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Vinyl: "Deep Purple In Rock" LP. 'A - 2 / B - 1' FIRST UK PRESSING 1970 UNPLAYED MINT ORIGINAL 1970 Harvest INNER, NEAR MINT 1st ISSUE G/FOLD

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723.75 GBP
(1,088.05 USD)
78.00 GBP
28 Nov 2015
21 Nov 2015
17 bids
4094
471
United Kingdom
Unknown
Deep Purple
Vinyl
United Kingdom
Rock
Progressive
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Sweet child in time you'll see the line, The line that's drawn between the good and the bad. See the blind man shooting at the world, Bullets flying, taking toll. If you've been bad, Lord I bet you have, And you've been hit by flying lead, You'd better close your eyes and bow your head, And wait for the ricochet. DEEP PURPLE: "Deep Purple In Rock". FIRST UK PRESSING, 20th, JUNE, 1970. HARVEST LABEL: SHVL 777. . MAITRIX: SHVL 777 A - 2 / SHVL 777 B - 1 (The very first pressing) Regarding Side 1's 'A - 2' being the very first pressing made, I have never personally seen 'A - 1' with the label text and logo exclusive to the very first pressings. I check internet info on vinyl websites but rarely find accuracy and the claims of 'A - 1' existing, are not substantiated with a picture. Stating 'A - 1' is an 'Extremely rare very first pressing' is not good enough, You might as well claim another EMI album from the same era exists as an 'extremely rare' very first pressing with 'A - 1', The Beatles "Abbey Road" was issued only nine months earlier than "Deep Purple In Rock" and the very first pressings had really distinctive exclusive identification on the labels and the cover. If "Abbey Road" had exactly the same 'A - 2 / B - 1', 36 weeks later, it was perfectly logical for "Deep Purple In Rock" to have 'A - 2 / B - 1', which coincidentally also had exclusive items printed on the label...just like "Abbey Road." There is a strong possibility 'A - 1' was stamped on the very first pressings of "Deep Purple In Rock" , but only on the earliest Text Pressing made, I have never seen a pre June, 1970 Test Pressing and the possibility is strongly supported by the maitrix on these very first pressings. If you look at my picture of Side 1's maitrix, the letter 'A' is stamped at an angle above the rest of the line, on the other hand, it could have just been the sound engineer making a minor error! I might as well deal with the other fallacy about the first issue "Garrod & Lofthosue" gatefold covers, the Discog website states; "The earliest copies are those which have one line around the EMI logo on the front." They have missed the Harvest logo directly below it, did not have yet have a second line around it, next the EMI's boxed logo had a second very thin parallel line around the EMI logo and to balance that out, a second very thin parallel line was added to the Harvest logo. I agree completely about "the earliest copies" only though, because all described happened during the initial cover manufacturing, without the full details, other websites have jumped to the wrong conclusion and announced only the first pressing had the EMI logo without a thin parallel line addition. Of course three types existed simultaneously, all printed items were made before the records were pressed, covers were paired up with them at random, variations exist due to small design alterations during production..... just like the "Abbey Road" cover! With such distinctive label differences between the very first pressings and the 'original' immediately following pressings, the relatively small, easily missed cover changes are really best left to fanatics. I do not mean that to be derogatory, I number among the fanatics or I would not be writing this or be able to criticise and correct errors made by text books and websites, I became a professional record seller with genuine personal knowledge and experience, in a period none of this was written down. I bought "In Rock" on the day of release in June, 1970 and before the internet existed, I bought and sold more copies of every 1970's and 1980's UK "In Rock" pressings, than I could even begin to count. I give this much detail in descriptions to prevent spending hours answering emails, I devote a full day to writing this on a Saturday, so please do not sens emails with your particular variation, any huge selling album had to create variations; "Deep Purple In Rock" reached No.4 in the UK charts and resided there for a consecutive 68 weeks, one whole year and three months.... including the records being pressed by EMI and all items printed by "Garrod & Lofthoue," I had every reason to compare it to the October, 1969 "Abbey Road" album. EMI STAMPING CODES: GAL 1 */ GHM 4 * After the clearly stamped '1' digit is '4', as I consistently say about two digits at 9 o'clock, EMI nor any UK record company ever made mothers in double figures! Seven or Eight was rare even for the biggest selling 60's Beatles