STEELY DAN GREATEST HITS RARE ORIG'78 ABC 2LP SET IN SHRINK w/STICKER BOB LUDWIG

$

90

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 100  LISTED ITEMS

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·      STEELY DAN – GREATEST HITS – ORIGINAL 1978 ABC RECORDS 2-LP SET (DOUBLE ALBUM) AK-1107/2

·      ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·      SPECIALTY RECORDS, OLYPHANT, PA  PRESSING.

·      ORIGINAL YELLOW ABC RECORDS LABEL WITH CONCENTRIC CIRCLES ON THE LABEL, MID-TO-LATE '70s STYLE

·      The bidders should note that this is a rare Bob Ludwig-mastered “hot pressing” of this album, with his initials “RL” (Robert Ludwig) etched in the trail-off vinyl of the disc. All the wonderful elements of Bob Ludwig’s trademark mastering style are here: incredible clarity and balanced channel separation, vivid and spacious “ambience” sound, as well as wide dynamic and frequency range of the sound spectrum.  As is almost always the case with Bob Ludwig’s masterings, the Bob Ludwig-mastered pressings of this album are CONSIDERABLY rarer than the regular, non-Ludwig copies of this album.

·      THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, A RECORD CLUB, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·      ORIGINAL GATEFOLD COVER

·      ORIGINAL "TEXTURED" (NIBBED) COVER.

·      COVER IS STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL SHRINK (CELLOPHANE) WRAP WITH A NIFTY STICKER STILL AFFIXED TO THE WRAP.

·      FAIRLY THICK VINYL PRESSING On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the thickness of the vinyl as 7.

·      THE RECORD HAS 'MASTERDISK' STAMP IN THE TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) AREA, WHICH IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED A PROOF OF AUTHENTICITY OF THE FIRST PRESSING.

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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There is a reason to find your way to this collection, simply beside the fact that it’s a really fine compilation.

All of the songs sound amazingly good, almost elegantly so, go ahead, stand them up against the formal albums released during that time period and treat your ears. The reason for this is none other than Robert Ludwig, who did a stunning job on the remastering of the songs for this double album. You’ll know it’s a Ludwig production from the initials RL right next to the ‘Masterdisc’ stamp on the runout grooves on all four sides.

Ah, yes, I can hear you saying, but what about that Kevin Gray issue. Yes, Kevin Gray did contribute on the MCA rainbow label, but his take is a far cry from what Mr. Ludwig managed to achieve, and there were other subsidiaries who released this collection, so you’re gonna have to be mindful with your selection. And yes, I hear you again, there’s the Gold Steely Dan collection, and it’s superfine, but that’s for another time, right now I’m into Robert Ludwig’s pressing.

This collection has been entirely overlooked for a number of reasons, with the primary reason being that it was thought of as being totally unnecessary at the time of its release. This release was no doubt the last Steely Dan album to encompass the original master tapes, and who knows if they even exist today, or what state of decomposition we might find them in. Whatever the source tape at the time, and however it was collected and assembled, the sonics are first rate, the bass dances with a superb vitality, the vocals ranges are extended and the guitars seem ever present, giving anyone with a turntable a reason to find this assemblage, where the bandwidth of the sound nearly causes the music to erupt from your speakers. If I may be so bold, this collection stands toe to toe with what Cisco did with the it’s remastering of Aja, a sonic feat nonpareil.

Of course there’s the snob appeal, with those who think they’re true fans, because true fans don’t do greatest hits, fan track through the original albums … but you know, sometimes I just wanna hear the hits, it’s no crime, I’ve got all the albums, I’m a true believer and I think this bit of wax is top shelf. At the time, the album included tracks from the Dan’s first six studio albums, including the previously unreleased number “Here At The Western World,” recorded during the The Royal Scam sessions, yet never included. These greatest hit packages can be iffy, as they often don’t capture the essence of a band, or failing that, they encompass too much, as bands move through changes like anyone else, so it’s refreshing to have this collection from the early years.

