THE DOORS (1st) RARE ORIG UK MONO + UK LAMINATED COVER.

	£		317
	$		420

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options.

Artist or Band: THE DOORS

Album Title: The Doors

Producer(s): Paul A. Rothchild.

Engineer(s): Bruce Botnick.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Break on Through (To the Other Side); Soul Kitchen; The Crystal Ship; Twentieth Century Fox; Alabama Sony (Whisky Bar); Light My Fire.

Side 2:Back Door Man; I Looked At You; End of the Night; Take It As It Comes; The End.

Label/Format: Elektra – Original rough textured orange with black text format.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only very light, few and faint spindle marks. No wear around the hole areas, another classic album with few plays.

Cat Number: EKL 4007.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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. An impressive weight for this one.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Quite rare: and UK mono examples with the original UK laminated cover are particularly cherished. So many UK copies had the imported thick card and unlaminated US cover – they always wear badly and hardly even compare to this beautiful laminated version. Clean sounding mono originals are the connoisseur’s choice and rarely do they get seen so clean. A difficult record, like Love’s ‘Forever Changes’, also on Elektra, this was not recorded loud. Hence more volume is needed to enjoy it more, which means of course, any sound blemishes are amplified still higher. Glad to state this lovely has very few at all, and overall, has to be the cleanest copy mono copy I have had for some considerable time. The only minor blemish are a half dozen light clicks near the end of ‘The End’, but little else. A record that has always been very difficult to find clean, for those who did buy it initially, most played it to destruction. This is a rare mono original that can be enjoyed to utmost and the mono presentation of the music is quite different from the more familiar stereo.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: EKL 4007 A 1 (COL) / EKL-4007 B 1 (COL)

Muscians: Jim Morrison - vocals; Ray Manzarek - organ, piano, bass; Robby Kreiger - guitar; John Densmore - drums.

Brief Info: To offer one of my favourite album ever as a first press UK mono is a privilege. This gives pleasure just to view and hold - and that’s before listening to it. So hard to find with the UK fully laminated cover and with a record clearly little played. One of the most astonishing debut albums ever made and sounding very different with the original mono mix. Every song a classic and including their most familiar and famous song in ‘Light My Fire’ – here in full version of course. It introduced the world to Jim Morrison – the ‘Lizard King’, poet and vocalist and soon to become one of rock’s greatest icons. His expressive and powerful voice for me has rarely been equalled and even to this day, long after his untimely and premature death, his name lives on. ‘The End’, the long final track, so brilliantly used in the 1979 Francis Ford Coppola movie ‘Apocolypse Now’, is almost legendary and shows the band’s maturity was way beyond their years. Intense and captivating, this gives me that rare ‘tingle factor’ that only the most powerful and brilliant music ever can. Has such a powerful song ever been included on any debut album ever (or on any album come to that?) An album of genius with sublime music and vocals, also strongly recorded, but typically on Elektra not too loudly. Strangely, it failed to sell well in the UK and the earliest British pressings are never easy to find – the mono mix is the most prized and the most difficult to find in top playing conditions. This has little to fault and offers focused, clear and noise-free audio quality. Just the few light clicks (around six) near the end of ‘The End’, which cannot be considered bad on a 44-year-old mono record I feel. The cover is fabulous as I hope my pictures show. What a difference laminate makes to this, just look at the detail, colour and definition. A very strong example of one of the greatest albums ever made – the perfect blend of rock and underground music – The Doors were beyond special and totally unique.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: but this is being very conservative because this stunning cover has barely any trace of real wear. All is explained in my next paragraph down. A single format and fully laminated. This has the correct EKL mono Cat. No. It was printed and made in England by Polydor Records Ltd, London.

Lamination – Front & Back: The only reason for grading this beautiful cover down from what can be argued as EX(++) is the one-and-only original owner protected the edges with clear tape. Being laminated, this was very easy to remove and with normal viewing, this has left little evidence of ever being there. Only under angled light can a very faint end line be seen and inside the storage area the tell-tale darkening of the card (but who wants to peer inside a record cover?). The only other blemish of note is a natural adhesion surface crease on the front below and left of Morrison’s eye. This apart, a wonderful and incredibly fresh cover that simply gleams with a mirror-like shine and clarity. I have seldom seen a 1960s cover with a more powerful ice-like shine, this is truly incredible, and of course, the clear tape has protected the edges all these years so they still look almost as good as new. With utmost scrutiny under light, the faintest of evidence of where the tape once was but the lack of marks to the laminate in terms of scuffs and even hairlines is almost remarkable. The only area of non-adhesion, as per usual is on the spine edge, but here only one modest blister on the front at the bottom and this has only mild visibility. The lack friction rubs or dulling is incredible and what a difference that makes – this fully laminated UK mono cover simply blows away any non-laminated version. The one surface crease on Morrisons face could be an issue for the highly discerning purist, but the positives far outweigh this I feel and this totally age defying and classic cover will prove immensely difficult to find better overall and it really does look lovely.

Top Edge: As made – the tape did exactly was it was applied for and it’s (careful) removal has caused no issues here.

Bottom Edge: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, crisp and ultra sharp, a superb edge and truly I cannot imagine finding one better. The ultra careful removal of the take has NOT affected the exposed card where the laminate ends short of full width on both sides. But it has protected the delicate opening edges to the utmost perfection, I guarantee these have not been trimmed or enhanced in any way but have simply been left protected all these years.

Spine and Text: Apart from some mildish patch compression, the spine is also in very fine condition. All the text is totally unworn and protected from ultra clear and shiny laminate.

Corners: All four crisp, pointed and sharp with barely a trace of wear, again the tape is not such bad news when it can be carefully removed from laminated covers.

Cover Summary: This is a real looker with the lustre and shine of a brand new cover. The front crease may be an issue for the purist and the ultra faint tape traces just about seen under light possibly the same – any doubts, do not bid. But this is a gorgeous cover that will blow most others away, that surface shine is simply incredible.

The Inner Sleeve: The plain white unlined inner is also in little aged condition with two immaculate open circle windows and all edges secure. One tiny nick tear on the top opening on the back with any discolouration modestly light with any creasing few and very light. I has the ‘Patents applied for’ text.

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, the odd light hairline or faint surface mark but again, try to find a better one especially in mono. I have stated so many times, remember what these single-channel records were usually played on. Cheap record players with heavy tracking arms and thick, often worn, badly aligned stylus. The majority never changed when they should have been. The damage they inflicted on such records was immense and few survive that will sound great on modern stereo equipment that they were never really designed to be played on. Only the cleanest and lightest played copies that have avoided such abuse will ever be up to the job these days and this excels with practically nothing unwanted bar those tiny few light clicks as mentioned further up. Visually a super record that should please 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 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 classic record plays up to and above it’s high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound (far from easy on mono records, this is the hidden danger), all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Never the loudest cut but simply turn it up and you can on this copy with more confidence. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and the only clicks near the end of the ‘The End’. The odd minor surface sound trace, almost impossible to avoid with some very quite passages, most notably on beginning of ‘The End’ that most will already know about. But this has to be best and cleanest pressed mono copy of this I have yet heard. The avoidance of groovewear and long, penetrating scratches is certainly worthy of extra mention. Few copies will outperform this 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 timeless masterpiece. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. If any of the minor negative issues I have clearly mentioned on this piece are an issue, do not bid.

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.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

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 stiffners 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: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

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 [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 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 [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance 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: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, 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’.