A Night At The Opera 2/2 (First Pressing)

This mega rare 2/2 pressing plays with exceptional audio, stunning is an understatement!  The iconic gatefold also remains in wonderful shape and the picture inner with cut corners has no splits!

The vinyl obviously has the famous 'Blair's', not 'Blair's cut' etched into the dead wax as per the first and early pressings.  There are also only two stampers on each side making it one of the earliest first pressings manufactured.

EMTC 103 // YAX 5063 - 2 / YAX 5064 - 2 // LD & HO 4

The audio on Side One is Mint- (Mint in many sections)

The audio on Side Two is Near Mint (Mint in many sections)

The picture inner is Near Mint

The 

labels are Mint

Visual grading

  The vinyl is in a pristine, unmarked condition.  It has been hardly played as there is hardly any spindle wear on S2 and only a little more on S1.  The glossy sheen it still has is visually stunning and I could only detect one faint hairline on S1.  This is a stunning example of a rare 2/2 pressing.

Play grading  

The intro to 'Death on Two Legs' plays with supreme clarity and barely any 'background' so you know you're already onto a winner!  The remainder of this classic track plays with incredible audio and quite simply is 'as new'.  Rarely have I heard such a stunning version on a very first 2/2 pressing.  'Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon' continues the quality with no interference once again.  I cannot stress how good the audio is here!  An underrated classic 'I'm In Love With My Car' is of Mint standard there is no other grading for it.  'You're My Best Friend' is just very slightly below that as there is just a hint of barely audible static at the beginning.  The remainder of the side more than equals the standard already set.  There are not enough superlatives for the immaculate quality of the audio on offer here.  It may be the cleanest, nearest to Mint standard I have ever sold.  'Seaside Rendezvous' is renown for playing with distortion on the early pressings but on this first press it is definitely less prevalent and plays very clearly indeed.

The intro to 'The Prophet's Song' has barely any background static which is highly impressive as this track is so often 'over-played' and the audio can suffer.  Here the whole track plays in stunning fashion with only 3/4 dust ticks which of course you get with new vinyl let alone one of 42 years!  The 'now I know' section is astounding, Mint without a shadow of a doubt.  The remainder of this classic track plays loud and with such dynamic power and no distortion it is absolutely breathtaking.  'Love of my Life' has only a handful of dust ticks, very much in the background, and again plays with a clarity and depth that belies its age.  A stunning version again and one of the best versions you will hear on any pressing let alone a rare 2/2 one.  'Good Company' does not let up on the astonishing quality and plays beautifully and what can I say about 'Bohemian Rhapsody'?  The clarity, depth and dynamic power again is just sublime and is so close to playing with Mint quality.  Perhaps 3/4 dust ticks but this can often disappear with repeated plays.  Even turning the volume up to loud on the 'you know what' section does not diminish the power and clarity of the audio on this incredible vinyl.  Yes a little light intermittent static right at the end and during 'God Save The Queen' but it is only in the background and remains a superb listen.

In summary both sides play with audio of the highest order and this 2/2 press is a genuine archive final upgrade copy.  This is quite possibly the best first press I have ever had the pleasure in listening to and combined with a stunning gatefold and picture inner makes this a very rare find indeed.

Gatefold cover

The embossed G & L gatefold is in lovely condition and is one of the best you will see.  Obviously the predominantly white cover is very hard to keep clean but this one has retained its original colour extremely well.  The front cover has some faint marking top right where there was once a sticker.  The edges are in superb condition and the spine only has a minor amount of marking and remains 100% legible.  The inside of the gatefold is immaculate and the back cover is also in superb order with only a couple of very faint marks.  The opening edge has almost no handling wear.  For a 2/2 cover it is a lovely gatefold and will not disappoint.

Picture inner

This has the three cut corners as per the early pressings and is one of the best I have seen in a long time.  There are no splits on any of the sides, how rare is that?!!  There is only a minor amount of rubbing along the bottom edge.  It is in superb condition for its age.

Labels

Both labels are in fantastic condition with hardly any spindle wear and no marking/writing.

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

EMTC 103 // YAX 5063 - 2 / YAX 5064 - 2 // Mother stampers LD & HO 4

Any questions please feel free to ask

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