STRAY (1st Album) RARER ORIG UK 1970 A1/B1 1st TRANSATLANTIC PRESS, SUPER SOUND.

	£		64
	$		85

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: STRAY

Album Title: Stray

Producer: Hugh Murphy

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: All in Your Mind; Taken All the Good Things; Around the World in Eighty Days; Time Machine.

Side 2: Only What You Make It; Yesterdays Promises; Move On; In Reverse/Some Say.

Label/Format: Transatlantic – first UK pressing purple and white format labels, these have matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive, one faint minor handling trace on side two, but look hard. Any of the very few spindle marks are fine and faint, only lighting showing under angled light.

Cat Number: TRA 216

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: 131 grams. A very good weight for this one, the later pressings on the globe format label were invariably thinner.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce, and rarer as a first issue. Notoriously difficult with a decent cover, the die-cut windows on the front more often seen badly torn, often with pieces missing altogether.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: TRA 216 A1 / TRA 216 B1 (stampers are M and R)

Musicians: Stephen Gadd - vocals; Derek Bromham - guitar; Gary Giles - bass; Richard Cole - drums.

Brief Artist & Album Info: It seems at last this band are getting the recognition they deserve for some very fine albums - the early material is superb and this debut album goes beyond that - it’s pure brilliant. I have to confess to missing out on this band all those years ago myself. Put simply, this is a guitar rock classic, with its very distinctive die-cut cover, it should not have been missed by so many when first issued – hands up – guilty. Maybe being issued on a slightly more specialist label – Transatlantic was better known for folk music – but did occasionally offer a few diverse artists. Even Zappa and the Mothers of Invention made one appearance on it with their classic Uncle Meat. Stray play rock, with progressive overtones, and brilliantly too. This is a mini-classic with flowing guitars, fine vocals and real melody, even catchy at times. Possibly difficult to pigeon-hole and not finding the right audience, this falls somewhere between rock and glam, this would not have helped sales. This a first issue, the record appearing little played and playing very well. The delicate flimsy front cover, made all the more so with its die-cut windows to spell-out the band name (and title). This has a little wear, and a couple of creases to the card link between the ‘S’ and ‘R’, but intact and that apart, still neat. So a fine first issue example of what I consider to be a classic.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(–): an unlaminated gatefold format with matt surfaces that have a very gentle hint of texturing. The front is made with only single thickness card, thus with five die-cut windows, it rarely escapes major damage with tearing and creasing often rife. Chunks missing or crudely repaired are almost the norm. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press Ltd. The plain white inner sleeve is also included.

Cover Front: The ‘STRAY’ cut-out windows are neat, crisp and intact. Two creases to the areas mentioned above, so not perfect, and so few ever will be. I have photographed both front and back of these areas in close-up. The front itself has some rubbing, a little grubbiness and a fine crease near the right edge on the lower half, this shows little. A ruthless and difficult front, few survive even half this good. Not for purists, but many, especially those who know how difficult this cover is, will be happy.

Cover Back: A little patchy grubbiness on the white areas, but this has fared well with any real wear little and light. Also avoiding creasing and not sticker issues. Set-off from other covers will happen, not all collectors kept covers in protective sleeves.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The right side with artwork looks impressive with little to fault, any rub traces tiny and light. The left white side has traces of set-off where the ink from the right rests upon it when closed, this is very light indeed put into context, and near impossible to avoid totally. A couple or three gentle creases apart, the reverse side die-cut windows are very impressive, intact and neat as seen.

Top Edges: Still sharp, flat and flush, little wear on these.

Bottom Edges: The main fold has rubbed, again the front has little wear and is mostly flat.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The single thickness front is clean, sharp with again minimal hint of thickening or burring – again mainly flat, a little gentle ‘curl’ near the corners, again so hard to avoid totally. Both back edges are sharp with minimal thickening, a tiny burr on the back near the bottom. Record enters on these back edges, all are guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: A single thickness spine, so again fragile and few will escape wear and damage. This one solid, still quite upright, and certainly not flattened, any bowing light. A gentle tilt to right and some fairly mild grubbiness to the white surface. Gentle hint of rubbing to the bottom fold, but the text matter is generally intact and near fully present as seen.

Corners: Light to moderate tip rubbing, but being white, this has less visual impact. Fine shape is retained without any bashes, any dinking evidence little.

Cover Summary: A very respectable all-round example of this very delicate and fragile early 1970’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find better. This has far more positives than negatives, but not for purists. However first issue records found with a cover better will always be a challenge to find.

The Inner Sleeve: VERY GOOD(+): a plain white unlined inner gently aged with a small tear on the bottom edge. All others intact, minimal creasing.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: with only very fine and faint, largely wispy surface marks seen under bright angled light. I am sure this has been played little and a lovely looking copy. Retaining excellent shine and impressive audio quality, one to 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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant guitar-driven album plays even above its high visual grading with little to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds very little, gentle and light with no tracking issues*, this was a very enjoyable play-grade. The odd sporadic tick so hard to avoid totally. Few available first issue Transatlantic copies will better this I feel sure Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well handled Little of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this quality record. It will prove difficult indeed to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* 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’.