BLACK SABBATH (1st) RARER LARGE VERTIGO SPIRAL EX UK LP

	£		184
	$		244

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering The Very Best Rock Music to the World.

…“Still falls the rain, the veils of darkness shroud the blackened trees…

Artist or Band: BLACK SABBATH

Album Title: Black Sabbath

Producer(s): Roger Bain.

Cat Number: VO 6 (847 903 VTY).

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Black Sabbath; The Wizard; Behind the Wall of Sleep; NIB.

Side 2: Evil Woman; Sleeping Village; Warning.

Label/Format: Vertigo – a very early second label format that has the large Swirl logo each side, but omits the Philips credit at the 6 o’clock position. A small few ultimate first issues has this small credit, but quickly removed on subsequent label printings.

Label Conditions: Both in fantastic condition: Ultra clean, fresh and hugely attractive, any of the very few spindle marks are fine and faint. Amongst the least I have ever seen on this massively popular heavy rock classic. The full Spiral on side one is nigh-on perfect from rim to hole and side two – the more critical side – still very white with no grubbiness or handling traces. This very impressive copy owned from new by just the one person and played very sparingly, with utmost care on a quality stereo system. This, like all from this collection recently purchased, has never been exposed to old mono records players and this more than reflects in the superb sound it offers.

Cat Number: VO6 (847 903 VTY).

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 135 grams. About average for this label.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: One of the more ‘gettable’ Vertigo Spiral albums, this sold well even though it received less than enthusiastic reviews from the critics of the say. The early copies are more elusive and this has three distinctive label types. The first is the same as the one I am offering except it had a Philips credit on side two at the 6 o’clock position, this was then removed, that example is quite rare. The third variant has a small Spiral logo on the back and the outline Vertigo word lies directly below it above the hole – that is the most common version. This second label format was still issued in 1970, hence still very early. The cover is the same and includes the ‘Dunbar’ credit for song ‘Warning’ as can be seen on close-up inside picture, and importantly, still has the original copyright ‘Warning—Copyright subsists in all Vertigo recordings’. This later changed from ‘Vertigo’ to ‘this label’ So beware of later covers being swapped for the original. For those who bought the earliest copies of this album, many were played to destruction making audio quality less than pleasing these days. Far less of the large Swirl copies survive so lightly played and with with care too. Both record and cover for this example are hugely impressive and for fans and Vertigo collectors, this will take some beating.

Original Year of Release: 1970. This copy issued within the same year up to part of 1971.

Matrix Nos: VO6 1Y * 1 420 1 2 1 4 / VO6 2Y * 1 420 1 2 1 3

Musicians: Ozzy Osbourne – vocals, harmonica; Tony Iommi – guitar; Geezer Butler – bass; Bill Ward – drums.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Issued to scorn and damnation by the critics, but eventually universally loved by the real fans of rock, Ozzy gave the finger and they thrived and became superstars of the heavy rock genre. Black Sabbath played real heavy metal – an awesome quartet that were very dark, with real menace, sang songs of doom, gloom, war and the occult - this is what they did best and no-one ever came close to matching them. Even today, after hearing this classic a hundred times, the sound of that rain falling on the opening grooves and the loud thunderclap with the distant tolling bell sends a shiver down my spine – play, if possible, at maximum volume. For full effect, have the cover in your hands at the same time - the ghostly spectresque girl standing in the woods will make you shudder.

What is this that stands before me?; Figure in black that points at me.

Screams ‘The Prince of Darkness’ and just before the band go into overdrive he lets out with blood curdling power Oh no, no, please God help me totally awesome. The opening track ‘Black Sabbath’ has to be one of rock’s defining moments - the birth of metal and the critics had to fade away. It’s hard to believe this album was issued way back in 1970. Led by Ozzy Osbourne, now a cult figure extraordinaire, but let’s not forget the other three – Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – the pure raw heaviness and phenominal bass-heavy sound they produced was breathtaking (and still is). I saw a youngish Black Sabbath back in the 1970s at Hammersmith Odeon and it remains entrenched and vivid in my memory. All the Spiral era material was played, and how. This is a classic Vertigo issue, the cover is chilling, the text on the inverted cross inside is as dark as the music inside. An album to be played loud, as loud as possible. I still remember that huge stack of Marshall’s on stage with all the speaker-cones being moved to maximum extent. The Spiral four are often said to not being terribly well produced, all I can say to that is these listeners have not heard them on decent kit – only Paranoid is a little muted at times. These have an in-built power and quality brings it out (as well as volume). Just listen to the detail of the splashing rain and the tremenous thunderclaps at the beginning. The bass grinds and rattles with awesome power riffs - it can shake the foundations, the drums pound and the cymbals crash, the guitars soar into sheer manic nirvana and of course Ozzy’s blood curdling vocals speak for themselves - oh nowwwwww!!! I can honestly state too, the sound from this hardly played record is of reference standard. Forget your lightweight soundalikes, nobody does it better than Black Sabbath. This stunning lesson in gloom was rarely bettered, even by them, the distant bell tolls… and still falls the rain.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: High – the inside is massively prone to fingermarks on the matt black surfaces and the outer faces rub and ringwear in most cases.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): an unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. This has the ‘Dunbar’ credit for the song ‘Warning’. And the original text for copyright which is ‘WARNING—Copyright subsists in all Vertigo recordings…’. Most have the word ‘Vertigo’ changed to ‘this label’. This detail seen hopefully on my close-up picture.

