STARTING WITH THE OUTER SLEEVE

1. THE SLEEVE MUST BE A CREAMY COLOUR NOT WHITE, LIKE THE LATER PRESSES

2. THE BRICKS DO NOT ALIGN RIGHT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SLEEVE LIKE LATER PRESSES

3. THE SLEEVE IS MADE FROM ONE / TWO PIECES OF CARD SEALED INSIDE THE TOP / BOTTOM EDGE, THIS INNER SURFACE CARD MUST BE HEAVYWEIGHT, AND CREAMY IN COLOUR. LATER ISSUES WERE LIGHTER CARD AND BROWNER IN COLOUR

4.THE BRICKS ON THE INSIDE OF THE GATEFOLD ON THE RIGHT PANEL HAVE DIFFERENT INFORMATION INSIDE

FIRST PRESS                                                  LATER PRESS

8TH BRICK 'PRODUCED BY DAVID GILMOUR'               8TH BRICK; ' WRITTEN BY ROGER WATERS'

9TH BRICK: WORDS AND MUSIC ROGER WATERS         9TH BRICK: EXCEPT YOUNG LUST, COMFORTABLY NUMB ETC

9TH BRICK: BOB EZRIN, ROGER WATERS

10TH BRICK: NO TEXT AT ALL                             10TH BRICK: PINK FLOYD (NAMES OF THE BAND)

THE INNER SLEEVE

1. THESE MUST HAVE ROUNDED EDGES NOT SQUARE

2. THERE MUST BE A LARGE THUMB NOTCH ALONG THE TOP EDGE

3. A TRUE UK FIRST ISSUE WILL ONLY HAVE SHDW 4111/2 IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER, NOT THE OTHER TWO CATALOGUE NUMBERS, WHICH APPEARED SLIGHTLY LATER

THE RECORDS

THE LABELS

THE LABELS ARE 100% UNMARKED. THE WHITE AREAS ARE PURE WHITE AND THE DEEP BLUE IS RICH AND VIBRANT. NO RUBBING TO ANY PART OF THE LABELS AND ALL OF THE TYPEFACE IS PERFECTLY LEGIBLE. THERE ARE  TWO SPIDER LINES ON EACH LABEL SEEN ONLY WHEN ANGLED INTO A VERY STRONG LIGHT. PROOF IF NEEDED THAT THIS BEAUTIFUL ALBUM SET HAS BARELY BEEN PLAYED

THE VINYL

BOTH DISCS HAVE RETAINED ALL OF THE ORIGINAL LUSTRE AND BOTH GLEAM LIKE POLISHED MIRRORS. IN DAYLIGHT THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS, NOT A MARK ON EITHER LP, AND EVEN WHEN PLACED UNDER INTENSE ILLUMINATION THERE IS JUST NOTHING TO SEE APART FROM A SINGLE HANDLING LINE ON THE SURFACE IF THE LAST TRACK SIDE THREE (NON SOUNDING)

PLAYING THE RECORD

WE DO BELIEVE THAT A RARE LP SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE HEARD BY BIDDERS AND SO THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE  INVESTED IN. THE BUTTONS AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE WILL ALLOW YOU TO HEAR THE ACTUAL RECORD YOUR ARE THINKING OF BIDDING ON

THIS IS A SERVICE WE ARE DELIGHTED TO BE ABLE TO OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS

THE LP'S PLAY THROUGH BRILLIANTLY ON ALL FOUR SIDES, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A GOOD LISTEN TO THE SOUNDBITES WHICH DEMONSTRATE JUST HOW FANTASTIC IT SOUNDS.

THIS IS SUCH A HARD ALBUM TO COLLECT IN ANYTHING LIKE PRISTINE CONDITION, DUE TO THE HUGE NUMBER OF SILENT OR NEAR SILENT PASSAGES WHICH WILL ENSURE THAT ANY BLEMISH ON THE VINYL WILL BE TRANSMITTED AUDIBLY

THIS SET IS AS NEAR TO PERFECT AS I BELIEVE YOU WILL EVER FIND. IT IS 99% FREE FROM ANY UNWANTED NOISE WHATSOEVER

THE FIRST THING TO POINT OUT IS THAT THE COUPLE OF PLAYS THAT THIS HAS HAD IN THE LAST 42 YEARS HAS BEEN COMPLETED ON A SYSTEM WHICH HAD A CORRECTLY TRACKED AND WEIGHTED AND UNWORN STYLUS ENSURING A TOTALLY DISTORTION FREE SOUND REPRODUCTION ALL THE WAY THROUGH BOTH DISCS

THE STEREO REPRODUCTION IS ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT, AND THE PLAYTHROUGH ON BOTH DISCS IS JUST 'FIRST PRESS' WITH EVERY NOTE BEING HEARD IN OUTSTANDING CLARITY AND LOUDNESS.

