Sandy Denny North Star Grassman & The Ravens 1971 UK LP ILPS 9165 1st Press NM

$

25

• Sandy Denny.
• The North Star Grassman and The Ravens.
• Island ILPS 9165.
• Original 1971 Matte Finish Gatefold.
• UK First Pressing (based on Discogs identifiers).
• Recorded By John Wood (Nick Drake's engineer) at Sound Techniques, London.
• Sterling Sound lacquer cutting.
• Seller Is The Original And Sole Owner.

Item Details
Recorded: March - May 1971 By John Wood at Sound Techniques and Island Studios
Produced By: Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson
Manufactured in: United Kingdom
Mastered At: Sterling Sound, New York, NY
Lacquer Cut By: Lee Hulko (LH on matrix)
Original Issue: September, 1971
This Issue: 1971
Label: Island Records Ltd. ILPS 9165
Runout Deadwax Matrix Numbers:
Side 1: (stamp:) STERLING (etch:) LH (stamp:) ILPS 9165A-1U (etch:) R
Side 2: (stamp:) STERLING (etch:) LH (stamp:) ILPS 9165B-1U (etch:) L
Was bought new by this seller many years ago and now offered from his private collection (you have absolutely known provenance). Has had limited plays only on an expertly setup high-end audiophile turntable, arm, and cartridge. Has never been exposed to heat or tobacco smoke and always stored vertically in a specially designed record cabinet (Rackit) to prevent warpage.
Was cleaned on a VPI HW 16 with Audio Intelligent solutions and ultra-pure water rinse (50X purer than distilled water) before my pre-sale sound check. I wear nitrile surgical gloves while cleaning and play testing to avoid any chance of transferring finger oils to the vinyl.
Very sensitive play testing was performed straight off my Ayre P-5xe fully balanced phono preamp over Sennheiser HD 600 headphones using a Schiit Audio Valhalla 2 tube headphone amp fitted with Voskhod Soviet matched tubes (see last photo).
Track list
1: Late November, Blackwaterside, The Sea Captain, Down In The Flood, John The Gun.

2: Next Time Around, The Optimist, Let's Jump The Broomstick, Wretched Wilbur, The North Star Grassman And The Ravens.

I never take "distant" photos nor the so-prevalent type with the LP sticking halfway out of the jacket. I take close-ups under photo lamps so you can see nearly everything I describe in the jacket grading. It is virtually impossible to know the true vinyl condition from any photograph. That takes very bright and close visual inspection PLUS play testing with thorough coverage on high resolution equipment.
Grading Details
Note: Record grading by text characters is subjective and does not fully describe quality levels. Please see photos and my detailed descriptions below.

Outer Jacket Inspection:
NM-/VG++
The first impression of a buyer will likely be that the jacket looks like it hasn't aged a day since 1971. But looking more closely at the front cover under very bright light and tilted correctly one may notice the lightest haze of some ring wear at the top and bottom front. However the overall appearance is that the matte finish is very smooth and velvety. The rear jacket surface has more noticeable surface rubbing from sliding against other LPs during shelving. This wear is limited to the upper back top, left corner, and less so on the bottom. The upper spine corner has noticeable rubbing wear with very light and limited rubbing on the spine and lower edge. I do think that overall this copy is remarkably preserved for a 50 year old release.

Vinyl visual inspection:
After cleaning, surface visuals were inspected under high intensity halogen light. I rotated and tilted the record in multiple angles with my eyes a few inches away from the vinyl. Side 1 looked perfect to my eyes. Side 2 had some very fine  trails of rainbow reflection here and there that appeared to be simply from removal and insertion polishing by the original sleeve.

Play Testing:
NM/NM
Extensive play testing was performed after visual inspection. I listened to the beginning, middle, and end of each track for a few minutes on each needle drop. I also listened to all lead-in, lead-out and transition grooves between each track. Some tracks were played all the way thru when digitizing my favorites to 192k/24-bit WAV files. Continuous written notes were taken. Here is rundown of each side from my notes.

Side 1 Play
It had been so long since I played this LP that I wasn't sure about how it would sound. I was pleasantly surprised that only once in a while did I hear any light ticks. I just didn't hear much noise in the transition grooves showing me that this pressing has a pretty low vinyl noise floor. It sounded more fresh than my memory of it. I think my cleaning may have improved the listening quality. On T1, my notes described the vinyl background as having "mild random low energy tiny ticks." As the tracks advanced the vinyl seemed to get even quieter. T2 is one of the strongest tracks by way of Sandy's singing and Richard Thompson's superlative electric guitar. Richard's electric work is perfect on the whole album and really adds to the listening enjoyment. Other favorite tracks on this side were T3 with a really infectious rhythm. I felt that T5: "John The Gun" was my top favorite of Side 1. Its also a classic Fairport Convention tune.

Side 2 Play
I have to give Side 2 the edge in pressing quality as it just seemed even quieter than the excellent Side 1. Its the difference from soft ticks heard once in a while compared to "rarely." The transition groove supported that feeling because they were nearly dead quiet. T1 has wonderful strings by Harry Robinson who also arranged for Nick Drake. T3 was another standout for me, as it also had a real infectious beat. T5, the title track is probably the best one of all thanks to Sandy's writing and her performance. The supporting musicians made it special. I have to make note of a very unique instrument I never heard before called a "flute organ." I fully enjoyed its contribution to this song.

Sterling Sound did a great job of mastering the vinyl, John Wood delivered another quality recording at his legendary Sound Techniques studio, and it all came together as a much treasured addition to Sandy's lifetime body of work.

Packaging

• Record will be placed outside the jacket to protect against seam splitting.
• Original inner sleeve is included separately.
• Record has been placed into a new "rice paper" sleeve, as the original, even if plastic lined, may be holding onto some dust. This will keep vinyl surfaces clean during shipping and ultimate buyer usage.
• Outer jacket is contained in a new clear polyethylene protective sleeve.
• Sent in good quality record mailer with cardboard stiffeners.

Shipping

• Shipping will be via USPS Media Mail for a flat charge of $3.98 per single album sale.
• A combined shipping discount is available on multiple sales completed on the same day($3.98 plus $0.50 for each additional LP).
• If you do buy more than one LP  on the same daydo not pay immediately but wait for my all-combined invoice. A discount for the combined items will show on that invoice. Then, once payment is received, the items will ship.