records, so the first digit was the one intended or it would have been crossed out. In this case, you can actually see how the error happened, after stamping '1' the sound engineer set '4' for Side 2, but mistakenly stayed on Side 1 and stamped by mistake. No need to cross it out, the '1' was prominent and just turned it over and stamped the '4' set on the machine, as I write twice this week about EMI pressings, the mothers were not numerically matched per individual sides. '1' & '4' were commonly stamped on either side of the same record, like the other endless combinations, all that mattered was every single record made was indexed. TO QUALIFY AS THE VERY FIRST PRESSING, THE LABELS ALSO DO NOT HAVE THE YET TO BE INTRODUCED, 'EMI' BOXED LOGO'S ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CENTRE HOLES. THAT WAS NOT UNTIL MID- 1971, WHEN IT WAS PLACED IN THE SPACE ABOVE THE LARGE GREEN 'HARVEST' LETTERING AT 3 O 'CLOCK. THE LABEL RIMS HAVE 'The Gramophone Co. Ltd.' AND NOT 'EMI Records Ltd'. "Made In Gt. Britain" IS PRINTED AT 6 O'CLOCK. The above details on the record and labels conclusively place this as the first pressing. ORIGINAL 1970, 'Harvest' PROMO INNER SLEEVE POLY-LINED WITH LP COVER PICTURES, FIRST INTRODUCED IN 1969 WHEN 'Harvest' WAS FOUNDED. THE PICTURED ALBUMS WITH CATALOGUE NUMBER WERE NEVER CHANGED AND THE SAME DESIGN WAS IN USE UNTIL 1973. Unused without any tears or splits, just some ageing of it's 45 years of age and that has to include the glue seepage from the seams and fixing the polythene lining, fully contributing to the 'ageing' appearance of the very absorbent textured paper. Only a few minor record impression related creases that formed naturally, regardless of not being used. THE INNER SLEEVE IS IN EXCELLENT+++ / NEAR MINT. 1970 FIRST ISSUE GATEFOLD COVER, THE OUTSIDE HAS DELUXE THICK GLOSSY LAMINATION. INSIDE THE GATEFOLD IS MATT, THE BOTTOM RIM OF THE RIGHT PANEL, HAS THE MANUFACTURING DATE ENCODED: 7006 = June, 1970 The first issue gatefold cover was printed by 'Garrod & Lofthouse', now 45 years old and still in really outstanding condition. The front artwork is self explanatory, what a great idea to tie in heavy music by superimposing the band's faces over the U.S.A. President's faces carved on Mt. Rushmore. A deluxe gatefold cover but with normal excessive handling it became badly battered and worn, this still as stunning as the day it was made, the lack of use and more to the point, the storage was perfectly made. The deeply glossy lamination on the outside has no dulling at all, a fantastic shine enhances unfaded and richly bright colours, in particular, the deep blue of the sky. A plastic outer sleeve protected the cover from the day of purchase, so superbly unworn edges, right side corners and the spine, the extreme tips of the spine / left side corners, only have the merest standing brushing. I have just described a familiar pattern for an unplayed record, 'standing in storage traits'are not connected to use, the inside panels have has legacy started by "Sgt. Pepper" three years earlier. The credits and individual band pictures include full album lyrics, with a white background to the black printing stains and greasy fingerprints usually spoil both panels, unused, there is only the very slightest ageing. Sometimes I find it absurd describing natural events after a period of time as long as 45 years, but accept stating the obvious is essential information for potential buyers. Unplayed or not, nothing can stop the effect of gravity on a massively heavyweight 1970 record, which was exactly the same thickness and weight of a 60's record inside the cardboard cover. A reasonably record impression simply had to form and a few related tiny laminated edge lines, formed naturally and once again, not from use or handling, I state that positively in text because highly reflective lamination obscure tiny details in photography. In fact, today was so dark with storm clouds and heavy rain, the sheer quality of this cover produced really superb, representative pictures, the bright sunshine of the summer is long gone now. Grading covers is never easy when inside is a very rare unplayed record, I cannot possibly include natural formations in the grading, besides, how can there not be a record impression outline on a 1970 cover? The same applies to the described slightest standing traits, the spine only has a few gentle ripples and but very clear printing, grading an unused, carefully stored cover in a plastic outer sleeve from day one, simply has to include the term, 'Mint' or this becomes no more than a farce. 