Now, the best chance for obtaining one of the Robert Ludwig masters is to find one with the gatefold jacket, along with the yellow ABC Record label, and then as I noted, look for that RL stamping on the runout groove.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ANONYMOUS ONLINE REVIEW)

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·      CONDITION:

·      THE RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)         WE GRADE THE VINYL  AS  NEAR MINT. Some VERY LIGHT AND SUPERFICIAL abrasions – mostly sleeve scuffs -  are (barely) visible, but are probably inaudible,  and do not affect visual integrity or beauty of the vinyl. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The records are pressed on a RELATIVELY  thick, inflexible vinyl. This is NOT a thin, flimsy ('dynaflex' type),  vinyl, but not the thickest, most rigid vinyl, either.

(c)         The records come in their original, custom, inner sleeves, which are UNIQUE to this album.

(d)         Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

·      THE COVER

COVER IS STRONG NEAR MINT,  STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL ►SHRINK WRAP

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-       Minor shelf wear noted on the opening side (nothing significant)

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

We offer three postage rates for domestic orders: USPS Media Mail, USPS Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail and three rates for international shipments:  USPS First Class, USPS Priority International Mail, and USPS Express International Mail (in a small number of cases, we will, at our discretion and for purely technical reasons, substitute First Class Mail with eBay's Global Shipping, which is fundamentally the same service at about the same cost). INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND (BUT DO NOT INSIST) that you select USPS International Priority Mail when making a payment.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from one region of  the world to another. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates, please click on " Shipping, returns, and payments" tab in the header of our listing.

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CRITICALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

(A) All orders valued at $50.00 or more will be shipped fully insured against loss, damage or theft by ShipCover, eBay's contracted insurer, at our expense (B) Yes, we do combine items into a single shipment; in order to enable this feature, the winning bidders should WAIT until their last item of interest ends and ONLY THEN make a payment. Doing otherwise will result in multiple shipments to the same customer and forfeiture of multiple shipping charges already paid. (C) Because we do not play-grade our items, we do not know how the purchased item will play on the buyer's equipment. We can only make reasonable inference on the record's playing condition based on its visual appearance. (D) This seller will NOT cancel erroneous, frivolous and prank bids. The bidders can do so on their own, by visiting eBay's Site Map, then clicking on Bid Retractions link. (E) This seller does not specifically grade or describe certain items, such as: shrink (cellophane) wrap and accompanying extras (inserts, booklets, etc.); however, the presence of these items WILL be noted and accompanied by the gallery photo(s). (F) Please do not submit any bids on our items if you have insufficient user history. (G) Other than in very rare justified cases, failure to pay for the item you won amounts to a fraud and will result in a permanent ban on bidding on our future listings. (H) We will NEVER deliberately, knowingly or willingly provide a false, deceitful or misleading information.

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE (POSTAGE INCLUDED) WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED; STILL SEALED ITEMS MUST BE RETURNED SEALED IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND.   NO EXCEPTIONS!

FINE (BUT IMPORTANT!) PRINT

 (1) The year indicated in the title bar is the year of the original release,  NOT necessarily the year of the actual pressing; for the actual generation of the pressing, please see our item description (top section, the text in red letters). (2) Please do NOT bid based on the title bar, subtitle bar or item specifics box alone; instead, please read the entire description before bidding; (3) Absolutely NO order cancellations after the auction closes. ever, under any circumstances. We can ONLY cancel bids before the item closes. (4) We are unable to provide matrix-, stamper- or other pressing  information in the final 24 hours of the auction. (5) All disagreements and miscommunications can be - and will only be - solved in a civil and mutually respectful manner; please avoid puerile, offensive, abrasive or menacing language (6) This seller will accommodate all reasonable requests and - unless seriously molested - is generally a flexible, pragmatic and agreeable person.

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