Sold Date: April 8, 2016
Start Date: March 29, 2016
Final Price: £156.00 (GBP)
Bid Count: 13
Seller Feedback: 4453
Buyer Feedback: 152

TYRANNOSAURUS REX Unicorn 1969 UK REGAL ZONOPHONE BLUE LABEL 1st PRESS 1G/1G TYRANNOSAURUS REX
Unicorn

UK REGAL ZONOPHONE ‎(SLRZ 1007) FIRST PRESSING (May 1969)
AN OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL COPY

PRESSED WITH THE FIRST BLUE/SILVER *STEREO* REGAL ZONOPHONE LABELS
MATRIX: YCARX 51 - 2 / YCARX 52 - 2
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1/G and 1/G (one of the first 300 or so copies made)
HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL OUTER LAMINATED GATEFOLD SLEEVE “Printed and made by Ernest J. Day & Co. Ltd., London W11.”
COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL PLAIN WHITE DIE-CUT INNER SLEEVE

The third Tyrannosaurus Rex album, and their debut U.S. release, Unicorn was also the first to steadfastly state the game plan which Marc Bolan had been patiently formulating for two years -- the overnight transformation from underground icon to above ground superstar.
Not only does it catch him experimenting with an electric guitar for the first time on record, it also sees Steve Peregrin Took exchange his bongos for a full drum kit, minor deviations to be sure, but significant ones regardless.
And listen closely: you can hear the future. The opening "Chariots of Silk" sets the ball rolling, as slight and lovely as any of Bolan's early songs, but driven by a tumultuous drum roll, a pounding percussion which might be the sound of distant gunfire, but could as easily be a petulant four-year-old, stamping around an upstairs apartment.
Either way, it must have been a rude awakening for the bliss-soaked hippy acid-heads who were the duo's most loyal audience at the time -- and, though the album settled down considerably thereafter, that initial sense of alarm never leaves.
"Pon A Hill" is certainly more remarkable for the backing chorus of absurd twitters than for a fairly standard Bolan melody. But "Cat Black," a song which had been around since before Bolan joined John's Children, comes on like a lost Spector classic, with apoplectic percussion and a positively soaring, wordless chorus. "She Was Born to Be My Unicorn," meanwhile, drifts by on piping Hammond and tympani, while "Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles" is no less resonant than such a title demands. Reprising his role on the duo's first album, DJ John Peel reappears to read a brief children's story, but that truly is the only real point of contact between Unicorn and its predecessors. Indeed, in a moment of pure prescient enthusiasm, Melody Maker's review tagged the once painstakingly eclectic acoustic duo "electrified teenybop" and, had things not gone horribly awry between Bolan and Took during their first U.S. tour that same year, all that T Rex was to achieve in the first years of the next decade might have instead fallen into place during the final years of the '60s. Because again, you can already hear the storm brewing.

Side 1:
Chariots Of Silk
'Pon A Hill
The Seal Of Seasons
The Throat Of Winter
Catblack (The Wizard's Hat)
Stones For Avalon
She Was Born To Be My Unicorn
Like A White Star, Tangled And Far, Tulip That's What You Are
Side 2:
Warlord Of The Royal Crocodiles
Evenings Of Damask
The Sea Beasts
Iscariot
Nijinsky Hind
The Pilgrim's Tale
The Misty Coast Of Albany
Romany Soup

LABELS: EXCELLENT+
Clean, unmarked labels with light/moderate spindle traces
VINYL Visual: EXCELLENT+
Both surfaces shine like new with nothing but mostly harmless light marks
VINYL Audio: EXCELLENT+/EXCELLENT
Plays beautifully throughout with fantastic sound quality - crisp and clean - very little to fault bar some surface on the run-in to Side One and about 10 light clicks on “Nijinsky Hind” on Side Two - otherwise pretty much flawless a fine copy of this blue label first pressing and a very critical EX+/EX
SLEEVE: NEAR MINT
Superb example - deep glass-like gloss to the outer laminated surfaces, clean unmarked inner surfaces and crisp, sharp edges and spine where all text is clear and bold

POST & PACKING:
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, NEW ANTI-STATIC LINER, QUALITY BOX (NOT ENVELOPE) MAILER AND AMPLE STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY
UK: FREE (2nd class standard)
UK: £9.00 (Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day by 1pm)
EUROPE: Airmail: £14.00 (International Signed For delivery)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £17.00 (International Signed For delivery)

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However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you.
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