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Hi, I am Mike, I am 46 and have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 33 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and ellusive items now. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirity, not just bits to guess a grade (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story - I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested reader – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get. The only thing I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. Variation can sometimes occur too in colour of the label scans and labels taken next to the sleeve with a digital camera, the scanned full label pictures should be the most accurate. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic , and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps or sticks or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE. Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed, you never know - I may just have a copy in stock. I by quality single items and collections also (Email me please if you have quality items for sale). Debutant Bidders: Many sellers refuse first time buyers: I do not follow this practice (everybody has to start somewhere), but I would appreciate any first timer letting me know their intentions of their intended payment method and very prompt communication, preferably before any bid or soon after the auctions ends. This gives confidence that their intentions are honourable, and I in return guarantee extra special good feedbacks to get zero rated Ebayers off to a flying start to help them with future transactions. NOTE: I WILL NOT ACCEPT BIDS FROM UNREGISTERED USERS, I will cancel them immediately, and sorry, I cannot give valuations on people’s personal items just for their own curiosity, no item can be accurately valued blindly. Please read all the information carefully - these adverts take an age to compile properly - so it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to read the details thoroughly. I really cannot take any responsibility if any bidder fails to read any facts that are clearly stated in the advert - Thankyou. Artist or Band: TRAFFIC Album Title: John Barleycorn Must Die Cat Number: ILPS 9116 Stereo (not issued in mono). Label and Condition: Island, stunning rich pink with i logo format. These labels have the smooth finish and look really lovely. Beautiful clean examples that show only very light spindle traces Its actually quite hard seeing any on side one, and side two isn’t easy either. Zero wear around the centre hole but side two has a few tiny blisters where the label has not adhered totally on manufacture. I emphasise small, maybe these can just be seen on a high resolution screen. This stunning copy looks little played and would be one of the cleanest copies of this album I have yet seen. (Please see label scans for all information needed). Country of Manufacture: England, UK Rarity: Scarce on this label, this has a double matrix also which I think is pretty scarce (more details on Matrix Nos below). Original Year of Release: 1970 Matrix Nos: ILPS 9116 A2 and B2. Also UAS 5504 A 6.3.70 and UAS 5504 B 6.3.70. Was this subcontracted to United Artists for pressing? If so it could be even scarcer I would think. Whatever they did a fine job, this is a heavyweight pressing and up the very high Island Pink standards. I would guess the 6.3.70 was the pressing date. Brief Artist & Album Info: NOTE: Please can I make it clear this album is NOT the same copy I sold some time ago on Ebay - its very similar overall, the only major difference is the labels on this copy are smoother, the conditions are amazing pretty much the same. Back to this copy: The final Traffic album to feature on this famous progressive full pink label and what a real beauty it is too. This is my second favourite album they made after the stunning psych debut. This has a more traditional feel to it, especially the classic traditional title track - but the material is quite mixed. Only six songs feature but all are superb, Traffic are now a three piece with Steve Winwood on organ, piano and percussion; Chris Wood on Sax, flute, electric sax and percussion and Jim Capaldi on drums and percussion. This without doubt is one the best examples of this mini classic I have ever seen. The E. J. Day cover is close to faultless and the record looks superb -the shine is lustrous - and plays wonderfully well. A tremendous copy and up to the high connoisseur standard. Cover Grade and Format: Mint (a term never use lightly, but I feel its totally justified on this extraordinary cover). I think this may be the only time I have ever dared put a ‘Mint’ grading on an unlaminated 60 that dates this far back, its just about faultless with a stunning fresh look and feel and if a better one exists I sure would like to see it. It’s gatefold format, very heavy card with that lovely rustic look and feel, just like it was meant too. Printed and made by the E. J. Day Group, London and Bedford. Absolute gem of a cover that more than does justice to the fine contents inside. Cover Front: Simplistic but as perfect as the get. No rubbing, creases or ringwear. Super clean and unmarked - the tiny fleck marks are all part of the design. No indentations or surface marks either, I really cannot imagine finding this cover front better. Cover Back: One of the very best examples I have ever seen for this back, this always seems to attract ringwear and rubbing but this one is pretty much perfect again. An astonishing sight to see. Cover Gatefold Inner: Simply age defying, stunning again. Top Edge: Unworn. Bottom Edge: Unworn. Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp and unworn. Record entered on right outside back edge. Spine and Text: Solid and square with no wear, text is near perfect and unworn. Corners: All four close to perfect (sorry to be repetitive, but this is incredible). A tiny tip crease on the top left if being hyper-critical and that’s just about as bad as any ‘wear’ gets on this astonishing sleeve. Cover Summary: This will never be found in better condition. Its serious collector territory and investment quality. Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-), and but for the odd light surface trace it too could have been almost mint visually too - a couple of circular press groove marks - a common sight on albums pressed this age. A superb copy that looks as clean and fresh as a just pressed copy. Super clean and shiny, and jet black and a very heavyweight pressing. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence. Visually a very nice record that should please all collectors again. Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This super record plays very close to its very high visual grading with little to fault. Strong, dynamic sound - this at times has the drive of a mono recording, all frequencies are generally sharp and clear, maybe, and this is being hyper-critical, the vaguest hint a high frequency clipping on the odd brief moment - my Rega reveals just about all and is super-critical of all details - I emphasise this is negligable and a 1970 pressed copy of this is unlikely to ever sound much better. Few if any pops or ticks from memory and a fine pressing, any surface sounds are minimal - at times a delicate recording with quiet moments - most play just that, the odd minor light surface sound maybe, but few. I feel very sure this record has been played little and has been well stored and looked after, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment - its a credit to the owner to keep a record and sleeve looking like this. Little, if anything spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this gem. This copy will prove near impossible to find significantly better. Mono vs Stereo, an overview: Always a matter of opinion which is better or more important. For any serious collector where there is a choice e.g. Beatles, Stones, Hendrix etc. both are essential. True Stereo albums give great imagery and presence whereas mono albums usually are more dynamic, louder and present the detail more clearly. Mono albums are far harder to find in genuinely top playing condition. Most were heavily played, particularly the truly great bands and artists, often covered in mark and scratches, many severe and labels that were a mass of spindle marks. The majority were played on vintage and unsubtle decks with heavy tonearms and thick styli (often sapphire, not diamond, that chipped more easily) that rendered heavy wear in a very short time to many a fine classic record. Wear to the delicate groove walls, particularly the innermost tracks to the labels were most vulnerable where the tracking angle became more severe and the backdrag actually stripped the delicate groove walls. This resulted in surface noise and mild/moderate distortion or worse. These old decks tracked by sheer weight and little of any refined engineering. Next time you see such a deck at a local record fayre, feel the weight of the arm, it almost makes you wonder how any records survived at all. The point of this paragraph is emphasise that when a truly clean, lightly played and great sounding 60s mono album (or stereo come to that) is offered, treasure it, because for sure they are truly getting vary rare and precious - beware - demand only play-graded records. As a general guide to rarity, mono was the far more common format from 61–65; Around 66–67 the balance was roughly equal, then from 68-69 the balance swung more to stereo, making monos from these dates far scarcer, even rare - this guide is important and effects values greatly. Track Listing: Glad; Freedom Rider; Empty Pages; Stranger to Himself; John Barleycorn; Every Mother’s Son. Album Played For Grading: Yes. Final Summary: A very highly respected band and album, this was critically well received on issue. Collectors of near mint Pink Island will have to go a long way to find a much better example than this - for sure the cover will never be bettered. This copy has been stored all its life in a plastic heavy duty protective cover and boy does it show. I doubt if this has seen light of day for 30 years. It will remind the buyer of what a brand new records and sleeves used to look like - stunning! – Mike. Payment Details please read carefully: UK First Class: = £2.50; Recorded Delivery (Recommended) = £4.00 Special Delivery (Next day, insured up to £250), the best service available = £6.00 Europe Air Mail: = £4 Insured: £8.00 Overseas, non-Europe e.g. USA, Japan, Australia etc. Airmail:= £7; Insured with recorded delivery (where available) = £11.00 Singles: (Packed to the high standards of the LPs) UK First class: = £2.00 Insured: £4 Europe Air Mail = £3.00 Insured: £5.50 Overseas, non-Europe (as above) Airmail £3.50 Insured: £6.00 Doubles add extra £1, triples add extra £2. Box sets add extra £3 (£4 overseas and Europe) Any item that sells for over £85 will be sent Special Delivery in the UK at no extra cost. Items over £125 get the same service Overseas. This is gives peace of mind for the winning bidder and myself for valuable items. Reduced postage of course for multiple items. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£28). PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT use surface mail, its too slow, with a higher risk of loss and damage. Mailing Details: Please note I do not profit on postage (my packing standards are high and the package weighs a little more. All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken out of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with FOUR professional stiffners for extra protection (if space allows), I do NOT use old cardboard boxes or cereal packets for protection. More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me. I will also include in most cases a brand new lined inner, but will include the original inner if available and in a condition to be given. I accept cash for payments worldwide in UK Pounds Sterling, Euros or US Dollars - but this at the senders own risk. Please send registered and insured if this method is chosen. I cannot accept responsibility if any cash payments do not turn up. This system is very reliable and rarely goes astray. The same goes for any shipped uninsured item, I can only try to claim for any undelivered or damaged article at basic insurance levels if no enhanced insurance is requested and paid for (unless the value threshold is high enough for me insure as standard, see above) Overseas bidders please note conversion rates for Pounds to Dollars and Pounds to Euros will be charged at 1.7 to cover PayPal or cash conversion costs. PLEASE NOTE: Any PayPal user can now pay me with UK Sterling if they wish with no need to convert to US dollars (although they still can if they wish to). Any instant PayPal transaction from anywhere in the world will mean the item will be sent immediately - it makes deals fast and very efficient. Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. I now only accept PayPal, International money orders or cash from overseas bidders (UK Sterling, US dollars or Euros). Cash, cheques, postal orders and PayPal are fine from the UK. I allow maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if this does not happen I will relist the item and may send negative feedback unless an explanation is given. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask. Please keep watch on my Ebays, I have other interesting items coming very soon. Thanks for looking. My Guarantee: As listening to every single record I offer all the way through is difficult timewise, can I make it clear if any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. I still endeavour to play all the items in their entirity for grading if at all possible and is usually the case.