45 years is a long time ago and I refuse to drop below this when the whole principal of grading all items, hinges on 'use', which this did not have; THE COVER IS IN NEAR MINT CONDITION. WELL, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS ON EBAY, I HAVE FINALLY FOUND AND LISTED AN UNPLAYED 1970 FIRST PRESSING OF "Deep Purple In Rock." THE IMMACULATE AS NEW LABELS, DO NOT HAVE ANY SPINDLE ALIGNMENTS AND THE RECORD IS ALSO LITERALLY LIKE A NEW RECORD. WITH A BEAUTIFUL GLOSSY SHINE, WITHOUT ANY SCRATCHES OR MARKS,I COULD NOT FIND ANY HANDLING TRACE ON THE PRISTINE SURFACE. KNOWING IT HAD TO BE HANDLED AT THE PRESSING PLANT AND ORIGINAL 1970 RECORD SHOP, I WILL INCLUDE MY USUAL, ANY HANDLING IS NEAR INVISIBLE TO INVISIBLE. No to test my resolve to offer this for the next owner to be the first hear it for 45 years, the rarity of that is immense and scrutinised the labels for an excuse to play one of my most loved rock albums, no spindle contact traces at all has to be respected and it will be, I'm looking forward to write this.... THE RECORD IS IN UNPLAYED, MINT CONDITION. SIDE 1 "Speed King" "Bloodsucker" "Child In Time" "Flight Of The Rat" SIDE 2 "Into The Fire" "Living Wreck" "Hard Lovin' Man" Ian Gillan - vocals Ritchie Blackmore - guitars Roger Glover - bass Jon Lord - keyboards Ian Paice - drums All Songs Written By Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord & Ian Paice. The Eight Tracks Were Recorded Between August, 1969 - May, 1970: "Speed King", "Child In Time", "Into The Fire" & "Living Wreck" At IBC Studios. (Andy Knight- sound engineer) "Flight Of The Rat" & "Hard Lovin' Man" At De Lane Lea Studios. (Martin Birch - sound engineer) "Bloodsucker"At Abbey Road Studios. (Phil McDonald - sound engineer) My first encounter with Deep Purple was picking up their 1968 single, "Hush", a really great version, but I was not all that taken with a band who concentrated almost entirely on recording their take on other artist's material and for that, a single was ideal and so I never got into their early albums. Limited funds played a big part in which albums you could afford to buy and the late 1960's was an era of monumental LP's being released on a weekly basis, there were always several vital titles left outstanding. Then in the summer of 1970 all that changed, suddenly everyone was raving about the new Deep Purple LP that was on the same level as Led Zeppelin for heavy rock/blues, the second you heard just the intro to "Child In Time," this was something new and sensational! Just to put a perspective onto this, because time scales only come into the equation in hindsight, heavy rock was starting to emerge as an alternative to underground & progressive music ,which began to stagnate and become boring. "In Rock" was released before Black Sabbath's August,1970 "Paranoid" single and the success from that sent their same titled album surging up the LP charts, so this second line-up of Deep Purple, or 'Mark 2', were the first UK band to kick-start the 70's decade by releasing such an adrenaline fuelled heavy rock album of real substance. Unlike Led Zeppelin, who now included acoustic folk tracks on approximately half of their third album in 1970, every second of "In Rock" stayed at an extraordinary level of overpowering musicianship. It often happens to bands who last decades or their splinter off-shoots, they wrote and recorded such a era defining album, nothing that followed ever quite hit such heights, "In Rock" simply could not bettered or replicated, a true masterpiece of a record. Deep Purple were very brave to attempt this because the previous LP's and singles had failed to be commercially successful and unlike Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath,"In Rock" did not contain any kind of acoustic interludes, right from the opening howls of "Speed King" and the scorching pace never relented until the needle left the the final grooves of the last track on Side 2, "Hard Lovin' Man." No studio enhanced effects were necessary or inserted, only the most breathtaking musicianship because the band played as inspiredly as anything ever recorded, then or today. The original 1968 line-up of Deep Purple had two different musicians to this second 1970 incarnation, I am not keen on calling them 'Mark 2', a very silly title that is better left for a model of a car than such a great band, they were; Rod Evans - vocals, Nic Simper - bass, Ritchie Blackmore - guitar, Jon Lord, organ and Ian Paice - drums. Three albums were released from them, initially on EMI's Parlophone label before moving onto their Harvest label, the vocalist Rod Evans was replaced by Ian Gillan and the departing Nic Simper's bass was taken over by Roger Glover's. The effect from that was immediate and dynamite! The impact lost all their previous flirtations with 'pop' cover versions and the orchestral enhanced sounds found on their debut Harvest album, "Concerto For Group And Orchestra", recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1969. That did include Ian Gillian and Roger Glover but it was more like shaking off the experimental stages that were in no way utilising the incredible musical chemistry that was not in need of stifling and