UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Scarce Orig UK 68 MONO N/M LP

	£		101
	$		134

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Album Title: The United States of America.

Producer: David Rubinson.

Recording Engineer: David Diller.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The American Metaphysical Circus; Hard Coming Love; Cloud Song; The Garden of Earthly Delights; I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife For You, Sugar.

Side 2: Where is Yesterday; Coming Down; Love Song for the Dead Ché; Stranded in Time; The American Way of Love.

Label/Format: CBS.

Label Conditions: Both in superb fresh conditions. Ultra clean and clearly little handled or likely played. A tiny few faint spindle marks only.

Cat Number: 63340.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 157 grams. This is a heavyweight record. [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. 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, 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 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce, UK pressings of this album are elusive and seldom seen. Not only that, this mono record is heavily pressed and hardly even played – sounds great too.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: BPG 63340 A1 / BPG 63340 B1

Mother & Stamper Codes: B 1 / C 1

Musicians: Dorothy Moskowitz - lead vocals; Joseph Byrd - electronic music, electric harpsichord, organ, calliope, piano; Gordon Marron - electric violin, ring modulator; Rand Forbes - electric bass; Craig Woodsono - electric drums, percussion. Also Ed Bogas, occasional organ, piano, calliope.

Brief Info: One of the genuinely great one-off albums and for those few who heard it from way back, it must have been a real eye-opener. A pioneering tour de force and ahead of its time, this band created some amazing sounds and this album packs in so much, its all a little difficult to take in immediately. Try to imagine Jefferson Airplane blended with It’s a Beautiful Day, the early Mothers of Invention with bit of Doors and Country Joe and Fish added – you might be getting the feel for The United States of America – this is an amazing recording. Lead vocalist Dorothy Moskowitz sounds a little like an icy Grace Slick with captivating appeal. Exhilating music that does not use guitars, but scintilating electric violin. Gordon Marron’s instrument used a divider that raised and lowered its pitch by an octave, it was often used through tape echo units and modulators – all very experimental, even ‘progressive’ for its time. Byrd’s ideas of blending psych-rock with ethnic influences and classical music, this bought rock n roll into new realms of experimentalism. Using very early electronics and synthesisers made this a ground-breaking album, and their use and unpredictability made this fascinating listening and a huge challenge to actually record. Even the drums got the electronic treatments, again unusual at this time – Frank Zappa was another who experimented with the classics, early electronics, primitive synths and Moogs and his work will be more familiar to most, but The United States of America were there too at the very beginning. Moskowitz said, the early synths were highly unpredictable, and that was part of their appeal, you never quite knew what to expect. The whole sound blend was held together by Forbes fretless bass and this amazing album is pretty unique. Sadly, they were short-lived, internal problems and disagreements even fighting bought them to a swift end. But this legendary album was a gateway for the future, it had a cutting edge sound and lyrics that reflected the state of America at this time. Hard-edged, ironic and with a real tension, it could never last, but the mood of this band is captured brilliantly in this set and deserves to be heard again. The only frustration when it ends is, you know there is no more, it makes you wonder just how brilliant this band could have been if they had just stayed together longer. This copy on offer is a vintage, early pressed, UK mono, rare and in very fine condition. The cover looks very nice and has only minor blemishing, but now over forty, has it not earned the right too? The heavy mono record looks and plays beautifully and is devoid of distortion or groove-wear and that is the vital factor for these types. With such complex sounds embedded into delicate mono grooves, this record is in remarkable shape and plays with little unwanted. Just a faint trace of surface sound on ‘Love Song for the Dead Che’, a fragile song, but practically nothing else was noted and this is superbly produced too. It’s an amazing listen and experience and for the connoisseur of the truly great music from this period, it’s truly indispensable and rare too. One of the ‘lost’ and probably largely forgotten classics, it’s time to get this mind-numbing gem spinning again.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Quite High.

Cover Grade and Format: EX+ as a minimum grading, this actually look better and the front especially pleasing to the eye. A single format with front laminate. This wraps around the closed edges but only on to the back on the spine. Curiously, this has no spine text but the wording lies on the very edge of the back below the spine fold – in brown ink so it would not have been any use in the correct position anyway. This was printed and made in the England by West Brothers.

Lamination & Front: Ruthlessly revealing, seldom seen and rarely a great deal better than this. The laminate is fully adhered bar a tiny blister on the bottom left corner atop a small crease. Any lifting would ruin this one and there is barely any at all. It retains a lovely rich shine and the artwork is very dark indeed, any friction rubs or dulling is ultra faint and minimal. The very thick record has left a very faint impression only. Probably the biggest factor on attractiveness on this critical cover front is creasing. Any tiny few present here are very small and very faint, the aforementioned corner tip one is by some distance the only one that really shows. Any collector familiar with this difficult cover will appreciate this is an exceptional example.

Cover Back: Generally very clean and still nicely white. The finest trace of ripple can just be felt by the fingertip but has little visual impact at all. A couple of small surface scuffs near the very top edge and a few small and very faint toning spots (but look very hard). No ringwear or creasing and the surface looks neat and attractive and will definitely prove difficult to find much better.

Top Edge: Minimal traces of any wear.

Bottom Edge: And again.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no wear and no feathering. Record entered on this right edge.

Spine and Text: A plain brown spine with no text. This being the first example I have seen with the text seemingly printed deliberately below the spine. Solid and straight with minimal compression. Solid laminate with fine shine, odd microscopic chip being critical, this wraps around on to the back for around quarter of an inch.

Corners: Tiny tip rubs and the one crease as mentioned already. All retain very fine shape.

Cover Summary: Very nice indeed and this is a somewhat intolerant and critical cover. This can be held and enjoyed. One that will please the majority of collectors seeking out this album.

Inner: This has the unlined CBS inner: one side promoting albums, the other explaining the functions of cassette and 8-track tapes. One format totally defunct, the other almost now the same. Some creasing but all edges unsplit, a little age toning on the edges. Grades around EX.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-) or as close as they ever get. Barely a noteworthy mark or blemish to be seen, the faintest of faint paper mark if scrutinised right up close. A superb mono record that is ultra clean with great shine and lustre, still intense black and heavily pressed with a considerable pressing weight (please see above). A complex mono record this age and looking so fine it’s a thing of real beauty, this has clearly hardly been played and the sound reitterates the fact. This 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 beautifully preserved mono record plays mostly up to its high visual grading with little to fault at all. Powerful, dynamic, distortion-free sound – always a vital factor on any vintage mono recording, all frequencies are sharp and clear including the highly critical electric violin and early electronics, always high test sounds for groove-wear. Sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very impressive sound, the mono mix is quite different to stereo version. A pioneering recording with complex and intricate sounds and hugh amounts of details – this one takes a few plays to simply let it all sink in. This important record, I feel sure has only received light plays confirmed by the clear well focused sound. A few light surface sounds or minor ticks on band three, side two, a very quiet piece that’s highly challenging. You can well imagine what many of these will be like these days especially in mono. This I am certain has not been subjected to any abuse on old record players, it will be obvious to any winning bidder, this record has hardly ever been played and I doubt if this has seen light-of-day for many years. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Practically nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this groundbreaking classic. If you have yet to discover this wonderful, but sadly brief band, well this will take some beating. This copy could prove difficult to find significantly better and strong recommendation is mandatory.

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’.