Item Description
KASHMIR John Bonham / Jimmy Page / Robert Plant, 1974 Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face, And stars fill my dream, I m a traveller of both time and space.
To be where I have been, To sit with elders of the gentle race, This world has seldom seen, They talk of days for which they sit and wait, All will be revealed.
Talk in song from tongues of lilting grace, Sounds caress my ear, And not a word I heard, could I relate, The story was quite clear.
Ooh, baby, I been blind, Oh, yeah, mama, there ain t no denying, Oh, ooh yes, I been blind, Mama, mama, ain t no denying, no denying.
All I see turns to brown, As the sun burns the ground, And my eyes fill with sand, As I scan this razor line, Can I find, can I find where I ve been.
Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace, Like sorts inside a dream, Leave the path the led me to that place, Yellow desert stream, Like Shangri-la beneath the summer moon, I will return again, As the dust that floats finds you, Will move and search Kashmir.
Oh, Father of the four winds fill my sails, Cross the sea of years, With no provision, but an open face, Along the straits of fear.
Oh, when I want, when I m on my way, yeah, And my feet wear my fickle way to stay, Ooh, yeah yeah, ooh, yeah, yeah, but I m down, Ooh, yeah, yeah, ooh, yeah, yeah, but I m down, so down, Ooh, my baby, oh, my baby, Let me take you there, Come on, oh let me take you there, Let me take you there, Let me take you there.
LED ZEPPELIN: Physical Graffiti .
DOUBLE LP SET, VERY FIRST UK PRESSING, 24th FEBRUARY, 1975.
SWAN SONG LABEL: SSK 89400.
MAITRIX FOR BOTH RECORDS RECORD 1: SSK .
89400 .
A1 / SSK .
89400 .
B4 RECORD 2: SSK .
89400 .
C1 / SSK .
89400 .
D1 The above is precisely how the very first UK pressings had all four sides indexed, pressed by CBS, the machine stamped maitrix had -1 endings for Side 1, 3 , 4.
Side 2 had a higher -4 ending.
Logic does not enter the equation, that was how it was made, the most likely reason would involve changes to the Test Pressings, but that has never been revealed and I doubt very much if it ever will be.
I handle all records with the greatest care, unplayed vinyl as rare as this demands as minimal handling as possible, as usual, while taking the photo s I have selected Side 1 Side 4 for pictures of the records, labels and maitrix.
With so much to include, I complied the two maitrix pictures into one to meet the 12 available, the poor light today was not ideal for the tiny stamped letters and digits but they are readable and just about in focus.
Every part of this album is unique to UK first pressings, including even the the labels not having a Warner Brothers logo on the rims at 2 o clock, introduced eight months after the album was released.
Talking about Warner Brothers, Led Zeppelin s first album on the Swan Song label had an extremely rare Promo insert and I have not seen one for at least 28 years now, it took an unplayed first pressing to have that still inside and of course....
even the rare insert is in day of issue, Mint condition.
I MIGHT AS WELL START WITH THE Warner Brothers PROMO, A UNIQUE IDEA THAT WAS INTENDED TO REMAIN OPEN LONG ENOUGH TO TAKE EFFECT AT ANY TIME AFTER FEBRUARY 1975, EXPIRING 31st JANUARY 1976.
The offer was mail order only, to send the form to Warner s London office, directly to Tony Simpson who was in charge of the promotional scheme.
The price was 1.45 30p for post and packing, a total of 1.78 bought you an album with a pound reduction wit the returned, filled out form.
The albums were listed and you just ticked the box of your choice, the fact Tony Simpson is pictured wearing a Father Christmas outfit, showed the long term planning involved, leave the insert in the cover and if you had waited, you could treat yourself to an album at any time in the rest of year.
Christmas was always the time to buy records and the inclusion of easy listening Frank Sinatra albums etc.
was a rather cunning ploy by Mr.
Simpson, because you could always buy your parents a Christmas present for a third of the price.
Placing the insert into an album expected to become a No.
1 chart topper, guaranteed the biggest possible market for the mail order approach to selling back catalogue items.
I cannot convey how huge Led Zeppelin were in 1975 and due to the complete lack of virtually any of the promo inserts surviving today, testifies to how successful the idea was.
For anyone who missed the 1970 s, financially, this was one of the toughest times in Britain since the Second World War, strikes, mass employment and riots on the streets, as hardship hit hard the Punk era started because most kids left school with no chance of getting a job.
