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The Rolling Stones : Let It Bleed 2A/1A 1st Mono Press

This very collectable mono pressing plays to a superb standard on both sides with barely any interference.  The clarity, depth, warmth and power of the audio is so impressive and there cannot be many around today better than this one!  S1 is quite simply STUNNING and S2 is not far behind with only a couple of clicks.  The classic 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' plays so clearly and is certainly one of the highlights on the album.  The vinyl is visually in great condition and has not been overplayed.

The iconic cover is again so clean with only very minimal wear and has the original sticker on the front.  The often elusive original poster is included with some wear - small holes in each corner and some fading - and original red mono inner is in excellent order and still has the London Bach Choir credit shown.

I am happy to class this as a first pressing as the 1A/1A, 1A/2A and 2A/1A pressings were all produced around the same time due to the high demand of the record.  It has the third label variation where the side number and the BIEM/NCB box is on the left side of each label.  Plus other info that you can find on the stonesondecca site!

LK 5025 // XARL-9363.P-2A / XARL-9364.P-1A // BI 1 / C 1

The audio on S1 is Mint(-) (T5 Near Mint)

The audio on S2 is Mint(-) (T2 Near Mint- / T3 intro VG / T4 Near Mint)

The cover is Ex 

The poster is VG+

The labels are Ex
The original inner sleeve is Ex-
Visual description
The vinyl is in lovely condition and still has a very strong glossy sheen.  There is no obvious marking at all - there are two tiny scratches on S2 but you only know they are there once you play the record, you basically need a magnifying glass to see them!  There are a couple of very small faint blemished and a couple of faint hairline marks on S1 plus a couple of small dotted hairline marks on S2 but they have no affect on the audio.  Some very minor sleeve removal hairlines also.  It sounds like I have listed a few 'imperfections' but overall it really very impressive visually and at 53 years old it would not be easy to find better.  The run out grooves are very clean and the matrix and JT tax code can easily be read.  The labels retain all of their original deep colour with not very much spindle wear but do have a small name written on each side.

Play grading

The run in on S1 has no background and then the entire intro on 'Gimme Shelter' plays with perfect clarity.  Jagger's opening vocal is just as impressive and what really strikes you is the sheer depth of the audio.  With that deep rich mono sound the playback is no doubt helped by the vinyl being so clean.  It continues to play with sublime quality and there are no ticks, clicks, pops or static getting in the way.  Every vocal and instrumental is faultless and that includes the fade out also.  A stunning Mint version to start this classic album.

With complete silence in the dead wax the acoustic intro on 'Love In Vain' plays beautifully with no intrusion - this intro is of course so quiet and yet it quite simply plays 'as new'!  The first vocal keeps up this fine standard with just one very quiet static tick (not interference!) and continues to impress on so many levels.  The mandolin instrumental has no background static either and this clarity of sound is prevalent to the very end.  In essence it could not play any better - every note is crystal clear and this has to be the finest version I have ever heard.  No need for a minus this is Mint in every way.

'Country Honk' is of the same calibre with no interference at all.  This vinyl has been so well preserved and clearly hardly ever been played.  From the 'car' intro to the final 'beeps' this classic also deserves to be graded as Mint

The deep bass intro on 'Live With Me' is 'as new' with no so much as a dust tick and Jagger's first 'raw' vocal is so strong and clear.  Once again I am left speechless by the sheer quality of the audio.  It plays with outstanding power and definition and nowhere is that more obvious than during the sax instrumental.  A 'busy' track, especially on the high octane end section and yet there is no distortion and the sonic quality throughout is just STUNNING.  I am 100% in grading this as Mint and you could not wish to find a more 'complete' version.

'Let It Bleed' again plays with unbeatable clarity on the intro and it continues to play with great quality from then on.  If anything there is perhaps just a minor amount of vocal 'muddiness' - I can't really think of a better way to describe it!  Don't get me wrong it still plays very clearly but the clarity is not quite the same as per the preceding tracks.  This is not a criticism as this is the final track where the sonic quality is often not quite up to the same standard.  This of course can often be rectified when played as a mono record as I am playing it on my stereo set up.  Not always though because...this is vinyl!  Final tracks regularly lend themselves to some inner groove distortion and in a sense should not be downgraded as a result.  However...there are no ticks, clicks, pops or static and the playback is still so impressive.  I prefer to be 100% 'complete' in my grading and I never knowingly 'oversell' my records as it is not in my interests (or yours!) to do so!  It still plays incredibly well as this 'background' is so so minimal and non-intrusive and Near Mint is still very much deserved in my opinion.

