RENAISSANCE First Album SCARCE ORIG UK 1969 Nr EX PINK ISLAND LP, PLAYS GREAT.

	£		34
	$		45

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Postage: UK £4.95. Europe (including Russia) £12.95 (£1 per extra record). Rest of World £19.95 (£2 per extra record). All my records are sent in boxes and the price of them has increased over time and these are my first price increases for nearly 10 years. Royal Mail prices have also gone up again. I will never compromise on quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

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ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

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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, first issue with the rough textured surfaces on the beautiful deep pink i matt labels.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only light, fine and faint spindle traces and no wear around the hole area. This challenging complex record appears only lightly used.

Catalogue Number: ILPS 9114

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps or Lateral Movement: Assume all records I offer have no significant warping or lateral movement to cause sound or tracking issues. All should play fine even on budget turntables.

Weight of Record: 148 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Moderately scarce. One of the most difficult albums in the early Island catalogue. The cover is notoriously prone to all forms of wear and rarely seen in better condition. The ink rubs and fades badly and the surfaces often rife with ugly penetrating ring wear which this one has avoided. The record complex and challenging with some very quiet passages. It often suffers pressing issues and distortion, the fine grooves easily damaged by heavy tracking old record players that scratch and wear the grooves. Again, this copy is impressive and plays very well with little unwanted, that said, I regard silence on this album near impossible, especially the end parts of side two. Given all these facts that most collectors will already know, this is a very nice example and certainly one the cleanest for sound I have heard, and the cover with possibly the least wear as well. Such copies are scarce and elusive.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9114 A//1 1 3 / ILPS 9114 B ? 2 1 2 (machine punched, side two error corrected). This a quality pressing made by Philips.

Run-Out Groove Etchings: RL SS / RL SS

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

Brief Info: The original Renaissance were formed from ex-Yardbirds Keith Relf and Jim McCarty, Keith’s sister Jane provided vocals. This was their debut album, they made a second album in 1971 but only got a German release then, it was eventually issued in the UK in 1976. Thus causing some confusion, as the better known band also called Renaissance was established with a totally different line-up including Annie Haslam on vocals. This first album was quite groundbreaking for the time – they blended a style of progressive rock with classical elements which eventually proved more successful for the Annie Haslam version of Renaissance which are still together today. This gained a low, but brief chart position in the UK, but this one of the more overlooked and arguably under-appreciated albums on the early Island label. I can hardly emphasise enough how challenging this one is for sound and cover. It’s close to impossible to find an unworn sleeve and only a well pressed lightly used copy has any chance for high quality clean sound which this does generally offer. For fans of prog and the Island label, this copy sets a high standard.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): and rarely could I hope to offer a grade on this uncompromising cover. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group, includes the Polylined Philips inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Although not pristine – will one ever really be? – this is probably the best one I have ever seen as a true first print. A very fine looking front, one lacking the usual rubbing, ring wear and creasing most seem to acquire. Any marks or creases few, fine and faint. The lack of rubbing and ageing is almost remarkable put in context. A small blemish is a price sticker residue trace near the top right, but this has had minimal effect to the surface and hardly shows with normal viewing. This is still a front to hold and admire, certainly compared to most seen these days.

Cover Back: The back is even better with little to fault at all. The lack of ring wear is little short of remarkable and rarely ever seen as such.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Really impressive with any rub traces minimal and light, again, this surface will prove very hard to match or find better.

Top Edges: Both straight and flush with only a little patchy light rubbing.

Bottom Edges: Light and patchy only with hardly any on the front edge at all. These storage edges have fared very well indeed.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Mostly sharp with any thickening little and light. Record enters on the back edge, the front is closed and machine cut.

Spine and Text: Again, this is really nice with the least wear I have yet seen on this one. Solid, straight with any compression light, folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. The text is fully present and unworn, again rarely seen as such. No fading and any rubbing to the unforgiving surface tiny and little as-seen.

Corners: Any tip rubs fairly light to near moderate with very fine shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: I consider this a very strong all-round example of this uncompromising and wear-prone late 1960’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find better. This unusually attractive item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): the Philips style cover is date-coded 119 (1 5) (November 1969). Both window circles are crisp and undamaged, the polylining still fresh and clear. All edges naturally intact with no repairs, the paper with minimal hint of discolouration or ageing. These are seldom found better. The patent numbers are: 800513 & 973939.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(–)/EXCELLENT: a very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with modest plays on all the evidence with any surface marks light, quite wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, little register. Visually a fine looking record that should please many collectors wanting this delicate, but classic album.

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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This quality album plays above it’s fine visual grading with little to fault. Offering 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 – silence a near impossibility for this uncompromising and challenging record – it has several quiet passages and has always been a difficult album for vinyl as collectors will know. This is a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. The odd minor blemish or contact sound to politely remind of what is being played gets no criticism from me, I am purely being realistic. Mostly near the very end of the album which is notoriously difficult with sparse sound and instrumentation. But compared to virtually all others I have heard, this has little to fault. Few available copies will outperform this early first pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played modestly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled. Yes some fine surface marks, but virtually all superficial and little of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this lovely record that is very well pressed by Philips. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade – visuals alone do not always tell a true story. I will try to 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 it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, 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 as will any suspicious bids or bid bid retractions. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal from­ winning bidders. I only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.