Description "VENUS IN FURS"  (Lou Reed, 1967) Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather, Whiplash girl-child in the dark,   Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him,   Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart.   Downy sins of streetlight fancies , Chase the costumes she shall wear,   Ermine furs adorn the imperious,   Severin, Severin awaits you there.   I am tired, I am weary,   I could sleep for a thousand years,   A thousand dreams that would awake me,   Different colors made of tears.   Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather,   Shiny leather in the dark,   Tongue of thongs, the belt that does await you,   Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart.   Severin, Severin, speak so slightly,   Severin, down on your bended knee,   Taste the whip, in love not given lightly, Taste the whip, now plead for me.   I am tired, I am weary,   I could sleep for a thousand years,   A thousand dreams that would awake me,   Different colors made of tears   Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather,   Whiplash girl-child in the dark , Severin, your servant comes in bells, please don't forsake him,   Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart. "Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground (Featuring Nico)," RARE DOUBLE ALBUM, UK FIRST PRESSING, 1971.   Identifying late 1960's and very early 1970's Polydor pressings like this, is easily done by looking at the labels shape, they   ldid not change until late 1972 to mid- 1973.   The outer perimeter was virtually flat, with only the slightest ridge before   the labels met the run-out grooves, also concentrically around the centre holes was a ring, concave and convex per side of   the record.  This album was re-pressed and every conceivable item conforms to 1971, I cannot give the actual month because the   album failed to sell and chart, once again the Polydor inner sleeves have refused to give any clues to the month.  As true Mint   vinyl, there is no doubting they are the original's, they do not have encoded dates of their manufacturing, they are identical   in every way though and a matching pair.  The ageing over the last 44 years does act like the patina on antiques, exactly the   same ageing on one edge only, was too much to ignore when taking a picture, I placed the aged sides together.  They both have   '40 2' in the position on the front bottom right corner, which to me is meaningless and just the indexing during 1971. There are   dated 1971 inner sleeves of this type, but it appears they were made in the undated part of 197,1 that coincided with the release   of "Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground (Featuring Nico)."  Had it charted these inner sleeves would have been sufficient and the   dated variety would have entered the equation.  Then had Velvet Underground been popular in 1971 and this album charted, I   would have the month of release in my UK Charts book!   The fact is, David Bowie's rise as Ziggy Stardust in 1972 was when David   'sang' the praises of Velvet Underground and the great Lou Reed as a solo artist, citing how they had influenced him.  To the   eternal credit of the MGM label in the UK, they never lost faith in Velvet Underground and kept releasing their music until the   UK record buyers woke up to recognising their incredible and unique talent.     ON THE BLUE & GOLD MGM LABELS:  MGM SELECT:  SET No. 2683 006.   RECORD 1:  2354010   RECORD 2:  2354011   I included a close up picture to show the microfilm thin vinyl shaving in the spindle hole, amazing to see after all those decades,   so delicate, contact with a 60's or early 1970's spindle would have almost certainly dislodged that.     MAITRIX FOR BOTH RECORDS; RECORD 1:  2354010 - A // 1  ▽  420 1  1 / 2354010 - B // 1  ▽  420  1  1   RECORD 2:  2354011 - A // 1  ▽ 420  1  1 / 2354011 - B // 1  ▽  420   1  1 if ever four sides of vinyl do not meet my input regarding being very first Polydor pressings, this pair definitely do not!     ORIGINAL 1971 POLY LINED POLYDOR INNER SLEEVES, BOTH ARE NOT CODE DATED ON ONE CORNER, JUST THE   DESCRIBED '40 2, THEY WERE PRINTED IN 1971 THOUGH.  NO TEARS OR SPLITS, UNUSED WITH ALSO MENTIONED   AGEING ON ONE SIDE PER SLEEVE, ONLY GENTLE IMPRESSIONS FROM THE RECORDS AND THAT NATURAL AGEING,   BOTH ARE IN IN NEAR MINT CONDITION. FIRST ISSUE ONLY, "McNeill Press, London" PRINTED DELUXE, FULLY LAMINATED GATEFOLD COVER, ON THE OUTSIDE AND THE INSIDE.   FEATURING THE STUNNING 'Lips & Coke Bottle' ARTWORK, WITH THE INSIDE UP TO ANDY WARHOL PROPORTIONS.   UNUSED AND PERFECTLY STORED, SO THIS IS STILL THE ORIGINAL 1971 PURE WHITE COLOUR, TO THE DAZZLING RICH COLOURS ON THE ARTWORK.    WITH NO MORE THAN THE VERY LIGHTEST POSSIBLE STANDING/ STORAGE SIGNS, INEVITABLE RECORD IMPRESSIONS AND A FEW RELATED  LAMINATE EDGE LINES AND A FEW LIGHT RIPPLES, THE COVER IS IN NEAR MINT CONDITION. BOTH RECORDS ARE IN IMMACULATE UNPLAYED, MINT CONDITION. RECORD 1, SIDE 1 "I'm Waiting For My Man" "Candy Says" "Run, Run, Run" "White Light/White Heat" "All Tomorrow's Parties" RECORD 1, SIDE 2 "Sunday Morning" "I Heard Her Call My Name" "Femme Fatale" "Heroin" "Here She comes Now" "There She Goes Again" RECORD  2, SIDE 3 "Sister Ray" "Venus In Furs" RECORD  2, SIDE 4 "European Son" "Pale Blue Eyes" "Black Angel's Death Song" "Beginning To See The Light" Quite how two records with those staggering seventeen 1967 -1969 tracks remained played once for 44 years, is something I find beyond belief!  