PINK FLOYD Piper At The Gates Of Dawn 1st press 68 UK Mono blue Columbia SX6157

	£		300
	$		398

PINK FLOYD original UK 1967 12" LP pressing THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN

UK 1967 blue/black Columbia MONO SX 6157

Matrix Numbers : Side 1  XAX 3419 - 2 Stampers "1" and "G" at 9o'clock and 3o'clock respectively   Side 2  XAX 3420 - 1 Stampers "1" and  "P" at 10o'clock and 3.30 respectively

This really is the hugely rare and sought after original MONO pressing with "Sold in U.K." text on each label and no "File Under Pop" on the right of the flipback outer sleeve.

Both sleeve and vinyl are in truly very good+ condition and the quality of the audio is equally impressive. 

The Garrod & Lofthouse flipback outer sleeve is in very good + condition, with the front laminate completely intact, and no scuffing on the edges. The front cover colours are vibrant and the spine is rigid, well defined and suffers only from a very small nick/indentation about 3/4 of the way up with a further couple of small "nick" blemishes towards the top. There is some laminate creasing, surface only, towards the top right hand side and a small scuff at the extreme bottom right hand corner but nothing to significantly detract from the overall impressive appearance. There is no cardboard creasing at all. The reverse flipback is in similarly in very good+ condition with all of the flipback intact, no unwanted writing and no nicks, tears, creasing or sticking blemishes. There is some "grubbiness" along the inside each of the inside of the flipbacks and a little age discolouration (as the photos show) is in evidence.

Both sides of the vinyl have retained much of their original gloss and sheen though there are some hairlines which are clearly visible when held up to a bright light along with a few noticeable surface scuffs - nothing at all that is deep rooted and goes below the surface and any such blemishes are light and strictly surface only.

The overall quality of the audio is very good. On both sides of the vinyl there are some occasional (and I really do mean "occasional") audible clicks (not loud and some may be due to static) and there are some passages on both side 1 and 2 where crackle does exist - the crackle is more noticeable in some places than others and does NOT seriously detract from the overall fine audio quality (much of the audio is completely crackle-free) but it is clearly noticeable in places. There are two more audible clicks on each of the "The Scarecrow" and "Bike" tracks but I detected no obvious mark on the vinyl to cause these clicks...I suspect that a professional clean of the vinyl would remedy this. You can rest assured that the record can be played in it's entirety and thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated for the classic, ground breaking progressive rock gem that it is. Remember - this is now a 45 year old record so it's unlikely that perfect audio copies of this rare, original UK pressing actually exist!

Each label is excellent with the "K" and "T" tax codes clearly in evidence on side 1. There are a number of light spindle marks around the centre holes but no unwanted writing or other unwanted blemishes.

The track listing is :

Side 1:

1. Astronomy Domine

2. Lucifer Sam

3. Matilda Mother

4. Flaming

5. POW R. TOC H.

6. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk

Side 2 :

1. Interstellar Overdrive

2. The Gnome

3. Chapter 24

4. The Scarecrow

5. Bike

The original inner sleeve is fully functional with no tears, or creasing of any significance.

I have no hesitation whatsoever in grading the overall condition of this offering as Very Good +. It's not "Mint", and not quite "Excellent",  but I know that you would have to have search long and hard to find a better copy (if such a mint copy exists at all). Play it loud and enjoy it or, better still, frame it and impress your friends and watch the value of this ground breaking progressive rock gem rocket!

A bit about myself : I have been collecting UK vinyl for over 40 years and have a huge collection. A combination of space requirements and a need to help fund my retirement has prompted me to "rationalise" my record collection and sell some of my much loved gems. 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 questions asked" refund policy. If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. There is NO RESERVE on this item, by the way. Richard

Descriptions of any records I sell comply with the Rare Record Price Guide grading guidelines :

Mint

Description: The record 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

Description: 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

Description: 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

Description: 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, discoloration, etc.

Fair 

Description: 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 will be torn, stained and/or defaced.

Poor

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

Bad

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