This is a rare original 1958 first pressing copy of the Wheelin Dealin LP by Frank Wess, John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette, Mal Waldron, Doug Watkins, and Arthur Taylor, on Prestige mono PRLP-7131. Original West 50th address, and Rudy Van Gelder s initials stamped into the runoff. This is also a rare demonstration copy, from the legendary Music City store in Los Angeles. The sticker on the front tells all about it, and is stamped with the date April 19, 1958, possibly the actual release date.
This is a really beautiful playing copy. The disc has quite a few superficial hairlines and scuffs but it plays WAY better than you might expect. Actually I would say it plays EX, with only a couple of moments of extremely light background crackle, but barely. Really it plays almost like a new copy on my system. Sounds absolutely great. One of the best flute jazz albums of the era... and of course the young Coltrane is incredible. The cover has some wear, but really not bad. The corners are all rubbed and worn down a little bit, and there is a seam split in the center of the bottom edge, but aside from that it looks wonderful. The spine is fully intact and readable, with a slight tear at the top, and there are no further seam splits. The cover image is unmarred and the back only has some light discoloration and a couple of red pen marks. Still quite a lovely copy. Really this is a keeper copy, that may not be perfect but plays almost perfectly.
