WITH EXTREMELY RARE SMALLER 45 RPM SIZE OVAL LOGO LABELS

CONDITION: NM- / NM-
ITEM#: LP565
PRICE: ------

THERE ARE THREE DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT VARIATIONS TO THE MONO AND STEREO BACK COVERS TO VERSION ONE OF "INTRODUCING THE BEATLES". IN ITS FIRST INCARNATION, THE BACK COVER SERVES AS AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR 25 OF VEE-JAY'S "OTHER FINE ALBUMS OF SIGNIFICANT INTEREST", THUS BEING TAGGED THE "AD BACK" COVER AMONG THE COLLECTOR'S WORLD. THE SECOND VARIATION OF THE "INTRODUCING THE BEATLES" BACK COVER IS ALSO SHROUDED IN MYSTERY AND SPECULATION LIKE THAT OF ITS PREDECESSOR, THE "AD BACK", AND IS AT THE OTHER SPECTRUM - A GLOSSY BLANK WHITE SLICK. THIS VARIATION IS KNOWN AMONG COLLECTORS AS THE "BLANK BACK" COVER. THE BLANK BACK WAS A LIMITED AND SHORT TRANSITIONAL RUN THAT WAS A SUBSTITUTION AFTER ALL "AD BACK" SLICKS HAD BEEN USED, BUT JUST PRIOR TO THE RECEIPT OF THE THIRD BACK COVER THAT LISTED THE SONG TITLES.

THIS THIRD BACK COVER IS MUCH MORE CONVENTIONAL, AND ALTHOUGH IT HAS NO LINER NOTES OR PICTURES, IT DOES LIST THE SONG TITLES IN THICK BLACK PRINT IN TWO COLUMNS. THIS BORING AND FINAL COVER VARIATION, REFERRED TO AS  THE "TITLES ON BACK" COVER, IS CLEARLY THE RESULT OF VEE-JAY'S DESIRE TO GET THE ALBUM ISSUED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. IT IS LIKELY THAT ALL THREE COVER VARIATIONS WERE ASSEMBLED WITHIN WEEKS OR EVEN DAYS OF EACH OTHER AND WERE ISSUED AT THE SAME TIME IN JANUARY OF 1964. BY THE TIME VEE-JAY RESUMED TAKING ORDERS FOR "INTRODUCING THE BEATLES" IN THE SECOND WEEK OF FEBRUARY 1964, DUE TO THE LEGAL COMPLICATIONS WITH CAPITOL RECORDS, AND ONCE THE LEGALITIES HAD CLEARED, THE COMPANY HAD DECIDED TO REISSUE THE ALBUM WITH "PLEASE PLEASE ME" AND "ASK ME WHY" REPLACING "LOVE ME DO " AND "P.S. I LOVE YOU". THIS HELPED CREATE THE VERSION TWO RELEASE.

PRESENTED AND PROUDLY OFFERED HERE IS A MOST fascinating EXAMPLE OF THE MONAURAL PRESSING OF THE VERSION ONE "INTRODUCING THE BEATLES" ALBUM THAT FEATURES THE ORIGINAL LINE-UP OF THE TRACKS "LOVE ME DO" AND "P.S. I LOVE YOU". THIS COVER IS THE VARIATION OF WHICH HAS  THE "TITLES ON COVER" BACK SLICK.

WHAT MAKES THIS PARTICULAR VERSION ONE SET VERY RARE IS THE RECORD AND THE LABELS USED ON THE DISC. VEE-JAY'S HABIT OF USING WHATEVER LABEL BACKDROPS WERE AVAILABLE LED TO A STRANGE VARIATION OF THIS RECORD. WHEN VEE-JAY'S FACTORY RAN SHORT OF THE STANDARD LARGER ALBUM LABELS, THEY WOULD SUBSTITUTE THE SMALLER 45 RPM-SIZE RECORD LABELS INSTEAD, RATHER THAN WAIT UNTIL THE CORRECT ALBUM LABELS WERE RESTOCKED. AS WAS THE CASE, A VERY LIMITED AMOUNT OF RECORDS WERE ISSUED WITH 45-SIZE LABELS, AS IS THE RESULT OF THE ALBUM OFFERED HERE.

THE RARER SMALLER 45 RPM SIZED LABELS USED ON THIS DISC (VJ 1062(1).MR2, SPIZER) has the same typesetting and identical trail-off area markings as the STANDARD ALBUM SIZE LABEL Monarch pressing (VJ 1062(1).MR1B, SPIZER). but AS  NOTED, THIS label is not the standard size album label. Instead, it is a black label with an outer rim colorband featuring a small oval logo on a 45-size label. Apparently, this curiosity was pressed after Monarch ran out of album-size oval logo label backdrops, but prior to receiving the new album-size brackets logo label back-drops in mid-January 1964.

THE NEAR MINT MINUS VERSION ONE ALBUM COVER RETAINS A FRESH APPEARANCE TO IT, WITH  IMAGES THAT ARE BOLD AND CRISP WITH OUTSTANDING SHARP GRAPHICS. THE BACK COVER'S WHITE BACKGROUND IS "SNOW" WHITE WITH NO YELLOWING ANYWHERE. THERE IS NO RINGWEAR OR RECORD IMPRESSION ON THE COVER AT ALL. THE SPINE IS PERFECTLY SHARP AND LEGIBLE. NO SEAM SPLITS. THERE ARE SOME VERY SMALL AREAS OF WEAR AT THE CORNER TIPS, WITH A TOUCH MORE AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT TIP. THE BACK COLUMNS AND PRINT IS ALL THERE AND BEAUTIFUL. THE SPINE IS PERFECTLY SHARP AND LEGIBLE.

THE DISC IS A GORGEOUS AND GLIMMERING NEAR MINT MINUS THROUGHOUT, SHOWING VERY MINIMAL PLAY TIME, RETAINING A HIGH-GLOSS AND DEEP GLIMMERING GROOVES. THERE IS ONE SUPERFICIAL MARK LINE ON SIDE ONE. THE RARE 45-SIZE LABELS ARE A SHINY AND GLOSSY NEAR MINT.

ALSO INCLUDED IS THE ACCOMPANYING ORIGINAL VEE-JAY "AD BACK" INNER DUST SLEEVE IN SOLID VG+++ CONDITION.