Sold Date: January 21, 2018
Start Date: January 3, 2018
Final Price: $60.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 1015
Buyer Feedback: 1

Why choose, when you can have both? The original is VG average, VG- at the start of side 1 that improves to VG+ by side 2. The great 2007 reissue by 4 Men with Beards is stellar and near mint.

UNCLEVILRecords

A Record Collector with Four Decades Experience

I have been collecting records & other media for over four decades and now due to a crisis of storage, I am forced to release some of my treasures back into the wild. I will be selling UK, European and Japanese pressings as well. My records have been kept in a non-smoking, climate controlled environment.

To the neophyte collector, I would like to state my basic philosophy. I would recommend avoiding over priced remastered and reissued pressings in favor of a well maintained original or early pressings. Especially if the music was originally put down on magnetic tape and this tape was poorly maintained over time. No amount of digital magic can correct an analog recording that is in poor shape. I am thinking of those original Steely Dan and Clash master tapes that they say are gone forever.

I would recommend imports over domestic pressings, especially for records pressed in the 1970s and 1980s. Just try to find a good domestic pressing of Rod Stewart’s Every Picture Tells a Story from this period. UK and European pressings are often the best but unfortunately they were subjected to intense party conditions with cat dander, spilled gin, London mold, cannabis ash and mojo-spunk lodged in the grooves. For this reason, I love Japanese pressings because they have been well cared for—they got plenty of sleep, eat their vegetables & avoid sake to excess (though they may not be the last statement in sound).

My record grading differs somewhat from Goldmine standards (which I think lack specificity).

Sealed.

Mint- a record that mimics new with stellar sound, there maybe is an occasional pop in a lead groove, rare pop in the silent passage between songs but this should be a rare exception. I may qualify this category with a “minus” or other modifiers such as “shrink-wrapped” etc.

Excellent- a record that has been well-played but well-cared for in balance so no major scratches or visible defects. Scuffs are acceptable as long as they do not affect play. There will be more pops and static in the lead-in groove and between songs but the music will still have full-on analog magic. This is a record that will be acceptable as a “keeper” for a collector without need for replacement. It can be modified with a “minus” or in other ways, etc.

VG- a record that has been well-played and subjected to average care (but no abuse). There are scratches and static heard through the music. There maybe an occasional scratch that affects play but no skips. It is a record that may still be enjoyable for listening. A collector will be happy to have it as a place-holder till a better copy comes along. It can be modified with both a “plus” or “minus” or in other ways.

The most damaging things to records are heat, humidity, moisture, stupid children, cats, constrictive storage and zealous over packing with too much tape during shipment. I pledge meticulous attention to packing and ease of removal of the record on arrival.