Sold Date: June 28, 2017
Start Date: June 21, 2017
Final Price: £437.75 (GBP)
Bid Count: 7
Seller Feedback: 4451
Buyer Feedback: 78

Sweet child in time you'll see the line,
  The line that's drawn between the good and the bad.
  See the blind man shooting at the world,
  Bullets flying, taking toll.
  If you've been bad, Lord I bet you have,
  And you've been hit by flying lead,
You'd better close your eyes and bow your head,
  And wait for the ricochet.
DEEP PURPLE: "Deep Purple In Rock," THE VERY FIRST UK PRESSING, 20th, JUNE, 1970.
  Anniversaries  keep happening in 2017,  by sheer coincidence, I am listing this very first pressed "Deep Purple In Rock" on the
  47th Anniversary of the release, almost to the actual day is more than close enough, yesterday, (Tuesday).
 
  HARVEST LABEL: SHVL 777.
. 
    MAITRIX:  SHVL 777  A - 2  /  SHVL 777  B - 1  (The very first pressing)
  Regarding Side 1's 'A - 2' being the very first pressing made, I have never personally seen 'A - 1' with the label text and logo
  exclusive to the very first pressings.   I check internet info on vinyl websites but rarely find accuracy and the claims of 'A - 1'
  existing, are not substantiated with a picture.  Stating 'A - 1' is an, 'Extremely rare very first pressing' is not good enough,
  You might as well claim another EMI album from the same era exists as an 'extremely rare' very first pressing with 'A - 1',
  The Beatles "Abbey Road" was issued only nine months earlier than "Deep Purple In Rock" and the very first pressings had really
  distinctive, exclusive identification on the labels and the cover.  If "Abbey Road" had exactly the same 'A - 2 / B - 1', 36 weeks
  later, it was perfectly logical for "Deep Purple In Rock" to have 'A - 2 / B - 1', which coincidentally also had exclusive items
  printed on the label...just like "Abbey Road."  There is a strong possibility 'A - 1' was stamped on the very first pressings of
  "Deep Purple In Rock" , but only on the earliest Text Pressing made, I have never seen a pre June, 1970 Test Pressing and the
  possibility is strongly supported by the maitrix on these very first pressings.   If you look at my picture of Side 1's maitrix,
  the letter 'A' is stamped at an angle above the rest of the line, on the other hand, it could have just been the sound engineer
  making a minor error!   Facts are facts, that same error is found on the very first made pressings, EMI;s stamping codes confirm
  this is indeed one of the earliest records made, with '1' digit mothers on both sides.
 
  I might as well deal with the other fallacy about the first issue "Garrod & Lofthosue" gatefold covers, the Discog website states;
  "The earliest copies are those which have one line around the EMI logo on the front."
  They have missed the Harvest logo directly below it, did not have yet have a second line around it, next, the EMI's boxed logo
   had a second very thin parallel line around the EMI logo and to balance that out, a second very thin parallel line was added to
  the Harvest logo.  I agree completely about "the earliest copies" only though, because all described happened during the initial
  cover manufacturing, without the full details, other websites have jumped to the wrong conclusion and announced only the first
  pressing had the EMI logo without a thin parallel line addition.  Of course three types existed simultaneously, all printed items
  were made before the records were pressed, covers were paired up with them at random, variations exist due to small design
  alterations during production..... just like the "Abbey Road" cover!  With such distinctive label differences between the very
  first pressings and the 'original' immediately following pressings, the relatively small, easily missed cover changes are really
  best left to fanatics.  I do not mean that to be derogatory, I number among the fanatics or I would not be writing this or be able
  to criticise and correct errors made by text books and  websites, I became a professional record seller with genuine personal
  knowledge and experience, in a period none of this was written down.  I bought "In Rock" on the day of release in June, 1970
  and before the internet existed, I bought and sold more copies of every 1970's and 1980's UK "In Rock" pressings, than I
  could even begin to count.  I give this much detail in descriptions to prevent spending hours answering emails, I devote a full
  day to writing this description, so please do not send emails with your particular variation, any huge selling album had to
   create variations; "Deep Purple In Rock"  reached No.4 in the UK charts and resided there for a consecutive 68 weeks, one
  whole year and three months.... including the records being pressed by EMI and all items printed by "Garrod & Lofthouse," I had
  every reason to compare it to the October, 1969 "Abbey Road" album.
 

