generation of the pressing, please see our item description (top section, the text in red letters). (2) Please do NOT bid based on the title bar, subtitle bar or item specifics box alone; instead, please read the entire description before bidding; (3) Absolutely NO order cancellations after the auction closes. ever, under any circumstances. We can ONLY cancel bids before the item closes. (4) We are unable to provide matrix-, stamper- or other pressing  information in the final 24 hours of the auction. (5) All disagreements and miscommunications can be - and will only be - solved in a civil and mutually respectful manner; please avoid puerile, offensive, abrasive or menacing language (6) This seller will accommodate all reasonable requests and - unless seriously molested - is generally a flexible, pragmatic and agreeable person.

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