A Saucerful Of Secrets 1/1 (Flipback cover)

This early pressing plays with superb clarity and has only been lightly played.  The vinyl is absolutely pristine.  The laminated flipback cover is also very impressive.

As per the early pressings 'Gilmour' is spelt as 'Gilmore' and the tracklisting on the S2 label is 1,2 & 4.

SCX 6258 // YAX 3633 - 1 / YAX 3634 - 1 // GA 1 / RR 1

The audio on S1 is Near Mint-

The audio on S2 is Ex+ (Near Mint- in many sections)

The laminated cover is Ex

The labels are Mint-

The inner sleeve is Near Mint-

Visual grading

As per the 'Piper' LP from the same previous owner this vinyl is visually in superb condition also.  It looks 'as new' and it has a fantastic lustrous sheen the likes of which I have never seen on a 1/1 pressing before.  There are no scratches and no obvious hairlines at all and there is barely any spindle wear either.  Again this vinyl has been hardly played.  The run out grooves and labels are in sublime condition also.  A beautifully preserved vinyl.

Play grading  

With barely any lead in static you just know this is going to play well!  'Let There Be More Light' then plays to a superb standard from start to finish.  The opening section builds with such clarity and precision it's incredible to think this vinyl is nearly 50 years old!  The remainder is equally impressive and shows no interference.  The long fade out has only a couple of mega faint dust ticks and plays so cleanly.  I am confident in grading this as Mint- the audio is that good.

'Remember A Day' has 2/3 barely audible dust ticks on the intro and then has a clarity of sound that is stunning.  The quiet sections play impeccably well with only a small number of very light static sounds, hardly worth a mention.

'Set The Controls...' has only the lightest of static on the intro which do not intrude on what is high quality audio.  There are no clicks or pops and for such a quiet track the precision of the audio is stunning.  There is a minimal amount of background static here and there and I only mention this to be precise in my grading.  The vast majority of sellers would not and in my opinion it still grades as Near Mint- as the audio still plays very clearly and I repeat there are no clicks or pops.

As always 'Corporal Clegg' has some distortion although considerably less than nearly all pressings from the same time.  It still impresses with excellent depth and again no other interference.

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'A Saucerful Of Secrets' plays extremely well from the first groove with very little static and in my experience it is very rare for an early pressing such as this to play with such clarity and precision.  How many 'quiet' tracks from '68 play as well as this?  When the drum section begins the audio is astounding and there is no 'background' of any kind.  There is a minimal hint of static at the end of this passage but it is worth noting there are no clicks or pops again.  The organ section begins in impeccable style although there is some light static soon after.  Do not let this put you off!  This is still one of the 'cleanest' versions of this classic I have heard in a long time.  The rest of the track is superb!  With amazing clarity audio does not get much better than this.  The choral section is sublime and there is none of the distortion that you so often find.  Overall a stunning version of this track and yes NO CLICKS OR POPS!!

'See-Saw' has very clear audio on the intro.  As the track progresses there is a little distortion here and there but the audio is still very clear with no other interference.  Perhaps I overplay the distortion element as these pressings always have it in some form or another.  This track still plays exceedingly well!

'Jugband Blues' ends the album with exceptionally clear audio and only a little distortion.  No clicks or pops!  The end section plays in sublime style and there is no 'background' directly after the brass section which is of course completely silent, giving an indication of the superb clarity here.  The vocal end section is stunning and has no 'background'.  Wow!

In summary this mega early 1/1 pressing for the vast majority plays with extremely clear audio.  How many albums from this era have no clicks or pops?  There is a little static (not crackle) and some minor distortion on S2 but it does not detract from the very impressive audio on offer.  The flipback cover is also in great condition and hopefully the photos do it justice.

The Cover

The laminated flipback G&L cover is in excellent condition with only very minor shelf wear.  The edges and thin pinched spine are in superb shape with no rubbing and the corners have only a minimal amount of wear and I do mean minimal!  The laminate has no splits or lifting just a handful of small creases around the edges and a couple of faint ones on the front cover.  The opening edge has hardly any handling wear.  The back cover is super clean with no marking and the flipbacks are in great shape also with just a little rubbing where it has lost its black colour.  Only minor though and they have no staining at all which is a rarity.  An excellent example of this cover for such an early press.

Inner sleeve

The original die-cut inner sleeve (with 'Sgt. Pepper's' and 'Abbey Road') has no splits or tears and no marking either.  Just very faint creasing.  In great condition.

The labels

The two EMI logo black Columbia labels are in beautiful condition with no marks or writing and as stated hardly any spindle wear.  They look practically 'as new'.  Stunning examples.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

This record has been cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

SCX 6258 // YAX 3633 - 1 / YAX 3634 - 1 // GA 1 / RR 1

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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