I last listed this ultimate selection of Velvet Underground's most potent tracks ever mastered onto vinyl, when we first joined ebay, ever since I have been looking for another copy, but they are rare.  I am only interested in Mint records and a gatefold cover that still has the same appearance as the day it was first made.  A tall order admittedly but here it is all the same!   As long as such amazing vinyl is out there I will do my very  best to find it, all four sides and their labels are in as new condition, no marks, scratches or even any handling traces on the vinyl, all I could find was the very faintest fingertip   trace on one label only.  That's so light it could be the natural textured paper because that is the same record I showed a close   up picture of the delicate vinyl shavings in the spindle hole.  I really do my very best to be accurate, but records were handled   before being bought. The position records should be held and that had to be from the first time the records were placed inside   the inner sleeves at the pressing plant in 1971. Considering this is the rare very first pressing, it is even more remarkable to   find no playing signs at all. I would love to hear the sensational sound quality the Master Tape sourced 17 tracks will have from   Mint 19721 pressed vinyl.  Unplayed has my fullest respect and I will offer this in the ultimate condition, all tracks are from an incredible trio of late 60's Velvet Underground albums. Their total failure to sell when first issued in Britain is one of the   unsolvable mysteries that often has one possible answer, the staggering music released in the Golden psychedelic late 1960's, meant some albums of true greatness would remain undiscovered for years, if not decades. The Velvet's music had it all, from mind   blowing psychedelia, really heavy, aggressive music with unveiled drug references, throught to the very gentlest, purest folk. It took a very long time for Velvet Underground's music to receive all  the accolades due, in fact, it even took new generations to discover them and today the music is still strongly influencing today's generation of musicians.  1960's artist Andy Warhol's involvement gave their album covers the most amazing artwork was not the work of Warhol himself, but directly inspired by him to such an extent, this "Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground" (Featuring Nico)" album is up there with the very greatest gatefold   covers of all time.  Only the first pressing's came in a deluxe highly glossy laminated gatefold cover on the outside and inside, the re-issues had a pathetically thin cardboard matt cover, completely taking the edge and beauty away from the extraordinary   artwork.  The colours lost their intensely deep colour tones, with that the impact was lessened as well, this rare first issue is the perfect representation of that fantastic quality, so are the records!  Still with ultra glossy laminate even on the outside,   the main background to the amazing artwork is snowy white.  A pure brilliant white colour, over nine separate paintings there are really glossy red lips in a sequence of slowly opening to suck on a straw inside a coke bottle.  I strongly recommend looking   at the pictures, my text cannot do this artwork justice. The colours are incredibly rich and vivid, totally unfaded, in the same way as the white background has not yellowed or aged.  Opening up the gatefold reveals a simply staggering painting that would make a splendid framed picture on a wall.  Playing music and holding the cover are closely inter-connected, when the music and artwork   are on the same inspired wavelength, you have a very special album,art and music are inseparable.  The inside artwork vertically   fills the whole gatefold with a full sized painting of the following lips and coke bottle in the sequence, the coke bottle has now been drunk and emptied, with the fully opened mouth full of bubbles. The condition inside is like new, looking just stunning and once again, words are inadequate, but the pictures of all the cover's artwork can be seen above.  The cover had never been opened until I did this morning, the laminate was so tight I only opened it to a comfortable position,so no picture of the outside fully open.   The vinyl on this first issue is late 1960's standard, mega heavyweight, re-issues were pressed on very thin vinyl and the sound suffered on shallow grooved typical late 70's/early 80's records, they are not truly representative of the 1960's sound.  MGM used their master tapes, they owned Verve, faithfully mastering the records with an awesome psychedelic 60's true stereo mix. {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.   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. 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!