THE SOFT MACHINE (1st Album) RARE 1968 ORIG with WHEEL DIE-CUT COVER + INNER.

	£		53
	$		70

ONEADAYRECORDS – Serving-up a Christmas Feast of Entertainment.

I would like to wish all my customers, regulars and newcomers, a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Over the Christmas Holiday Period, I will be offering some really lovely pieces for your purusal and future enjoyment, so please keep watching.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all. More details on this nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

Artist or Band: THE SOFT MACHINE

Album Title: The Soft Machine.

Producer(s): Chas Chandler & Tom Wilson.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Hope for Happiness; Joy of a Toy; Hope for Happiness (reprise); Why Am I So Short?; So Boot If At All; A Certain Kind.

Side 2: Save Yourself; Priscilla; Lullabye Letter; We Did It Again; Plus Belle qu’une Poubelle; Why Are We Sleeping?; Box 25/4 Lid.

Label/Format: Probe – matt, fairly smooth surfaces (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both largely as made with any spindle marks very small, very few and faint as seen under angled light.

Cat Number: CPLP 4500.

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: 125 grams. About average for it’s era.

Country of Manufacture: US. This album was not issued initially in the UK and the only way to own an original is via this 1968 American issue.

Rarity: Scarce: again, this was not issued in the UK. The album was issued when the band toured American and US Probe originals includes a moving wheel cover (as per this). Typically fragile sleeves, ones that moved were even more prone than usual to splits, damage and wear. Finding these intact with lesser wear is very difficult indeed, and, or course, any copy of this found in Europe were imported, meaning even more stress to the packaging. I would imagine few Americans would have bought a brand new British psych-prog rock band anyway and sales would have been only low. So this album is very collectable indeed for fans of the genre, especially as the band’s reputation rose fast within the progressive ‘Canterbury’ rock scene.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: CPLP - 4500 A-2LW / CPLP - 4500 B-SP-255

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘TSM’

Musicians: Robert Wyatt – drums, lead vocals; Mike Ratledge – Lowrey Holiday De Luxe organ, piano; Kevin Ayers – bass, lead vocals, backing vocals. With: Hugh Hopper – bass, The Cake – backing vocals.

Brief Info: The debut Soft Machine album that was only issued initially in the United States with the moving wheel cover. It was also the only original album to feature Kevin Ayers, soon to depart to persue a solo career due to musical differences. An early classic of the Canterbury Rock scene. Prior to the heavy jazz-rock style the band adopted from Third onwards, the early Soft Machine blended early style progressive rock with psychedelia and the results were truly fascinating. Rare for a British band’s debut album to only be issued abroad – another that springs to mind is the Van Der Graaf Generator debut ‘The Aerosol Grey Machine’. The band were hugely creative and original with little heard quite like them right from the start. Swirling keyboards blend with guitar, this features far more vocals than the later albums. Regarded as one of the pioneers of progressive rock, but sales were low, but they became a cult band within the underground rock scene and were particularly liked by the DJ John Peel for whom they recorded early sessions. Co-produced by Chas Chandler & Tom Wilson, the band were closely associated with Jimi Hendrix, and Wilson had produced other classic underground acts including Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground, as well as more mainstream artists like Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel. The cover also broke new ground with a heavy-duty gatefold format with a large die-cut hole with a moveable inner wheel – with a side recess, like the later Led Zeppelin III album – with the wheel itself having five shaped windows to reveal more artwork below (as seen on my cover close-ups). The artwork somewhat daring for a fairly conservative American market as well with the famed wind-up girl cover. Beautifully designed, but ultimately fragile and prone to just about everthing time, handling and bad storage had to offer. Finding one even a respectable Very Good is difficult and few escape damage, splits and severe rubbing. This is a very fine example with very little of the aforementioned at all. This record appears very little played and offers very impressive and mostly very clean sound. US records were made with a softer-grade vinyl and tend to mark very easily but this has only a tiny few, minor surface marks that have no sound – almost exceptional really for one found outside the US. For good measure, it even includes the original ABC/Dunhill inner sleeve, Probe being part of ABC Records. It has edge splits which is almost a given, but they are neat and the inner itself is in superb clean condition. So a lovely all-round example of a highly elusive prog-rock Canterbury classic, it’s status as such as gained still further over the years, and if you found the heavy jazz-rock from Third and beyond a little too much, the early Soft Machine were VERY different, and with the influence of the sublime Kevin Ayers, this is indispensable.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(–): and maybe a little harsh on an American gatefold cover that is even more prone to all the perils these brittle covers faced than most. Made with thick heavy card, the surfaces are unlaminated with a delicate sheen to smooth surfaces. The front has a large die-cut circle hole in which there is a rotating wheel with a side recess to grip. The wheel rotates fairly freely, but easier using the five further die-cut shaped windows on the wheel itself. The inside has the traditional US-style paste-on panels. Printed and made in the United States, includes the original promotional inner sleeve.

