Beatles – Beatles for Sale 1967 red vinyl Japan LP with obi

beatles for sale 1967 japan red vinyl lp

Offered for sale is a red vinyl Japanese pressing of Beatles for Sale by the Beatles, including the original obi.

About this copy: This copy of Beatles for Sale is a 1967 pressing on the Odeon label of an album that was originally released in 1965.

The cover is VG++, with some discoloration from age on the inside, but no wear.  The obi is VG, with some wrinkles and repaired tears at the top and bottom edge.  The “hojyuhyo” (reorder tag) is still attached.

The lyric insert is VG++ with slight discoloration from age. The envelope-style inner sleeve is VG++ with a few minor wrinkles.

The red vinyl disc is VG++ and close to M- with a couple of very faint sleeve scuffs.  There are a few spindle marks on the labels.  The disc plays with slight surface noise, as is common for these red vinyl LPs.

A nice copy of a scarce Beatles LP and the only copy of this particular pressing we’ve ever had for sale.

Background: Beatles for Sale was the fourth studio album by the Beatles, released in December 1964 in the UK and in early 1965 in Japan.  The LP was not released in the U.S., but tracks from the album were spread across several U.S.-only LPs.

The album reached #1 on the UK charts.

Allmusic.com gave Beatles for Sale a 5 star review:

It was inevitable that the constant grind of touring, writing, promoting, and recording would grate on the Beatles, but the weariness of Beatles for Sale comes as something of a shock. Only five months before, the group released the joyous A Hard Day’s Night. Now, they sound beaten, worn, and, in Lennon’s case, bitter and self-loathing… leaving the impression that Beatlemania may have been fun but now the group is exhausted. That exhaustion results in the group’s most uneven album, but its best moments find them moving from Merseybeat to the sophisticated pop/rock they developed in mid-career.

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Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Odeon
Catalog Number:
OP-8442
Year of Release: 1967
Format: Stereo
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On Sale

Lynda Carter – Portrait sealed 1978 U.S. promo-only picture disc LP

lynda carter portrait u.s. picture disc lp

Offered for sale is a still sealed U.S. picture disc edition of the 1978 LP Portrait by Lynda Carter.  This picture disc was released only as a promotional item and was not sold in stores.

About this copy: This copy of Portrait is an original 1978 U.S.  picture disc on the Epic label.

As the album is sealed, the record is presumably new and unplayed.

While the album is sealed, the wrap is torn in several places near the window in the front cover and there are small breaks at the two right hand corners..  There is a small dent in the lower left hand corner.

A nice copy of a scarce picture disc and only the third copy we’ve ever had for sale.

Background: Before becoming an actress, Lynda Carter worked as a singer and after the success of her Wonder Woman TV show, she was able to record an album professionally.

Portrait was the only album recorded during the prime of her career, and it received good reviews, but failed to reach the U.S. album charts, and the two songs released as singles  (“Toto” and “All Night Song”) failed to reach the singles charts.

While the album sold poorly, the promo-only picture disc edition of the album has long been sought out by collectors.

Allmusic.com gave Portrait a 3 star review:

It’s easy to discount crossover albums by Hollywood stars as either a publicity stunt or the indulgence of a celebrity at the peak of their popularity. Following the second season of her wildly successful turn as the star of CBS’s Wonder Woman television series, actress Lynda Carter crossed over into the pop world with her recording debut Portrait. Fortunately, hers was an indulgence worth taking. … Carter proves she has fine chops and the album is well-played, but perhaps with a stronger set of songs it might not have taken her another 30 years to record her follow-up. As it is, Portrait is a friendly and unassuming late-’70s pop vocal album and a curiosity for Carter’s admirers.

You can listen to “Toto (Don’t It Feel Like Paradise)” here:

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Country of origin: U.S.
Size: 12″
Record Label: Epic
Catalog Number:
JE35308
Year of Release: 1978
Format: Stereo
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Jimi Hendrix – Good Vibes 1976 U.S. blue splatter vinyl Mushroom Records live LP

vibes mushroom records splatter vinyl lp

Offered for sale is a  copy of the U.S. live album Good Vibes by Jimi Hendrix, pressed on blue splatter vinyl and issued by the collectible Mushroom Records label.

