Sold Date: February 11, 2018
Start Date: February 4, 2018
Final Price: £122.00 (GBP)
Bid Count: 13
Seller Feedback: 2689
Buyer Feedback: 38

JETHRO TULL - This Was

ISLAND ILP 985

MONO(!!)  

1st Press UK
1968

Machined matrices:

 side 1 ILP+985+A

 side 2 ILP+985+B

            JETHRO TULL - THIS WAS - ISLAND  UK 1968  MONO ORIGINAL!
*****WORLDS FINEST ORANGE EYE - WIDESPINE 1ST PRESS MEGA*****
ILP 985 ROUGH TEXTURED ORANGE EYE PINK LABELS VERY FIRST EVER PRESSING,WITH INCREDIBLE WIDE SPINE
(WIDEST I HAVE EVER HEARD OF OR SEEN) THIS MONO VERSION WAS FOR SALE FOR UNDER A WEEK AND THEN WAS RETRACTED FROM SHOPS AND DELETED TO BE REPLACED BY THE FAR MORE COMMON STEREO VERSION. 

REPORTEDLY JUST A FEW HUNDRED WERE PRESSED UP BEFORE RETRACTION, HARDLY ANY ARE IN CIRCULATION NOW. AS SUCH THIS IS THE SECOND RAREST TULL COLLECTOR'S ITEM (ONLY THE JETHRO "TOE" SINGLE IS RARER!!)

 REGARDED AS ONE OF THE BEST EVER DEBUT ALBUMS,THIS IS SOMETHING SPECIAL...AS THEIR LONGEVITY HAS PROVED.

Although this has light wear,  the audio is truly exceptional with very very minimal interference (without any heavy loud clicks or pops) and very playable and enjoyable, and of course the original and earliest ''MONO''. (In my personal opinion the only way to hear this awesome debut album)! I have had a few original copies of this album and have compared the mono with stereo many times! Points to note the mono mix is different to the stereo and much rarer and more sought after! This is highly collectable being totally original and the earliest with the 'earliest' textured pink Island labels and carries the 'A' and 'B' matrix endings! The vinyl being the thickest and heavier type with deeper grooves! The cover is the original MONO (mega wide spined) type unique with its 'Wide internal flipbacks''!!!

This album also contains the only Jethro Tull song with lyrics which Ian Anderson does not sing on, "Move On Alone." Mick Abrahams sings vocals on this song.

This Was  (1968) is the first album by the rock band Jethro Tull. Recorded at a cost of only £1200 GBP, the album was definitely the work of relative novices on the rock music scene, however, the album received generally favourable reviews and sold well upon its release. In the documentary film of the Woodstock Festival, portions of the song "Beggar's Farm" may be heard on the PA system, indicating that the album had achieved some notice in the United States.

The absolute rarity of this album is not to be underestimated. It hardly ever surfaces nowadays. This is an absolutely gorgeous slab of early quality ISLAND vinyl which is in great condition!! This has a lovely deep glossy sheen!! Immense quality sole blues/prog album that ticks all the right boxes and incredibly hard to find. I have twentyfive years experience in grading. It doesn't get much better than this!

SOLE ALBUM OF THIS SUPERBAND THAT HARDLY SOLD AT ALL BUT IS NOW VERY SOUGHT AFTER BY BLUES/PROG CONNOISEURS

A CLASSIC  LP THAT SHOULD BE IN EVERY QUALITY PROG COLLECTION - if you cannot buy this you should at least try and get a cd re-issue and enjoy

excellent UK 1968

1st press record

the surfaces display blazing factory-fresh gloss with just a  few  hairlines under an intense light.

the audio is supreme courtesy of the very high groove walls of the vinyl. These early Island presses were built like a Rolls Royce!! hardly ever any static and NO clicks!!!

Please, also have a look at my other prog albums on sale this week.

!!!!AN IMPOSSIBLE FIND!!!GORGEOUS VINYL AND SLEEVE. A few hundred of the LP were ever sold!!! This is SOOOOOOOOOOO very rare!!!!!

BACK IN 1968 WHEN THIS LP WAS FIRST RELEASED, IT ONLY EVER SOLD IN ABSOLUTELY TINY AMOUNTS  (REPUTEDLY JUST A FEW HUNDRED EVER MADE IT TO SOME SHOPS- AND WAS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY DELETED!!!!  AS A RESULT IT IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND INCREDIBLY HARD TO LOCATE TODAY!!!! 

****ELUSIVE PROGMONSTER!!!****PERPLEXING SONGCRAFT!!!***AN INSPIRATION TO MANY SUBSEQUENT TOPACTS!!!***

!!!!A VERY HARD FIND!!! Most have been bought up by collectors!! This is hardly offered these days!!

In all my years this is only the second time I have come across this PROGMONSTER in MONO. Sensational sound quality, I have played this through in its entirety and it was a great joy!!! NO skips or jumps. NO clicks and hardly any static, this is really a stunning heavy glossy jet black vinyl .                       

Vinyl: VG+ to EX  .  A sensational find!!! I have played this in FULL twice over> The replay is ASTOUNDING!!! I first played for a general listen and a second time for a more detailed observation. A few visible hairlines but the audio reigns supreme on this ultra-heavy slab of vinyl. Only rarely any light static can be heard, mainly between the tracks on the silent grooves. Fantastic songcraft!! I am very glad to be able to report that this is a fine slab of vinyl without any problems at all and as such worthy of inclusion of any great prog collection.  Of course NO jumps/clicks/skips etc.

Gatefold Sleeve: VG++.  Original front and back laminated sleeve with inner flipbacks is in VG++ condition.  The spine is fully legible and superwide but has some yellowing.  A couple of light underlaminate crease near the spine. The corners have light wear. It will be a very long time before this super album will come around again with again more takers than ever before.

***This is a unique prime investment opportunity!!! Finding this album in any condition at all is nearly impossible!!! This is  a great and seriously collectable super album!!  You will buy into a piece of  prog core history.*** 

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.