TEN YEARS AFTER Cricklewood Green Orig UK 69 1st Press.

	£		79
	$		105

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: TEN YEARS AFTER

Album Title: Cricklewood Green.

Producer(s): Ten Years After.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Sugar the Road; Working on the Road; 50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain; Year 3,000 Blues.

Side 2: Me and My Baby; Love Like a Man; Circles; As the Sun Still Burns Away.

Label/Format: Deram – (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both little short of immaculate: ultra clean, fresh and attractive with just a couple of tiny and super-faint spindle traces. All evidence, including supreme sound quality, suggests barely any usage or handling at all.

Cat Number: SML 1065.

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: 150 grams. A typical high quality heavy pressed Deram/Decca record.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rare as a genuine first pressing. In this condition, even rarer. This includes the peep-hole era (yes this was also issued in mono) cover with the very wide spine (as seen in close-up). This one in superb condition and it’s very prone to all forms of wear being unprotected and quite flimsy. Check out too the superb inside gatefold artwork, here looking magnificent and well up to being photographed in close-up to see more clearly. Finding the first matrix and 1 / 1 mothers is hugely difficult enough, let alone hardly played and offering pristine sound throughout. It even includes it’s original polylined inner that is date-coded 8-70, this too in fine condition. Last, but hardly least, this INCLUDES the UK-PRINTED POSTER and it’s UNMOUNTED and practically pristine. And what a beauty it is too, most of these are offered without it and try to find a much cleaner, fresher example anywhere. This superb and rare insert looks practically untouched and could almost pass for new. Even the back (as seen on my picture) is undarkened, toned or aged. A stunning all-round copy in archive type condition, even the discerning collectors reading this will enjoy this one I feel sure. Genuine complete examples of this album right down to the inner sleeve are rare, make no mistake.

Original Year of Release: April 1970

Matrix Nos: XZAL-9583.P-1W / XZAL-9584.P-1W

Mothers / Stampers: 1 CH / 1 UC

Musicians: Alvin Lee - guitar, vocals; Leo Lyons - bass; Ric Lee - drums; Chick Churchill - organ.

Brief Info: Classic blues-based rock from the Alvin Lee-fronted band, this was their fifth album and one of their very best. A beautifully recorded and engineered album that captures Lee’s amazing, and fast, guitar-work perfectly. It proved to be the last they issued in mono too, but the stereo version gives the best effects by far here and it will seldom be heard better or cleaner than on this rarer first issue. How many times do you see this title offered in scuffy, tired-looking conditions and in most cases, without the superb Alvin Lee poster? This one here a UK-printed original that came with album for a brief while. Most were wall-mounted, torn down and discarded, or at least damaged before being inserted back into the cover. This gem is almost like new and the proof the UK printing is seen on the bottom front edge with all the Deram information. For fans of this legendary band and guitarist, an unmissable example that sets the bar very high indeed.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High: made with quite thin and very matt card. The original spine is thick which makes this already flimsy cover even more vulnerable. Most of the wide spines get crushed or flattened, few will remain erect and not suffer considerble rubbing and grubbiness. Well this one has minimal rubbing with just a couple or three tiny surface chips near the top fold, still erect and solid with no crushing at all (proof is seen on my close-up spine picture with the text seen totally unworn). The mono/stereo peep-hole is also pristine, not so easy on the thinner sleeves either. Such covers are a little special when seen so fresh and fine and never to be dismissed lightly.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT++: this being conservative and critical. Almost an unbelieveable grading to even consider on such a fragile, but beautiful cover. An unlaminated, gatefold format with very flatt matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse International Ltd, this one includes the very thick spine and early mono-stereo peep hole on the back. This one is filled in blue by the inner denoting a stereo copy, the original early inner being date coded 8-70.

Cover Front: Little short of as made and looking in near breathtaking condition. Blemishes? two ultra fine and faint surface hairline creases on the spine that barely even show and a tiny trace of tip rubbing. One small rub on the spine fold and that’s about it – incredible – this is practically unmarked, ultra clean and fresh. One of the finest you will find and discerning collectors, please apply.

Cover Back: The back is pretty much the same again, the lack of ringwear is a massive plus on this very vulnerable back.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Stunning artwork that will rarely be seen better. Any marks on this spread are tiny, few and faint. These ultra thick wide spine covers, usually develop a secondary crease near the folds, This one has minimal traces at all and again, this will prove hard to find much better.

Top Edges: Both practically as made and very straight too.

Bottom Edges: A little light and patchy rubbing that shows little.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp, the front very sharp and unworn. The back entrance has very slightly thickened (being critical), guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: This is very wide and massively prone to all forms of wear and damage. This one still looks fantastic being solid, straight, upright and uncrushed or uncompressed. Folded square, both right edges meet up perfectly together and parallel. All text is perfect and graphic is unworn with just a couple or three small rubs or chips near the top fold. This in remarkable condition for such a fragile spine, the main folds are in superb condition with practically all ink unrubbed and intact. You could literally go ten years after seeing this to find one better – fact.

Corners: A little tip and minor corner rubbing but very fine to excellent shape is retained. Being a generally light coloured cover, any small rubs have little visual impact or even visibility.

Cover Summary: A very impressive all-round example of this ultra delicate early 70’s cover, one that will prove immensely difficult to find much better. Most of these I have seen have not even come close to this (and rarely include the poster or 1 /1 matrixes and stampers. This beautiful item should please most-all collectors, even the more discerning.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: the blue Decca-style heavyweight inner is date-coded 8-70 and is guaranteed the original one that came with the record. Being blue, it fills the cover’s rear peep-hole to denote a stereo copy (monos were red). This has lightly aged with some glue darkening on the seams that remain unsplit (with no repairs). Some general, mainly quite modest discolouration and two corner creases. Both the window circles are immaculately crisp and sharp and the lining ultra clear and fresh looking with only minor crinkle.

The ‘Alvin Lee’ Poster: PRACTICALLY MINT: yes true. A stunning UK-printed original (as printed on the front), that is unmounted e.g. no pin-holes or tape marks. As clean and fresh and unaged as a brand new one, even the back being white and totally devoid of toning, marks or discolouration. This has a very flat matt finish making the black areas almost sponge-like for fingermarks. This one has barely any traces of such, proving beyond any doubt, this one has hardly been touched. Knowing this poster and it’s intolerance of handling, I made sure any contact with my fingers was avoided (especially as this listing was compiled in incredibly humid conditions), I put a very clean cloth between poster and hand contact. Any slight perspiration or greasiness on the hands means this will transferred to the clinically revealing surface of this rare poster, once applied, nigh-on impossible to remove of course. So in 41 years, this stunning, near pristine poster has barely been touched and has probably not been unfolded or seen light-of-day for decades. An iconic poster of Alvin Lee, few would have avoided being wall-mounted, damaged, torn or aged – this is one time has forgotten. All folds unweakened with no stressing at all, all edges razor-sharpe. Any cornertip creasing, tiny and faint. A beautiful example that will delight fans of this album and band – even the era itself. Original posters are now even more collectable than the records themselves these days – the albums can be found fairly easily (albit conditions being a factor of course), but original inserts and posters are a far different matter. This will prove near impossible to find better or likely again so attractive.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a super visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface marks few, very light and faint as seen under angled light. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors again.

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 lovely very early pressed record plays even above it’s high visual grading with nothing to fault. 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 barely even registered and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this very early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. An exceptional all-round complete original that sets a very high standard.

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver 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 and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 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. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. 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). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (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’.