About this copy: This copy of Good Vibes is a 1976 U.S. pressing on the Mushroom Records label of an album that was originally released in 1972 on the Trademark of Quality label.

The cover is VG with moderate foxing, but no splits. There is no stamped title, but it does have “COLLECTOR’S EDITION COLORED VINYL” stamped on it in blue ink.

The original title insert is M-.

The blue splatter vinyl disc is M- and may be unplayed.  Clean disc!

A nice copy of a rare Jimi Hendrix title and the only copy we’ve ever had for sale on splatter vinyl.

Background: Released in 1972, Good Vibes was the fourth Jimi Hendrix album to be released on the Trademark of Quality label.

The album contained a soundcheck recording from the Royal Albert Hall in London, recorded on February 24, 1969.

Tracks are:

  • Hey Joe
  • Hound Dog
  • Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
  • Hear My Train A Comin’

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Country of origin: U.S.
Size: 12″
Record Label: Mushroom Records
Catalog Number:
1850
Year of Release: 1976
Format: Mono
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Pink Floyd – The Wall 1979 sealed Japan 2 LP set with obi and sticker

Pink Floyd - The Wall 1979 Japan 2 LP set

Offered for sale is a still sealed Japanese pressing of The Wall by Pink Floyd including the original “cap” obi and rare title sticker.

About this copy: The copy offered for sale is a 1979 pressing on the CBS/Sony label and should include both custom sleeves, the Japanese lyric insert,  and the hard to find “cap” obi that folds over the cover.

This copy also has two clear title stickers attached to the shrink wrap.

As the album is still sealed, the two discs are presumably new and unplayed.

The wrap is fully intact except for a small 1 cm tear near the lower part of the mouth.  There is a small dent in the lower left-hand corner.

A beautiful copy of a classic LP that’s hard to find sealed.  This is the first sealed copy we’ve had for sale since 1990!

Background: Pink Floyd’s 1979 double album The Wall alienated a few fans and made the band a bunch of new ones.  Regardless of opinion, the album sold in the millions and is highly regarded by audiophiles as being among the best-sounding albums in the band’s catalog.

The long-out-of-print Japanese pressing is generally regarded as the best, and has been on the Absolute Sound’s recommended list for decades.

Allmusic.com gave The Wall a 4 1/2 star review:

The Wall was Roger Waters’ crowning accomplishment in Pink Floyd. It documented the rise and fall of a rock star (named Pink Floyd), based on Waters’ own experiences and the tendencies he’d observed in people around him. By then, the bassist had firm control of the group’s direction, working mostly alongside David Gilmour and bringing in producer Bob Ezrin as an outside collaborator. Drummer Nick Mason was barely involved, while keyboardist Rick Wright seemed to be completely out of the picture. Still, The Wall was a mighty, sprawling affair, featuring 26 songs with vocals: nearly as many as all previous Floyd albums combined.

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Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Sony
Catalog Number:
40AP1750~51
Year of Release: 1979
Format: Stereo
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Pink Floyd – Animals sealed 1977 French pink vinyl LP

pink floyd animals french pink vinyl lp

Offered for sale is a still sealed limited edition French pressing of  Animals by Pink Floyd, pressed on pink vinyl.

About this copy:  This copy of Animals is a 1977 French pressing on the Harvest/EMI label.

There were two versions of this pink vinyl LP; this copy is the version with the standard cover showing the Battersea power station.

As the album is still sealed, the record is presumably new and unplayed.

The cover is sealed inside of a thick plastic bag that is held shut by a large sticker that says “Disque Rouge – Tirage Limite”

The bag is fully intact with no rips, tears, or holes.  There is a second sticker on the bag that says “Another Import Album from JEM Records.”  There is trace wear on the two left corners, as they are exposed at the edge of the bag.

A virtually perfect copy of a rare Pink Floyd LP that is almost never found still sealed.

Background: Animals was the tenth studio album by Pink Floyd. The album reached #2 in the UK and #3 on the U.S.album charts.