  EMI STAMPING CODES: RM 1 / RT 1
So, No. 24 record side and No. 29 record side from the  mothers, the comments made above are conclusive with such a very
first record made, out of all the massive amount, oh yes, it also happens to be a true Mint, very first pressed record.


  TO QUALIFY AS THE VERY FIRST PRESSING, THE LABELS ALSO DO NOT HAVE THE YET TO BE INTRODUCED,
  'EMI' BOXED LOGO'S ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CENTRE HOLES.  THAT WAS NOT UNTIL MID- 1971, WHEN IT WAS
  PLACED IN THE SPACE ABOVE THE LARGE GREEN 'HARVEST' LETTERING AT 3 O 'CLOCK.
 
THE LABEL RIMS HAVE 'The Gramophone Co. Ltd.' AND NOT 'EMI Records Ltd'.
 
  "Made In Gt. Britain" IS PRINTED AT 6 O'CLOCK.

  The above details on the record and labels conclusively place this as the first pressing.
 

  ORIGINAL 1970,  'Harvest' PROMO INNER SLEEVE POLY-LINED WITH LP COVER PICTURES, FIRST INTRODUCED IN
  1969 WHEN 'Harvest' WAS FOUNDED.   THE PICTURED ALBUMS WITH CATALOGUE NUMBER WERE NEVER CHANGED
  AND THE SAME DESIGN WAS IN USE UNTIL 1973.
  Unused without any tears or splits, just some ageing of it's 47 years of age and that has to include the glue seepage from the
  seams and fixing the polythene lining, fully contributing to the 'ageing' appearance of the very absorbent textured paper.
  Only a few minor record impression related creases that formed naturally, regardless of not being used.
  THE UNUSED INNER SLEEVE IS IN EXCELLENT+++ / NEAR MINT.
 

  1970 FIRST ISSUE GATEFOLD COVER, THE OUTSIDE HAS DELUXE THICK GLOSSY LAMINATION.  INSIDE THE GATEFOLD
   IS MATT, THE BOTTOM RIM OF THE RIGHT PANEL, HAS THE MANUFACTURING DATE ENCODED:
 
  7006 =  June, 1970
 
The first issue gatefold cover was printed by 'Garrod & Lofthouse', now 47 years old and still in really outstanding condition.
    The front artwork is self explanatory, what a great idea to tie in heavy music by superimposing the band's faces over the U.S.A.
  President's faces, carved on Mt. Rushmore.  A deluxe gatefold cover but with normal excessive handling it became badly battered
  and worn, this still as stunning as the day it was made, the lack of use  and more to the point, the storage was perfectly made.
    The deeply glossy lamination on the outside has no dulling at all, a fantastic shine enhances unfaded and richly bright colours,
  in particular, the deep blue of the sky.  A plastic outer sleeve protected the cover from the day of purchase, so superbly unworn
  edges, right side corners and the spine, the extreme tips of the spine / left side corners, only have the merest standing  brushing.
 
  I have just described a familiar pattern for an unplayed record, 'standing in storage traits'are not connected to use, the inside
  panels have has legacy started by "Sgt. Pepper" three years earlier.  The credits and individual band pictures include full album
  lyrics, with a white background to the black printing stains and greasy fingerprints usually spoil both panels, unused, there is
  virtually any ageing.  Sometimes I find it absurd describing the natural events after a period of time as long as nearing 50 years,
  but accept stating the obvious is essential information for potential buyers. Unplayed or not, nothing can stop the effect of
  gravity on a massively heavyweight 1970 record, which was exactly the same thickness and weight of a 60's record inside the
  cardboard cover.  A reasonably record impression simply had to form and a few related tiny laminated edge lines, formed naturally
  and once again, not from use or handling, I state that positively in text because highly reflective lamination obscure tiny details
  in photography.   In fact, today was so dark with storm clouds and heavy rain, the sheer quality of this cover produced really
  superb, representative pictures, the bright sunshine of the summer is long gone now. Grading covers is never easy when inside is
  a very rare unplayed record, I cannot possibly include natural formations in the grading, besides, how can there not be a record
  impression outline on a 1970 cover?  The same applies to the described slightest standing traits, the spine only has a few gentle
  ripples and but very clear printing, grading an unused, carefully stored cover in a plastic outer sleeve from day one, simply has to
  include the term, 'Mint' or this becomes no more than a farce.  47 years is a long time ago and I refuse to  drop below this when
  the whole principal of grading all items, hinges on 'use', which this did not have;
  THE COVER IS IN A MINIMUM OF NEAR MINT CONDITION.