This insert is a real timepiece from the middle of the 1970 s, which coincided with the release of Physical Graffiti by the time the offer expired, Punk had begun Printed on semi-glossy paper, the form also asked for the record shop or dealer as the first item to be filled in, but not the title of the album the insert was found inside.
From that it can be concluded the Warner Brother PR who was heading the scheme, knew which album the form was placed inside because it was inserted at CBS pressing plant.
Which confirms it was inside the very first pressings of Physical Graffiti , as I said, Led Zeppelin were that massive and it certainly worked or you would see dozens of unused forms on ebay today.
This is one of the rarest first issue inserts I have ever offered and could be last of them.
MEASURING 8 x 5.5 AND PRINTED ON ONE SIDE IN BLACK AND RED, THIS IS IN MINT- CONDITION.
FIRST ISSUE GATEFOLD Physical Graffiti INNER TO SHOW THE ALBUM TITLE THROUGH THE DIE-CUT WINDOWS ON THE FRONT OF THE BOX SHAPE COVER.
THE ALBUM TITLES ARE PRINTED, LETTER BY LETTER, PER WINDOW IN RED, THE SAME COLOUR OF THE SPINE TITLES ON FIRST ISSUES.
THE REVERSE SIDE HAS THE SAME CLOSED WHITE CURTAINS WITHOUT ANY LETTERING.
MEASURING APPROXIMATELY 24 x 12 , ONLY THE FIRST ISSUES HAVE THIS TEXT PRINTED ON THEM.
Sleeve printed and made in England by Gothic Printers And Finishers Ltd.
Becoming an extremely important UK identification point, along with Swan Song s London address found on the top back cover, this is the one and only position the printer credit is given.
I did take a picture of the credit and almost included it, but pictures of the records on either side of the cover was given priority.
They give a view of the bottom standing edge, usually badly worn and no longer with any printed top surface, this incredible condition cover is as close to perfect as I have ever experienced and I m sure prospective buyers will welcome seeing two views of standing edge, like the side spines, that is also still 100 square shaped and unsquashed.
UNUSED, UNCREASED AND UNAGED, THE GATEFOLD INNER ALBUM CREDITS AND MATCHING COVER TITLES INNER, IS IN MINT- CONDITION, WELL, MINT REALLY, APART FROM FAINT RECORD IMPRESSIONS.
TWO INDIVIDUAL FIRST ISSUE, THICK MATT CARDBOARD PICTURES INNER SLEEVES, DESIGNED TO BE AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE WHITE AND BLACK GATEFOLD INSERT FOR COVER DISPLAY THROUGH THE DIE-CUT WINDOWS.
Side opening WITHOUT a crescent shaped record access half way down, that followed not long after these very first made, by then the hue of the cover and the inner sleeves had shifted to an olive green, but the very first UK covers and inner sleeves were a positive brown tone to the background.
The colours of the various characters standing in the windows when inserted on the outside of the above described gatefold inner, have exceptionally deep and intensive colours.
Unlike my camera struggling in the gloom to produce sharp pictures, the images are razor sharp and of superior quality to all that followed.
The card was at least half the thickness later in 1975, next came top opening inner sleeves on thin paper, German made like all the printing and vinyl pressing.
Both have unfaded colours and are in superb condition, even the record impression is very light natured.
inners.
Both have unfaded colours and are in superb condition, even the record s impression are very light.
ONCE AGAIN, UNUSED AND IN IMMACULATE MINT- CONDITION.
AS I JUST MENTIONED, Gothic Printers UK PRINTED, VERY FIRST ISSUE ISSUE BOX SHAPE, TOP OPENING UK COVER, WITH ALL 32 DIE-CUT WINDOWS UNTORN AND LITERALLY STILL LIKE BRAND NEW.
All I really need to say is the red printed left side spine is absolutely perfect and unworn, along with the still square shaped, standing bottom edge, in equally outstanding condition.
The cover really is in stunning condition, the most vulnerable and weakest positions are just superb.
The top opening edges are generally split on the two side s first inch, with the top edges of the cardboard s edges frayed and bent out of shape from frequently played records.
These top edges have such minimal signs of light brushing, it s not even worth mentioning, most importantly of all, there are no splits on the top corners or the bottom corners either.
Any light brushing is no more than happened while factory assembling and gluing the cover together, then the packaging and distribution nationwide to record shops in February 1976.
A positive sign of the records never being removed and replaced during the seemingly obligatory excessively and heavily played records.
