Fab 4 Collectibles | The Very Best Quality in Authentic Autographs, Original Records & Memorabilia | Vee Jay Lps | Introducing The Beatles Version One "Blank Back"

INTRODUCING THE BEATLES
VJLP 1062 MONAURAL
RELEASED: 1/10/64
VERSION 1
MONO "BLANK BACK"

RARER VARIATION WITH AD BACK "PRINTED IN USA" FRONT SLICK
AND 45 SIZE LABEL WITH OVAL LOGO

CONDITION: NM- / NM-
ITEM#: LP440
PRICE: ------

DESCRIPTION

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". IT IS SIMILAR TO THE AD BACK IN THAT IT CONTAINS NO INFORMATION REGARDING THE GROUP OR THE SONGS. BUT WHILE THE AD BACK IS ONE OF THE MOST COLORFUL BACK COVERS IN THE BEATLES CATALOG, THE SECOND VARIATION IS AT THE OTHER SPECTRUM - A GLOSSY BLANK WHITE SLICK. THIS VARIATION IS KNOWN AMONG COLLECTORS AS THE "BLANK BACK" COVER. SOME BELIEVE THAT THESE COVERS MAY BE THE RESULT OF A PRODUCTION ERROR, OR PERHAPS THAT VEE-JAY USED THESE COVERS FOR PROMOTIONAL ISSUES OF THE LP. THE CORRECT HISTORICAL FACT IS THAT 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.

N ALL LIKELIHOOD, BLANK BACK COVERS WERE LIMITED TO A FEW THOUSAND - AND WHILE WE MAY NEVER KNOW HOW MANY VERSION ONE RECORDS WERE ISSUED IN BLANK BACK COVERS, ONE THING IS CERTAIN : THESE VARIATIONS ARE EXTREMELY RARE. IN ADDITION, DUE TO THE BLANK BACK WHITE SLICK'S PROPENSITY TO ATTRACT AND SHOW DIRT, AGING AND WEAR AND TEAR, NEAR MINT COPIES OF THIS VARIATION ARE EXTREMELY RARE.

OFFERED HERE IS THE RARER VARIATION OF THE VERSION ONE MONO "BLANK BACK", THIS BEING THE FIRST COPY WE HAVE OFFERED. THIS IS ONE OF THE LAST OF THE MONO "AD BACK" FRONT COVER SLICKS UTILIZED, DICTATED BY THE "PRINTED IN USA" SMALL PRINT, RUNNING VERTICALLY ALONG THE LEFT SIDE OF THE JACKET ONE TO TWO INCHES FROM THE LOWER LEFT CORNER OF THE FRONT COVER (VJ1062(1).MC2A, SPIZER). ALL "AD BACK" COVERS WERE MANUFACTURED CONTAINING THE PHRASE "PRINTED IN USA", AND SOME "BLANK BACK" COVERS WERE ASSEMBLED WITH THESE SLICKS. AS ONLY 6,000 "PRINTED IN USA" SLICKS WERE PRINTED, BLANK BACK COVERS WITH THE "AD BACK" FRONT SLICK IS OBVIOUSLY VERY LIMITED.

THE COVER IS IN STUNNING NEAR MINT MINUS CONDITION, DISPLAYING VERY LIMITED AND LIGHT HANDLING WEAR OVER THE YEARS. THE STARK WHITE
" BLANK" BACK COVER REMAINS CLEAN WITH A BRIGHT "WHITE" TONE, WITH MINIMAL TONING. THE SPINE IS SOLID THROUGHOUT AND COMPLETELY LEGIBLE. THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER TIP HAS A TOUCH OF WEAR.

VEE-JAY'S HABIT OF USING WHATEVER LABEL BACKDROPS WERE AVAILABLE LED TO A STRANGE VARIATION. THE 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 RECORDS (WHICH THIS PRESSING IS) RAN OUT OF ALBUM-SIZE OVAL LOGO BACKDROPS, BUT PRIOR TO RECEIVING THE NEW ALBUM-SIZE BRACKETS LOGO LABEL BACKDROPS IN MID JANUARY 1964

THE ORIGINAL ACCOMPANYING VERSION ONE RECORD FEATURES THE 45-SIZE LABEL VARIATION WITH THE COLORBAND AND OVAL LOGO
(VJ1062(1).MR2, SPIZER). IT HAS LEFT JUSTIFIED SONG TITLES AND SONGWRITERS' CREDITS WITH "INTRODUCING THE BEATLES" IN SMALL PRINT. THE WORDS "LONG PLAYING" AND "MICROGROOVE" DO NOT APPEAR ON THE LABEL. THE TRAIL-OFF AREAS HAVE THE HAND ETCHED MATRIX NUMBER "63-3402" AND JOB NUMBER "∆5702" ON SIDE 1, AND MATRIX NUMBER "63-3403" AND JOB NUMBER "∆5702-X" ON SIDE 2. BOTH SIDES HAVE THE HAND ETCHED DATE "6-29-63" AND INITIALS "RA" AND "A" AS WELL AS THE MACHINE STAMPED AUDIO MATRIX AND "MR" LOGOS. THIS VARIATION WAS PRESSED BY MONARCH RECORDS. THE CONDITION OF THIS RECORD IS IN NEAR MINT MINUS CONDITION THROUGHOUT, DISPLAYING A STUNNING SHEEN TO THE GROOVES, WITH LIMITED PLAYTIME EVIDENT.

ACCOMPANIED BY THE VEE-JAY "AD BACK" INNER DUST SLEEVE.