THE WHITE NOISE An Electric Storm Island Pink Rim EX LP

	£		32
	$		43

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: THE WHITE NOISE

Album Title: An Electric Storm.

Production Co-ordinator: David Vorhaus.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: PHASE-IN: Love Without Sound; My Game of Loving; Here Come the Fleas; Firebird; Your Hidden Dreams.

Side 2: PHASE-OUT: The Visitation BLACK MASS: An Electric Storm in Hell.

Label/Format: Island – pink rim second pressed format.

Label Conditions: Both very clean and attractive with very light, few and faint spindle marks. A copy played very little on all evidence.

Cat Number: ILPS 9099.

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: 138 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 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: The first pressed copies of this on the pink eye label are rare especially ones with a little worn cover and record that plays well. The early pink rim repressings are hardly common either, this was not a big selling record being far too strange and experimental for many listener’s tastes. Clean, solidly pressed pink rims with a barely worn cover are almost as elusive as the 69 pressing.

Original Year of Release: 1969, this one would have been pressed towards the early part of the 1970s.

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9099 A-2U / ILPS 9099 B-2U.

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 L / 1 M

Musicians: Delia Derbyshire & Brian Hodgson – Electronic Sound Realisation; Paul Lytton - Percussion; John Whiteman, Annie Bird, Val Shaw – Vocals; David Vorhaus – Special Stereo Effects.

Brief Info: Without doubt one of the most advanced, daring and totally unique albums ever made. So far ahead in terms of technology and content, this rare Island album still sounds advanced even today – some 40 years after issue. This is not a typical Island record: a label well known for progressive music but this album went far beyond ‘progressive’. For the curious who bought this one around issue time, well they must have wondered what they had let themselves in for. Music at this time consisted mostly of pop and blues-based rock, the beginning of the guitar-keyboard progressive era. The White Noise were a little different to say the least: experimental electronic mayhem, full-throttle stereo pyrotechnics with use of sounds, as the cover states: that have never been heard before by humans. This record blends vocals, instrumentalists and complex electronic sound into a collage of entertainment. Some gentle moments too but some truly mind-warping mayhem that leave the senses reeling. At times tripping into the avant garde arena, not dissimilar to later pioneering electronic exponents Throbbing Gristle. Side one includes very convincing frenzied orgasmic sounds juxaposing between speakers, very ahead of its time – this must have caused many a raised eyebrow for the unsuspecting listener way back. The title song lives up to its name with manic electronic screamed vocals and very intense percussion that will make the hair on the neck stand up – truly scary stuff, this is not a record for the faint hearted or regular pop music fan. Also female weeping sounds are used which are truly unnerving with an unsettling effect to the senses. This is real groundbreaking experimentalism in sound and production techniques, another classic coup for the brilliant Island label. So who were the White Noise? Well put simply, they featured members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the people brought very much to the attention of Britain in the 60s and beyond with the theme music for ‘Dr Who’ – quite possibly the most famous and best TV theme ever – a classic piece that still sounds as brilliant now as it did then. They specialised in sound effects for television and radio themes. This a massively difficult record just to find on the original pink label, hence I have no qualms in offering a very fine pink rim example. This vintage record is a roller-coaster ride of quiet passages and extreme sound. If this was played on less than worthy equipment or treated with less than due respect – and many would have been – this complex record would have been written-off very quickly. Even today’s modern equipment get a full workout from this record and to enjoy this one to maximum effect, play as loudly as possible or on a pair of quality speakers or headphones. Few copies will ever play perfectly with heavy crackle and distortion being rife on so many. The pink rim copies suffer just as badly and the cover is a nightmare too. The original covers were printed by EJ Day, this reprint is by Robor but is very similar, not quite as black as the Day copies. This includes the blue lined inner which of course only came with the 70s pressing. For those, the vast majority I would think, who did not experience The White Noise back in the late 60s, this is a fine chance to experience the sound of The White Noise.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very high indeed, quite possibly the most difficult Island cover ever made. This almost had a budget look about it, few are ever seen devoid of significant, even heavy wear. Few escape ringwear or sever rubbing and creasing. Both the Day and Robor covers are prone to this wear and both wear equally as bad. Island were well known for the brilliance of their covers, but this one was fairly basic in design. Possibly the budget kept low with minimal sales expected. This beauty has been cover protected from new and the difference will be immediately apparent.

