A Day At The Races 1U/1U

This first pressing plays with superlative audio except for one intro on S2 and has been hardly played judging by the complete lack of spindle wear.

  EMTC 104 // YAX - 5245 - 1U / 5246 - 1U // PD 2 / RL 1

The audio on S1 is Ex+ (Near Mint for the majority)

The audio on S2 is Near Mint (Mint- in many sections / track 2 intro is VG)

The picture inner is Near Mint-

The labels are Mint

This is a beautiful looking vinyl!  There are hardly any hairlines and it shines with a stunning glossy sheen despite its age and the only negative is one small scratch on S2.  The run out grooves are also incredibly clean and I can only detect one mega faint spindle trace on each side so I would say has been hardly played.  The quality of the audio confirms that!

Play grading

The intro on 'Tie Tour Mother Down' has some light static but there are no clicks or pops.  It then proceeds to play with astounding power and no distortion at all.  Wow!  The strength, clarity and depth of the audio here is stunning and to think this is a 1U/1U pressing!  'You Take My Breath Away' is often affected by intrusive interference being such a quiet track but this is an excellent version.  The acapella intro is quite possibly the 'cleanest' I have heard and with no 'background' it is quite simply stunning.  Thereafter there is the odd quiet static sound but this does not detract from what is exceptionally clear audio for a first pressing.  There is light crackle and a couple of pops in the 'silent section' prior to the final vocal but this is the only obvious interference.  'Long Away' is practically Mint- except for a tiny amount of static towards the end.  The quiet intro on 'The Millionaire Waltz' is so impressive and has no 'background'.  The rest of this underrated classic has only a couple of light clicks but for a track with so many quiet sections the clarity is stunning.  The second half in particular is of Mint- quality and the mega quiet 'My fine friend...' sections plays with impeccable sound.  Superb!  'You & I' ends S1 with immaculate audio once more with no interference of any kind, even the fade out plays perfectly.

'Somebody To Love' plays with wonderful clarity and definition.  The audio is of a superb standard and whilst there is 5 seconds of crackle around the famous 'high note' and literally right at the end the remainder plays in sublime style.  The quiet intro on 'White Man' does have some light clicks sadly but from the first chorus onwards the audio is exceptional and the quiet end section plays very clearly with only one tick.  'Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy' and 'Drowse' both qualify as Mint the clarity and precision on offer here is just breathtaking and there is not one iota of interference on the fade out of the latter.  The intro on 'Let Us Cling Together' is also of a spectacular standard and I heard only a couple of light static sounds.  The whole track plays practically 'as new' which is very rare for any final track let alone on a 1U/1U first pressing that is now 42 years old!  So often the final section plays with distortion but not here - this is a magnificent version and even the extended fade out plays in sublime fashion.  Wow what an end!!

In summary the audio across both sides is highly impressive and the only obvious interference is on 'White Man' caused by a small scratch.  Aside from that the vast majority plays as Near Mint and better than that in many sections!  Not quite a final upgrade archive first pressing but not far off :-)

The Gatefold

So often found in poor condition this one has not suffered too much.  There is some rubbing on the edges and corners but the front cover is very clean really with only a little of the spotting that you always see on the black background.  There is also a small sticker removal mark top right.  The back cover is similar with some spotting around the edges.  The inside of the gatefold is very clean and has less of the spotting by the top and bottom edges.  The wide spine has the usual crease lines caused by the gatefold being opened but is otherwise very clean with only a couple of rubs and wear on the corners as stated.  The opening edge has next to no handling wear.  So it isn't perfect but it is certainly cleaner than many I have seen.

Picture inner

This is near perfect and has no splits or tears.  There are just a couple of faint creases on the bottom corners.

The labels

In pristine condition they have no marking or writing and only one barely visible spindle trace on each side.

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

EMTC 104 // YAX - 5245 - 1U / 5246 - 1U // PD 2 / RL 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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