PINK FLOYD Obscured By Clouds A1/B1 Genuine 1st PRESS 1972 Superb COVER & AUDIO
£
81
$
107
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Description
I will declare a lower amount on the customs form for all countries so as to avoid/decrease high import charges. However, in the case of the EU all purchases are subject to VAT which eBay collect at point of sale. No shipping to Russia currently.
Pink Floyd : Obscured By Clouds A-1 / B-1 1st Press 1972
This first pressing plays with stunning quality with hardly any intrusion. The clarity, depth and warmth of the audio is so impressive and having listened to every track in full I can confirm this is one of the finest examples of this album that I have ever found. There is only one light click on S1 and a handful of very minor statics on the final track on S2 which are in no way intrusive. This pressing run was of course soon stopped due to the mastering error causing excessive sibilance but in my opinion there is no actual distortion and when you find a vinyl as clean as this one the sonic quality is still very strong.
The textured cover remains in great condition with only very minimal wear. It is quite thin and flimsy and yet has retained its original shape and structure so well. The original Harvest inner is also in excellent order with no side splits.
This first pressing has an A1/B1 matrix, the first corrected run is A2/B2. Interestingly it has only stampers no mothers.
SHVL 815 // A - 1 / B - 1 // RA / RH
The audio on S1 is Mint(-) (T4 Ex+)
The audio on S2 is Mint(-) (T1 intro Near Mint / T4 first few seconds Ex)
The textured cover is Ex+
The original inner sleeve is Ex
The labels are Near Mint-
Visual description
The vinyl is in excellent condition and still has a very strong glossy finish with no marks or scratches. Under a bright light I can only make out a relatively small number of faint sleeve removal hairlines and a slightly more obvious one on S1 but it has no affect on the audio. There is no groove or surface wear and the yellow / green Harvest labels are very clean with just some spindle wear but not an excessive amount.
Play grading
The quiet intro on the title track 'Obscured By Clouds' plays so clearly with barely any static and it continues to play with great clarity from that point on. There is a genuine warmth and depth to the music and with only a couple of minor ticks at the end of the fade out I think Mint- is deserved here.
'When You're In' plays with phenomenal audio from start to finish with no intrusion at all. No ticks, clicks, pops or static it just could not play any better. It has a very long fade out but it has no background. Mint
'Burning Bridges' has no intrusion on the intro and then Gilmour's opening vocal is just as clean. The next verse from Wright is close to perfect with only a couple of very light ticks and the mid instrumental is 'as new'. The remainder is of the same standard with only a couple of minor statics near the end and Mint- is again correct.
The powerful intro on 'The Gold It's In The...' has no interference but the first vocal does have one light click. However, that is the only intrusion across the entire track so I will grade as Ex+ accordingly.
The acoustic intro on 'Wot's...Uh The Deal?' plays with sublime clarity and the opening vocal is equal to that. I guess you could say the excessive sibilance is a little more obvious here but there is no denying the actual quality of the audio. From start to finish there is no background, a superb version. Mint
'Mudmen' ends the side with great clarity throughout. The piano intro is so clean and this applies to every section. The mid solo from Gilmour is very strong and I did not detect any distortion. Overall a Mint- version.
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The slow build up intro on 'Childhood's End' plays so clearly with only a small number of minor background statics. The playback is exceptional, one of the cleanest intros on this track that I have heard in a long time. The acoustic section is perfect and the opening two verses are just as impressive. Gilmour's mid solo is faultless and the final verse more than keeps up the standard. Right to the final note it plays with sublime precision and if the intro is Near Mint then the rest of the track easily grades as Mint
'Free Four' plays with sensational audio with not even a dust tick for company. Every vocal and guitar solo play with such clarity and depth and Mint is 100% deserved. The gentle intro on on 'Stay' plays beautifully with only a handful of barely audible dust ticks but in essence it plays perfectly. Wright's opening verse / chorus have no background and it proceeds in much the same way. The clarity of sound is stunning throughout - impressive for a relatively quiet track on a vinyl that is fast approaching 52 years old. Mint-
Another quiet intro on 'Absolutely Curtains' and again it plays very clearly with no intrusion as such, just a small number of light ticks at the beginning. As it builds the audio has no background at all and thereafter plays with incredible clarity and definition. This is without doubt one of the cleanest versions of this instrumental that I have ever heard and with only one light tick in the in the middle section it could hardly play any better. The tribal chanting at the end plays perfectly. I will grade the first few seconds as Ex and the rest as Mint- I believe that is a fair assessment of the audio.
In summary this very first pressing plays with genuine quality with barely any intrusion. Just one light click on S1 and a small number of minor statics on S2 but really for an album with so many quiet sections the clarity is stunning. Ok this pressing may have soon be discontinued but in my opinion the audio quality is still very impressive and especially on such a clean vinyl. The cover is also in great condition so all in all a very collectable LP :-)
The Cover & Harvest Inner Sleeve
The G & L textured cover has been very well preserved and has no obvious wear. The edges have hardly any rubbing and whilst the thin pinched spine has a little more there is nothing that stands out and it remains 100% legible. All four rounded corners are very clean with only very minimal wear and the opening edge has very little handling wear also. The front cover is stunning with no marking and the back cover is almost as good with just a little pen on the white rim of one of the images, it is not immediately noticeable. A fine example overall.
The poly-lined Harvest inner is in excellent condition with no side splits or tears and has only minimal age related fading around the edges and a little creasing.
Play tested on my Rega P2 with AT-VM95EN Cart / Denon PMA-520AE Amp / B&W 684 Speakers
This record has been professionally cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine
SHSP 4020 // A - 1 / B - 1 // RA / RH
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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Postage & Packaging
I will only send items items worldwide via tracked shipping. This provides 'peace of mind' in case of loss or damage. The shipping costs are shown below and combined shipping is always offered. Any over-payment will always be refunded.
The Royal Mail only insure up to a value of £250 so if an item sells for more it may be wise to use a courier service (e.g. Parcelforce or DPD). An extra insurance premium will be required but I will not know the exact amount until the final sale price is known. Because of this I will sometimes have to estimate the cost and this will be shown in the listing. Please wait for the invoice before making payment and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. Many thanks.
All vinyls are packaged in strong over-sized custom made mailers with plenty of extra cardboard protection. They are placed inside separate poly-lined inners outside the cover so as to avoid seam splits in transit and then placed inside a PVC sleeve to provide even more protection. I pride myself on my high quality packaging as my feed confirms and if any customer has any specific requirements I am more than happy to help.
The mailers I use cost £1.00 each and I will use anything between 3-5 cardboard stiffeners which cost approx £0.18 each. There is also the cost of the poly-lined inner and PVC sleeve to consider, it all adds up! Not forgetting that eBay take 10% of the shipping fee also!!
UK Postage Rates (First Class Recorded - Max 2kg)
LPs/12" singles : £5.95 up to 1kg then £1.00 per extra item
EUROPE (Tracked - Max 2kg)
LPs/12" singles : £15.95 then £2.00 per extra
USA (Tracked - Max 2kg)
LPs/12" singles : £24.95 then £2.50 per extra
REST OF WORLD (Tracked - Max 2kg)
LPs/12" singles : £21.95 then £2.50 per extra
If you are not entirely happy with your purchase please contact me before leaving feedback and I will always resolve any issue, 100% guaranteed. If you would prefer to send the item back I will also pay the return shipping cost if I am at fault, I am only human after all!!
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