Allmusic.com gave Animals a 4 star review:

Of all of the classic-era Pink Floyd albums, Animals is the strangest and darkest, a record that’s hard to initially embrace yet winds up yielding as many rewards as its equally nihilistic successor, The Wall. It isn’t that Roger Waters dismisses the human race as either pigs, dogs, or sheep, it’s that he’s constructed an album whose music is as bleak and bitter as that world view. …Through it all, though, the utter blackness of Waters’ spirit holds true, and since there are no vocal hooks or melodies, everything rests on the mood, the near-nihilistic lyrics, and Gilmour’s guitar. These are the kinds of things that satisfy cultists, and it will reward their attention — there’s just no way in for casual listeners.

In the late 1970s, collectors began to show interest in colored vinyl and picture discs, and record companies began issuing limited editions of both old and new albums in those formats in order to generate additional revenue.  Most of these titles were available only for a short time, and many of the titles made in Europe were widely exported to the U.S.

During this time, there were a number of colored vinyl albums issued around the world by Pink Floyd, but the 1977 pressing of Animals from France on pink vinyl may have been the first.

For some reason, Harvest Records in France released two versions of this colored vinyl LP.  The first issue featured the regular cover depicting the pig flying over the Battersea power station and included the custom lyric sleeve.  There was also a sticker on the bag in which the album was shipped that said “Disque rouge – tirage limite” (“Pink Disk – Limited Edition”.)

The harder-to-find second version came in a cover that was all pink, with no graphics or writing whatsoever.  The inner sleeve was also all pink, again with no writing.  The pink vinyl record had the standard custom label that appeared on other versions of the album issued worldwide.

Little is known about these all pink pressings, or why they were made in addition to those with the regular covers.  We’ve seen them advertised as “promotional copies,” but there is nothing on the record or cover to suggest that they are promos, and we remember these being sold at retail when they were new.  As far as we know, the record company just decided to make two versions.

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Country of origin: France
Size: 12″
Record Label: Harvest
Catalog Number:
2C 068-98434
Year of Release: 1977
Format: Stereo
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Velvet Underground & Nico – 1986 Japan LP with obi

Velvet Underground & Nico - 1986 Japan LP

Offered for sale is a Japanese pressing of The Velvet Underground & Nico by the Velvet Underground & Nico, including the original obi and an unpeeled banana sticker on the front cover.

Note: This 1986 pressing was the final Japanese issue before Japanese record companies stopped pressing vinyl.  Most copies were sold on compact disc; the vinyl pressing is fairly scarce.

About this copy: This copy of The Velvet Underground & Nico is a 1986 Japanese pressing  on the Verve label of an album that was originally released in the U.S. in 1967, but which was not released in Japan until 1973.

The cover is M-.  The banana sticker is present, fully intact and is M-.  The obi is VG++ with a couple of minor wrinkles and slight wear at the top edge, but no tears..   The lyric insert is M-.

The disc is VG+ with a light hairline through the last half of the “All Tomorrow’s Parties” and a fingernail mark through the first two tracks on side two. (see photo.)  The mark looks worse in the photos than it is; it’s not a deep scratch and should be inaudible.

A nice copy of a scarce Velvet Underground LP and the first copy we’ve had in quite a while.

Background: The 1967 debut by the Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground & Nico, sold poorly in its initial release, and given that the record company had to make multiple changes to the already-expensive, Andy Warhol-designed cover, the album almost certainly lost money for the record company. Despite that, people, especially other musicians, managed to hear it, and today, the album is rightly regarded as one of the most influential albums in rock history.

AllMusic.com gave The Velvet Underground & Nico five stars, saying:

One would be hard-pressed to name a rock album whose influence has been as broad and pervasive as The Velvet Underground & Nico. While it reportedly took over a decade for the album’s sales to crack six figures, glam, punk, new wave, goth, noise, and nearly every other left-of-center rock movement owes an audible debt to this set. While The Velvet Underground had as distinctive a sound as any band, what’s most surprising about this album is its diversity….

