XTC Music > Vinyl Records Xtc - Skylarking [Import] 633367789716 APEH7789716.1

XTC

Xtc - Skylarking [Import]

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SKU: APEH7789716.1

Artist: XTC

Album: Skylarking [Import]

Limited 200gm vinyl LP pressing. Song lyric sheet included. Newly mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering from tapes approved by Andy Partridge. The first 1980s versions didn't include "Dear God" and after it was a hit, "Mermaid Smiled" was dropped on some later versions to include "Dear God". The full album has only been on vinyl in 2LP deluxe editions playing at 45RPM. When it came time to master the album on vinyl in 2010, Andy Partridge - still never entirely happy with the overall sound of the finished album - took it to award-winning mastering engineer John Dent, who noticed something that had never previously been spotted. Somewhere, possibly in the transfer from the multi-channel tape to the stereo master, a polarity had been reversed. This is not the same thing as a reversed left/right channel which puts a stereo picture out of phase and makes the sound unlistenable, but a much more difficult to pin down event that can be triggered by something as simple as a badly wired plug in the overall system which, nonetheless, removes some of the punch and presence from a finished recording. With the polarity corrected, the album - complete with original artwork and "Dear God" - was issued on vinyl as a double LP deluxe edition playing at 45rpm in the original rejected sleeve, then later reissued with the more familiar sleeve... Leaving some fans to wonder why they couldn't have the 15 song LP on single vinyl playing at 33 & 1/3 RPM. Well, now they can - beautifully mastered for single LP from the corrected polarity masters by Jason at Loud Mastering and pressed on superior 200gram vinyl.

UPC/ISBN: 633367789716

Release Date: 09/28/2018

Product Information

Due to the nature of collectible items and ever changing market demand, we are unable to cancel pre-orders on ratio variants and select other items (1 per store variants, exclusive covers, ect) for a refund.For preorders on regular open order comics (the majority of which are normally cover price), we can cancel preorders and refund with a store credit that can be used in our brick and mortar stores or at thirdeyecomics.com

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Cover art for Comics on our website is provided to us at the time of solicit. While we do our best to keep these images up to date; some covers may be subject to change!

At Third Eye, we ship thousands of comics every week, and we know condition matters. Whether you're reading, collecting, or grading, we want you to feel confident when a Third Eye package arrives.

This policy outlines our standard for new release and shipped comics, and the industry-standard guidelines we follow.

OUR STANDARD

Books without a stated grade will be offered as Near Mint 9.4 or better. We do not guarantee 9.8 condition on any book unless specifically noted.

We use industry-standard grading guidelines from:

If you're new to comic grading, the resources above are a great place to start.

WHY WE DON'T GUARANTEE 9.8

Modern comic printing is an imperfect process. Books are printed in massive
runs, bound at high speed, and shipped in bulk to retailers. Even brand
new books off the truck will exhibit minor production characteristics,
and that's normal, and consistent with industry standards across every
retailer.

A 9.8 grade represents near-perfection, and the reality is that not every printed book qualifies for that grade no matter where you buy it from.

We can absolutely commit to NM 9.4 or better. We cannot commit to 9.8 on every book, because that's not how comics are made.

WHAT QUALIFIES AS NM 9.4

Per industry standards, a book may exhibit the following minor characteristics and still grade as Near Mint 9.4, as long as there's no accumulation of defects:

Bindery characteristics:

  • Minor to moderate corner tears
  • White edges along the spine (common on most modern printings)
  • Covers slightly offset from interior pages (common on cardstock covers)

Printing characteristics:

  • Slight color rub on back covers
  • Small paper wrinkles present from the paper roll prior to printing
  • Wavy paper texture from the printing process

Spine characteristics:

  • 2-3 small color-breaking spine ticks
  • Minor non-color-breaking spine dings

These are normal modern production characteristics, not damage from handling or shipping. They are present on books across the industry, regardless
of retailer.

OUR RETURN & EXCHANGE POLICY

We do not accept returns or exchanges on books that meet our NM 9.4 or better standard.

We will replace or refund:

  • Books damaged during shipping (clear shipping damage, not pre-existing print characteristics)
  • Books that fall below NM 9.4 standard (significant spine damage, major creasing, tears, etc.)
  • Wrong cover or wrong issue shipped

For premium variants (1:25, 1:50, 1:100, 1:250, 1:500 incentive covers, signed editions, exclusive variants), we apply enhanced QC during pull and packing. If a premium variant arrives outside our standard, contact us within 7 days of delivery and we will work with you on a replacement.

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about a specific book or want to learn more about comic grading, our team is happy to help. Reach out to service@thirdeyecomics.com.

We appreciate your trust in Third Eye Comics, and we're committed to delivering books that meet the standards both you and we expect.