Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Nutrocker (1972 / Cotillion / 7" Test Press Promo / Single Sided / Mono / SP Specialty Pressing)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Nutrocker (1972 / Cotillion / 7" Test Press Promo / Single Sided / Mono / SP Specialty Pressing)

A 1972 Cotillion test press promo of ELP's "Nutrocker" — a 7", single-sided, mono SP Specialty Pressing, one of an extremely limited number of copies produced before commercial release. Media grades Very Good Plus (VG+). Sleeve grades Very Good (VG).

Test pressings occupy a category of their own in serious vinyl collecting. Produced in tiny quantities — typically fewer than a dozen copies — before a record enters full commercial production, they exist solely to verify the audio quality of the lacquer cut and the pressing plant's output. They are never sold through retail channels, rarely surface in any condition, and represent the earliest physical documentation of a recording's passage from tape to vinyl. This 1972 Cotillion test press promo of "Nutrocker" — ELP's orchestral rock adaptation of Tchaikovsky's "March of the Toy Soldiers" from the Pictures at an Exhibition concert recording — is single-sided and mono, pressed under the SP Specialty Pressing designation, and carries the catalog number 45-44151. For ELP collectors and serious students of early 1970s progressive rock, a document like this — a test press promo from the original Cotillion pressing run — is precisely the kind of artifact that defines a collection rather than simply adding to it. The VG+ media plays well with light surface marks consistent with age and handling; the VG sleeve shows more visible wear but is structurally sound.

• Format: 7", 45 RPM, Single, Single Sided, Mono
• Pressing: Test Press Promo, SP Specialty Pressing
• Edition: Original, 1972
• Label: Cotillion – 45-44151
• Genre: Rock, Progressive Rock
• Media Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Sleeve Condition: Very Good (VG)

VG+ test press promo, 1972 — single-sided, mono, SP Specialty Pressing on Cotillion. A rare artifact from the original ELP pressing run. Copies like this rarely surface.

View release on Discogs – Catalog No. 45-44151  |  Our Discogs shop listing