Sold Date: August 2, 2018
Start Date: July 26, 2018
Final Price: £38.00 (GBP)
Bid Count: 1
Seller Feedback: 4724
Buyer Feedback: 66

The old Rocker wore his hair too long,
Wore his trouser cuffs too tight.
Unfashionable to the end...drank his ale too light.
Death's head belt buckle....yesterday's dreams...
The transport cafe prophet of doom.
Ringing no change in his double-sewn seams,
In his post-war-babe gloom.

Now he's too old to rock 'n' roll, but he's too young to die.

He once owned a Harley Davidson and a Triumph Bonneville.
Counted his friends in burned-out spark plugs,
And prays that he always will.
But he's the last of the blue blood, greaser boys,
All of his mates are doing time....
Married with three kids, up by the ring road,
Sold their souls straight down the line.
And some of them own little sports cars,
And meet at the tennis club do's.
For drinks on a Sunday....work on Monday,
They've thrown away their blue suede shoes.

Now they're too old to rock'n'roll, and they're too young to die.

So the old Rocker gets out his bike,
To make a ton, before he takes his leave,
Up on the A1, by Scotch Corner,
Just like it used to be.
And as he flies.... tears in his eyes.....
His wind-whipped words echo the final take,
And he hits the trunk road doing around 120,
With no room left to brake.

And he was too old to rock'n'roll, but he was too young to die.
No, you're never too old to rock'n'roll, if you're too young to die.

JETHRO TULL: "Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Old To Die" LP. UK VERY FIRST PRESSING, 23rd APRIL, 1976.


TEXTURED GREEN CHRYSALIS LABEL: CHR 1111


MAITRIX:
SIDE 1: 3  CHR - 1  ('1' crossed out) - 1111 A -1  (W1)   ( 'W' only crossed out)
SIDE 2  7  CHR - 2  ('W 1' crossed out) B - 1 
The above was the intended hand scribed maitrix, like all very first pressings, they mirror the hand scribed or machine stamped
indexing first made on the Test Pressings.  Both Side's have several errors made by the original mastering sound engineer, none
have any relevance to establishing first pressings, the mistakes that were crossed out quite crudely and corrected alongside,are
all that it requires to know you are seeing and hearing the very first UK pressings.  There is also something relatively new and
would be scribed again in the same handwriting in the following year for Jethro Tull's 1977 "Songs From The Wood. " Now that is
important enough to detail because the same sound engineer achieved absolutely stunning sound quality for both albums;


ALSO SCRIBED IN THE RUN-OUT GROOVES EXCLUSIVELY ON THESE VERY FIRST PRESSINGS;

SIDE 1: 1st SET - SIDE ONE
SIDE 1: 1st SET - SIDE TWO
 

One final comment, unique only to "Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Old To Die" the finalised mix was indexed per side to make sure
the correct one was used for the manufacturing of records. The same procedure would be continued with the digits increased as
the individual pre-prepared mothers were changed during the UK pressings.   I have taken pictures of both Side's indexing, Side 2
had both mastering items close enough to show togeether, Side 1's longer version had to be taken separately, then I compiled them
  into  one picture.

There is no shadow of doubt that this is the very first UK pressing ever made of, "Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Old To Die."


ORIGINAL 1976 POLY-LINED INNER SLEEVE, HARDLY AGED, UNSPLIT WITH A RECORD IMPRESSION AND A FEW RELATED
LIGHT CREASES, IN UNUSED NEAR MINT CONDITION.


FIRST ISSUE 'Inter Shorewood Packaging Co. Ltd. England' PRINTED GATEFOLD COVER WITH A LARGER
SQUARE / BOOK SHAPE SPINE.   AS USUAL FOR  'Shorewood' AND FIRST "Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll" COVERS,
THE OUTSIDE ARTWORK INK  WAS NOT UNIFORM, MOSTLY THE FRONT YELLOW BACKGROUND LIGHTENS
TOWARDS THE OUTSIDE EGES SLIGHTLY.   IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH USE OR FADING, THAT WAS HOW THEY
FIRST APPEARED IN APRIL, 1976.
A partially unplayed record, so anything here involves standing in storage for 42 years, a light record impression and a few
related edge lines, as ever, mostly next to the spine.  All of the extra long  album & artist title letters are perfectly clear, unrubbed
and unfaded, leaving me very few negative comments to discuss.  A very first edition, UK matt gatefold cover, perfectly stored
in a plastic outer sleeve and unused since April, 1976, no severe stains, even on the back panel's cream colour around the huge
'speech bubble' containing the track listing and full album lyrics, positively no ageing outside or inside. The credits are outside
the 'speech bubble', derived from the cartoon or comic strip format of boxed illustrations with 'speech bubble.' Just amazing
artwork and very much in keeping with every Jethro Tull Lp ever issued... but this is a theme album with the story told in music
and lyrics to listen to, with the gatefold cover providing a really enjoyable companion to the manner the tracks unfold the story.
Hardly any edge rubbing to the extremities, the spine endings / corners and edges but for this matt cover, certainly minimal
due to the record not being played for those 41 years.  Yes, last month  reached an anniversary that makes me feel rather old
because I go back to buying their debut album "This Was" in November, 1968.  For a matt cover at 42 years of age, the few minor
mentioned storage traits must be accepted for the first pressings.  I must stress how the record was really never played and I am
I am discussing an unused cover, please see my pictures for how beautiful this first edition gatefold cover really is.
THE COVER IS IN NEAR MINT CONDITION.

