RENAISSANCE (1st) RARE ORIG UK 1969 PINK ISLAND EX++ LP

	£		43
	$		57

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: RENAISSANCE

Album Title: Renaissance.

Producer(s): Paul Samwell-Smith.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Kings and Queens; Innocence.

Side 2: Island; Wanderer; Bullet.

Label/Format: Island – Original full pink i format, smooth finish. If my labels scans vary in colour, well good, they are meant too. These two labels vary considerably in shade… one being a deep salmon pink, the other much paler. I have rarely, if ever seen such contrast in hue on an Island record before.

Label Conditions: Both little short of immaculate: ultra clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle traces tiny, very few and faint. One of Island’s most difficult titles in stunning condition, this record has hardly ever seen light-of-day or a turntable. A fact reitterated by the most superb sound on what I regard as possibly the most challenging Island album ever. This another gem from the superb collection of very lightly played records, purchased from new by the one-and-only owner who played them very sparingly on a high quality system.

Cat Number: ILPS 9114.

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. A very good weight for this album.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: with a record this lightly played and well pressed, quite rare. Massively intolerant of heavy tracking turntables from the past, this album rarely ever plays well. The piano pieces often break up with crackle, loss of clarity and distortion. The quiet passages, of which there are several, crackle with plenty of unwanted noises. Well this superb, hardly played example bucks-the-trend and plays beautifully with little unwanted at all. And then there is there is the cover to consider. It is as difficult as the record and is rarely seen in anything like attractive condition. Most badly rubbed, worn with horrendous ringwear and aged. I am not saying this one is perfect my any means, but it shows far less wear than most I have seen. For Island and prog fans needing this album as a UK original, this one sets a high standard, and the record itself, very high. Rare and difficult, and not putting too fine a point on the fact.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9114 A // 1 1 1 1 0 & ILPS 91114 B 2 1 2 1

Musicians: Keith Relf - vocals, guitar, harmonica; Jim McCarty - percussion, vocals; John Hawken - piano, harpsichord; Louis Cennamo - bass; Jane Relf - vocals, percussion.

Brief Info: The original Renaissance were the other band formed from split of The Yardbirds. Wanting to be different musically than before, this band played a more classical based progressive rock but did not stay together for long. The name continued but with an entirely different line-up that went on to be quite successful in their own right with Annie Haslam being the lead vocalist. This original line-up did reappear later as ‘Illusion’. This early Island set is a lovely album and quite unique in it’s day. A notoriously difficult record to find in top playing conditions with groove-wear rife on many copies resulting in distortion and breakup, particularly to the vulnerable piano parts. This has many quiet moments too and I have seldom ever heard a really decent copy and yet to ever hear a ‘perfect’ playing example. Many experienced dealers and collectors have the same opinions and like me, regard it one of the most impossible albums ever. The cover fairs even worse and must rank as one of the most intolerant ever made. Well this has a far better than average cover that actually does still look attractive. The records itself is lovely and actually plays supremely well, devoid of all of the usual problems, I hardly thought a copy could play quite this well on such a revealing system. It is very clean and looks barely played (not untypical from this collection however), but the issues this one suffers are often invisible. Pressing noises, groovewear and distortion cannot be seen, only heard, but delighted to say, this copy has little to fault at all. Even that impossibly challenging final phase of ‘Bullet’ plays quietly and distortion-free. The piano and quiet segments all focuses and sharp and near noise-free. In fact this record could prove a significant upgrade for the serious collector and this difficult Island one-off album will never be easy to find better.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(-): and although not an exceptional grading, it can be deemed more so for this impossibly wear-prone cover. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt smooth surfaces and is near to impossible to find in anything like top conditions. Printed and made in the UK.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very high indeed. One of the very worst ever with ink that fades and rubs just by looking at it. Near impossible to find devoid of ringwear and major rubbing on all surfaces. Most seen look just plain ugly.