While the significance of Nico’s contributions have been debated over the years, she meshes with the band’s outlook in that she hardly sounds like a typical rock vocalist, and if Andy Warhol’s presence as producer was primarily a matter of signing the checks, his notoriety allowed The Velvet Underground to record their material without compromise, which would have been impossible under most other circumstances. Few rock albums are as important as The Velvet Underground & Nico, and fewer still have lost so little of their power to surprise and intrigue more than 40 years after first hitting the racks.

The album drew attention for a number of reasons, including the cover art, which depicted a banana with the curious caption, “Peel slowly and see.” Most buyers peeled the sticker back to see what was underneath, and were probably disappointed to realize that what was underneath was essentially an image of a peeled banana, albeit a pink one. Finding original pressings today with the banana intact can be a chore, and can cost a small fortune.

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Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Verve
Catalog Number:
18MM 0525
Year of Release: 1986
Format: Stereo
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Pink Floyd – The Wall 1979 Japan 2 LP set with obi and sticker

pink floyd - the wall japan lp

Offered for sale is a Japanese pressing of The Wall by Pink Floyd including the original “cap” obi and rare title sticker.

About this copy: The copy offered for sale is a 1979 pressing on the CBS/Sony label and includes both custom sleeves, the Japanese lyric insert,  and the hard to find “cap” obi that folds over the cover.

This copy also has the clear sticker that was originally attached to the shrink wrap when the album was new.

The cover is VG++ with a couple of faint foxing spots.   The “cap” obi is VG+ with slight edge wear.   The lyric insert is M-

The clear title sticker that was originally attached to the (now-missing) shrink wrap has been attached to the front cover.  The sticker is M-.

The two custom inner sleeves are M-.

The two discs are M- with a couple of spindle marks on the labels, but no marks on the vinyl.  Clean discs!

A nice copy of a classic LP that’s hard to find complete, as the obi and sticker are usually missing.

Background: Pink Floyd’s 1979 double album The Wall alienated a few fans and made the band a bunch of new ones.  Regardless of opinion, the album sold in the millions and is highly regarded by audiophiles as being among the best-sounding albums in the band’s catalog.

The long-out-of-print Japanese pressing is generally regarded as the best, and has been on the Absolute Sound’s recommended list for decades.

Allmusic.com gave The Wall a 4 1/2 star review:

The Wall was Roger Waters’ crowning accomplishment in Pink Floyd. It documented the rise and fall of a rock star (named Pink Floyd), based on Waters’ own experiences and the tendencies he’d observed in people around him. By then, the bassist had firm control of the group’s direction, working mostly alongside David Gilmour and bringing in producer Bob Ezrin as an outside collaborator. Drummer Nick Mason was barely involved, while keyboardist Rick Wright seemed to be completely out of the picture. Still, The Wall was a mighty, sprawling affair, featuring 26 songs with vocals: nearly as many as all previous Floyd albums combined.

This record is eligible for PayPal Credit financing by PayPal. U.S. customers may choose to pay later at checkout, and may receive up to six months financing with no interest (conditions apply.) Click the banner below for more information. (opens in a popup window)

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Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: Sony
Catalog Number:
40AP1750~51
Year of Release: 1979
Format: Stereo
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Pink Floyd – Meddle 1974 Japan LP with obi

pink floyd meddle japan lp

Offered for sale is a Japanese pressing of Meddle by Pink Floyd, including the original obi.

About this copy:  This copy of Meddle is a 1974 EMI label Japanese pressing of an album that was originally released in 1971.

The cover is M-. The obi is M-.  The insert is M-.  The booklet is M-.

The disc is M- with a couple of spindle marks on the labels but no marks on the vinyl.  Clean disc!

A nice copy of a terrific LP.

Background: Meddle is the sixth studio album by Pink Floyd, originally released in October, 1971.  The album was the second one after Atom Heart Mother to include a side-long track, “Echoes.”

The album reached #3 on the UK charts, but only reached #70 in the U.S.  Due to increased sales after the success of Dark Side of the Moon, the album was eventually certified two times platinum in the U.S.

A single, “One of These Days,” failed to reach the U.S. charts.

Country of origin: Japan
Size: 12″
Record Label: EMI
Catalog Number:
EMS-80322
Year of Release: 1974
Format: Stereo
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