THE ROLLING STONES Let It Bleed SUPERB N/M UK DECCA LP

	£		51
	$		68

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe £12. Rest of World £16. ALL signed for. – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P as low as possible after the very significant Royal Mail price increases.

Artist or Band: THE ROLLING STONES

Album Title: Let it Bleed

Producer(s): Jimmy Miller.

Cat Number: SKL 5025

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Gimme Shelter, Love in Vain; Country Honk; Live With Me; Let it Bleed.

Side 2:Midnight Rambler; You Got the Silver; Monkey Man; You Can’t Always Get What You Want.

Label/Format: Decca – Early small size boxed format with the most intense deep rich blue you could imagine.

Label Conditions: Both in supreme conditions: ultra clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle traces being minuscule. So rare to find a still early copy in such wonderful condition. Both labels simply exude class and this record offers audiophile sound quality.

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: 145 grams. A very impressive weight, this is no inferior repressing, pure Decca quality all-round.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: This album sold well and even unboxed stereo copies are not that hard to find. However, complete examples that have been played little are a far different matter. Issued in 1969, the unboxed format was soon to be changed to the boxed label design, so this is still an early example. It has a lovely cover and includes the inner and poster (with a moderate corner tear). For me, the ultimate important factor is the sound which is simply fantastic. This is up there with the quietest and least used copy I have had for some time.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: XZAL-9363.P-4W / XZAL-9364.P-4W

Brief Artist & Album Info: Although not a very first issue, it is always a real pleasure offering a very clean boxed label copy that offers almost the ultimate in sound reproduction. One of the best-known albums ever made by one of the world’s major acts - a truly essential album to any serious vinyl collector. By the end of the greatest decade in popular music, the stereo mode had largely replaced the ageing mono format and of course, this a true stereo record. The last Rolling Stones album to feature the presence of the band’s creator, Brian Jones. It was a brilliant culmination of all their musical influences throughout music’s proudest decade. The power of the opening track, ‘Gimme Shelter’, will haunt many forever with the memory of the Altamont murder, Jagger’s top hat and scarf and the death of the 60s. The repeated line, ‘It’s just a shot away’, complements the repetition of the naively profound lyric of the album’s last track: ‘You can’t always get what you want’. The filling in-between, like the layered cake on the cover, is equally delectable. This copy on offer is complete – well almost, the cover has no sticker and a small part of the poster is lost. But far more positives than negatives… the record is simply fantastic and offers the finest sound quality possible. All the individual parts are graded and described below.

Cover Condition and Details: EXCELLENT(+): and this hardly does this lovely old cover justice – this is a real looker. A single format, the front is laminated with Clarifoil. With the peep hole on back to identify mono or stereo copy from the colour coded inner – mono being red, stereo blue. It was printed in England and has the UK Patents Applications No 43212/68 number. This detail seen in close-up. One of most famous covers ever produced and this should please many, if not most collectors.

Cover Lamination and Front: Firstly, can I make this clear, this cover is made from thin and delicate card making this sleeve very vulnerable to most forms of wear. This front looks fantastic and very fresh with a rich shine and super clarity, the famous cake will rarely look much better. The laminate has full adhesion and that in-itself is rare. Most have spine lifting or other blisters, this has NONE, and that makes a huge difference for visual beauty, and I consider a massive bonus. Not only that, this one has avoided any major creasing, a few edge hairline types and a fairly gentle one on the top left corner. Just a couple of ultra fine and faint half moons away from the sides hardly even show. With critical viewing under angled light, there are barely any traces of friction rubs or dulling, the surface remains clear and very smooth, and there are barely any marks or impressions to this magnificent surface at all. The shine is stunning and clearly this has been cover-protected. The laminate wraps around the spine edge on to the back and the front right edge ends slightly short of full width, the exposed strip remains totally devoid of grime, darkening or damage. This one has no sticker and there is NO evidence it ever had, they were phased out and not all boxed copies had them. I can hardly imagine finding this front a great deal better.