formulised arrangements. Apologies to anyone who is fond of that album, my descriptions are honestly given personal opinions, I do not build up albums I consider to be third rate with the superlatives I do not believe they merit. There are dozens of examples where rock and orchestration worked superbly, but the material had to be original and exciting or how could the outcome be even remotely inspired? "In Rock" was recorded with Ritchie Blackmore's guitar and and Jon Lord's organ unshackled by those former restraints imposed by the previous material, now the band co-wrote every single track and with such a commanding and an inspirational vocalist as Ian Gillan, the album caught fire and it hit the heady heights of No.4 in the UK charts. So by no means a rare album as a first pressing but like my original they took such heavy punishment, I would not even consider offering inferior graded vinyl, this is an album to blow your socks clean off, the sonic audio properties mastered into the heavyweight vinyl in 1970 were colossal. Worn out is.... worn out, any attempts to stretch a grading will not compensate for hearing "Deep Purple In Rock" as a pale shadow of it's true greatness. It is not a big deal to have the first issue's label details outlined in my main headings, but the majority of copies being offered in 'Excellent date' from after 1973 when "Gramophone" was replaced by 'EMI.' To be accurately named as a first pressing you have to also check the left hand sides of the centre holes, because until 1971 there was not a boxed EMI logo printed there, positively not in 1970! All the details given down to having the correct Harvest promotional inner sleeve apply and there no exceptions, the album was re-pressed constantly and in our time on ebay, this is only the first unplayed very first pressing issue I have been able to offer. The following early 1970's pressings with either 'Gramophone Co. Ltd .' label rim text up to 1973, then with "EMI Records Ltd." pressings, are also stunning sounding records. I love offering them just as much, but only when in Mint, which for the age now is not exactly easy to produce, buying the very first pressing personally in 1970, makes offering this amazing unplayed first pressing, a very special occasion. An ultimate first pressing of "Deep Purple In Rock" means a great deal to me because I was 17 only years old when this album was first released and this is identical in every way to how I bought it! I describe the effect of heavyweight records on a cover to the best of my ability, but in reality this cover still gives the appearance and feel of just being distributed to a 1970 UK record shop. That is not trying to ignore the storage traits, because had this album remained untouched and forgotten about on a dusty shelf since 1970, the same comments made here would apply. That is the nearest I have ever to pass on to how it felt to buy "In Rock" on release, take it home and be completely blown away by an album that had stepped into a whole new approach to how you could record an album. To start and end with red hot, heavy rock was astonishing, even Led Zeppelin mixed slow, quiet blues and acoustic melodies with heavy music in 1969, and very much so in 1970. As such a well known album anyway, I feel there is no point discussing individual tracks when I need only to mention the immense, "Child in Time", "Flight of the Rat" & "Speed King," but "In Rock" is not a collection of tracks but an inspired complete album in every sense of the word, 'album.' Musically, every one of the tracks features musicianship of the highest order, edging into Classical music at times and even entering Jimi Hendrix and Cream's territory, the most pile driving heavy rock never once enters into clichés, unlike the many, many bands who copied Deep Purple and all of that "Deep Purple In Rock" originated and began 45 years ago. It was not only rather loudly mastered, "In Rock" set audio standards in the 1970 new Stereo only era , that other records are still trying to catch up with, an unplayed EMI first pressing will be a major listening experience. {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. Nearly thirty years ago 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 RESPONSIBILITY FOR A RECORD WHEN A CUSTOMER RECEIVES EITHER A SEALED OR AN UNPLAYED RECORD. We take 100% responsibility after an item has been posted and offer our fullest support in the event of any problems. "There Are No Problems, Only Solutions" (John Lennon) 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. A temporary reduction this week means we can now post LP's for £5, but who knows how long before the Post Office return to £7? 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 13 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 £5.00 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. 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