ROLLING STONES, STICKY FINGERS, 1971 UK COC 1st ISSUE

	£		56
	$		74

Hello and welcome to my auction. My name is Nick - aka “playgraderecords”. I have been an avid record collector for many years. Although I like lots of modern music, my passion is for classic blues, psych and progressive albums from the mid 60s to the early 70s. I don’t sell many records – the ones that I do sell are either duplicates from my collection or top quality examples sourced from record fairs or my local record shops.

I take pride in the care and attention that I give to every record that I list for auction. The records from my own collection have always been stored upright in polythene sleeves away from dust and light. These seldom require any cleaning other than just a quick dust using a sticky rubber Nagaoka Rolling 152 and a carbon fibre anti-static brush before play.

Each new find is sympathetically cleaned to remove visible dust, debris and fingerprints, before being critically assessed for the quality of play. If I think that the audio can be improved by a deep clean to remove a build-up of debris embedded in the grooves, I will clean it using a tried and tested isopropyl alcohol based record cleaning solution. I have refined my cleaning method over the years to a fine art, and am confident that the results are far superior to those achieved by the popular vacuum cleaning machines. In reality, the playback of most 35+ years old records will be improved massively by a proper clean.

Consequently, the records that I offer for sale will be immaculately presented and will play to a very high standard with barely any unwanted surface sound or static to spoil the listening pleasure.

Each record is strictly graded, and any significant defects to either the record or the sleeve will be highlighted. I will not conveniently forget to mention faults in order to sell for higher prices. If I grade a record as being in MINT- condition, you can rest assured that it will be both visually and aurally a near perfect copy which will be impossible to significantly improve upon!

Customer satisfaction is very important to me and I aim to provide a professional 5-star service to make the Ebay experience an enjoyable one.

Okay, now that I have given you little background information about myself– its time to get on to the important bit:

Here for auction is an exceptional example of the iconic studio album by THE ROLLING STONES titled “STICKY FINGERS”, Catalogue Number COC 59100. This is an ORIGINAL 1971 UK STEREO PRESSING on the ROLLING STONES RECORDS LABEL, with a superb 1st issue Andy Warhol designed zip sleeve. The package comes complete with the correct 1st issue thick card Photo/Credits insert. [The Matrix Numbers are A4/B4 and “T.M.L. Rolling Stones Records” is etched in the run-outs of each side].

The Andy Warhol designed zip sleeve is in EX condition (strictly graded) with only the lightest of wear and a few minor creases. The front and back covers are unmarked apart from a few indentation marks caused by the zips on the neighbouring LPs during the initial packaging and distribution. The fragile belt buckle area is very well preserved with only a couple of tiny creases on the small flap above the belt buckle. The spine is square and solid with perfect text. There are no rips, tears, writing or anything else. You can see from the photos that this is a beautiful example of this iconic sleeve. I think that it will be very difficult to find a better one!

The top quality RSR record retains a lovely deep shine and sits flat and true on the turntable. Both sides are visually in EX condition with spotlessly clean playing surfaces. There are just a few very light sleeve-removal/storage type surface marks evident under bright light. These are only superficial and do not cause any significant audio problems whatsoever. The yellow RSR labels are unmarked apart from some spindle traces near the centres.

PLAYGRADE ASSESSMENT:

This is a top quality RSR pressing which plays with outstanding sound quality. Both sides play perfectly. There is no discernable deterioration in sound quality and barely any unwanted noise at all (just occasional very light surface sound which is never intrusive and only mentioned for complete accuracy). It is notoriously difficult to find a copy of Sticky Fingers which plays without endless pops and crackle due to the poor quality of many of the pressings. This copy was pressed with barely any residual sound on playback. The quiet introductions and passages in ‘Wild Horses’, ‘You Gotta Move’, ‘I Got The Blues’, ‘Sister Morphine’ and ‘Moonlight Mile’ all play superbly with an absolute minimum of unwanted surface sound. I think that it will be very difficult to find a significantly better-playing copy of this seminal album!

The 1st issue thick card Photo/Credits Insert, printed in England by Richard Davis Ltd., is in unmarked EX+ condition.

Complete with the correct plain white die-cut inner sleeve which is also in EX condition.

GRADINGS

The records that I offer for sale have been critically play-graded, at loud volume, on a Rega Planar 3 turntable fitted with an Elys 2 cartridge. I will only sell records that play to a high standard. My gradings are strict and in accordance with the following descriptions:

·         MINT- Record is superb, almost like new, with just a few sleeve removal type surface marks and no deterioration in sound quality. Sleeve is near perfect in all respects.

·         EX Record is a top quality example, with just a few very light surface marks which do not sound, and barely any discernable deterioration in sound quality. Sleeve has slight wear and/or creasing.

·         VG Record has some visual surface marks, but still plays to a high standard without any major deterioration in sound quality – just a few clicks or light surface sound in places. Sleeve has normal wear and tear without any major defects. Still a very presentable sleeve.

cords are sent out in new “Wrapro” record mailers. These are rectangular and strong, providing excellent protection to the edges and corners. Records are removed from both inner and outer sleeves in order to prevent seam-splits in transit.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE

Due to PayPal’s Buyer Protection Policy, LPs posted outside of the UK (paid for by PayPal) will only be sent International Signed-For with insurance at the following cost:   

Europe up to £39 value - £8.95

Europe over £39 value - £11.15

Worldwide up to £39 value - £12.45

Worldwide over £39 value - £14.65

A postage discount will be given for multiple LPs