SAVOY BROWN BLUES BAND Shake Down RARE ORIG UK 1967 VG+ MONO LP. NICE EXAMPLE.

	£		72
	$		95

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full 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. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: SAVOY BROWN BLUES BAND

Album Title: Shake Down

Producer(s): Mike Vernon. Engineered by Gus Dudgeon.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: I Ain’t Superstitious; Let Me Love You Baby; Black Night; High Rise; Rock Me Baby; I Smell Trouble.

Side 2: Oh! Pretty Woman; Little Girl; The Doormouse Rides the Rails; It’s My Own Fault; Shake ’Em On Down.

Label/Format: Decca with matt surfaces that have a gentle hint of texturing. This also has the deep cut ridge seen on the early originals, and talking of early, this has the ultimate first and prized 1B/1B mother and stamper codes used by Decca.

Label Conditions & Note: Both very clean, still fresh and attractive. Spindle marks are moderate or a little above in number, but these are fine and still quite faint, but easily visible under light. There is no wear around the actual hole. Clearly this record has been played several times, but largely with care as there are no penetrating stylus scratches, so no pops or clicks were noted. However, there is a little gentle surface sound on a couple of the slow quiet tracks that do politely remind of what is being played – a 50-year-old mono record. My play-grade proved enjoyable, and no qualms in offering this blues-rock classic that is becoming increasingly rare, elusive and sort-after. But this one not quite for the more discerning sound purists or those who only demand perfection at any cost.

Catalogue Number: LK 4883

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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: 138 grams. A typical very solid Decca record.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce, Savoy Brown were not big sellers and this their rarest album. Also not issued in the United States. As stated already, this is an ultimate first pressing with the -1A/-1A matrixes, also the 1B/1B mother and stamper codes which were the very first in the Decca pressing sequence, these are seldom seen on any Decca album. As stated further up, this copy has been enjoyed several times, but with care, and still offers very fine sound, but not pristine with some gentle surface sound on the a couple of the quieter songs as played on very sensitive stereo equipment.

Original Year of Release: September 1967

Matrix Nos: ARL-7887-1A / ARL-7888-1A

Mothers / Stampers: 1 B / 1 B

Musicians: Brice Portius – vocals; Kim Simmonds – lead and rhythm guitar; Martin Stone – lead and rhythm guitar; Ray Chappell – bass; Leo Mannings – drums, percussion; Bob Hall – piano.

Brief Info: The 1967 debut album for this English blues-rock band. It started quite a prolific sequence of albums with further releases in 1968, two in 1969 and 1970. The era of British blues bands, but Savoy Brown proved modest sellers with hardly any title entering the album charts. Indeed this one was not even issued in the United States, fans their had to rely on imported copies. Arguably what held them back a little was an ever-changing and inconsistent line-up, but this band made few substandard albums and this one in particular is a gem. Regarded as a blues classic by many, it includes mostly cover songs, and all of the highest quality. Their rarest and most elusive album, hence I have no qualms in offering this very good example that has been played several times. A little quiet gentle surface sound noted when played on my sensitive stereo system on a couple of the quieter songs, but the lack of distortion, pops and clicks are all major pluses. Although a sensitive and critical listener myself, any background sound was acceptable for me, but every listener is different any opinion purely subjective. It does politely remind of age and its more perilous mode, but finding a pristine hardly played copy of this will always prove difficult (and potentially very expensive these days). Not for the audiophile purist, but I feel many fans and collectors will be happy.

Cover Grade and Format: VERY GOOD(+): an single unlaminated format with the front laminated with Clarifoil, this covers all the folds and ends on the back via the spine edge. The main back panel is matt and smooth. Printed and made in England by Robert Stace, includes the polylined inner sleeve.