As I said, the left hand spine has the red titles, this whole vertical side is amazingly completely unscuffed, so perfectly clear, readable titles.
The opposite right side, or vertical side/second spine, is in the same superb condition.
Top opener s create a lot of pressure on the bottom edge, this was caringly stored in a plastic outer sleeve, so like the corners , in near enough to perfect condition, with the very, very slightest brushing, rubbing is not a term suitable and brushing paints an accurate picture.
In fact, the only other thing to mention concerns the initial insertion of the bulky inserts and heavyweight records into a single cover, top right of centre, you can just seen the slightest thumb pressure.
That s all to detail, so just time to take into consideration, even the passage of the last 38 years has not made an impact, the front and back have not suffered from the usual colour fading or even worse on the back, none of the customary ring wear to the dark brown background, all the colours are in their original 1975 deep, rich tones.
The die-cut windows on the front are all in stunning unused, undamaged condition, for once even the two bottom rows with the single thin middle support, are all perfect.
All the front s sixteen windows have sharp,undented, unfraying edges and the back die-cut windows are in the same perfect condition.
All for me conclude is an unavoidable but very gentle record impression on the back only.
AN ABSOLUTELY STUNNING FIRST EVER Physical Graffiti COVER, IN NEAR MINT CONDITION.
THE IMMACULATE TEXTURED LABELS DO NOT HAVE ANY SPINDLE ALIGNMENT TRACES, BEAUTIFUL UNPLAYED RECORDS BUT I FEEL STILL OBLIGED TO STATE THE OBVIOUS.
ANY FACTORY/RECORD SHOP HANDLING IS NEAR INVISIBLE TO INVISIBLE, I COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING, THE RECORDS ARE IN UNPLAYED MINT CONDITION.
SIDE 1 Custard Pie Jimmy Page / Robert Plant The Rover Jimmy Page / Robert Plant In My Time Of Dying John Bonham /John Paul Jones / Jimmy Page / Robert Plant RECORD 1, SIDE 2 Houses of the Holy Jimmy Page / Robert Plant Trampled Under Foot John Paul Jones / Jimmy Page / Robert Plant Kashmir John Bonham / Jimmy Page / Robert Plant RECORD 2, SIDE 3 In The Light John Paul Jones / Jimmy Page / Robert Plant Bron-Yr-Aur Jimmy Page Down By The Seaside Jimmy Page / Robert Plant Ten Years Gone Jimmy Page / Robert Plant RECORD 2, SIDE 4 Night Flight John Paul Jones / Jimmy Page / Robert Plant The Wanton Song Jimmy Page / Robert Plant Boogie With Stu John Bonham / John Paul Jones / Jimmy Page / Robert Plant / Ian Stewart / Mrs.
Valens Black Country Woman Jimmy Page / Robert Plant Sick Again Jimmy Page / Robert Plant LED ZEPPELIN: Robert Plant - lead vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar on Boogie With Stu Jimmy Page - electric, acoustic, lap steel and slide guitars mandolin John Paul Jones - bass, organ, acoustic electric pianos, mellotron, keyboards, guitar, mandolin string arrangement John Bonham - drums percussion Ian Stewart - piano on Boogie With Stu Recorded July December,1970, March, 1971, May 1972, January - February 1974, At Various Studios.
Andy Johns - engineering Eddie Kramer - engineering mixing George Chkiantz - engineering Ron Nevison - engineering Keith Harwood - engineering mixing Peter Grant - executive producer Produced By Jimmy Page The last copy of Physical Graffiti I sold in ebay was in 2005, not that I couldn t find a copy, I have stubbornly held out for a minimum of Near Mint, and even a little wear on the most vulnerable cover ever made to hold two really heavy records.
I personally believe gatefold covers should always be made for all double albums, but Physical Graffiti would not be the same without this wonderful, 3d, interactive die-cut cover.
Eight years later I have surpassed my expectations with both very first pressing records unplayed and all the first edition only, printed items in astonishing condition, add in that ultra rare Warner Brothers promo insert unique to Physical Graffiti , I am thrilled to offer this incredible UK album in the ultimate condition.
As soon as I saw the condition, particularly the label centres and pristine vinyl, I knew I had to leave the records unplayed, as they have been for 38 years.
I bought this album on the day it arrived at my local record shop, as a double studio album, the album took a long time to digest and the more I heard, the more I loved the earliest 1970 recording to the latest.