Cover Front: Put into context, this is a very attractive front. It lacks the usual unsightly wear that affects most-all, especially the early-made ones with the heavier, thicker pink label albums inside. The main graphic itself that occupies most of the front is near perfect, devoid of the usual rubbing and sticker issues. Any marks on this large area few and very faint indeed. The deep blue border has only faint rubbing with just a little light rubbing on the actual edges. Most near the top left corner and top, but modestly light compared to most. Overall, a pleasing front that will never prove easy to find better.

Cover Back: Like the front, the main large graphic panel is very impressive with little to fault. The lack of ringwear is massively unusual but most welcome of course. Most of any rubbing or creasing near the corners that seems totally intolerant of any storage or handling at all.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Same again, the main very large graphic area is largely unworn, any faint blemishes seen only under light. The border area shows very little wear with any rubbing faint.

Top Edges: Some patchy rubbing, some near moderate with chipping and evidence of the odd small dink.

Bottom Edges: These have faired better with any rubbing only light and patchy. In fact the front edge has hardly any at all.

Right Edge(s), and Type: These are very neat and sharp, the front is sealed so the record enters on the back.

Spine and Text: The spine has faired pretty well too: still solid, straight, uncompressed and folded square, the edges meet up quite closely together and almost parallel. I have seen a few of these folded badly off-square and this only adds to the unattractiveness. A little small patchy rubs, mostly near the ends, the text has survived with barely any traces of wear.

Corners: Moderate rubbing on the spine ends, less on the right ones. Fine shape or a little better is retained. With corners often seen threadbare on this cover, these are all very respectable indeed.

Cover Summary: The most difficult and challenging of covers, this makes Led Zeppelin II seem ‘easy’. It’s one I have yet to see in top condition and this is one of the most respectably attractive ones I have seen. But with a lovely original record inside, their lies the difference. I think this is nice, almost very nice in fact, the perfectionists may beg to differ, but try finding this near mint as an original. I guess they exist, but I have yet to find one. All considered, this is a very strong example that I am happy to recommend. If perfection is demanded, the wait continues…

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a Polydor-style lined inner that has only modestly aged. Both window circles are almost pristine and the polylining clear and almost devoid of crinkle. Barely any creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs. A few small tone spots and mild discolour only. Importantly, this is date-coded 1/0170 – New Year’s Day in 1970, proving this is an early pressed copy (please see this detail in close-up).

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): and a superb looking Island record that is very close to a Mint(-) grading. As difficult to find this clean as the cover. Fresh with super shine, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy played very little on all the evidence. Any surface trace marks are very few, fine and faint and this looks exceptional. Visually attractive and impressive, a very difficult issue that will please most collectors.

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 snippets 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: One of the most challenging Island, and indeed rock albums for clean sound. Most of the examples I have heard have some form of groove-wear distortion and often with plenty of surface noise and crackle. This copy plays up to and most all even exceeds it’s unusually find visual grading. Strong totally distortion-free sound with sharp and clear reproduction. The piano pieces are very difficult indeed and here they do sound sharp and devoid of clipping that so often happens on this one. The opening of side one is a solo piano and I have rarely, if ever heard it sound better, sharper of clearer than this. The lack of groovewear and penetrating marks made for an enjoyable play-grade. Basically, this record is intolerant of any heavy stylus abuse or overplaying on heavy weighted equipment. This copy looks hardly even played and has survived any damaging groove-wear. Absolute silence on this record is nigh-on impossible, but this one gives it a fine shot. This has an ultra quiet bass solo outro part just before the fragile vocal comes in near the end, I have never heard this part play so well. A beautiful recording, but fragile to say the very least. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no irritating pops or clicks were noted and this is a very clean Polydor pressing. I enjoyed this immensely and I feel most other listeners will too. Few early pink copies will outperform this significantly I feel sure. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. I feel pressing standards on this title were not the very best ever and I could say the same on one or two other Island classics also. Free’s ‘Fire and Water’ and King Crimson’s ‘Lizard’ spring to mind quickly (amongst others) are incredibly hard to find also that will play well. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and on that alone, merits strong recommendation. One day a near mint cover will show to put a quality copy of the record like this inside, but I cannot hold my breath that long – in the meantime, this very nice example will do just nicely.

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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. 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. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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 the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

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: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. 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. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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 necessarily 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’.