Ok, you might need to bear with me whilst I explain what we have for sale here...

Neil Young has released a box set of reissued albums. He's called it, rather catchily, Neil Young Official Release Series Discs 5-8. 

I told you it was catchy...

It consists of the Ditch Trilogy of "Time Fades Away", "On The Beach", "Tonight's The Night" plus "Zuma". 

I write a music blog called Every Record Tells A Story (www.everyrecordtellsastory.com) and I got wondering why people would shell out £115 or so on re-issued albums if they could find the 40-year-old originals in great condition for less money. 

Why indeed?

So I have spent a couple of weeks or so tracking down the best copies I can find of the four albums (I rejected a few on the way) and then making up a box set. 

You can follow the story of how I did this in full on the blog. www.everyrecordtellsastory.com (in case you missed it earlier)

So what I have for sale here is not the brand new Neil Young Official Release Series Discs 5-8 re-issues all in lovely 180g vinyl, hand glued in a brand new box. 

Just as well really, because from what I hear, the copy of Tonight's The Night is badly designed and comes unglued the first time you open it...

Instead of the re-issued albums, what we have here is, in my opinion, more special. 

I am offering for sale the original 1970s (not the 2015 re-issues) four albums, including the lyric inserts for Zuma and Time Fades Away, an original early pressing of On The Beach with the nice patterned inside to the album cover which you only find on original copies and a nice gatefold copy of Tonight's The Night that actually opens and shuts without falling apart. There's no insert with Tonight's The Night - those things are rarer than hen's teeth and I've never seen one. 

What else?

The four original LPs come in a box that originally held eight albums of pretty terrible quality, but which has been modified by me to look like a luxurious Neil Young box set with some nice pictures cut out of a 2003 copy of Mojo magazine. See the picture. I'll admit it's a bit home-made, but hey, I did my best. It's laminated, so it's not as bad as it sounds, and I'm risking my 100% eBay feedback track record on it. 

God help me. I hope whoever buys this likes home decorated boxes. 

As with all the best box-sets, we have some luxury extras. They are:

• The box is one of a kind. There will not be another one made. Guaranteed. 

• Replica ticket stubs for three Neil Young concerts

• Tissue lined box

• Exclusive liner notes written by the writer of UK music blog Every Record Tells A Story (yup, that's me) telling the story of Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy and how the box set came together. 

• Replica Pono player (OK, this is a Toblerone, but it's the best I could do, and they are delicious). I'm serious. You will get a Toblerone. 

• Neil-o-vision eyes that can be placed on the Tonight's The Night album cover to humorous effect. Gasp! as the eyes follow you around the room...

• "Download code" for hard to find content of the Tonight's The Night acetate and Chrome Dreams, both of which are unreleased Neil Young albums. For legal reasons these codes will only point you in the right direction where third parties may have the mp3s available. If these - let's face it - slightly naughty third parties have removed them by the time the box reaches you, you'll have to search for them yourself elsewhere. It's nothing to do with me. 

The albums are all in VG+ condition. The sleeves are all VG+, save for Time Fades Away which would be but for some initials in biro on the top right front corner. I'm strict like that. In my mind, biro on a cover means VG only, but it's otherwise very clean and tight, so you may disagree. 

I have played all the albums on my Rega deck. They all sound really good. No skips or jumps. One copy of TFA was rejected when side 2 had loads of crackling, so I can assure you I have been very particular. 

I am putting the set up for sale at the price it cost me, because the idea is to make the set available to the record buying public at a price that is less than the reissues. Maybe it will get you thinking about whether we really need all these re-issues. Maybe not...

I think I did pretty well getting the albums at that price. Haggling did occur on a couple of occasions, which saved a tenner (you try getting those four albums at that price - it's not as easy as you think).

So let's recap. 

• Time Fades Away - original UK issue of LP on Reprise with huge lyric inner. Biro on front cover (see photo).

• On The Beach - original US pressing of LP with inner sleeve. The cover has the pattern of garden furniture on the inside. 

• Tonight's The Night - original UK pressing on Reprise. Yellow label, not the black US pressing. Gatefold Matt cover (made from blotter paper apparently) in VG+. Inner sleeve present but no Dutch language insert or packet of glitter dust which I understand some copies came with. It has the Waterface inscription in the run out groove. 

• Zuma - original UK pressing with Matt lyric sheet and cover/ inner. VG+. 

• All vinyl has been play tested by me and is at least VG+.

• Unique Box to house the LPs, decorated by a rank amateur (me), but which has charm. 

• Replica ticket stubs

• Liner notes

• Toblerone

• A couple of other things you can probably live without but which will be there also. 

• The new box set has the four re-issued LPs priced at around £28 each. You could get the originals here for less than £17 each. 

• So happy bidding....

Any questions, please email me. 

Cheers

Steve