THE IMMACULATE AS NEW LABELS, DO NOT HAVE ANY SPINDLE ALIGNMENTS AND THE RECORD IS ALSO LITERALLY
  LIKE A NEW RECORD.    WITH A BEAUTIFUL DEEP, ULTRA GLOSSY SHINE, WITHOUT ANY SCUFFS,SCRATCHES OR
  MARKS.  I COULD NOT FIND ANY HANDLING TRACE ON THE PRISTINE SURFACE.  KNOWING IT HAD TO BE HANDLED
  AT THE PRESSING PLANT AND ORIGINAL 1970 RECORD SHOP, I WILL INCLUDE MY USUAL, ANY HANDLING IS NEAR
  INVISIBLE TO INVISIBLE.
  No to test my resolve to offer this for the next owner to be the first hear it for 47 years, the rarity of that is immense and
  scrutinised the labels for an excuse to play one of my most loved rock albums, no spindle contact traces at all has to be
  respected and it will be, I'm looking forward to write this....
  THE RECORD IS IN UNPLAYED, MINT CONDITION.
SIDE 1
"Speed King"
"Bloodsucker"
"Child In Time"
"Flight Of The Rat"

SIDE 2
"Into The Fire"
"Living Wreck"
"Hard Lovin' Man"

Ian Gillan - vocals
  Ritchie Blackmore - guitars
Roger Glover - bass
Jon Lord - keyboards
Ian Paice - drums
 
All Songs Written By Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord & Ian Paice.
  The Eight Tracks Were Recorded Between August, 1969 - May, 1970:
"Speed King", "Child In Time", "Into The Fire" & "Living Wreck" At IBC Studios. (Andy Knight- sound engineer)
"Flight Of The Rat" & "Hard Lovin' Man" At  De Lane Lea Studios. (Martin Birch - sound engineer)
"Bloodsucker"At Abbey Road Studios.  (Phil McDonald - sound engineer)
My first encounter with Deep Purple was picking up their 1968 single, "Hush", a really great version, but I was not all that
  taken with a band who concentrated almost entirely on recording their take on other artist's material and for that, a single
  was ideal and so I never got into their early albums.  Limited funds played a big part in which albums you could afford to buy
  and the late 1960's was an era of monumental LP's being released on a weekly basis, there were always several vital titles
  left outstanding.  Then in the summer of 1970 all that changed, suddenly everyone was raving about the new Deep Purple LP
  that was on the same level as Led Zeppelin for heavy rock/blues, the second you heard just the intro to "Child In Time," this
  was something new and sensational!  Just to put a perspective onto this, because time scales only come into the equation in
  hindsight, heavy rock was starting to emerge as an alternative to underground & progressive music ,which began to stagnate
  and become boring.  "In Rock" was released before Black Sabbath's August,1970 "Paranoid" single and the success from that
   sent their same titled album surging up the LP charts, so this second line-up of Deep Purple, or 'Mark 2', were the first UK band
  to kick-start the 70's decade by releasing such an adrenaline fuelled heavy rock album of real substance.   Unlike Led Zeppelin,
  who now included acoustic folk tracks on approximately half of their third album in 1970, every second of "In Rock" stayed at
  an extraordinary level of overpowering musicianship.  It often happens to bands who last decades or their splinter off-shoots,
  they wrote and recorded such a era defining album, nothing that followed ever quite hit such heights, "In Rock" simply could
not bettered or replicated, a true masterpiece of a record. Deep Purple were very brave to attempt this because the previous
LP's and singles had failed to be commercially successful and unlike Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath,"In Rock" did not contain
any kind of acoustic interludes, right from the opening howls of "Speed King" and the scorching pace never relented until the
needle left the the final grooves of the last track on Side 2, "Hard Lovin' Man."  No studio enhanced effects were necessary or
inserted, only the most breathtaking musicianship because the band played as inspiredly as anything ever recorded, then or today.
 
