WISHBONE ASH Pilgrimage RARER EARLY UK 1971 EX+ LP

	£		48
	$		64

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.

NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible after the very significant Royal Mail price increases and will never compromise on solid, safe packing.

Artist or Band: WISHBONE ASH

Album Title: Pilgrimage.

Producer(s): Derek Lawrence.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Vas Dis; The Pilgrim; Jail Bait; Alone.

Side 2: Lullaby; Valediction; Where Were You Tomorrow.

Label/Format: MCA – original orange and brown ‘dogbone’ format, pressed by Decca. These have a very gentle textured surface.

Label Conditions: Ultra clean, fresh and highly attractive labels with any spindle marks, very few, light and faint. This lovely record looks hardly played.

Cat Number: MDKS 8004.

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: 146 grams. A typical Decca pressing, being solid and immaculately finished, even the rims are smoothed.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce as a 1 / 1 first issue on the dogbone format label. Also hard to find with a clean cover and the disc hardly played. Worthy of mention is the quiet introduction to ‘Pilgrim’, this sizeable area has very fine grooves and gentle sound, so many of these are seen with scratches on this part. Well this one has avoided any at all, and this, and all other areas of this rock classic plays beautifully.

Original Year of Release: 1971. The date-coded inner confirms one of the earliest ever pressings of 10-71 (October 1971).

Matrix Nos: 7-LNMG-244-2L / 7-LNMG-245-1L

Stamper Codes: 1 M (or H) / 1 G

Musicians: Andy Powell - guitar, vocals; Ted Turner - guitar, vocals; Martin Turner - bass, vocals and Steve Upton - drums.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Second album from this legendary guitar-based rock band, most famed for their third classic release Argus. That is taking nothing away from this title, an excellent record in it’s own right and the title song is one of the very best songs they ever made. Never a stunning band vocally but, if guitar-driven rock was your thing, early Wishbone Ash rarely failed to deliver and this title has some stunning guitar interplay that truly thrills. This very early pressed, first label copy, manufactured up to the highest standard by Decca and hardly played, this example delivers in every respect.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): and this does it scant justice, this is a difficult sleeve and few are seen anything like this attractive (especially with a first issue record inside). An unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed in England by Robert Stace.

Cover Front: Magnificent and highly attractive with very fresh deep colour and hardly any real wear at all bar a tiny sticker surface pull near the top right corner (but look very hard). Any rub or crease traces are tiny, very few and faint and I have seen few to better this.

Cover Back: Almost the same as the front minus the tiny sticker mark, just the faintest of faint rim arc rubs near the very top and barely a trace near the bottom. With thick heavy Decca records inside, few escape often heavy ring wear, but this one has for sure. The spine edge (and spine itself) appears faded which is very common indeed on a cover that also rarely escapes. A high percentage of album collections were stored in racks, the spines exposed to be viewed for location – that is what they were for – hence natural fading with normal daylight is largely the norm. Some covers more susceptible than others, and I know for a fact, this one is one of the most vulnerable.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Virtually perfect, this looks pretty much as made.

Top Edges: Both superb, very straight, clean with any rub traces minute.

Bottom Edges: Very light patchy rubbing only. These storage edges are relatively thin and few will escape with much less than this.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with little wear, any thickening or burring very mild and faint. Record enters on either edge as both are open – this appears correct on this one as there are NO glue traces at all on the front, so this appears never sealed.

Spine and Text: Quite solid, thick and straight with minimal compression but a little gentle tilt to the right. Folded square, so all edges meet up very closely and parallel. The surface appears faded but no real wear in terms of rubbing with all the text fully present and unworn. A little natural crinkle and light hint of a central crease from opening. As stated above, this cover seldom escapes spine fading.

Corners: Any tip rubs are very small and few and all retain excellent shape.

Cover Summary: A difficult and wear-prone cover in super condition. Okay a tiny sticker blemish and the spine appears faded, but the main faces look fantastic as I hope my pictures show. Not for the perfectionist, but many, if not most collectors will enjoy it.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): a very clean inner sleeve often leads to a very clean record – and a case-in-point here. The Decca-style polylined inner as aged little with any adhesive darkening on the seams only quite light. The window circles are very crisp with a solid ultra clear lining. All edges unsplit with no repairs and barely any noteworthy creasing. This is date-coded 10-71 which is within a month or two of issue. This is British patented with ‘Foreign patents pending’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): this being ultra critical and arguably worthy of the second (+). A very fine visual copy and without doubt, very little played. Very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed, any surface traces are ultra fine and faint as seen with scrutiny under bright angled light. In normal room daylight, such super-fine traces would not be seen at all. Visually a quality record that 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 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 quality Decca-pressed MCA first issue record plays even above it’s high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, clear and focused sound and all the quality you would expect from a Decca-pressed record, for me the premier league of record manufacturers. The lack of surface noise, pops and clicks is always the best news and even the delicate intro to ‘The Pilgrim’ plays beautifully. So often these ultra fine grooves on this passage attract scratches, hence often ruined by tedious clicks, but not this one. Great guitarwork as you would expect from this band at their best. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this great rock album. This copy will prove very difficult to find better and merits my highest recommendation.

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’.