LIKE I SAID THERE ARE SO MANY QUIET PASSAGES THAT IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE A TOTALLY NOISE FREE SET, BUT WHAT YOU WONT HEAR ANYWHERE IS BACKGROUND CRACKLE. THIS IS BECAUSE THE VINYL HAS JUST NOT BEEN PLAYED

NO EMBEDDED VINYL NOISE ANYWHERE AND NO LOUD CLICKS AT ANY POINT ON ANY SIDE

ALL I HEARD WAS A FEW TINY SPECKS OF BARELY AUDIBLE STATIC  AND ON SIDE TWOO DURING THE FINAL THIRD I HEARD A FEW TINY TICS. I CANNOT SEE ANY MARK ON THE VINYL THAT WOULD CAUSE THIS HOWEVER

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A GREAT COPY OF THIS ALBUM, THEN I SUGGEST YOU TAKE A GOOD LISTEN IN FULL TO THE ALBUM THEN JUDGE FOR YOURSELF

SIDE 1 MM / SIDE 2 NM / SIDE 3 MM / SIDE 4 MM

I AM HAPPY TO GRADE THIS SUPERB VINYL MINT MINUS!!!

THE SLEEVE

DESPITE ALL BEST INTENTIONS A 'WHITE' SLEEVE WILL BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO COLLECT IN PRISTINE CONDITION. THIS WALL SLEEVE IS ONE OF THOSE THAT USUALLY LOOKS IN POOR CONDITION FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS THAT I WILL DETAIL BELOW

FIRSTLY THE FIRST PRESS SLEEVE HAS THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT I HAVE ALREADY LISTED AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE. BUT KEEPING THE OFF WHITE SURFACE CLEAN IS A REAL ISSUE FOR THIS NON LAMINATED SLIGHTLY GLOSSY SLEEVE. 

FIRST OF ALL IF KEPT IN A SMOKERS ENVIRONMENT THE SLEEVE WOULD COLLECT NICOTINE STAINING AND TURN YELLOWISH, ALSO JUST KEEPING THIS SLEEVE EXPOSED TO THE AIR OVER TIME HAS A YELLOWING EFFECT USUALLY AROUND THE PERIMETER EDGES.

FINGERMARK'S AND STAINS ARE ALSO IMPOSSIBLE TO SHIFT ONCE EMBEDDED IN THE SURFACE. SO YOU WILL USUALLY FIND THIS SLEEVE IN A POOR STATE ALL ROUND

THIS ONE HOWEVER HAS BEEN HOUSED INSIDE A PLASTIC OUTER SLEEVE AND IN A NON SMOKERS ENVIRONMENT, AND IS ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES I HAVE EVER COME ACROSS

THE CREAMY WHITE COLOUR IS NEAR IMMACULATE. JUST THE LIGHTEST  HANDLING AND AGEING T0 THE EDGES

INCREDIBLY THE SLEEVE IS FREE FROM ANY CREASE LINES OR HEAVY CREASES, IN FACT ON THE FRONT SURFACE THERE ISN'T EVEN ANY SMALL LINES NEAR THE SPINE. NONE EITHER ALONG THE TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES, AND NO THUMB LINES NEAR THE OPENING EDGE.

NO RECORD SHAPE OR RING WEAR EITHER. ONE OF THE BEST COPIES YOU WILL EVER GET YOUR HANDS ON!!!

THE TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES ARE ALSO IN TOTALLY UNBLEMISHED CONDITION. FREE FROM ANY SHELF WEAR WHATSOEVER, AND CLEAN AND UNMARKED

THE SPINE IS TOTALLY FLAT AND AGAIN UNWORN, NOT ONE SQUASH MARK ANYWHERE. BOTH ENDS ARE PRISTINE AND UNWORN

BOTH OPENING EDGES ARE 100% RAZOR SHARP AND NEITHER HAVE ANY THUMB NAIL NICKS ON THEM

THE REAR SURFACE IS AGAIN THE ORIGINAL COLOUR AND ALSO NO HEAVY CREASES. AGAIN NO SMALL LINES NEAR ANY OF THE PERIMETER EDGES, AND NO THUMB LINES OR CREASES. 

OPENING THE GATEFOLD REVEALS A PRISTINE INNER PAIR OF PANELS, SHOWING ONCE AGAIN THE FIRST ISSUE INDICATOR IN THAT THERE IS NO MENTION OF THE BAND MEMBER NAMES LIKE THERE IS ON LATER ISSUES

THE TWO INNER SLEEVES ARE THE CORRECT FIRST PRESS CARD ISSUES AS DESCRIBED AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE. BOTH ARE UNCREASED AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THERE ARE NO SPLITS TO ANY OF THE SEAMS, JUST A TINY PIN HOLE AT THE BOTTOM OF ONE,  AND THE TOP OPENING EDGES WITH THE LARGE THUMB NOTCHES ARE ALSO UNDAMAGED IN ANY WAY

I HAVE TO GRADE THIS SLEEVE NEAR MINT IT REALLY IS THAT GOOD