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: THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION

Album Title: Cruising with Ruben & The Jets

Producer(s): Frank Zappa

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Cheap Thrills; Love of My Life; How Could I Be Such a Fool; Deseri; I’m Not Satisfied; Jelly Roll Gum Drop; Anything.

Side 2: Later That Night; You Didn’t Try to Call Me; Fountain of Love; No, No, No; Anyway the Winds Blows; Stuff Up the Cracks.

Label/Format: Verve – Select first 1970s repressing with matt surfaces with a gentle hint of texturing. Now with the new 2317069 catalogue number that replaced SVLP 9237. But like the 1969 pressing, these have the deep intense black colour Verve labels. As these were repressed more into the 1970s, these labels became paler with a more grey look with a surface sheen, also the records pressed thinner.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with spindle marks being a little over light in number, but largely fine as seen more under angled light.

Cat Number: 2317069

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: 132 grams. A weight almost on par with the original.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity & Overview: Original copies pressed in 1969 in the UK are scarce, and rare in anything like top conditions. Even by early Zappa standards, this was not a good seller and has become very hard to find. The Select repressings are getting scarce in their own right and increasingly difficult to locate, especially in clean all-round condition. Original copies vary in several ways to this first issue 1970s repress. Firstly, the catalogue number changes as described above. But the biggest change was the cover. Originals were single sleeves and only the front artwork is more-or-less the same – the original did not have the ‘Mothers of Invention’ in black circle near the top right edge as this one has. The back cover on originals was in black and white, and the picture of the young Frank was much smaller. This Select reissue has a gatefold cover with spectacular inside with all the song lyrics and more surreal graphics. So for hard core Zappa collectors (like me), owning the original and this early repressing is essential as the packaging is so very different. The record itself has the same tracking listing and playing order. Finally, a few American originals included two insert sheets – never issued in the UK – ‘Dance Steps’ and ‘How to Comb and Set a Jellyroll’. These are very rarely seen or offered as originals, indeed I do not even own these myself and only seen them once. So I have included repros of these rare inserts from the Old Masters box set to make this album more ‘complete’ – they are fun to see and own even if not the real thing.

Original Year of Release: November 1968. [likely early 69 in the UK]

Matrix No: 2317069 A//1 420 1 1 3 & 2317069 B//1 420 1 1 2

Musicians: Frank Zappa - low grumbles, oo-wah and lead guitar; Ray Collins - lead vocals; Roy Estrada - high weazlings, dwaedy-doop and electric bass; Jimmy Carl Black and Arthur Dyre Tripp III - lewd pulsating rhythm; Ian Underwood - piano, saxes; Don Preston - piano; Bunk Gardner - saxes.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Zappa’s album of retrospective nostalgia and one of his most persona, certainly a risky album that few would have predicted. It must have raised a few eyebrows for those around at the time who bought the earlier psych albums as this is very different. An album that went back to the doo-wop sound of the 1950s, the music of Frank’s youth he was so proudly fond of and enjoyed in his younger days. This doo-wop sound was so faithfully reconstructed, it fooled many critics and listeners at the time to who was actually playing the music. Zappa originally decided to record this with a deliberate low-fi, scratchy sound but decided against it. Instead, he used a compressed production to emphasise the mechanical nature of the music – it works perfectly and is still one of Frank’s greatest ever ‘sound’ albums. The late Ray Collins vocals rarely sounded better than on this amazing journey into the past. The Ruben parody still has elements of Mothers humour and fun, the balloon on the front cover states “is this the Mothers of Invention recording under a different name in a last ditch attempt to get their cruddy music on the radio”? – I would very much doubt whether much ever made it on the airwaves. When the ‘shock’ of this ‘retro’ album wore off, it has become a real favourite amongst serious Zappa fans. With originals almost lost these days, I have no qualms in offering very clean early repressings – which as outlined above, are crucial anyway due to the packaging being so different (and arguably better for this album).

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: and arguably worthy of a (+). An unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces (originals were a single format). Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group, includes the soft lined inner sleeve. Also the two reproduction insert sheets. The picture on the back is a young Frank with pencil moustache.

Cover Front: Brilliant artwork with little to fault. It retains great freshness and colour with no fading and barely any hint of rubbing and no sticker marks. Any marks or creasing little and very light, this has been cover-protected for most of its time and is a very pleasing example to hold and view.

Cover Back: Overall, very similar to the front. The odd tiny surface chip and light tip rubs. Very gentle patchy rub traces near the top edge. Rarely seen without fading, especially on the spine area or ring wear, which this has avoided. Great picture of the young Frank, on this second version cover seen much bigger in sepia. Both front and back are really nice.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Only post 1960s UK version covers have this artwork, this inside looks superb with all song lyrics includes.

Top Edges: Both straight, flush and close to parallel, a little gentle rubbing to the back, very little at all on the front.

Bottom Edges: Both very impressive with little to fault.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front has a real tucked and folded edge, a little very light patchy rubbing here-and-there. The back edges are clean, mostly very sharp with very little wear. Any thickening or burring little, tiny and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: A superb spine: solid, straight with minimal compression, also folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. All text is perfect and unworn and the white surface clean and fresh.

Corners: Little to fault on the spine corners, the right ones have small tip rubs that few can hope to avoid totally. Very fine shape or better retained with no bashes or noteworthy dinks.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this quite unforgiving, brightly colour and wear-prone 1970’s cover, one that will prove difficult to find much better. This attractive item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a Polydor-style soft lined inner that has only gently aged with a little darkening of the seam edges adhesive, but little else. Two neat undamaged window circles, hardly any creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs.

The Inserts: A very few early American copies included a pair of insert sheets and these have always been very rare indeed. I have only once seen them as an original, this dating back to my teenage years. So I include for FREE to any winning bidder, a pair of repros taken from the Old Masters box set to make this album more like ‘complete’. Great fun and rarely seen – one shows how to comb a Jellyroll hairdo, the other how to perform the bop dance steps.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): a very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface trace marks few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most collectors again.

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: This quality album plays even above it’s high visual grading with very little 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*. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure, this was a joy to hear. Of course, this has the original sound and mix, no tweaking or enhancements on this still early pressing – unfortunately for many years, digital and later vinyl repressings were totally ruined by overdubbing which for me made the album sound very fake and totally unlistenable.This is the real thing, just how Zappa wanted it to be heard. 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, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

End Piece: Few could have predicted the fourth Mothers of Invention record – the final original album they made on Verve – would have sounded like this. But clues for Zappa’s fondness of ‘Greasy Fifties Love Songs’ were on Freak Out! with a few of these songs included on that classic debut, albeit different versions. Ruben and the Jets with the original warm, pulsating sound, is for the connoisseur collector, this copy really rocks just like it should. With of course the original sound and mix – for those who have never heard it, well they have never heard it for real. Zappa produces an immaculate parody of the music from his younger days with astonishing authenticity, proving again what a versatile band the early Mothers were. All early copies are getting hard to find and copies little played are nearing impossible. Totally indispensable, a rare opportunity – SNAT! – bop bop bah bop bop bah – rarely sounded better.

* 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’.