"BEATLES FOR SALE"
PARLOPHONE PCS 3062, STEREO
RELEASED 12/4/64

ITEM#: PAR287
PRICE: $500

THE BEATLES FOURTH ALBUM, BEATLES FOR SALE,  WAS ISSUED BY PARLOPHONE ON DECEMBER 4, 1964, IN TIME FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SEASON. WHILE ITS PREDECESSOR A HARD DAY'S NIGHT  CONTAINED ALL LENNON-McCARTNEY COMPOSITIONS, BEATLES FOR SALE  HAD THE SAME FORMAT AS THE GROUP'S FIRST TWO ALBUMS WITH EIGHT ORIGINAL SONGS AND SIX COVER TUNES. THIS WAS DUE TO THE GROUP'S HECTIC SCHEDULE OF CONCERT, TELEVISION AND RADIO APPEARANCES, WHICH LEFT LITTLE TIME FOR WRITING. ALTHOUGH CRITICS OF THE LP VIEW ITS COVER PHOTO AS PROOF THAT THE GROUP'S RIGOROUS SCHEDULE HAD FINALLY WORN THE BEATLES DOWN, THE ALBUM WAS WELL-RECEIVED AT THE TIME OF ITS RELEASE AND HAS SOME GREAT PERFORMANCES.

BRITISH STEREO PRESSINGS ARE MUCH RARER THAN MONO, FOR RECORD COMPANIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM PRESSED RECORDS ON THEIR DEMAND. THE MARKET FOR STEREO POP RECORDS WERE COMPARATIVELY MINIMAL AS TO MONO AND THESE EARLY STEREO PRESSINGS ARE SOME OF THE RAREST BEATLES RECORDS YOU CAN FIND. MONAURAL OUTNUMBERED STEREO BY A TEN TO ONE RATIO, AND FOR THE POP MARKET, THAT NUMBER MAY BE QUITE LITERALLY 100 TO 1, FOR SO FEW WERE PRESSED.

THIS IS THE RARER ORIGINAL STEREO FIRST ISSUE WITH THE GATEFOLD COVER (PAR3062.SC1A, SPIZER) HAVING THE "STEREO" DESIGNATION IN MEDIUM OUTLINED LETTERS IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER ON THE FRONT. ALSO, THIS EXAMPLE IS THE INITIAL COVER THAT HAS THE OUTER EDGE OF THE GROUP ON THE BACK COVER IN SHARP FOCUS (THE LATER COVERS HAVE FEATHERED EDGES TO MAKE THE SUPER IMPOSITION LESS APPARENT). THERE IS A STEREO EQUIPMENT WARNING IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE LEFT INSIDE PANEL OF THE INNER GATEFOLD.

THIS FIRST STEREO PRESSING HAS THE BLACK AND YELLOW PARLOPHONE LABELS WITH PARLOPHONE PERIMETER PRINT AND THE "SOLD IN THE U.K." PRINT ACROSS THE LABEL ABOVE THE SPINDLE HOLE.  THIS LABEL VARIATION (PAR3062.SR1A, SPIZER). TRAIL OFF STAMPINGS ARE: SIDE ONE: "YEX I42-I" AND "4" AND "R". SIDE 2: "YEX I43-I" AND "1" AND "0A". THE SIDE TWO LABEL ALSO HAS THE RAISED LETTER TAX CODES, "K" AND "T".

THE CONDITION OF THE COVER IS A VERY RESPECTABLE VG++. ALL SEAMS AND EDGES ARE FIRM, NO RINGWEAR, AND VERY MINIMAL HANDLING. THE GATEFOLD HAS WEAR AT THE VERY TOP AND BOTTOM TIPS OF THE GATEFOLD INNER CREASE. THIS WEAR EXTENDS A TROUCH ON THE OUTSIDE AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE OUTSIDE TIPS. THE SPINE IS BEAUTIFUL AND LEGIBLE. THERE IS NO 'TONING' AT ALL ON THE BACK COVER.

THE CONDITION OF THE RECORD IS A CLEAN AND SHINY NEAR MINT MINUS (BORDERS VG+++) VINYL (3 SUPERFICIAL MARKS EVIDENT), AND NEAR MINT MINUS LABELS, WITH SOME VERY LIGHT SPINDLE MARKS.

ACCOMPANIED BY THE ORIGINAL "EMITEX" PROTECTIVE INNER SLEEVE.