SUPERTRAMP Crime of the Century ORIG UK 1974 NEAR MINT 'ALLEN' LP & LAMINATED.

	£		28
	$		37

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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

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. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: SUPERTRAMP

Album Title: Crime of the Century

Producer(s): Ken Scott & Supertramp

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: School; Bloody Well Right; Hide in Your Shell; Asylum.

Side 2: Dreamer; Rudy; If Everyone Was Listening; Crime of the Century.

Label/Format: A&M with matt quite smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with hardly a spindle trace to be seen.

Catalogue Number: AMLS 68258

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps or Lateral Movement: Assume all records I offer have no significant warping or lateral movement to cause sound or tracking issues. All should play fine even on budget turntables.

Weight of this Record: 122 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Early issues with the fully laminated cover (as here) are more elusive. When quickly reprinted to meet demand, the laminate was omitted for a fully matt cover.

Original Year of Release: 1974

Matrix Nos: AMLS 68258 A-7 / AMLS 68258 B 11

Run-Out Text: ALLEN / ALLEN [this cut often regarded to having the very best audio quality]

Musicians: Rick Davies – lead & backing vocals, acoustic piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond organ, harmonica, Moog synthesiser, string synthesiser; Roger Hodgson – lead & backing vocals, electric guitars, 12-string acoustic guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano; John Anthony Helliwell – saxophones, clarinet, backing vocals, glass harp and celesta; Dougie Thomson – bass guitar; Bob C. Benberg – drums, percussion.

Brief Info: The band’s third album and the one that really got them noticed after the first two sold quite poorly. The hit single ‘Dreamer’ promoted the album well and it proved their major breakthrough. This highly justified for a magnificent album that was superbly recorded and produced. Another that proved a favourite for hi-fi fans who wanted to test their equipment, this has some lovely punchy bass-lines and detail. Although not a rare album, but finding a hardly played early copy with very shiny fully laminated cover manufactured by MacNeill Press is less easy. Often pressing quality is an issue, but this ‘ALLEN’ cut copy plays superbly with hardly anything to fault and devoid of crackle and loud pressing noises that ruin many copies, this was a delight to play-grade.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: a fully laminated single format. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press, includes the graphic/lyric insert and white inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: This, the laminated version will always look way nicer than the standard matt version and both retain excellent shine and clarity with any dulling light around the rim mostly seen under light. Quite fine lifting on the front spine edge that few seem to avoid with minimal amount on the back. A surface laminate crease on the back left, few others which are very fine and light. So overall, both surfaces remain impressive.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both straight, smooth and unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Some patchy quite mild thickening as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Solid and thin, but still quite straight with patchy quite mild compression here-and-there. The text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny with better than excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this revealing 1970’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find much better. The original laminated version blows away the more common matt version, especially when seen with so few issues. This attractive item should please many collectors.

The Lyric Insert: EXCELLENT(++): a single matt sheet, printed both sides. No creasing or tears, clean and still fresh, any traces of handling gentle, little and light.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(–): a basic plain solid unlined white inner with little creasing, still reasonably fresh but a split on one edge and a trace on the bottom.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(–): a superb visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy appearing hardly played on all the evidence with any surface traces minuscule, even viewed under bright light. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most 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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This superb prog-rock classic plays up to it’s 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 are minimal indeed and this is a very clean pressing with no tracking issues*. So many of these are ruined by considerable surface noise and crackle which this has avoided. Certainly one of the best copies I have heard with many often proving major disappointments. I have always found the ‘ALLEN’ cut copies the best and most reliable, they seem to have a wider dynamic range in the bass and generally cleaner sound. A beautifully produced and recorded album with superb dynamics and details, this copy does it strong justice. Few available copies will outperform this early pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Little of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this popular classic. It will prove difficult 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 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 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 Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.