THE DOORS (1st) VERY RARE Original UK 1967 Mono EX++ LP

	£		183
	$		242

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

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 and attractive with only relatively light and few spindle marks that have modest and little visiblity. No wear around the hole areas, and I am certain this record has been played little.

Cat Number: EKL 4007.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: This record has a gentle wave towards the edges. NO sudden jerks, just a mildish flow that has NO effect on sound or tracking. Any arm and stylus worthy of being used on this record will have NO problems.

Weight of this Record: 140 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rare and UK mono examples with the original UK laminated cover are particularly rare and sort-after. Most British 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. Although this record has a gentle ‘wave’, it has no effect on play, tracking or sound and I feel sure just about all decks and arms will have no problems with this. If not, maybe time to get a new one. This is a rare record, make no mistake, it looks and plays beautifully and was a delight throughout.

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 later to become one of rocks 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. As said, this does not lie dead-flat on the turntable, but the wave flow movement is fairly modest and gentle and I guarantee, it will cause no problem for any arm or cartridge. The tracking is easy and effortless and sound and pitch is totally unaffected. 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: Undergraded at EX+, a truly beautiful cover. 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: Very clear, fresh and with great shine. As near to fully adhered as you will ever find: the thinnest of slivers on the front spine edge is barely worthy of mention. Minimal traces of any friction rubs or dulling, this has an almost mirror-like gleam and the classic artwork looks stunning. There are a couple of light record impressions on the front but with normal viewing, they hardly even show. There are a very creases on each side but none heavy – two on the back could just be said to be ‘moderate’ but visibility is only quite low. Even under light, there are minimal marks to this laminate, even surface trace hairlines are largely absent. The opening edge sees the laminate end slightly short of full width and both exposed strips are clean and unchipped with no ugly grime-line formation. This is a gem and will prove very difficult to find much better – a prized find.

Top Edge: Virtually unworn.

Bottom Edge: Virtually unworn again.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and crisp, a superb edge and truly cannot imagine finding one better. Always a great indication the record has hardly been removed (and GUARANTEED untrimmed).

Spine and Text: The spine is absolutely pristine and almost beggars belief: Solid, dead straight, uncompressed and totally unworn or blemished. All text is pristine perfect, bold and sharp under the very solid and uncracked and crystal clear laminate. Even this gleams, please see close-up picture.

Corners: All four in superb super-neat and beautifully defined shape. Barely even a tip rub, try to find these better too.

Cover Summary: Gorgeous with any blemishes being small. Given the sheer age and rarity of this mono cover, it will prove extremely difficult to find better. Most-all fans and collectors will enjoy this and do not underestimate its rarity with most copies of this record inside US versions.

The Inner: The plain white unlined inner is practically Mint as new.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX++ and arguably better still. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly 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 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. They were not designed to be played on such equipment. 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. The mild and gentle wave warp has NO effect on sound or tracking. 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 snippetts 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 its high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound (so important on mono records), all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Like the Love ‘Forever Changes’ I am currently offering on the same label, not the loudest cut but simply turn it up. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no major pops or clicks were noted and overall, this is an exceptional clean pressing. The odd minor surface sound trace, almost impossible to avoid with some very quite passages, most notably on ‘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 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 the mild wave is an issue, do not bid, but I reitterate again, it will cause no problems to any worthy deck and that is a promise.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth 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.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets out ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is no bad thing. Also: any item with a value over £40 will have to be insured as well, but for any item that sells for over £150, I will pay the extra insurance (then the lower shipping price applies).

I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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. 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 offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 4,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course of multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

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. (Only for items under £40)

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (Compulsory for items over £40).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA including RUSSIA and nearby countries. (Airmail Only):

1 LP, value less than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8.

1 LP, value greater than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, [£500 Maximum]) = £11.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP, value less than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £12.

1 LP, value greater than £40 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500 Maximum) = £15.

For items that sell over £150, I will pay the insurance, so the lower shipping price will apply.

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 timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.