ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: SPOOKY TOOTH with Pierre Henry

Album Title: Ceremony – An Electric Mass

Producer(s): Pierre Henry and Spooky Tooth

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Have Mercy; Jubilation; Confession.

Side 2: Prayer; Offering; Hosanna.

Label/Format: Island – original pink i format. These have a real deep rich pink colour.

Label Conditions: Both ultra clean, fresh and highly attractive. Any spindle traces minuscule, barely any at all, the record appears hardly even played with superb sound to match.

Cat Number: ILPS 9107

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: 131 grams. A very fine solid weight.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce – and considerably harder to find with a record this clean and obviously hardly played.

Original Year of Release: December 1969

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9107 A//1 1 2 4 & ILPS 9107 B//1 1 1 5

Musicians: Gary Wright - Lead vocals, organ; Mike Harrison - Lead vocals; Andy Leigh - bass; Luther Grosvenor - lead guitar; Mike Kellie - drums; Pierre Henry - electronics.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Spooky Tooth were formed from Art, who made one album on Island. For some reason, which always remains a mystery to me, this album, the band’s third, never gets the praise it fully deserves. For me its argaubly their very best. A blend of their usual style but with a taste of the avant garde with Pierre Henry, a French electronics wizard guesting. The album is subtitled An Electronic Mass and takes on the form of a progressive church service. This was a very different, experimental Spooky Tooth album, and I always applaud experimentation, who wants the same album sound time and time again, ‘dare to be different’ I say. Not quite the most experimental album on Island however, that still belongs to the White Noise debut album, that was light years ahead of it’s time, but this is runs it close and not too dissimilar at times. I really don’t find Ceremony that strange anyway, it’s just a great far more ‘progressive’ album, and one of the more challenging albums within the Island catalogue. This controversial record found no new audience for them, and sold less than most of their others. Clearly a little to ‘out-there’ for many listeners. The cover was also daring and unusual, with bizarre artwork from John Holmes. This is without doubt one of the hardest albums to find in top conditions – that is both record and especially cover. The sleeve always wears badly being black, matt and unprotected, few survive without significant wear, this being one of the best ones I have seen for some considerable time with any wear light. The record in near top-drawer, without doubt, hardly played, very clean and offering super sound throughout. Beautifully pressed by Philips for Island, this could indeed prove a major upgrade for some.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: and that being a little critical of such an uncompromising sleeve. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England, uncredited. Includes the November 1969 Philips/Polydor style inner sleeve.

Cover Front: A classic Island cover and as uncompromising as the record with daring artwork. Such a shame this was not laminate protected as it rarely wears well. Predominately black means it will rub – this has quite light rubbing, but far less than most seen. Barely creased with the somewhat gruesome artwork looking impressive, this has fared pretty well.

Cover Back: Somewhat agains the odds, the back has fared even better with not a great deal to really fault. Minimal rubbing, barely creased, and immediately apparent is the lack of ringwear for which this back rarely escapes. Not seen any better I feel sure.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Modern art or just plain weird? This bizarre centrefold looks almost as made.

Top Edges: Straight, flush with only gentle patchy rubbing.

Bottom Edges: Similar with a little more rubbing to these storage edges.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front closed edge is very neat and almost as made. The back open edges show a little thickening viewed end-on, this mainly to the inner of the two. All guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: Given just how wear-prone this cover is, the spine has survived in very fine condition and is one of the few I have seen where ALL text is present and strong, that is rarely the case. Solid, quite thick, straight, minimal compression, but minor tilt. Folded square, so the edges meet up closely together, flat and parallel. I consider this spine in terms of lack of wear to be near exceptional.

Corners: Light corner rubbing with very fine shape retained without bashes or obvious dinks.

Cover Summary: Dark, challenging and prone to all forms of wear, so in context, this one has fared well with only gentle rubbing. One to please many collectors, but not perfectionists – good luck finding a ‘perfect’ one of these.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): the Polydor-style inner sleeve has only gently aged with the usual discolouration, mainly to the adhesive seam areas. Two immaculate window circles, very clear, fresh polylining, barely creased and all edges solid and unsplit with no repairs. This includes the 119 date-code which means is was manufactured in November 1969, the month prior to issue.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a superb visual copy that is very clean with excellent shine, intense black and very solidly pressed. A copy appearing hardly played with any surface trace marks bordering on minuscule. Also superbly pressed by Philips and offering probably the finest, cleanest and enjoyable sound I have heard from a vinyl copy to date. This record has deep, wide and very complex groove patterns that indicates to ‘vinyl readers’ this has intense and dynamic audio character with vast frequency ranges and extremes of volume and quietness. This would have been a difficult album to track for vintage stylus and many older pressings could have been damaged very quickly. This record has avoided such abuse and without doubt has hardly been used (and never abused). A wonderful Island pink record that should please most collectors – this has huge upgrade potential for some.

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: As suggested by the groove patterns, this intense record plays with impressive high fidelity sound and audio quality matches, or even exceeds its impressive visual grading, it plays with practically nothing to fault and that is very unusual for this highly complex recording. A very difficult record with highs and lows of sound volume and strong dynamics. One passage sounds like a hammer being being knocked against a drain-pipe and it literally sounds in the room. Offers crisp distortion-free sound, with all frequencies sharp and clear and no tracking issues*. Sound quality is very impressive with a wide dynamic range and detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed, practically absent throughout, even on the difficult passages. Overall, an exceptional clean pressing for one of the most demanding Island titles ever. Few copies will outperform this very early pink pressing significantly I feel sure. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, arguably still one of Island’s most under-appreciated classics. The record will prove immensely difficult to find better (or even to match being honest) and it’s long overdue the recognition it deserves and demands to be played again soon – strongly recommended.

End Piece: Ignore the critics and books about this album this is a brilliant journey into the world of experimental electronic-rock – a Ceremony with a difference. If you like Spooky Tooth, I can think of no reason not to like this one, it just takes a little more time as their sound became far more ‘progressive’ and experimental. Clearly Pierre Henry’s influence was vast. An album with genuine hi-fi sound that will excel on a worthy system. For a band to shift their sound and experiment so quickly, and bravely was to be applauded and I strongly recommend this title. The record one the cleanest looking and sounding I have heard, and even with gentle wear, the cover does it find justice as well.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

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 as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – 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 it’s 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. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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.

Equipment Used for Play-Grading: I now play-grade ALL the records I offer (unless clearly stated to the contrary) on the following equipment:

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 14 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. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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 TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, 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 as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. 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] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 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]) = £16.50 (£17.50 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’.