Back in 2005 and prior sales of Physical Graffiti on ebay,I made an attempt to describe all four sides, it simply could not be done, I never made it past Side 2 of Record 1, how could I when Kashmir alone drew every superlative and left me drained.
The impact of Physical Graffiti has never lessened and with my insistence on perfect vinyl/ sound quality, I can only equate this feast of Led Zeppelin s only studio double album, with the Beatles double White Album.
By that I mean there is always something to freshly discover however familiar you are with the tracks, in a way I am relieved not to attempt describing the four sides again, some albums are a personal listening experience and perhaps best left without personal comments.
The other day I saw an ebay seller deliberately copying my personal presentation of records, a 1963 Beatles album, a pathetic description without any passion and hopelessly using expressions without meaning a word.
The seller s user ID sounds like a lizard, he once stole a whole description of Led Zeppelin III and only my threat of reporting him to ebay forced him to begrudgingly remove my word for word, personal comments style description.
Arrogance like that could never connect to the spirit behind 1960 s and 1970 s music, a cold blooded lizard was a very appropriate user ID after all.
need to add some more pressing info, the above was almost complete but I write as I remember details and having just re-read it, I forgot to mention the labels being specific to first issues only.
If anything else comes to mind I will include it, without records to play and the volume of text above, a short description would be a good idea.
A quick summary would be a better presentation, 1975 first UK pressed records only, were issued in a UK printed cover and all the inserts were printed in London by Gothic Printers And Finishers Ltd.
To offset the expense of producing this package for all following re-issues it was far cheaper to import German printed covers inserts, even re-issued records were German pressed and sold in UK shops when the UK records were sold.
Phsyical Graffiti was a massive selling album, hitting the No.1 position here and it remained high in the charts for 27 weeks or over nine months , making multiple pressings necessary to meet the demand.
That long chart residence ran into the introduction a circled Warner logo being introduced on the label rims at 2 o clock, which identifies the pressings made right up to the end of the chart and into early 1976.
The very period the insert covered, the PR was amazingly accurate, but I suppose any Led Zeppelin fan in 1975 could have predicted a lengthy chart duration.
To identify the first or original printed UK covers is very simply done, the back cover has the King s Road, London address of Swan Song under neath the angel logo, top centre.
Sleeve printed and made in England by Gothic Printers And Finishers Ltd is found on the the fold-out inner white card.
The side opening inner sleeves are the thick, heavy card type only, without a crescent shape record access shape on the opening side.
The records for 1975 standards are surprisingly heavyweight but the most telling of all though, though, is the labels very distinctive printing, unique to a UK first pressing only.
The tracks have a much thicker, bolder type face than on any of the other UK or slightly later German labels.
That is very obviously seen on the headings such as the album title, the side s numbers, the Stereo lettering and the catalogue numbers.
The colours on the Swan Song artwork and logo are far more richly coloured as well, I ve taken close up pictures of the labels to see those details.
This very first pressing had exactly the same matrix endingsthey all came with -1 on three out of the four sides and -4 for Record 1, Side 2.
That can often be a 5 ,I m sure sceptics will have doubts about that, but I have also sold the mega rare shrink wrapped first few made, and those records had exactly the same maitrix configuration as this pair of records.
It s now 9:30 pm and I had better get this listed before it s Sunday morning Roy R M RECORDS.
My lifetime s love of music and records began at a very young age, the arrival of the Beatles and the 1960 s decade in general had a very profound effect.
It was only natural to bring all my first hand experience of collecting vinyl into becoming a professional record seller.
Over twenty years ago now we entered into the wonderful atmosphere of record fairs with the highest possible standards set.
When the Internet became the world s new market place for vinyl, in 2001 it was time to join ebay.
Those standards were rigidly adhered to as they will always continue to be, the basics of honesty and integrity were very much part of the era the music I love originated in, so here is our friendly and very efficient service we are proud to provide EVERY RECORD IS FULLY PLAYED AND COMES WITH A NO ARGUMENT MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.
I USE GOOD OLD COMMON SENSE AS WELL AS A GLOBALLY ACCEPTED GRADING TERMINOLOGY FROM THE U.K.
RECORD COLLECTOR PRICE GUIDE BOOK.
THERE IT CLEARLY STATES Sound Quality AFFECTS EVERY GRADING LEVEL AND THAT IS THE ONE AND ONLY POSSIBLE WAY TO ACCURATELY GRADE RECORDS.
i.e.
