JETHRO TULL Minstrel in the Gallery SCARCE ORIG UK 1975 EX++ LP, PLAYS SUPERBLY.

Sold Date: March 31, 2019
Start Date: March 24, 2019
Final Price: £24.99 (GBP)
Bid Count: 5
Seller Feedback: 8658
Buyer Feedback: 105


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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

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. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: JETHRO TULL

Album Title: Minstrel in the Gallery

Producer(s): Ian Anderson

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Minstrel in the Gallery; Cold Wind to Valhalla; Black Satin Dancer; Requiem.

Side 2: One White Duck / 010 = Nothing At All; Baker St. Muse a) Pig-Me and the Whore, b) Nice Little Tune, c) Crash-Barrier Waltzer, d) Mother England Reverie; Grace.

Label/Format: Chrysalis with matt, gently textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with hardly a spindle trace to be seen. This copy appearing barely played and beautifully pressed with sound to match.

Catalogue Number: CHR 1082

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Few vintage records are ever perfectly ‘flat’, so some slight or very gentle arm movement is normal. If any record I offer has more than that, I will mention it, and it can be assumed all I offer should track without issues, even on budget turntables.

Weight of this Record: 124 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Moderate, finding hardly played and superbly pressed copies is far harder.

Original Year of Release: 1975

Matrix Nos: CHR-1082 A-1U 31992-F / CHR-1082 B-1U 31993-F the A-1U/B-1U matrixes and stampers are machine punched. All other detail is scripted.

Mothers / Stampers: 1 MP / 3 OD

Musicians: Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar; Martin Barre – electric guitar; John Evan – piano, organ; Jeffrey Hammond – bass guitar, string bass; Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion. With: David Palmer – string quintet arrangements and conducting. Rita Eddowes, Elizabeth Edwards, Patrick Halling and Bridget Procter – violins; Katharine Tullborn – cello.

Brief Info: Studio album number eight for Jethro Tull. It received generally favourable reviews on issue and sold quite well peaking at 20 in the UK, and better still in America. This one revisits the sound of earlier albums with a mix of electric and acoustic songs skillfully blending their style of folk-rock with progressive elements. Side two features the complex epic ‘Baker Street Muse’ clocking in at over 16 minutes. This is a lovely record and superbly pressed, this was a delight to play-grade.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: arguably better. A single unlaminated format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by Robor Ltd, includes the card lyric inner sleeve.

Cover Front: In terms of shelf wear, this cover has barely any, the only light blemish is the bottom edge area has lightly darkened, this front has little else to fault.

Cover Back: The back is magnificent and it’s probably the best one I have seen since I bought a copy of this album on issue in 1975. The lack of ring wear and rubbing is rarely avoided on this dark back, it will prove immensely difficult to find better.

Top Edge: Straight with barely any wear at all.

Bottom Edge: No rubbing, but this has moderately darkened.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no thickening. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression, a trace near the bottom corner only. The text solidly intact, strong and unworn, this also nicely centred as-seen.

Corners: Any tip rubs minuscule, all retain near mint shape with no knocks or dinks.

Cover Summary: Just the mild darkening near the bottom politely reminds of its considerable age with hardly anything else to fault. So a lovely example to please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): an unlined card graphic/lyric inner sleeve. Printed both sides with shaped corners and a deep recessed top opening. Like the main cover, this has barely anything to fault bar a little darkening near the top opening. No creasing or edge splits, just lightly aged near the very top.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy appearing hardly played on all the evidence with any surface traces few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Also remember, card inners are never surface friendly, so the surfaces on this copy I deem near exceptional. Visually a super record that should please many, if not 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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This quality album plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Always crucial for records with several quiet passages. Few available copies will outperform this early first pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, this one of the very cleanest and best pressings of this album I have heard in years. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* 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 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.