Conservative Grading Careful Cleaning Expert Packing
The Velvet Underground Nico The Velvet Underground Nico
Vinyl: Excellent Plus
The record is in top condition. It s clean, shiny, and appears unplayed. There is one small faint mark on B3 and two very faint lines on side B only visible under direct bright light. Beautiful copy.
Playing Notes: This album was play tested on a Rega P8 fitted with a Hana low bias cartridge. There is no distortion including during the noisy parts, and it plays with strong clear sound at high volume. There is some infrequent light background noise.
Jacket: Very Good Plus
The jacket has foxing as well as light surface wear. The sticker is unpeeled. The spine is strong and readable. Great shape all round.
The Original Verve inner sleeve is included.
Label, Catalog Number: Verve Records
Country: US
Year: 1967
First press: Yes
Vinyl: Excellent Plus
The record is in top condition. It s clean, shiny, and appears unplayed. On side B there are couple faint marks under bright light. Beautiful well preserved copy.
Playing Notes: Fully play tested in mono with a low bias cartridge on good gear. There is some infrequent light background noise. There is no distortion and plays with strong clear sound at high volume.
Jacket: Very Good Plus
The jacket has foxing and very light surface wear.
The sticker is unpeeled as new.
The spine is strong and readable. The jacket is in excellent condition all round.
The original Verve inner sleeve is included.
Label, Catalog Number: Verve Records
Country: US
Year: 1967
First press: Yes
Description
If you are looking for a Holy Grail to add to your collection, this one needs to be on your shortlist.
This record has a very interesting backstory and not only because Andy Warhol designed the now iconic banana peel sticker on the front cover. Released in 1967 in both stereo and mono, far smaller numbers of mono versions were released as this was during the peak years of when the industry was shifting to stereo. While exact figures for the number of mono copies are hard to find, a commonly cited number is about 12,000 mono copies in its first 2 years.
Beyond being mono it is also a first-state version AKA torso back cover . What does this mean? Take a look at the back cover see last photo , there s an upside-down head, it s a photo of an actor named Eric Emerson. Shortly after release, Emerson raised legal concerns regarding the use of his image. Verve initially put large black stickers across the back of existing copies and later pressings blurred the image.
This means first-state versions were only available for a very brief period of time when the album was first released. Within about 6 weeks of release, according to various sources, stickers were already being added to the back because of the lawsuit. We don t know how many mono copies were sold in those first few weeks, but the number of surviving copies, especially in this condition, must be very limited.
There are several ways to verify the LP is indeed an East Coast first pressing.
The matrices etched and stamped into the deadwax match the published information
- Side A Matrix: V5008 side 1 MG 558 Rev 12 block-shaped S symbol
- Side B Matrix: V5008 SIDe 2 MG 559 11 keyhole symbol
The record has Side 1 and Side 2 printed on the labels rather than Side A and Side B, which appeared on later versions
The song Venus in Furs has a duration of 5:07 printed on the label, when in fact the song is about five minutes longer. The song is not sped up just misprinted.
The pressing ring is small, around 1.25
The vinyl is in stellar condition, the jacket s complete, and the banana sticker is fully intact. Surviving first-state copies in this shape are incredibly scarce.
Pairs well with this mono-stereo switch:
Shipping handling
Ships in a sturdy record mailer, professionally packed with padding and stiffeners.
Vinyl placed in new inner sleeves outside the jacket to prevent seam splits.
Same/next-business-day handling.
Combined, international and express shipping options available.
Grading guide
Grade
Description
Mint M
Factory sealed. Vinyl presumed mint.
Near Mint NM
Very clean. Little to no wear or signs of prior use. Plays beautifully.
Excellent EX
Excellent condition. Minimal wear. There may be small signs of prior use.
Very Good Plus VG
An album with lots of life left. May show signs of prior use such as light scratches or scuffs. There may be occasional surface noise.
Very Good VG
Enjoyable to play. Shows wear with surface noise present. No skips or locked grooves.
Good, Fair G/F
Well-played. See listing description for details.
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