Robert Earl Keen Jr. West Textures 1989 Sugar Hill SH-1028 Shrink Play Tested NM

$

49

• Robert Earl Keen Jr.
• West Textures.
• Still In Full Wrap (but not sealed).

Item Details
Manufactured in: USA
Recorded: At: Soundshop Recording Studios Nashville, TN
Lacquer Cut By: Jim Loyd At Masterfonics, Nashville, TN
Pressing By: Electrosound Group Midwest Shelbyvile, IN
Original Issue: 1989
This Issue: 1989
Label: Sugar Hill SH-1028
Runout Deadwax Matrix Numbers:
Side 1: (etch:) SH-1028-A JL MASTERFONICS Emw #05247
Side 2: (etch:) SH-1028-B JL MASTERFONICS Emw #05247X

Was bought new by this seller many years ago and now offered from his private collection (you have absolutely known provenance). Has had just a few plays only on an expertly setup high-end audiophile turntable, arm, and cartridge. Has never been exposed to heat or tobacco smoke and always stored vertically in a specially designed record cabinet (Rackit brand) to prevent warpage.
All vinyl sides are cleaned on a VPI HW-16.5 record cleaner. I use the Audio Intelligent "One-Step" formula that requires no rinsing and leaves no residue. It is alcohol free and uses enzyme agents to remove pressing mold-release compounds, fungi & bacteria, finger oils, and many other environmental contaminants. Made with laboratory-grade pure water(50X purer than distilled water). I neutralize residual static charge from both vinyl and new inner sleeve with a Milty Zerostat. I wear nitrile surgical gloves while cleaning and play testing to avoid any chance of transferring finger oils to the vinyl.

Very sensitive play testing was performed straight off my Ayre P-5xe fully balanced phono preamp over Sennheiser HD 600 headphones using a Schiit Audio Valhalla 2 tube headphone amp fitted with NOS Soviet Voskhod matched tubes (see last photo).

Track list
For track listings, please see my attached record label photographs.

I take close-ups under photo lamps so you can see nearly everything I describe in the jacket grading. After cleaning I use very bright light and close visual inspection on each side to assign "visual-only" grades. However, I always perform play testing with thorough coverage on high resolution equipment to assign play grades.
Grading Details
Note: Grading LPs by text characters is subjective and at best are only a guide as no two used records are of exactly the same quality. I do not use "EX" grades as my VG+ is right below "NM-." I never sell a "G" play grade and very rarely ever sell a "VG" play grade. Please, refer to both my photo evidence and detailed descriptions to judge by YOUR OWN grading standards. Questions are always welcome. Play quality is personally most important to me so vinyl visual qualities are separately graded and described in detail for your complete assessment.

Outer Jacket Inspection/grading:
(Front Face/Rear Face)
NM/NM
Still in shrink wrap so the jacket has no wear.

Vinyl Visual Inspection/Grading:
(Side 1/Side 2)
NM/NM
Both sides looked perfect NM.

Play Testing/Grading:
(Side 1/Side 2)
NM/NM
Play testing is always performed after visual inspection and written notes get taken. I spot check each track by taking a few needle drops in each one. On wider tracks I take more play samples to get better coverage. I also listen to the lead-in, lead-out and some transition grooves to get a feel for the overall pressing quality. Anything that I find during visual grading that might cause serious noise always gets special attention. If I digitize my favorites to 96k/24-bit WAV files for archiving I listen to the entire track while recording giving 100% coverage. Below are play testing rundowns of each side.

Side 1 Play
First, I observed that the record sat pretty flat on my TT (I do use a record clamp, but even mild warps always show if present). The lead-in grooves were pretty quiet indicating a good pressing. All tracks on this side had zero vinyl noise on all play samples. Transition grooves were also very quiet. Audio volumes were high, clear, and very detailed. My notes said "eminently NM."

Side 2 Play
This side had a very slight warp that did not affect play at all. The small amount of up/down motion on my arm's head shell was only visionally noticeable when playing the first 3 tracks. All tracks had zero vinyl noise on all samples except T5. In the first few seconds of that track I was able to detect a couple of very tiny HF ticks that were easily within NM volume levels. Overall a very solid NM play side.

This album was played and handled a very few times only when I first bought it. It was preserved with great care ever since and this play test showed it is indistinguishable from the very first play just out of the jacket. So clean and quiet I wish I could grade both sides "Mint." I'm certain that whoever buys it will be totally pleased.

Packaging

• Records are placed outside the jacket to protect against seam splitting.
• Original inner sleeves (if still present) are included separately.
• All records will be placed into new MFSL-style "rice paper" plastic sleeves. Any original sleeves may be holding onto some dust and if paper lined could even be abrasive. This will keep vinyl surfaces clean and well protected during shipping and ultimately during buyer usage.
• Outer jacket is contained in a new clear polyethylene protective sleeve.
• Sent in high quality record mailer with cardboard stiffeners and all corners double-taped.

Shipping

• Shipping will be via USPS Media Mail for a flat charge of $5.00 per single album sale. eBay keeps raising the rates for Media Mail but I still don't pass all of that or any costs for shipping materials on to the buyer. I do try to reduce additional costs for my customers.
• A combined shipping discount is available on multiple sales completed on the same day ($5.00 plus $0.50 for each additional LP).
• If you do buy more than one LP on the same daydo not pay immediately but wait for my all-combined with the discount applied to your total.eBay does give you the option to "Request an invoice from the buyer," but this option is not available on the eBay mobile app. A discount for the combined items will show on that invoice. Then, once payment is received, the items will ship.