WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 200  LISTED ITEMS

 

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·      NINA SIMONE – PASTEL BLUES – ORIGINAL 1965 PHILIPS RECORDS STEREO LP PHS-600-187

 

·      ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

 

·      ORIGINAL BLACK PHILLIPS LABEL WITH  BLUE LOGO ON TOP

 

·      DEEP GROOVE PRESSING

 

·      THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

 

·      ORIGINAL, THICK CARDBOARD COVER (AMERICAN STYLE)

 

·      THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

 

·      CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

 

·      MACHINE-STAMPED MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) OF THE RECORD

 

·      MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) ENDS WITH '-1/-1'.  ON SOME LABELS,  SUFFIX '–1' DENOTES THE VERY FIRST, ORIGINAL PRESSING)

 

 (►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get.  GUARANTEED!)

 

 

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Released in 1965, Pastel Blues was one of Nina Simone's better titles for Philips.. While recording for Philips, Simone was -- as were most singers of the era -- surrounded by crowded studio production. She shed most of it, though, on this set. Evidence is in the opening cut: "Be My Husband" (co-written with her then-husband, Andy Stroud) is nearly an a cappella performance. Simone, singing in a classic field chant blues style, is accompanied only by Bobby Hamilton's hi-hat drenched in reverb. Simone's piano, thankfully, is front and center. She is a fine stylist, and the strange mix that pushes the piano to the same level as her voice is arresting. Other tracks that make this a keeper include her wonderful reading of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," her jazz-gospel version of "Trouble in Mind," and the striking New Orleans blues-styled barrelhouse piano she plays on "Chilly Winds Don't Blow." Her piano is font and center in "Ain't No Use," written by her guitarist, Rudy Stevenson. There is also her excellent cover of Lewis Allan's "Strange Fruit," which is very different in approach from Billie Holiday's version. The set ends with the traditional gospel tune "Sinnerman," which is frenetic, skittering, and full of fury. It's over ten minutes long and it never loses its urgent stride. The band comes in with a vengeance and the tension becomes nearly unbearable until the track explodes with a chorus of male backing singers chanting back to Simone, pushing the tune into the red. There are instrumental solos in the center, though the tautness of the track never loses its power. It is a finish that is utterly dramatic and even stunning.

 

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE REVIEW BY THOM JUREK, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

 

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·      CONDITION:

 

·      THE RECORD

 

 (IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

 

(a)         WE GRADE THE VINYL  AS  (WEAK) NEAR MINT. Some VERY LIGHT AND SUPERFICIAL abrasions – mostly sleeve scuffs -  are (barely) visible, but are probably inaudible,  and do not affect visual integrity or beauty of the vinyl. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

 

(b)         The record has a "deep groove" (an indent in the label about 1/2-inch from the edge of the label, which on SOME labels is associated with very early or first pressings).

 

(c)         The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

 

(d)         Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

 

 

·                          THE COVER

 

THE COVER IS ABOUT VERY GOOD+(+)

 

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

 

-       Cover has some light ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 4

 

-       Back cover has circular tarnish (grayish, dust-covered sections, which closely follow the contour of the record),  probably caused by friction or by rubbing against other covers during the storage. The tarnish is similar in appearance to a common ring wear, but, UNLIKE ring wear, these grayish areas may be possible to clean up with a minor effort and with a right cleansing solution.

 

-       Cover shows some light yellowing on both sides, apparently from aging (nothing significant)

 

-       The cover has a visible 1" scratch mark on the front side

 

-       Cover has a visible "wrinkle"(crease)  in one of the corners.  (VISIBLE ON FRONT SIDE ONLY)

 

-       Visible shelf wear noted on the bottom seam.

 

-       Back cover has some light yellowish stains, probably from exposure to humidity.

 

-       Cover has two corners slightly dinged (nothing significant)

 

 

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

 

 

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

 

We offer three postage rates for domestic orders: USPS Media Mail, USPS Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail and three rates for international shipments:  USPS First Class, USPS Priority International Mail, and USPS Express International Mail (in a small number of cases, we will, at our discretion and for purely technical reasons, substitute First Class Mail with eBay's Global Shipping, which is fundamentally the same service at about the same cost). INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND (BUT DO NOT INSIST) that you select USPS International Priority Mail when making a payment.

 

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from one region of  the world to another. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates, please click on " Shipping, returns, and payments" tab in the header of our listing.

 

 

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CRITICALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

 

(A) All orders valued at $50.00 or more will be shipped fully insured against loss, damage or theft by ShipCover, eBay's contracted insurer, at our expense (B) Yes, we do combine items into a single shipment; in order to enable this feature, the winning bidders should WAIT until their last item of interest ends and ONLY THEN make a payment. Doing otherwise will result in multiple shipments to the same customer and forfeiture of multiple shipping charges already paid. (C) Because we do not play-grade our items, we do not know how the purchased item will play on the buyer's equipment. We can only make reasonable inference on the record's playing condition based on its visual appearance. (D) This seller will NOT cancel erroneous, frivolous and prank bids. The bidders can do so on their own, by visiting eBay's Site Map, then clicking on Bid Retractions link. (E) This seller does not specifically grade or describe certain items, such as: shrink (cellophane) wrap and accompanying extras (inserts, booklets, etc.); however, the presence of these items WILL be noted and accompanied by the gallery photo(s). (F) Please do not submit any bids on our items if you have insufficient user history. (G) Other than in very rare justified cases, failure to pay for the item you won amounts to a fraud and will result in a permanent ban on bidding on our future listings. (H) We will NEVER deliberately, knowingly or willingly provide a false, deceitful or misleading information.

 

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

 

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE (POSTAGE INCLUDED) WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED; STILL SEALED ITEMS MUST BE RETURNED SEALED IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND.   NO EXCEPTIONS!

 

 

FINE (BUT IMPORTANT!) PRINT

 

 (1) The year indicated in the title bar is the year of the original release,  NOT necessarily the year of the actual pressing; for the actual generation of the pressing, please see our item description (top section, the text in red letters). (2) Please do NOT bid based on the title bar, subtitle bar or item specifics box alone; instead, please read the entire description before bidding; (3) Absolutely NO order cancellations after the auction closes. ever, under any circumstances. We can ONLY cancel bids before the item closes. (4) We are unable to provide matrix-, stamper- or other pressing  information in the final 24 hours of the auction. (5) All disagreements and miscommunications can be - and will only be - solved in a civil and mutually respectful manner; please avoid puerile, offensive, abrasive or menacing language (6) This seller will accommodate all reasonable requests and - unless seriously molested - is generally a flexible, pragmatic and agreeable person.

 

Our love & appreciation for your trust, loyalty and business, always and forever;  Thank You & Good Night!

 

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