THE  IMMACULATE TEXTURED LABELS CONFIRM THE RECORD HAS ONLY  BEEN PLAYED ONCE ON SIDE 1, WHICH
EXALTS FITS A FAMILIAR PATTERN I REGULARLY DESCRIBE.
In the 60's & 1970's record shops had listening booths and records were played for customers who might decide they would not
buy it.  Mostly the one play was just to sample the sound / music, in that case booths were not required, played on or behind the
the counter for a minute or so of the first track of a Side.  That also gave an idea of the standard of the pressing itself, this
record and a Beatles album had the same scenario.... I  bought both albums and others from the same one owner.  I lived through
the 60's & 1970's and for me, one play one track before the purchase cannot possibly be deemed anything less than 'Mint' and I
can play both albums today!
TOTALLY UNMARKED, LOOKING AND SOUNDING LIKE BRAND NEW,  VIRTUALLY EVERY RECORD MADE IN EVERY DECADE,
FACTORY AND RECORD SHOP HANDLING TRACES WERE THERE BEFORE RECORDS WERE EVEN SOLD. I GET FRUSTRATED
HAVING TO KEEP SAYING THAT, ESPECIALLY WHEN I COULD NOT FND ANY ANY OF THOSE TRACES.
I couldn't resist one of my undetectable plays, I will comment properly in the main description, this very first pressing has just
stunning, perfect sound quality.
THE RECORD IN PATRIALLY PLAYED / UNPLAYED, MINT CONDITION.

SIDE 1
"Quizz Kid"
"Crazed Institution"
"Taxi Grab"
"From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser"

SIDE 2
"Bad-Eyed And Loveless"
"Big Dipper"
"Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die"
"Pied Piper"
"The Chequered Flag (Dead Or Alive)"


All Songs Written By Ian Anderson.
Recorded On The Maison Rouge Mobile Studio, December, 1975.
Produced By Ian Anderson.

From my long experience of selling Jethro Tull LP's at both record fairs and then on ebay, I have always found the main attention
centers around their 1968 to 1972 period.  During 1968 their music evolved from originating as a blues band....with a difference,
that 'difference' of course was the extraordinary presence of Ian Anderson with his magical flute, vocals and gifted songwriting.
They next became progressive rock's favourites, in spite of Ian's refusal to accept that unfathomable restrictive term, something
I also came to find distasteful and mis-used, until it became meaningless, Jethro Tull's LP's like "Thick As A Brick" did explore
areas that a categorising obsession prevailing in the early 1970's, very conveniently placed them into. They were a band still in
the process of evolving and maturing musically,why I dislike the over use and missuse of 'progressive rock,' it implied back then
and today, artists had arrived at the stage their music could now grind to a halt or stagnate, formula's could be repeated with a
now ready made and undemanding audience.  Many bands did, but those with a burning genius were ever evolving and seeking the
artistic freedom to express new ideas, assuming record companies trusted them of course. Experimentation cannot always become
successful and an uninspired, bland, boring album that was always going nowhere, cannot be improved by being placed into the
most convenient category, then I have never heard one single Jethro Tull album that needed to be excused as a failed experiment!
'Progressive' was once an accurate description originally intended for the music between 1969 to the the early 1970's, the very
meaning of 'progressive' by definition, should have meant the music was ever moving forward, which Jethro Tull always achieved.
By the mid-1970's, I have no idea why so many Jethro Tull 'fans' found their 1976, "Too Old To Rock & Roll" album, a confusing
recording and concept....when it was intentionally self mocking, even the title affected buying it. Reaching No.25 in the British
charts was hardly a commercial disaster, but that was the lowest position of a Jethro Tull LP since their 1969 "Stand Up" which
made No.29.  That was crazy because the album had a typical Ian Anderson theme, featuring an ageing rock and roller, but Ian's
brilliant cutting lyrics were getting too close to home for anyone uncomfortable with the truth.....or lacking a sense of humour!

