Elvis, 'Moody Blue'. Black v. Blue Vinyl Pressings.

Can anyone fill me in on the details of the vinyl pressings of Elvis' "Moody Blue" LP, regarding the black versus blue coloured vinyl and their respective value?

And does this apply to USA pressings only or also to Canadian pressings?

 

While I've never compared my blue, SQ wise, to a black, I do know that there is no rarity whatsoever, in either color.

 

Wrong, a US Black Vinyl original is worth many, many times the price of a Blue Vinyl pressing. The Blue Vinyl was originally intended as a promo only item. When Elvis died in August 1977, RCA Victor decided to make commercial pressings of "Moody Blue" on Blue Vinyl in a commemorative action. One pressing run was black, they are rare collectibles. Black vinyl foreign pressings not as rare.

 

A VG Plus AFL-1 recalled pressing of "Moody Blue" on black vinyl auctioned last year for $95.00. A Near Mint copy on Blue Vinyl on AFL-1 original issue is worth around $18.oo.

 

cool info , I have always had & liked the Blue Vinyl .

 

Actually, the first 500,000 copies of Moody Blue were pressed on blue vinyl. Those copies had just sold through in early August 1977, and stores were beginning to get copies in black vinyl, when Elvis died. RCA decided to ditch the black vinyl and resume pressing the LP on blue vinyl - thus the rarity of the original AFL1- prefixed album on black vinyl. Later editions in the 1980s, after the prefix and catalog number had changed, were on black vinyl, too.

 

There's a guy I bump into every so often when checking out the LPs at the local thrift shops. He told me he has a price guide that values the black vinyl of 'Moody Blue' at $200. I suggested that sounded a little high to me - and he stated flatly I was wrong, "that's the value in the price guide". When I also added that the price guide estimates for the black vinyl pressings were probably for American pressings only, not the Canadian pressing, he again corrected me - "the price guide only states black vinyl; it does not specify country of origin. So, any black vinyl of this album is worth $200" ... okay, I guess the price guide is the Bible, afterall.

He also complains he can never find this album. I have told him I find copies of it on a semi-regular basis. In fact, I have an extra copy in NM condition I'd be happy to sell it to him. He became very uncomfortable when I threw his $200 price back at him. I think he only wants to spend about $1, but he won't tell me what he's willing to pay me for a copy. Next time I see him, I'll offer it to him for a non-negotiable $10.

 

Good story, I've run into so many of those record convention nerds.....think everything is worth 3 times as much....

 

I was just going to chime in with this - you are correct. My Father purchased the album on the day of it's release and it's Blue vinyl...I play it often in fact!

 

There is actually two versions of the blue vinyl. One is very thick vinyl and the other is not (I have both). They are both from 1977.

 

I know the version from the RCA Record Club was on black vinyl, but I'm not sure if the copy my folks had was ordered before or after the catalogue prefix change and switch to all-black vinyl.

 

Does anyone have Moody Blue reissue by Friday Music? How does it sound?

 

US only. Canadian black vinyl pressings are a dime a dozen.

 

I love these guys!!! They always end a statement with "in the book". It's even better when you try to explain the grading of the record compared to value and they still value a wrecked lp at Mint pricing. We should have a thread dedicated to "Book people". They always put a smile on my face, which, if in the book, would be priceless.

 

Yes. The black vinyl is the really,really rare version. The blue sold millions. Oh... "caveat emptor"....there is a reissue with the black vinyl that has a different number. If you pay two bucks for it is a lot..lol!

 

My Goldmine price guide has a forward, which I'm guessing most people don't read, which states that sellers fall into basically 3 categories. If you're not a top tier, elite
dealer with a world-wide reputation, "You should not expect to see the prices [in this price guide] paid to you on a regular basis." I'm guessing that most of the
buyers of record price guides do not fall into the top tier category. The author suggests that most buyers of his price guide fall into the lowest tier - in other words
flea market, yard sale, junk shop, etc. sellers. "These sellers should charge 50% to 75% of the values in this book."

BTW, my Neil Umphred 5th Edition guide lists the black vinyl Moody Blue at $300 in NM condition. The rarest versions of MB are multi-colored 'splash' copies that book for as much as $1800. That was in 1996.

For the record (no pun intended) I use price guides to separate the $1 records from the $50/$100+ Lps.

M

 

Is the Friday Music reissue on blue or black vinyl? Is it any good?

 

A girl I work with has a blue vinyl copy in shrink with a sticker stating that this was a limited pressing of 35,000.

 

A little off the subject here, but Moody Blue could have been a killer album if they could have gotten Elvis into the studio for 4 more songs.

 

I bought about 6 blue vinyl sealed copies right after Elvis died. As the years went by I let them go, I remember giving one to my sister as a Xmas present. Wish now I would have kept one for myself.

 

the original blue pressing sounds 'great' too! great dynamics and well pressed...... well mine is anyways..

RickB

 

Yes

 

My blue vinyl copy of Moody Blue may be worth mere pennies....but to me, it's priceless...a meaningful personal collectable to remember the King....RIP Elvis

 

In actuality, I think the rarest 77, AFL1, US pressing, is on white vinyl. I've searched for years, I have still to even see one in person. I've seen gold, black, blue, never white. There are other colors, but I think white is a tuff one to find.

 

Thanks for the replies and info folks. I found a near mint blue vinyl original that suits me just fine. Surprising as RCA 70s vinyl always has seemed hit and miss.