STRAWBS - Dragonfly - RARE UK 1970 TEST PRESS with SUPERB SOUND & LOVELY COVER.

	£		26
	$		34

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: STRAWBS

Album Title: Dragonfly

Producer & Engineer: Tony Visconti

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Weary Song; Dragonfly; I Turned My Face Into the Wind; Josephine, For Better or For Worse; Another Day.

Side 2: ’Til the Sun Comes Shining Through; Young Man; The Vision of the Lady of the Lake; Close Your Eyes.

Label/Format: A&M – Ultra rare, possibly unique white label Test pressing with details written by hand in the factory. (please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both practically as made with just one spindle mark on side two.

Cat Number: AMLS 970

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 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: 140 grams. Around or above average for it’s era.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: First issues of this album are scarce. Ultimate first pressed Test pressings are beyond rare. Few were made, even fewer left the factories. A small few were given to staff or band members and these white label copies are far rarer than demo or ‘factory samples’. This lovely item would have been one of the very first ever pressed, no doubt about. Highly sort-after examples for the specialist and connoisseur collector.

Original Year of Release: 1970.

Matrix Nos: AMLS 970 A-1 / AMLS 970 B-1

Stamper Codes: A 1 / A 1

The Band: David Cousins - vocals, acoustic guitar; piano, dulcimer, Chinese piano, percussion; Tony Hooper - vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, tambourine, percussion; Ron Chesterman - double bass.

Other Musicians: Clare Deniz - cello; Tony Visconti - recorder; Bjarne Rostvold - drums; Rick Wakeman - piano; Paul Brett - lead guitar.

Brief Info: Second and probably the most elusive album in their fine catalogue. This is pure quality folk-rock and one of the finest exponents of the genre. Beautifully packaged, this cover is well worthy of another look, this is really hard to find with a still white front with little wear. Minor rub traces and gentle darkening near the edges almost the least to be expected, the large insect is simply gorgeous with no wear to the hugely impressive graphic. The very dark back, arguably even more prone to wear has little either. Early ‘shop’ copies includes an insert, this does not have it. This is an ultimate first pressed white label Test pressing, and although it has a few light surface marks, it plays to near perfection with superb detail and clarity the earliest pressings really offer. The one-and-only owner worked in the record industry for several years including a stint at Island. This immensely rare item could be unique and few, if any will ever be offered again. Do not miss this exceedingly rare opportunity.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: or very close to. Delicate, being a single unlaminated format with moderate and pronounced texturing on both sides. Criss-cross deeper texturing than later printings that had a different shallower pattern. The detail on this beautiful dragonfly is quite stunning. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press. Includes the basic plain white inner sleeve.

Cover Front: A striking and beautiful cover and nice to have one available with a Test Pressing. The dragonfly itself is totally unworn with deep, unfaded colour and freshness. The white areas are largely clean with minimal traces of grubbiness. A light rub near the top edge and an even lesser one near the bottom and traces only near the sides. Hardly creased with just a tiny nick on the right edge (look hard). A cover notoriously wear-prone and seldom seen this nice.

Cover Back: Even more wear prone being dark and textured. Again this looks real nice with any mild rubbing mostly confined to the top and bottom areas with only a little creasing near the bottom left corner. The lack of heavy penetrating ringwear is a major plus, this has hardly a trace. Both sides will prove immensely difficult to find better

Top Edge: Any rubbing is light, only gently darkened on a white surface.

Bottom Edge: Similar again.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mainly sharp with little wear and guaranteed untrimmed. A tiny nick burr on front right as mentioned already, any thickening very light.

Spine and Text: Solid, quite straight with some compression in places. Most of the text is present with just a little erosion of a couple of letters.

Corners: Moderate tip rubs with the odd tiny tip crease. Very fine shape is retained with no major knocks, maybe one or two minor dinks being critical.

Cover Summary: Always a difficult and challenging cover, rarely seen devoid of significant grubbiness or ringwear. This one looks really lovely, not perfect, but it will take an exceptional example to better it to any major degree. NO insert with the Test pressing but the original plain white unlined is included that has darkened with age but fine that apart with no edge splits.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: with small few light surface marks/scuffs that have NO sound. Overall, a very fine visual copy that is clean with fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy that plays beautifully with no pressing sounds and lovely clear sound with no distortion or groove wear, never take that for granted on ‘Mustard label era’ A&M records. I have heard several titles with significant pressings sounds and even distortion, the invisible enemy of the vinyl collector, hence play-grading essential. Test records often have marks, some left lying around the factory and not treated with due respect. This is still a lovely looking record, make no mistake, I am certain it’s been hardly played, it should please many collectors.

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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This very rare A1/A1 Test Pressing plays very impressively with hardly anything to fault. The sound is strong and distortion-free with all frequencies sharp and clear. Sound quality is high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. At times delicate with some quiet passages but all plays cleanly with no tracking issues*. A pleasure to hear such a lovely copy, few examples will better this significantly I feel sure. Sound purists with know already the most detail and audio quality is gleaned from the earliest pressings and no copy made is earlier than this one. Rarely do these surface and it will prove very difficult to find significantly better and is strongly recommended. If white label copies are your thing, do not lose this special copy.

* 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 programmes. 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 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). 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’.