Cover Front: The laminate retains very fine shine and clarity with minimal hint of dulling, there is a tiny pin hole on the top left corner which hardly registers, it goes through the back side as well. A trait of the time: some retailers actually pinned prices or identification notes to covers, especially non-stock ones ordered specially by a customer. This I know for a fact, because I bought one such record myself back in the late 1960s as a teenager. There is some reasonably light lifting to the spine and bottom edge with some laminate creasing around the same areas, this is mostly quite light. Away from the edges, there is minimal creasing at all and the cover graphic still looks very impressive as-seen with no fading or damage. The right opening edge has darkened a little on the exposed strip where the laminate ends and the corners have fairly lightly rubbed. But make no mistake, this front is still attractive, and many would consider any such wear quite mild on a cover now over 50-years-old. These vintage Decca covers were always made with thin card and very prone to bowing and the laminate was always made more unstable as well. So all considered, I think this one has fared pretty well overall.

Cover Back: The back has a couple or three light blemishes again, yes the same pin hole and a quite small surface tear from a sticker, this on a plain white area near the top left corner, so no disturbance to any text or graphic part, hence again it has only modest visibility. One patchy mark beginning on the left edge moving right has clipped a couple of words but not a great deal else. Any grubbiness little and light, the same for any creasing which has largely been avoided. Overall, the predominately white back is still mainly that – white – not browned, toned or ring worn. Very respectable again to complement the front.

Top Edge: Very thin, so bowing difficult to avoid, this only quite gentle and with hardly any wear to the actual surface at all that retains all its laminate.

Bottom Edge: This is still straight with only a small rub to the right corner end.

Right Edge(s), and Type: This opening edge has only gently thickened as seen viewed end-on. Again fairing well for thin card, both edges are still generally neat, these are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: A little mild bowing apart, hardly unusual for a narrow spine, there is not much else to fault. Still solid with any compression light – the ends are pinched in manufacture, all text present and strong under the clear uncracked laminate.

Corners: Light to moderate (bottom right) tip rubs with mostly fine shape retained. No heavy knocks for sure, any dinks light.

Cover Summary: A rare cover in its own right, this very good example still attractive but with clues to age and storage fragility. Considerably better than many Rolling Stones and Small Faces covers I have seen of the same format and era, and those far more common. Not for cover purists, but for those who have no qualms in being politely reminded of its genuine age, it will please many fans and collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: The polylined Decca lining offers only scant hint of age with any creasing light and the paper only very lightly, naturally darkened. Both window circles pristine, the lining fresh and clear. There are no edge splits or repairs. This is UK patented with ‘Foreign Patents Pending’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: VERY GOOD(+): arguably better. A very fine visual copy that is clean with fine shine and typically solidly pressed by Decca. A copy certainly played several times – that is why records were bought by most people – some mainly light and fine surface marks are seen under bright light. But no penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, little even registers. Visually a fine looking record that should please many collectors, but again not for perfectionists who only want ‘perfect’ at any cost.

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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This blues-rock classic plays up to, and most songs even above it’s highly respectable visual grading with little more to fault than a little gentle surface sound on a couple of the quieter, more sparse instrumentation songs. Many would consider this normal on a 50+-year-old mono record, but I seldom offer any record with any noteworthy surface sound. Overall, this offers strong, distortion-free sound, the frequencies still intact and clear – sound quality is still high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. But clearly a copy played several times, and mono record players tracked at considerable weight – a downforce of 10 grams was recommended – so a little mild ‘wear’ is almost the normal for records that were enjoyed and used a number of times. The lack of pops, clicks and tracking issues* are always considerable pluses for records of this era and mode. With relatively few copies of this around, it is quite likely few available copies will outperform this ultimate first 1B/1B stamper pressing significantly I feel sure. So gentle clues of age and usage, so not for audiophile purists, but many will enjoy this very good copy. Little of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful album – I can easily tolerate a little gentle background sound on quiet tracks – its distortion and repetitive loud clicks I really hate and will rarely, if ever offer records that have them. Such issues cannot be seen, only heard, so that is why I play all records I offer. This could prove difficult to find significantly better and can be recommended to those who do not expect perfection for all songs – but most of them play great.

* 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 2.2 grams.

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 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 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 it’s 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 programs. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 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 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 14­ 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. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

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 withdrawals. 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] = £4.75

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced 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’.