Late 60's great innovative musicians were still young men in the 70's, but they had experienced more in a few years than others
tasted in a lifetime, music was constantly evolving and the only people stagnating were those writing & reviewing it in the music
papers!   Like the Kinks, Jethro Tull were seen as relics who should quietly disappear and leave the record companies to compile
endless 'Geatest Hits' albums......re-issue the same singles at the same time!   In fairness, Chrysalis were not like Pye but I'm
laying the blame on the journalists, it was infuriating reading their reviews because I do not believe they even played records
they dismissed with the stroke of a pen, well, a typewriter.  Ray Davies was not exactly one to take that from the music press,
they knew he could react aggressively when personal interviews were conducted and the questions became insulting, the only course
was to hit back with music and lyrics, when it came to to conceptual writing, Ray Davies and Ian Anderson had something in common,
they were both musical genius' and capable of writing more scathingly than any of them on the subject of maturing rock musicians.
Jethro Tull had even issued an album with an actual folded newspaper as the cover...."Thick as a brick" indeed!  The Kinks issued
many, many concept albums with social comments and Pete Townshend tied the 1960's and 1970's together by writing the 1973
"Quadrophenia" album.
 

"Too Old To Rock & Roll" incredible strip cartoon story inside the gatefold cover, featured the story of an ageing rocker who had
retired.  Former rock star Ray Lomas looked remarkably like Ian Anderson, quite a coincidence, the front cover drawing has him in
full scale looking even more like Ian and the aggressive and defiant gesture from 'Ray' was aimed in one direction!  Journalist's
knew they were the target of this timeless gesture that told them to 'go away,' for Ray Lomas money was now a problem, he sees
an 'over the top' TV quiz show, applies and appears on it and wins a washing machine.  He is asked too appear again and wins a
large amount of money, only to discover he was no longer able to integrate into an ever changing society, unable to enjoy his new
found fame and money with anybody he can relate to. Unable to cope, Ray Lomas plans to commit suicide by driving his motorbike
on the 'A1' at 120 miles per hour and crashing. He survives the crash and years later wakes up from a comma in a hospital terribly
disfigured, but advances in medicine heal his broken body and face.... he ends up looking twenty years younger.  He finds society
has also advanced and fashion and music had gone full circle and he was now very trendy, he returns to performing again, becomes
the latest sensation and contemporary in the eyes and ears of the current kids. The lyrics I typed above follow the story but the
rest of the album expands on the strip cartoon with speech bubbles, reality is suspended and a surealistic feel affects listeners
in the same way every single previous Jethro Tull album treated you to a listening (and a reading) experience second to none.
A brilliant concept album with a fantastic cover to hold and read while playing the album, with full lyrics printed on the back,
you even have Steeley Span's Maddy Prior adding her vocals on the title track, the rest is pure Jethro Tull!  Speaking as a fan
who first saw them playing live in 1968, before they had released a record, in my opinion "Too Old To Rock & Roll" is up there
with Jethro Tull's first ever concept album, "Aqualung" for the inspiration, music & melodies, lyrics and the cover artwork.

A virtually unplayed record, the pristine labels only have one alignment trace on Side2's label, a pristine record without marks.
A superb collection produced such a magnificent cover and the audio perfection I have never compromised for such a loved album.
Even mentioning faint static for the first play in 42 years is pointless because that was there from the pressing itself, given
several plays, it will be inaudible, I know this album as a first pressing to state that and it was really too faint too include.
I made a tough decision while listening to the album in full, not that I doubted a Mint first pressing would not have stunning
sound, I genuinely love the album and listened for pleasure alone.  I found staggering audio perfection, even the two tracks liable
to have sound defect if not audible surface sound, "From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser" & "The Chequered Flag (Dead Or Alive)"
played with such clean sound, I can honestly say even natural static is not an issue on the most exposed acoustic, quiet moments
of the album.  Particularly for "From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser," I was blown away by the clean and clear sound and the
same applies to the track gaps.  Unlike the following album, the 'songs' from the wood were only loosely connected and unlike the
story line you follow from the opening track to the last on "Too Old To Rock & Roll," the main reason I feel the LP is a personal
listening experience and best heard as a whole entity to fully appreciate the many moods and such musical variety, JethroTull as l
inspired as you will ever hear the band. An album essentially only ever heard in the astonishing, immaculate sound quality, sensory
orientated 60's influenced stereo mix, and even the mastering achieved by the band. All of those details in the run-out grooves
give an insight into the work that went into the finalised album.  There are so many acoustic, quiet and gentle musical segments
and songs and this record plays with perfect audio clarity, unworn grooves have  no surface sound and as mentioned, any static
is so ultra low, the really carefully, exquisitely crafted stereo mix can be heard in all it's original 1976 glory. Listening to
the whole album before starting the description, I thoroughly enjoyed the absolutely stunning sound quality, that confirmed
it would be very difficult to describe "Too Old To Rock & Roll," the inter-connected tracks flow into each other to create the
absorbing listening experience I mentioned before.  Attempting to break it down into individual songs would make a continuous
suite fragmented and not how I ever want to present this masterpiece with Jethro Tull's potent mixture of acoustic and electric
instruments, I'm thrilled enough just offering a very first pressing of "Too Old To Rock & Roll" in such fantastic condition.
{Roy}


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