Cover Front: This is a heavy cover and it remains robust and solid. The front was unique at the time and certainly prone to all forms of wear and damage. All the die-cut shapes and holes are neat and crisp with hardly any traces of burring and NO damage at all. Any burr traces or rubbing to their edges is tiny and light. The main cover border has some reasonably light (by American cover standards) rubbing mainly near the very top and bottom edges with lesser traces elsewhere. Some corner tip rubbing but hardly any creasing, just to the odd tip or two. It retains quite strong colour and even reasonable freshness. As the wheel is rotated, it reveals new graphics below, including portraits of the band members and a cheeky female. So a little aged, but it will never prove easy to find much better I feel sure.

Cover Back: The back again with fairly daring artwork for the sensitive American market at the time. It again has fairly light rubbing at the top and bottom, lesser elsewhere. The graphic looks very impressive and it remains clean and near crease-free bar the corner tips.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside is very impressive with hardly any wear or grubbiness at all. Corner tip creasing apart, this is superb with richly coloured artwork and the famous wind-up girl again prominent.

Top Edges: Minimal rubbing and a little surface cracking, but these appear unsplit with no repairs – that some achievement.

Bottom Edges: A little more rubbing to these storage edges, but again they appear intact.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front is sealed with the wheel rim crisp and sharp, the top has a little rubbing. The back has hardly any wear and the thick card is crisp and neat with no extra thickening or burring. Record enter on this back and it is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Most of any rubbing or fairly gentle wear, on the very ends. This is very solid, thick, straight with no compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. All text is perfect and unworn with any traces of rubbing to the surface and folds gentle and light. No splits again.

Corners: Moderate tip rubs and tip creasing, I can hardly imagine too many of these will survive without some of this. Fine shape largely retained.

Cover Summary: A very respectable and still attractive all-round example of this innovative, daring and complex cover. Such ideas of cutting out sections and shapes with moving parts led the way for many others to follow during the early 1970s. The cover can be said as influential as the music it contained, so historically a very important piece within the developing rock, underground and progressive scene. Most collectors will know US covers are very different to European designs, they split, rub and damage far more easily, that is plain and simple fact. With that in mind, this rare item should please many collectors, and being so delicate, scarce and fragile, sometimes a little give-and-take has to be made for what is mainly light general wear.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: and this being ultra conservative as this looks fantastic and little short as made after I very neatly repaired the edge splits caused by record movement. These were neat and now barely even show. This an unlined ABC/Dunhill promotional inner sleeve that is clean, fresh with hardly any creasing at all. It has one open window as seen on my picture, and that is immaculate. The top entrance has a small recess which has a couple of tiny nicks and gentle small crease. An integral part of the set and few will look better I feel sure.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: and I feel very sure this has received few plays. US vinyl of this time was ‘softer’ than UK-European, it marks more easily and imported records rarely escape minor surface scuffs at best. Most of any surface marks here are light and faint and have no affect on the splendid sound. So not perfect visually, but still a very fine copy that is clean with fine shine, intense black and very solidly pressed. It should please many collectors, again it will not prove easy to find better.

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 underground prog album plays even above it’s high visual grading with little 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 are minimal indeed and this a very fine clean pressing. The odd gentle light reminder you are listening to a vintage 1960s vinyl record, silence on such material a near impossible ask, but this offers very fine audio quality. Few imported 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 generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Both record and cover are fragile, so some reasonable allowances have to be made to both, that is simply being realistic. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful, and very elusive record. This copy could prove = difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended, unless perfection is mandatory, and good luck with that.

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 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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] = £4.75

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]) = £12.50 (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]) = £16.50 (£17.50 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’.