Cover Back: Not laminated but still looking very impressive and it’s again very clean with any ageing minuscule. There is a moderately light crease near the top right corner and few others – just a small few fine hairlines below it that few will ever avoid totally. The peep-hole is pristine, ultra crisp and precise – this is filled by the blue inner to denote a stereo copy inside as seen on my picture. One tiny burr near the bottom edge but little else. The lack of ringwear with a 145 gram record inside all these years is unusual but most welcome, there is minimal traces of even rim impression. The laminate end on the spine edge even retains shine with any darkening of the end very fine and light. A difficult back in lovely condition.

Top Edge: Very straight and solid with minimal traces of any wear. The back panel end has merely the faintest traces of any thickening near the very left corner – so minimal I hardly know why I even mentioned it.

Bottom Edge: Solid and straight again with barely any hint of wear at all.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Viewing this end-on makes you realised just how thin this fragile card is. A lovely entrance edge, clean, mostly sharp to very sharp with barely any hint of wear at all. Any burr traces tiny and very few and likewise for any thickening. This is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Solid and mainly very straight, one fine crease from the mild corner crease mentioned on the back. Barely any compression, fully laminated and still very white. All text is perfect and unworn as seen on my close-ups.

Corners: Any tip rubs are tiny and faint, all retain very sharp and neat definition.

Cover Summary: In terms of classic vintage covers, this is a piece de resistance, and this will prove immensely difficult to find much better with a heavy-pressed record inside. Many are carelessly stored, roughly handled or simply used and abused. This one clearly far more sympathetically handled and stored with longevity in mind. It’s paid-off – it looks very impressive, not quite pristine, but up there with little to fault. It should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: or very close to. It has a little corner creasing and crinkle but hardly a great deal. Clean and still fresh looking with all edges unsplit with no repairs. This has NO black overprint on the ‘London Bach Choir’ text that was objected too and covered up later. Many seen are covered over with an overprint obscuring this text. Wear has been avoided and this thin inner is often seen with deep ring wear, but none is evident on this one. I am certain the original owner removed the record from new and stored in a lined alternative – a very sensible approach, but few bothered, hence most are seen in very poor shape. The top opening is recessed and has barely any hint of wear, burring or thickening. No damage or wear here is seldom seen. The retailer put the SKL 5025 neatly in ink on the top right corner of the song side. Given all the facts with so many seen ripped, torn and split, this is a very fine example.

The Poster : With a tear to the top left corner, not so easy to grade. So I will say NEAR EXCELLENT (but with a tear), you decide how much this degrades because any opinion is purely subjective. Printed on very thin paper with a quite matt finish. The tear is moderate and can be seen on my close-up picture. So clearly this has been mounted in the distant past with light traces of blue tack on the remaining back corners. The front is clean with minimal rubbing and still attractive. It has just two manufactured folds which are solid and unsplit and overall, this remains attractive. Clearly the tear is an issue, but better this than no poster at all and so many of the boxed versions omit it.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(-): a superb 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 tiny, ultra few, faint and light as seen (just) under bright angled light. NO penetrating marks here and this still had the potential to be played on heavy-tracking old record players of the time – all evidence of this whatsoever – this has been played little – probably once or twice only on a quality record player. Few of these will ever survive without a small few blemishes and in terms of this record – which I have seen several times totally trashed (but still with very large asking prices) – this is an exceptional copy. No heavy arm drops or jolts have spoilt what is an impressive copy and tracking is effortless and easy. Visually a super record that should please most-all 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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This classic record plays up to and most all even exceeds it’s hugely impressive visual grading with practically nothing to fault. This has strong sound with no presing noises or distortions. Sound quality is as good as it gets with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound and the stereo mix presents the music beautifully. Any surface sounds barely even registered and even the difficult ‘Midnight Rambler’ and the challening intro to ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ plays superbly. This is one of the best I have heard for some considerable time and few will play this quietly especially on a very sensitive system. No pops or clicks were noted and the sound still very sharp and fully focused – a pure delight to listen too. So many examples subjected to heavy needle abuse, badly marked and totally worn out. This copy has avoided such traumas and even on very revealing equipment, offers quality sound that should please most-all fans. This is little short of audiophile standard and that is so difficult. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am totally certain this record has hardly been played and has been generally well stored and certainly carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This record will prove VERY difficult to find better and is strongly recommended. Clearly the poster tear is an issue, but if sound is a priority over an insert, this sets the bar very high. One to put on, relax and simply ENJOY.

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 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] = £4.25

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’.