PRETTY THINGS SF Sorrow VERY RARE 1968 Columbia N/M LP

	£		75
	$		99

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: PRETTY THINGS

Album Title: S.F. Sorrow.

Producer(s): Norman Smith.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: S.F. Sorrow is Born; Bracelets of Fingers; She Says Good Morning; Private Sorrow; Balloon Burning; Death.

Side 2: Baron Saturday; The Journey; I See You; Well of Destiny; Trust; Old Man Going; Loneliest Person.

Country of Manufacture: Germany.

Label/Format: Columbia-EMI (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both immaculate: very clean and attractive with only very light, few and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. This stunning record looks hardly even played.

Cat Number: 1C 062-04 004.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 134 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Rarity: UK copies are Very Rare and I cannot imagine early-pressed German examples are any different.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: 1C062 04004 A1 [YAX 3738-1] / 1C062 04004 B1 [YAX 3739-1]

Musicians: Phil May - vocals; Dick Taylor - lead guitar, vocals; John Povey - organ, sitar, percussion, vocals; Wally Allen - bass, guitar, vocals, wind instruments, piano; Skip Alan - drums; John ‘Twink’ Alder - drums.

Brief Info: Generally regarded as the first rock ‘concept’ album, even pre-dating The Who’s ‘Tommy’. Based on the character Sebastian F. Sorrow from a story by Phil May, the band’s vocalist and guitarist. It follows the troubled life of the character from birth, war and love, eventual tragedy and madness – all sounds somewhat sombre but this is a stunning album and the band took a major step in a new direction. Now with a far more ‘progressive’ sound, many original fans were left confused and initially this was accepted by many. But time as crowned this daring gem as a rock classic and most-all rock fans want this in their collection. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios at the same time Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd were recording their debut classic ‘A Piper at the Gates of Dawn’ and The Beatles ‘Sgt Pepper’. What a wonderful time of creativity with classic after classic being issued towards the latter part of the 1960s. Superbly produced by Norman Smith, this album experimented with early synthesisers including the Mellotron and other devices. What came out was little short of astonishing but predictably it failed to sell well and is now highly sort-after and elusive. This supreme German-pressed copy looks barely even played and sound superb. The cover is nigh-on identical to the UK example with the same artwork. The US version has a totally different cover design but this is a per the authentic UK version. For those wanting this album in beautiful condition and not worried about country of manufacture, this will take some beating and is worthy of the highest consideration.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Quite High.

Cover Grade and Format: A fantastic EX++ and most would grade this still higher. A beautiful gatefold format and laminated front and back. This wraps around all closed edges and into both the top inside faces. Printed and made in Germany.

Lamination – Front & Back: Both sides look lovely: apart from a few mild pressmarks on the front that barely even show there is practically nothing else to fault here. The back has the odd small mark or two and again with little visibility. The laminate is ultra shiny, fresh and clear and is fully adhered, the only tiny blister on the back on the top right corner (but look very hard). Hardly any traces of friction rubs or dulling and the classic artwork will rarely be seen better. The lack of creasing is great news, this is a fairly flimsy and delicate cover but clearly it has been well looked after and it should please most-all collectors.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside is unlaminated bar a strip along the top edges, these ends are clean and ungrubbied. A slight trace of set-off on the white from red as they rest against each other. Obviously unavoidable and only very light anyway. This tiny, minor blemish apart, both faces look almost as made and that’s fantastic.

Top Edges: Both have no wear.

Bottom Edges: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering. Record enters on this back edge.

Spine and Text: A lovely spine: Solid, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up perfectly together and parallel. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate and even this retains an excellent shine with no peeling.

Corners: Very tiny tip rubs only and all retain fine shape and definition.

Cover Summary: A very strong all round example of this classic late 60’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please most collectors.

The Inner: The plain white polylined inner is near mint and unsplit or creased and super-clean.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-) / EX++, A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with just a small surface mark on the very short final song, the only reason for a small down-grade on side two. This has minimal to no sound and both sides look fantastic. Any surface traces under light are ultra tiny, few and faint. Again most would grade this even higher, a supreme example that has clearly hardly been played and I doubt it this has seen daylight for decades. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors again.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippetts or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This beautiful, high-quality pressed German record plays up to its high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no noteworthy pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing overall. Few copies, wherever they were pressed will outperform this rare example significantly I feel sure. With the majority of UK pressings, when they do surface, being heavily played and badly marked and clearly not audiophile standard, this stunning looking record is a breath of fresh air. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. A very rare opportunity to own an early-pressed copy on vinyl - most have to rely on CD revamped reissues.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets out ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is no bad thing. Also: any item with a value over £40 will have to be insured as well, but for any item that sells for over £150, I will pay the extra insurance (then the lower shipping price applies).

I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 4,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course of multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4. (Only for items under £40)

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (Compulsory for items over £40).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA including RUSSIA and nearby countries. (Airmail Only):

1 LP, value less than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8.

1 LP, value greater than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, [£500 Maximum]) = £11.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP, value less than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £12.

1 LP, value greater than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500 Maximum) = £15.

For items that sell over £150, I will pay the insurance, so the lower shipping price will apply.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT neccessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.

PLEASE NOTE: this is a 1970s pressing - Mike