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The intro on 'Midnight Rambler' is faultless and again it's the depth and warmth that stand out as well as the clarity of course.  It's almost like I have to turn up the treble to stop the audio being so deep and strong!  The production values on this LP are so impressive.  The opening vocal is perfect and it proceeds in exactly the same way.  No interference just pure Mint audio through every section!  The mid instrumental is breathtaking and the very quiet section that follows is phenomenal!  I played it twice and I only noticed one mega quiet dust tick, you cannot even hear the stylus running through the grooves!  As it builds out of this section the audio is so strong and again there is literally no interference.  The powerful vocal finale ends this classic with sublime quality and Mint is again fully deserved.  No exaggeration.

'You Got The Silver' is so close to perfect.  There is just one dull sounding click during Richards' 'louder' vocal towards the end.  On close inspection I could see one very tiny scratch approx 2mm long.  The first interference on the album!  Aside from that the clarity is stunning so I would say Near Mint- is a fair assessment of the audio here.

The intro on 'Monkey Man' has one intrusive click due to another barely visible tiny scratch and a couple of mega light ticks but has no background static to contend with.  From then on it plays with great power and definition.  The vocals are so clean and the accompanying music is just as impressive.  The long mid instrumental is superb and right to the very end including the fade out it plays with sublime quality.  Because it is right at the beginning I will grade the intro as VG but the remainder has to grade as Mint as the playback cannot be faulted in any way.

The Bach choir intro on the iconic 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' plays with stunning clarity and the acoustic section is equal to that with only a couple of barely audible dust ticks.  Jagger's first vocal has a couple of very light ticks which are so much in the background and totally non-intrusive and as the volume increases the audio is exceptional and so far there is NO inner groove distortion whatsoever.  The clarity is just on another level and I can't really put into words just how clean and precise the audio is.  There are no clicks or pops and no static either.  I think I picked up 3/4 mega light ticks in the middle vocal section but so quiet you could easily miss them!  The next choral passage is flawless and Jagger's next vocal just has a couple of very light ticks.  The end sequence is so powerful and if there is any inner groove distortion it is so minimal.  In fact the final London Bach Choir section here is amazing!  I've just played it back and there is no denying the quality here.  You can turn it up to max and the original sonic quality is still there - no distortion at all ands the long fade out has no background either.  I will grade as Near Mint i.e. not quite perfect but very close to it!  A stunning version.

In summary this very collectable first pressing plays to a fantastic standard with hardly any intrusion.  S1 in particular plays with impeccable quality from beginning to end and S2 only has a couple of clicks - that really is the only intrusion across the entire album.  Yes I was playing it on my stereo system but the full rich and deep mono sound here is so strong and this is clearly another Stones record I am selling that has been so well looked after down the years.  The stunning visual 'look' more than the matches the audio - the clarity, depth, power and warmth of the audio is so impressive and there cannot be many 2A/1A first pressings around today as clean as this one.  A stunning 'package'.

The Cover, Poster & Inner Sleeve

The 'laminated' remains in excellent condition with only minimal wear and as can be seen has the original sticker on the front which is in perfect shape.  The edges of the front cover have no marking and the edges of the back have only the bare minimum of wear.  The spine is in great condition without any marking and is still 100% legible with very little wear on the corners.  The right hand corners are also very clean with only minimal wear and the opening edge is close to perfect with only a couple of very minor 'crimps'.  The front cover is superb with no obvious wear - no laminate creasing and only one tiny mark top right right and minimal creasing bottom right.  The unlaminated back cover is very clean with only a handful of faint spots and light wear near the top edge.  The mono/stereo indicator hole top right is perfect condition and overall this is a fine example of this iconic cover.

The original poster has been 'used' so does have four holes in each corner due to being on a wall at some point and has some fading also.  The centre fold on the bottom edge has a small split.

The original red mono inner has no side splits or tears and no marking either.  There are four numbers written on the top edge of the credits side for some reason and some creasing also.  As this one of the first inners the London Bach Choir credit is still there.  Overall though in great shape with only the creasing being the 'obvious' wear.

Play tested on my Rega P2 Turntable / Denon PMA-520AE Amp / B&W 684 Speakers

This record has been cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

LK 5025 // XARL-9363.P-2A / XARL-9364.P-1A // BI 1 / C 1

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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Postage & Packaging

I NOW ONLY SEND ITEMS WORLDWIDE VIA TRACKED SHIPPING. THIS PROVIDES 'PEACE OF MIND' IN CASE OF LOSS OR DAMAGE. ALL COSTS ARE SHOWN BELOW AND COMBINED POSTAGE IS ALWAYS OFFERED. ANY OVER-PAYMENT WILL ALWAYS BE REFUNDED BACK TO THE BUYER.

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