Cover Grade and Format: Mint(-) and a grade I thought almost impossible to apply to this incredibly fragile cover. A single format with no laminate protection. This was printed and made in England by Robor Ltd. This includes the blue Island inner.

Cover Front: As fresh and clean as purchase day. The card is a little thicker than the Day original but still quite thin. Apart from one fine surface crease that hardly shows, any other creases are ultra fine edge types on the spine and very few of them at all. Barely a mark to be seen and the lack of rubbing is very unusual and significant as is the lack of any sticker marks for which this is highly prone too. No ringwear, yes true, and barely even a record rim impression. I can hardly imagine finding this Robor cover front better.

Cover Back: Stunning, and even better than the front, again a few edge hairlines but that’s about it. This is a cover to be held and looked at, and not hidden away awaiting a better one. This is a fantastic example.

Top Edge: Unworn.

Bottom Edge: Unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering, guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Practically as made again: solid but delicate and quite thin but with no compression or wear. The ends tapered in manufacture and retaining lovely definition with no bends. All text is pristine perfect.

Corners: All corners are again practically as made with any tip rubs tiny and faint. All retain fantastic pointed shape with no creases or dinks.

Cover Summary: Everything about this cover has to be taken into perspective and one Mint(-) is a very bold grading, but justified here. When most are found falling apart and with ugly deeply penetrating ringwear and rubbing, tatty no text spines, large price sticker tears and edge splits and bound together with aged brown cellotape, this is dream example. I can hardly imagine finding a Day or Robor example better than this, it will please most-all collectors.

The Inner: Superb Mint(-) and retaining a lovely blue colour without the usual fading or glue browing. The lining solidly intact with no edge splits and barely any creasing at all. The top opening recessed and ultra neat. This one has the text ‘island records ltd basing street london w11’.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Strong EX and arguably better. overall. A small, fine mark on ‘My Game of Loving’ has a very brief few light clicks but those the only ones of note on the whole album. Any other marks are ultra fine surface marks or fine hairlines that have no effect on sound. A fine to very fine visual copy for a record that is as difficult as the cover. Very clean, with fine shine, intense black and very solidly pressed. Complex groove patterns indicate real hi-fi sounds embedded within. A real minefield for any stylus to tackle, no wonder so many early copies are in shocking conditions. This copy looks modestly played, confirmed by excellent overall sound. Visually a fine vintage record that should please the majority of collectors but not quite the perfectionists.

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 groundbreaking record plays, for most all, above its visual grading with little to fault bar the briefest of mild clicks mentioned above. Very strong, distortion-free sound – a very important factor on this one – all frequencies are sharp and clear and this can never be taken for granted on this high intensity recording. Sound quality is at times breathtaking with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. This sounds like no other record I have ever heard before, a totally unique album. Any surface sounds are minimal, some mild gentle traces on some of the quiet passages but this is one of the best pressed examples I have heard and little registered. Few of these will ever play without some blemishes, I think it near impossible. I can never imagine any copy of this playing silent but this record gives a great account of itself overall with practically nothing offending my ears. The music may frighten some off I hasten to add quickly, this is certainly way out stuff and ‘Mojo’ magazine again included this title in its poll of ‘Most Out There’ albums of all time in March 2005. At times mildly extreme and certainly ‘challenging’ but some ‘mellow’ moments too. The title song is a mindblowing finale that leaves the senses realing. Awesome percussion with electronic mayhem, screams and stereo pyrotechnics – this is high intensity entertainment and the quality of the production and engineering must be mentioned again. Few copies will outperform this pink rim example significantly I feel sure – most will fall below and just finding clean copies will be difficult enough. Unless near silence is demanded, this should please most collectors. Time will take its toll of this intolerant cover and record (if abused by thick, heavy stylus). Little, if anything really spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. I state again, this does have a few relatively minor sound blemishes but light enough for me to mostly ignore as the astounding sounds took over – this is vinyl remember – a few minor imperfections are almost impossible to avoid on the older and difficult titles. This elusive record will prove challenging to find significantly better in real terms and I know for certain, it will take a very special copy to better it significantly. It’s a copy I am happy to recommend with some enthusiasm. I really love this album - one of Island ‘lost’ treasures.

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 ‘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, 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 even 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 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for 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 (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

NOTE: I NO LONGER SEND TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. ANY BIDS WILL BE IGNORED.

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 (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £12. (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 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’.