COMBINING A STRICT VISUAL INSPECTION WITH VERY CLOSELY LISTENING TO EVERY SECOND, UNLESS PERHAPS IN THE CASE OF GENUINELY UNPLAYED VINYL.
EVEN THEN WE STILL TAKE FULL RESPONSIBITY FOR A RECORD WHEN A CUSTOMER RECEIVES EITHER A SEALED OR AN UNPLAYED RECORD.
MY DESCRIPTIONS WILL ALWAYS BE 100 HONEST AND TOTALLY ACCURATE ON ALL GRADINGS FROM V.G.
VERY GOOD , TO THE ULTIMATE MINT CONDITION.
ANY QUESTIONS ON OUR ITEMS ARE WELCOMED AND WILL BE PROMPTLY REPLIED TO.
WE ARE FULLY EXPERIENCED AT SHIPPING WORLDWIDE AND NO EFFORT IS SPARED TO PROTECT RECORDS AND COVERS ETC.
WE WELCOME BIDDERS FROM ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.
ALL RECORDS ARE REMOVED FROM THEIR SLEEVES AND PLACED INTO NEW PROTECTIVE CARD SLEEVES AND THEN PLACED INTO NEW, HEAVYWEIGHT PLASTIC OUTER SLEEVES.
THE GREATEST ATTENTION IS PAID TO MAKING THE PACKAGING EXTREMELY STRONG SECURE.
EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT IS MADE TO ENSURE A SAFE DELIVERY AND WE ONLY USE THE VERY BEST QUALITY PACKAGING MATERIALS, THE COST OF THE ITEM IS IMMATERIAL, EVERY RECORD IS TREATED EXACTLY THE SAME.
WE DO NOT TREAT POSTAGE AS A MONEY MAKING PROJECT, POSTAGE IS LESS THAN COST, USING ONLY PROFESSIONALLY PACKED BOXES WITH SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTIVE PACKAGING THAT DOES WEIGH A LITTLE EXTRA.
UNDER PAYPAL EBAY S GUIDELINES, ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA A FULLY INSURED TRACKABLE SERVICE.
We have kept all our charges at the same level for years now, but due to the Post Office s new price increases, regretfully we will have to increase the cost of LP s, however, singles will remain unchanged.
Ebay were aware of that happening and have increased their minimum postal cost for LP s to 7.00, that figure has been enforced by the UK Post Office and it will become our UK First Class, Recorded Delivery cost for albums up to the value of 46.
For LP s valued above 46, the cost will be 9, we are unhappy about either increase but our high standard of packaging has meant in 12 years of ebay trading, there has not been one record damaged, we are determined to maintain that in the present and future.
IN THE UK RECORDS UP TO THE VALUE OF 46 WILL BE SENT RECORDED DELIVERY, OVER 46 WILL BE SENT SPECIAL DELIVERY.
FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR.
POSTAGE COST FOR LP s UK: UP TO VALUE OF 46, FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY 7.00 UK: OVER VALUE OF 46, FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY 9.00 EUROPE: FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR 15.00 USA,JAPAN REST OF THE WORLD FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR 20.00 POSTAGE COST FOR EP s 7 UK: UP TO THE VALUE OF 46 FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY 3.00 UK: OVER THE VALUE OF 46 FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY 6.00 EUROPE: AIR MAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR 10.00 USA, JAPAN ETC.
AIRMAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR 12.00 PAYMENT DETAILS.
WE WILL SEND ALL WINNING BIDDERS AN INVOICE WITH THE FULL PAYMENT AND POSTAL DETAILS, AS NEAR TO THE AUCTION ENDING AS POSSIBLE.
OUR AIM IS TO MAKE YOUR PURCHASE SMOOTH AND TROUBLE FREE.
FOR UK BUYERS WE ACCEPT: PAYPAL, CHEQUES, POSTAL ORDERS BANK WIRES.
FOR OVERSEAS BUYERS WE ACCEPT: PAYPAL, INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS IN POUNDS STERLING ONLY.
OR BANK TO BANK WIRE TRANSFERS.
WE WILL NOT MAKE FALSE STATEMENTS ON CUSTOMS DECLARATION FORMS AND WILL ALWAYS CONDUCT ALL OF OUR BUSINESS WITH TOTAL HONESTY.
AS MUCH AS WE SYMPATHISE WITH THE WAY SOME COUNTRIES CHARGE SUCH HEAVY IMPORT DUTIES, WE WILL NOT LIE.
Pay me with PayPal.
I don t charge my buyers extra
