THE ROLLING STONES Beggar's Banquet STUNNING N/M RECORD.

	£		166
	$		220

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe (including Russia) £12. Rest of World £16. ALL signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes.

PLEASE NOTE: Overseas packets that go through the customs system, can take up to 4 to 6 weeks to process and deliver, this IS normal. For Russia, this can take even longer and is out of my control, so please be patient.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably a little heavier.

Artist or Band: THE ROLLING STONES

Album Title: Beggars Banquet.

Producer(s): Jimmy Miller.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Sympathy for the Devil; No Expectations; Dear Doctor; Parachute Woman; Jig-Saw Puzzle.

Side 2: Street Fighting Man; Prodical Son; Stray Cat Blues; Factory Girl Salt of the Earth.

Label/Format: Decca – Original unboxed stereo format (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both little short of immaculate and possibly for the first time ever, I am struggling to find a single trace of a spindle mark on both sides of a Decca era Rolling Stones record. One of the most popular bands of the 1960s and this, arguably their greatest ever album, this is a record well into connoisseur territory and I am positive, this has barely been played at all. I will not state unplayed because with utmost care a record can be played easily enough without leaving evidence on the labels. But when both playing surfaces are equally immaculate and the sound pristine, that also gives strong evidence to suggest it might be. Both retain that ultra deep blue colour and a freshness of a copy bought at the time of issue. I have even scrutinised these under bright angled light with a magnifying glass, and still found no spindle marks and these beautiful Decca labels are simply incredible. When you actually have to contemplate looking for blemishes under a magnifier, that pretty much tells it’s own story. A minute full spot trace on side two to the left of the hole is the only ‘blemish’ – indeed if you can even call it that – I can see (just). This almost nit-picking for the sake of it. If anyone has seen these original stereo labels on this album better, congratulations.

Cat Number: SKL 4955.

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: 149 grams. A typical heavyweight Decca pressing from the golden era.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Moderate in theory, most all Rolling Stones albums sold well but it’s the conditions that make the difference and I have always found this title one of the harder ones to find nice. But ‘nice’ hardly really applies to this record – it it little short of sublime, stunning. A copy that leads you directly back to 1968 and this record will actually remind any winning bidder of the fact. It sounds as good as it looks as well with pristine sound – this also being played on one of the world’s most revealing turntables – a Linn LP12 Sondek. Such examples are at a real premium and this disc appears to have been overlooked almost since new, I am as certain as I can ever be this record has not seen light-of-day for decades and really does come close to reminding of new. The cover is strong as well, and that is never easy either. The only blemish of any real note, a laminate crease on the right corner areas, not particularly heavy, but present and around moderate or less. But little else with even that impossibly uncompromising spine neat with little wear. A copy like this is rare, make no mistake and I can never imagine finding this record like this again. Just how many available copies even exist that have been played only once or twice?

Original Year of Release: 1968. This not available that long on the unboxed format that was changed in 1969 to more often seen boxed version.

Matrix Nos: XZAL-8476-2K / XZAL-8477-2K

Mothers / Stampers: 1 H / 1 H

Musicians: Mick Jagger – lead vocals, backing vocals, harmonica; Brian Jones – slide guitar, backing vocals, sitar, tamboura, mellotron, harmonica; Keith Richards – acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar, lead and backing vocals; Charlie Watts – drums, percussion, backing vocals; Bill Wyman – bass guitar, backing vocals, percussion. Guests: Rocky Dijon – congas; Ric Grech – fiddle; Nicky Hopkins – piano; Dave Mason – Mellotron, shehnai; Jimmy Miller – backing vocals; Watts Street Gospel Choir – backing vocals.