Cover Front: Apart from a few faint and tiny dull spots seen under light, this has practically nothing to fault and is up there with the very best I have ever seen. This retains rich, unfaded colour and devoid of rubbing or sticker marks. The ghostly figure in black is seen to maximum advantage and the lack or creasing or grubbiness is rewarding and refreshing to view. Not even any rubbing to edges and spine hinge fold, this is a cover front to savour.

Cover Back: The back is nigh-on identical – the massive bonus here is the total lack of ringwear or even record impression. Little short of connoisseur standard.

Cover Inner Gatefold: One of the most attractive insides I have seen for this incredibly fingermark prone cover. On opening, this has that ‘wow-factor’ – most all of these I have seen, have been covered with fingermarks that are nigh-on impossible to remove from the flatt matt and hugely revealing surfaces. Quite why anyone needs to put their fingers on these surfaces I am not sure, but what is certain, most do from the evidence I have seen. This centrefold has minimal traces at all, any fingermarks seen are very few, light and faint, any of the small few present mainly only seen under light. Matt black surfaces are ruthlessly revealing and these show little unwanted. They remain intense black and hugely attractive – the one-and-only owner from new, was somewhat particular with his albums, they were never loaded out and no-one but him was even allowed to touch them, let alone play. This purchased from new and still reminding of as such. One of the few covers I can think of where the inside is often as tatty and aged as the outside – well not in this case – all the main four faces looks fantastic. The difference this makes for the discerning collector is immeasurable – few will be disappointed with this one.

Top Edges: Both practically as made and very straight too. Truly superb.

Bottom Edges: The front has barely any traces or rubbing at all. The back has very little either, one small rubbed area towards the right corner.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and sharp with barely any traces of wear or burring. As neat as cover of this age get and both are guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on the back edge, the front totally sealed.

Spine and Text: Almost pristine with fantastic shape retained. The only possible slight issue, it may ve VERY slightly faded, if so, it’s only minimal and a little uncertain. Solid, very straight, uncompressed and folded square with all the edges parallel and meeting up very closely together – a small overhang only on the right front. Both the fold hinges retain all ink with any rub traces near microscopic. All text is fully present and undamaged, but possible light fading to the pink red colour. The actual graphic itself looks perfectly the same as the front and back, so maybe the text was like this anyway?

Corners: All have some modestly small tip rubbing – I honestly doubt if any had full ink cover even from new. All retain excellent or even better shape with superb pointed definition with no dinks.

Cover Summary: The tiny dull spots apart that hardly even registers with normal viewing, this is a near top-draw example that looks fantastic. Only an original kept in cottonwool will beat this, and for visual pleasure, this really delivers. I feel most collectors will treasure it and they are seldom seen quite this unworn.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(-): very importantly, this still attractive Swirl inner is date-coded 0970 proving this record is still a 1970 issue. This had a couple of small tears on the window circle on the front which I have repaired as neatly as I could. Those apart, both the circles are neat and crisp and lining intact and clear. A little darkened on the edges from the seam adhesive with a little light toning as well. Few creases but a little crinkle, all edge unsplit. So some lightish issues, but I will not swap inner sleeves if the original is still available, and in this case especially as it is important to date this rarer early Spiral issue. Overall, this is still an attractive inner, even if not pristine. These seldom wear well and often appear very browned and severely aged.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: and arguably harsh. A very fine visual copy that plays to beautifully from start to finish. Very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed. Very fine and faint surface marks seen under bright angled light (I have a 150 watt light next to my computer), normal light reveals little at all. Visually a very fine record that should please many, if not most collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This dark metal masterpiece plays even above it’s high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Massively powerful distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is fantastic with a wide dynamic range and very heavy sound, best enjoyed loud to bring out the sonic power. Laden with massively powerful riffs, the prince of darkness rarely sounded better than this. Any surface sounds registered little and this is a very clean pressing that offers a more ‘open’ sound that only the early pressed copies ever did. This heavy metal classic has a few quieter moments too, but not that many, but these too play very quietely indeed and few copies will match or better it. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel certain this record has been very lightly played and has been generally well stored and looked after. Tracking is effortless and all is focused with no clipping or sound degrading, the very fine and faint surface marks are ignored totally. Clearly never subjected to worn or heavy stylus abuse, this has wonderful gut-grinding dynamics and punch only the analogue format really delivers and is unbeatable for the heaviest rock available. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this classic debut. A copy that will prove very difficult indeed to find better. These large format Spirals are extra special for high fidelity sound – the often neglected mention of the cymbals that make the percussion fizz are worthy of praise. An album that spawned a host of immitators but none (for me anyway) even come close. Real metal, no glam, just gloom – these four giants in the world of heavy rock are living legends and long may they continue – Oh Lord Yeah!!!!!!!

…The cataract of darkness form fully, the long black night begins, yet still, by the lake a young girl waits, unseeing she believes herself unseen, she smiles, faintly at the distant tolling bell, and the still falling rain”.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.