Queen : A Day At The Races 1U/1U 1st Press

This first pressing plays with superb audio for the vast majority and only minimal 'background'.  There are no loud clicks or pops at all.

This particular pressing is one of the earliest as it has only a rare single stamper 'P' on S1.

The gatefold (so difficult to find in decent condition!) is in excellent shape overall with no major shelf wear and the picture inner is in superb condition.

Please wait for the invoice before making payment thank you.

EMC 3601 // YAX 5245 - 1U / YAX 5246 - 1U // P 1 / OP 2

The audio on S1 is Near Mint (track 2 Near Mint- / track 4 Ex+)

The audio on S2 is Near Mint (Mint- in many sections / track 3 intro Ex / track 5 final verse Ex and end section Ex-)

The gatefold is VG+

The lyric inner is Near Mint

The labels are Mint-

 Visual grading

This vinyl is very clean indeed and has no scratches or marks.  Under a bright light I can only detect a small number of very faint sleeve removal hairlines on each side but for a genuine first press I haven't seen many better.  It still has a lovely glossy sheen and the run out grooves and labels are also in great condition.

Play grading

The intro on 'Tie Your Mother Down' is a good sign of things to come!  The clarity is superb with barely any static and only a couple of light ticks.  From then on it plays with immense power and no distortion.  This is a stunning version that has no intrusive 'background' of any kind.  To the final note it plays with perfect precision.  Wow!

'You Take My Breath Away' is often the one track on the album that causes problems!  It is such a quiet track and is susceptible to static, crackle and clicks.  The intro here is absolutely breathtaking!  It is so clear with not so much as a dust ticks, audio does not get better than this!  As the piano comes in there are only a couple of faint ticks and the clarity is again so impressive.  Once the vocal begins it continues to play with wonderful clear audio and not a single click or pop.  This is undoubtedly one of the finest versions I have heard in many a year.  There is nothing to detract from the quality of the audio and whilst there are a small number of dust ticks and a couple of static ticks they are obviously not intrusive.  A Near Mint- version in my opinion.

'Long Away' goes one better and grades as Near Mint as there is no obvious interference at all.  The clarity and depth cannot be faulted and all I heard were a couple of couple of dust ticks and a little static on the fade out.

'The Millionaire Waltz' begins superbly and has just the one light click on the intro.  As the vocal begins the audio is very strong and has no 'background'.  As it continues there is a little static here and there and a couple of light clicks but the music still plays very clearly.  In fact much of it plays superbly and the quiet section following the 'be happy like we used to be line' is a case in point.  The heavier section is 'as new' and the remainder plays with great clarity and only the bare minimum of static.  The 'My fine friend...' section is stunning and the closing section also plays with exemplary audio and no interference.  This is difficult to grade in a way as much of the audio is near mint but because there is a little intermittent 'background' an Ex+ grading is probably fair.

'You And I' plays with immaculate precision from start to finish and ends the side in supreme fashion.  There is no interference and only a minimal amount of inner groove distortion right at the end.

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The acapella intro on 'Somebody To Love' is faultless and then plays with superb precision and depth.  You would not think you were listening to a genuine first press!  The playback is stunning and there are only a couple of light static ticks in one of the quieter sections towards the end but overall this is Mint- with 'high end' audio.

The 'White Man' intro is often affected by static or worse ! but the only 'background' here is one light click.  There is no other interference whatsoever and from then one it plays loud and true with great power and clarity.  No distortion either.  The quiet end section just has minimal light static but no clicks or pops.

'Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy' has just a little more static on the intro but not intrusive I would say.  Thereafter it plays with fantastic clarity and the playback is quite simply 'as new'.  Easy to come to this conclusion really as there is just no 'background' to be heard.  An Ex intro and Mint for the remainder.

'Drowse' does not disappoint either and plays with Mint precision from beginning to end including a stunning fade out.  No more needs to be said :-)

'Let Us Cling Together' again will often have some 'background' on the quiet piano intro but the clarity here is amazing!  There is only a handful of barely audible dust ticks that are hardly worth a mention really.  As the vocal begins the audio is still so impressive and there is not a single click or pop.  It is rare for this classic final track to play as 'cleanly' as this.  The first chorus is nigh on perfect and whilst there is a little more static and one light click during the next verse it is hardly intrusive.  The 'When I'm gone...' section plays with great power and only a minimal amount of inner groove distortion and the same can be said for the final 'choral' section.  The organ 'fade out' does have a little more static but overall this track plays extremely with very little interference.

In summary this very collectable LP will not disappoint and the vast majority plays with superb clarity and definition.  There are only a couple of light clicks and minimal static and the playback on this very early first pressing cannot fail but impress.  It is one of the hardest to find with Near Mint / Mint audio in my experience but this one has very impressive audio and will not disappoint.

The Gatefold

 These G&L covers as has been proved are notoriously difficult to keep in decent condition, even harder than the 'A Night At The Opera' ones in my opinion!  This one, whilst not perfect, is certainly one of the cleaner ones.  The edges do have some rubbing but not a massive amount and the corners that are mainly affected by shelf wear are the two bottom ones, a little more on the left one.  The top corners have only minimal rubbing.  The wide spine remains 100% legible and as is common has two crease lines running down it caused by opening the gatefold.  There is also a little wear near the bottom.  The opening edge is very clean with barely any handling wear.  The front cover is in great shape with none of the fading/staining that you regularly see around the edges there are just a few faint creases.  The back cover is similar but with a couple of creases next to the spine that are more obvious.  The inside has only a minor amount of light fading near the top edge.  Overall an excellent cover that has not seen significant wear over the years.

The Picture Inner

This is near perfect and has no splits and only one very small 'rub' on one side.  It has no marking either and remains very clean.  It has four rounded corners as per the first/early pressings.

The Labels

They are in superb condition with no marking or writing and only a couple of faint spindle traces on each side.  

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

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

EMC 3601 // YAX 5245 - 1U / YAX 5246 - 1U // P 1 / OP 2

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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