Brief Info: Most interested collectors will know all about this title already and needs no introductions suffice to say, it was their seventh original studio album from 1968 and many consider it their very best ever. I will concentrate more on it’s condition.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: and this does this very clean and attractive cover scant justice. As stated above, only marked down a little for creasing on the right corner areas. A very fine example for one that often darkens and ages badly. A gatefold format with laminate on front and back and all the closed folds are covered. The inside is matt and smooth. This one has a solid, no peep-hole back and with a quite wide spine and with the correct SKL prefix for a stereo copy. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse International Ltd. This includes it’s superb original inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: Like The Beatles’ ‘White Album’, this is usually seen more an off-white these days or yellowed. But this one is still very white indeed and looks terrific. The laminate retains a lovely shine, clarity and freshness and all is fully adhered with no lifting or blisters, even on the creasing on the corner areas as mentioned already a couple of times. There are few others at all, the back has only a gentle of hint of them, and barely any others. Even under angled light, there is minimal evidence of any friction rubs or dulling and any surface marks are few, fine and faint. The gold edges are incredibly neat and very crisp and devoid of the chipping and scuffing that regularly occur. Overall, this is a very impressive Beggar’s Banquet genuine stereo cover.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Little to fault bar a similar crease on the bottom right corner area, any others are gentle barely even semi-creases and this looks very attractive.

Top Edges: Both smooth, straight and unworn.

Bottom Edges: As above with just a tiny hint of thickening to the end back panel near the right corner – this being ultra critical beyond belief.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with minimal traces of any wear. No feathering, softening and practically devoid of thickening or burring. Record enters on the back edge, both guarnateed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: This has the wide upright style spine, later they became narrower and more rounded. Most will flatten, shed the laminate and the text become eroded and often lost. This one is the best I have seen for many years, if not ever. Being wide with this format, some creasing is almost unavoidable and tatty spines on this cover are well-known. It is solid, straight with totally intact full laminate that remains smooth and unscuffed. No crushing and minimal traces of compression, all text is perfect. Just a very mild hint of a natural central semi-crease purely from opening, few will retain much better definition than this as I hope my close-up pictures show. Also, this has been squarely folded so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel, that makes a considerable difference for visual neatness and pleasure.

Corners: Any tip rubs are tiny and light with any tip creasing the same. Excellent shape is retained and arguably better still.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this deceptively delicate cover, one that will prove difficult to find much better and remember, it must be a Garrod & Lofthouse version with an unboxed record inside with no peep hole to be early, those came along in 1969. Not so many of those around of course. This still very attractive example should please many collectors but not quite the perfectionists with the reasonably light creasing as mentioned enough times already. This sets a very high standard.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): marked down a fraction for the same crease as the cover, this being quite mild only. One of the cleanest and unaged vintage Decca inners I have seen again, this is superb. When seen anything like this, it is always high indication the record will be the same – and nothing further from the truth with this one. The polylining is ultra clean and clear with hardly any crinkle as seen through two immaculate window circles. All edges unsplit with no repairs and barely any discolouration at all, even to the adhesive areas of the seams. This has ‘Patent Application No 40904/61’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: PRACTICALLY MINT: a truly STUNNING example and of connoisseur and audiophile quality. Even when viewed with utmost scrutiny under my usual very bright desk lamp, barely even a surface trace to be seen – this is a remarkable copy that time and the one-and-only original owner overlooked. A supreme visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed on the highest quality vinyl as you would expect from Decca. Gorgeous beyond words, so few will ever exist quite like this, especially one now on the open market. Even perfectionists can apply for this one.

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 fantastic record plays up to, and even exceeds it’s incredible visual grading with nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound – that a huge and significant factor, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very impressive and full-on with a wide dynamic range and detailed sound. This leads you directly into the recording studio itself and this early stereo example there here to be beaten. This gave a wonderful performance and was a real pleasure throughout. Any surface sound was conspicuous by it’s absence and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing as you would expect from Decca. No piledriver thick, heavy stylus have ruined this one, just the way collectors want them. Indeed, this is barely even run-in in vinyl terms and the stereo mix images superbly. The details gleaned from these ultra clean, nigh-on pristine grooves even raised my eyebrows. Small details I swear I had never heard before, that’s the joy of a quality recording and system to enjoy them on. This truly could be the ultimate upgrade and keeper-copy-for-life example, how this record could be bettered I simply do not know. This is a lovely copy and the record itself merits my highest possible recommendation – do not lose it.

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 Terrarium Black 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 8,000+ items sold in over 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 2 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask 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] = £4.25

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12 (enhanced 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16 (£17 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 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’.