Sold Date: February 6, 2022
Start Date: January 25, 2022
Final Price: $18.95 (USD)
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VAN MORRISON

Tupelo Honey

1971

Record Grade: VG+

Cover Grade: VG

From Wikipedia:

Tupelo Honey is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move to Marin County, California, except for "You're My Woman", which he wrote during the recording sessions. Recording began at the beginning of the second quarter of 1971 at the Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco. Morrison moved to the Columbia Studios in May 1971 to complete the album. The namesake for the album and its title track is a varietal honey produced from the flowers of the tupelo tree found in the Southeastern United States. The album features various musical genres, most prominently country, but also R&B, soul, folk-rock and blue-eyed soul. The lyrics echo the domestic bliss portrayed on the album cover; they largely describe and celebrate the rural surroundings of Woodstock and Morrison's family life with then-wife Janet "Planet" Rigsbee. Tupelo Honey received most of its success in America; it charted at number 27 on the Billboard charts and in 1977 it was certified gold by the RIAA. It failed to reach any of the European or other world-wide charts. The album yielded two hit singles, the hymn-like title track, as well as the R&B-flavored "Wild Night". The third released single, "(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball", was less successful and did not enter the Billboard Hot 100. The album received mostly positive reviews from music critics at the time of its release, but Morrison's biographers were less favorable towards it in later years.

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I try my best to give an honest assessment of the condition of the records I sell based on the Goldmine Grading Guide. I do not claim to be an expert at grading, but I try to be as objective as possible. I also try to show the quality as best I can in the photographs I take. Please look at the photos to see the condition for yourself. Below I've included an abridged description of each Grade from the Goldmine Record Grading 101 post which you can find online.

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Grading Scale

MINT (M)

NEAR MINT (NM OR M-)

EXCELLENT (E) or VERY GOOD PLUS (VG+)

Very Good (VG)

Very Good Minus (VG-), Good Plus (G+) or Good (G)

POOR (P) and Fair (F)

Detailed Grading Descriptions

MINT (M)

These are absolutely perfect in every way. Often rumored but rarely seen, Mint should never be used as a grade unless more than one person agrees that the record or sleeve truly is in this condition.

NEAR MINT (NM OR M-)

A good description of an NM record is, "it looks like it just came from a retail store and it was opened for the first time." In other words, it's nearly perfect.

NM records are shiny, with no visible defects. Writing, stickers, or other markings cannot appear on the label, nor can any spindle marks from someone trying to blindly put the record on the turntable. If played, it will do so with no surface noise.

NM covers are free of creases, ring wear and seam splits of any kind. Covers with cut-out markings can never be considered Near Mint.

EXCELLENT (E) or VERY GOOD PLUS (VG+)

A good description of a VG+ record is "except for a couple of minor things, this would be Near Mint."

VG+ records may show some slight signs of wear, including light scuffs or very light scratches that do not affect the listening experience. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are OK. Minor signs of handling are OK, too, such as telltale marks around the center hole.

VG+ covers should have only minor wear. A VG+ cover might have some very minor seam wear, minor ring wear, or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the most vulnerable location. Also, a VG+ cover may have some defacing, such as a cut-out marking.

VERY GOOD (VG)

VG records have more obvious flaws than their counterparts in better shape. They lack most of the original gloss found on factory-fresh records. Groove wear is evident on sight, as are light scratches deep enough to feel with a fingernail. When played, a VG record has surface noise, and some scratches may be audible, especially in soft passages and during a song's intro and ending. But the noise will not overpower the music otherwise.

Minor writing, tape or a sticker can detract from the label. VG covers will have many signs of human handling. Ring wear in the middle or along the edges of the cover where the edge of a record would reside, is obvious, though not overwhelming. Some more creases might be visible. Seam splitting will be more obvious; it may appear on all three sides, though it won't be obvious upon looking. Someone might have written on it or stamped a price tag on it.

VERY GOOD MINUS (VG-), GOOD PLUS (G+), or GOOD (G)

The record still plays through without skipping, so it can serve as filler until something better comes along. But it has significant surface noise and groove wear, and the label is worn, with significant ring wear, heavy writing, or obvious damage caused by someone trying to remove tape or stickers and failing miserably. A Good to VG- cover has ring wear to the point of distraction, has seam splits obvious on sight and may have even heavier writing, such as, for example, huge radio station letters written across the front to deter theft.

POOR (P) and FAIR (F)

Records are cracked, impossibly warped, or skip and/or repeat when an attempt is made to play them. Covers are so heavily damaged that you almost want to cry.