IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY ◈ NM 1983 SF Sound half-speed master in shrink #13615 psych

Sold Date: July 23, 2015
Start Date: April 17, 2015
Final Price: $40.00 $35.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 1864
Buyer Feedback: 144




WE ARE PROUD TO BRING YOU THE CLEANEST & MOST ACCURATELY GRADED LPs ON eBAY!!! EACH SIDE IS GIVEN AT LEAST 3 PASSES ON OUR VPI WITH AUDIO INTELLIGENT FLUIDS & THOROUGHLY RINSED WITH THE PUREST H2O IN THE WORLD, RESULTING IN DEAD SILENT BACKGROUNDS AS WELL AS ULTIMATE PRESENCE, ARTICULATION AND TRANSPARENCY. YOU WILL NOT FIND A CLEANER LP ANYWHERE!!!


Perfect Matthew Katz pressing of their debut masterpiece, half-speed mastered and numbered (13615), in the tight shrink. The band formed in 1967 around vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme and his keyboardist wife Linda. David (a former soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra) played a five-string violin, Hal Wagenet laid on the guitars (from flowery clean lines to mindbending lysergia), and Mitchell Holman (bass) and Val Fuentes (drums) laid the foundation for their unique blend of rock, jazz, folk and classical musics. "White Bird" might be their most well-known, but every track is amazing, especially the mind-blowing second side, which successfully blends acid/psychedelia, Eastern European/gypsy, and mystical rock into a stunningly original suite which starts off with "Bombay Calling" (the admitted predecessor to Deep Purple's "Child In Time"), progresses through the haunting middle-eastern lysergia of "Bulgaria," to the climactic tour-de-force "Time Is." Of course "Hot Summer Day," "Wasted Union Blues" and "Girl With No Eyes" are just as good; the entire album is immaculately produced and perfectly arranged, with flawless, spirited musicianship, and the various instrument/tone combinations and dazzling array of textures is truly second-to-none. This is as emotionally stirring an album as it gets: the lyrics, the harmonies, the musicianship, the vibe are all magnificent. Even the artwork is fantastic, and iconically original. Tight, well rehearsed, psychedelic music; gorgeous, flawlessly executed melodies; mystical, positive, heavy lyrics; deeply intentional production: this is the sound of San Francisco just as much as the Dead, Airplane, Quicksilver, Santana and the Grape.



Artist: IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY

Year: 1983

Label: San Francisco Sound

Catalog Number: SFS 11790

Mono/Stereo/Quadro: stereo

Country: USA

(hand-etched)

Weight: 134 grams

Cover Format: thick gatefold, wrap-around outer slick with paste-on inner panel

Cover Condition: EX (sharp, crisp, vivid & tight, still completely in tight factory shrink, slight opening edge/corner wear otherwise top NM archive copy)

Vinyl Condition: )

Label Condition: perfect


We clean every record on a VPI HW-17F using Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions multi-step process (every disc goes into a brand-new poly-lined inner sleeve).

Everything is strictly graded using the classic Goldmine Standards that we have been applying since 1983: 

/ NM / EX / VG+ / VG / VG- / G+ / G  (please see bottom of auction for specific grading information).







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Each (non-sealed) record is removed from its cover before shipping, and both are inserted into a new 3 mm sleeve before they are secured, with bubble wrap if necessary, in the highest-quality cruciform LP mailer.  No time or effort is spared to insure that your disc, cover and inner sleeve / inserts all arrive in exactly the same condition as they were listed.

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We visually grade all records using the classic Goldmine Standard, to which we have added EX (as have many others), but we do not use any other variant from the classic scale.  No NM- or EX+ (which are both EX), EX- VG+++ or Near Excellent (which are all VG+), or any such other nebulous grades here!  We feel that nearly every collector will be more than pleased with anything listed EX or above in our auctions; they will all be top-shelf, archive quality items which will play M- throughout.  A VG+ record will truly satisfy all but the most critical curator.  On the very rare occasion we actually grade an opened LP as straight MINT, we can guarantee you’ll never find a nicer copy anywhere!

We will play-grade any LP if there is any reason to do so; any questionable mark, scuff or noteworthy artifact of any kind will be sampled to determine its true significance (which may obviously impact the grade ).  We will also gladly play-grade anything upon request; if you are curious about the actual pressing characteristics or any have other questions about its actual performance please feel free to ask.

MINT :  Absolutely perfect.

This record looks like it has just left the plant, with no flaws whatsoever.  It appears unhandled and unplayed, with no marks of any sort.  Usually only sealed or (sometimes) unplayed LPs will warrant this grade.

The cover does not appear to have had a record inside it; there is no wear or distraction of any kind.

 NM : Virtually flawless, top copy.

The record is virtually identical to the moment it was opened, but may have a few faint paper, packaging or pressing scuffs which will produce no sound whatsoever and are very hard to see without critical inspection.  It was very carefully handled and played, likely only once or twice.

The cover is as close to perfect as can be expected given its age.  There may be minor impressions due to the outer edge of the vinyl (no ring wear), the lightest possible corner bumps, or a few tiny laminate creases (mainly on imports), but no wear or whitening of any kind whatsoever.

EX : A beautiful specimen, which will please most critical collectors and not need to be upgraded.

The record has no scratches or significant blemishes, and will play NM throughout.  It retains 100% of the gloss, sheen and luster, but may have a handful of faint superficial scuffs, hairlines or light spindle marks which will not produce any sound whatsoever.

The cover is nearly perfect.  There may be the absolute faintest suggestion of ring wear or possibly a light touch of dulling on the corners (nothing wrinkled or obtrusive in any way), but no notable seam or spine wear, writing or sign of tape anywhere.

 VG+ : Plays perfectly nearly all of the time, with only a few minor distractions.

The record still retains nearly all of the gloss, sheen and luster, but there may be a handful of inaudible superficial marks or scuffs, a mild scattering of light hairlines (which would only be faintly audible between tracks or in some very quiet passages), or a few stray marks which may mildly sound for a few revolutions. Each flaw is very minor, barely noticeable to the naked eye, and will not detract from the enjoyment in any way.

The cover is still very clean and crisp, but may look slightly more aged and have a few minor flaws such as small unobtrusive writing, minor wear to the seams and spine (no splits), slightly worn corners, very light ring wear or minor creasing.  No flaw is at all distracting in and of itself.

 VG : A nice play copy, which will perform without much significant distraction.

The record appears well played, but still has the majority of the luster.  It will not have been abused, though there will be some audible sound defects which will not overpower the dynamics of the music, such as mild surface noise in the quietest sections, a handful of stray isolated pops and clicks (which are brief and occasional), or possibly some very mild groove wear; still no skips, repeats, or anything deep or seriously pronounced.  It will play through quite nicely most of the time, with very minimal distraction.

The cover looks somewhat used and shows some mild wear.  There may be some minor seam splitting, ring wear (which still doesn’t overwhelm the cover), discreet writing (not large magic marker), or mild yellowing due to air contaminants. It is still nice, just a few notable flaws away from VG+.

We will never sell anything less than VG, so the rest of the scale is unnecessary.  We absolutely detest groove wear, so we will almost never list anything lacking the overwhelming majority of the luster, sheen and gloss.  Anything of significance will always be noted. 


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