The original 1968 line-up of Deep Purple had two different musicians to this second 1970 incarnation, I am not keen on calling
them 'Mark 2', a very silly title that is better left for a model of a car than such a great band, they were;
Rod Evans - vocals, Nic Simper - bass, Ritchie Blackmore - guitar, Jon Lord, organ and Ian Paice - drums.
  Three albums were released from them, initially on EMI's Parlophone label before moving onto their Harvest label, the vocalist
Rod Evans was replaced by Ian Gillan and the departing Nic Simper's bass was taken over by Roger Glover's.  The effect from that
was immediate and dynamite!   The impact lost all their previous flirtations with 'pop' cover versions and the orchestral enhanced
  sounds found on their debut Harvest album, "Concerto For Group And Orchestra", recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, London in
  1969.  That did include Ian Gillian and  Roger Glover but it was more like shaking off the experimental stages that were in no way
  utilising the incredible musical chemistry that was not in need of stifling and formulised arrangements.   Apologies to anyone who
  is fond of that album, my descriptions are honestly given personal opinions, I do not build up albums I consider to be third rate with
  the superlatives I do not believe they merit.  There are dozens of examples where rock and orchestration worked superbly, but the
  material had to be original and exciting or how could the outcome be even remotely inspired?  "In Rock" was recorded with Ritchie
  Blackmore's guitar and and Jon Lord's organ unshackled by those former restraints imposed by the previous material, now the band
  co-wrote every single track and with such a commanding and an inspirational vocalist as Ian Gillan, the album caught fire and it hit
  the heady heights of No.4 in the UK charts. So by no means a rare album as a first pressing but like my original they took such heavy
  punishment, I would not even consider offering inferior graded vinyl, this is an album to blow your socks clean off, the sonic audio
  properties mastered into the heavyweight vinyl in 1970 were colossal.  Worn out is.... worn out, any attempts to stretch a grading
  will not compensate for hearing "Deep Purple In Rock" as a pale shadow of it's true greatness.  It is not a big deal to have the first
  issue's label details outlined in my main headings, but the majority of copies being offered in 'Excellent date' from after 1973 when
  "Gramophone" was replaced by 'EMI.'  To be accurately named as a first pressing you have to also check the left hand sides of the
  centre holes, because until 1971 there was not a boxed EMI logo printed there,  positively not in 1970!   All the details given down
  to having the correct Harvest promotional inner sleeve apply and there no exceptions, the album was re-pressed constantly and in
  our time on ebay, this is only the first unplayed very first pressing issue I have been able to offer. The following early 1970's
  pressings with either 'Gramophone Co. Ltd .' label rim text up to 1973, then with "EMI Records Ltd." pressings, are also stunning
  sounding records. I love offering them just as much, but only when in Mint, which for the age now is not exactly easy to produce,
  buying the very first pressing personally in 1970, makes offering this amazing unplayed first pressing, a very special occasion.
   
  An ultimate first pressing of "Deep Purple In Rock" means a great deal to me because I was 17 only years old when this album was
first released and this is identical in every way to how I bought it!  I describe the effect of heavyweight records on a cover to
  the best of my ability, but in reality this cover still gives the appearance and feel of just being distributed to a 1970 UK record
   shop.  That is not trying to ignore the storage traits, because had this album remained untouched and forgotten about on a dusty
   shelf since 1970, the same comments made here would apply.  That is the nearest I have ever to  pass on to how it felt to buy
   "In Rock" on release, take it home and be completely blown away by an album that had stepped into a whole new approach to how
   you could record an album.  To start and end with red hot, heavy rock was astonishing, even Led Zeppelin mixed slow, quiet blues
   and acoustic melodies with heavy music in 1969, and very much so in 1970.   As such a well known album anyway, I feel there is no
    point discussing individual tracks when I need only to mention the immense, "Child in Time", "Flight of the Rat" & "Speed King,"
   but "In Rock" is not a collection of tracks but an inspired complete album in every sense of the word, 'album.'  Musically, every
   one of the tracks features musicianship of the highest order, edging into Classical music at times and even entering Jimi Hendrix
   and Cream's territory, the most pile driving heavy rock never once enters into clichés, unlike the many, many bands who copied
Deep Purple and all of that "Deep Purple In Rock" originated and began 45 years ago.  It was not only rather loudly mastered,
     "In Rock" set audio standards in the 1970 new Stereo only era , that other records are still trying to catch up with, an unplayed
   EMI first pressing will be a major listening experience.
{Roy}
  R & M RECORDS.

My lifetime's love of music and records began at a very young age, the arrival of the Beatles and the 1960's decade
  in general had a very profound effect. It was only natural to bring all my first hand experience of collecting vinyl
  into becoming a professional record seller.  Nearly thirty years ago we entered into the wonderful atmosphere
of record fairs with the highest possible standards set. When the Internet became the world's new market place for
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the basics of honesty and integrity were very much part of the era the music I love originated in, so here is our friendly
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