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Black Sabbath : Paranoid 1Y1 / 2Y1 1st Press Vertigo Big Bear Credit

This first pressing plays with incredible audio on both sides with hardly any interference.  The clarity, depth and power of the audio is STUNNING and this is easily one most impressive Big Bear editions that I have ever listened to!  It has been so well preserved and it really is the clarity of sound that stands out.  There is one static click between the first two beats on 'Iron Man' but aside from that it is 'as new'.  The very quiet 'Planet Caravan', so often affected by static / crackle, plays beautifully with only a handful of minor statics and 'Hand Of Doom' only has minimal light static at the beginning.  From my 'complete' audio grading below you can see just how superb the audio is, the original sonic quality has been retained and the audio definition and resonance is high end indeed.  No word of a lie it would be difficult to find a better one!  The vinyl is also visually very impressive with no marks or scratches.

The matt textured cover, with the all important Big Bear credit on the inside, has been preserved so well and has only minimal wear.  It is rarely seen seen in this condition today.  The original swirl inner is also near perfect, it is stunning.

This genuine first press has a 1Y1 / 2Y1 matrix and the Big Bear management credit on the inside cover.  It has a large swirl on the S2 label and VERTIGO is below the spindle hole.  The Roger Bain production credit is written one line (Rodger inside the cover) and there is no break between 'Hand Of Doom' and 'Rat Salad' so it looks as if there are just three tracks on S2.

6360011 1Y // 1 ▽ 420  1 2  3

6360011 2Y // 1 ▽ 420  1 1  5

The audio on S1 is Mint(-) (T3 Near Mint- / T4 intro Ex)

The audio S2 is Mint(-) (T2 intro Ex+ / T3 Near Mint)

The gatefold is Ex

The labels are Near Mint

The original Swirl inner is Near Mint-

Visual description

The vinyl is in superb condition and still has a lovely glossy sheen with no marks or scratches.  Only under a bright light can you see a small number of very faint hairlines which are of course superficial as they have no affect on the audio.  There is nothing that stands out on either side.  There is no groove wear or 'clouding' and when looking at it under normal room lighting it is immaculate!  The run out grooves are very clean and the iconic Vertigo labels are unmarked with not too much spindle wear.  A stunning example!

Play grading  

The intro on the classic 'War Pigs' plays with superb audio and zero interference.  The air-raid siren is 'as new' and the audio is so strong, deep and clear which is what you expect with such a clean vinyl like this.  The quiet percussive section that follows is so quiet and again there is no intrusion.  Osbourne's opening vocal is of the same high end standard as is the next instrumental section.  The first up-tempo vocal section plays with STUNNING quality and again I can't get over just how strong and deep the audio is!  It resonates with such power around the room!  The mid instrumental keeps up this fine start and the quiet 'percussive' section has just one mega quiet tick - tick is a too strong a word for it really!  The following vocal is perfect and the closing section plays with sublime quality and... no interference.  As good a start that you could wish for Mint is a fair assessment of the audio.

'Paranoid' plays with sensational audio throughout with no interference.  Once again the power and depth of the music is undiminished despite the vinyl being nearly 53 years old.  I just cannot fault it - the sonic quality is stunning and Osbourne's voice is so strong and clear and you can turn this classic up to max and you won't hear any distortion.  This is Mint in every way.

'Planet Caravan' is of course so often affected by 'interference' as it is such a quiet track and it rarely plays well on a genuine first press.  However, this is certainly the exception!  The intro has no background and Osbourne's first gentle vocal is almost as clean with just one static tick.  It continues to play with incredible clarity although there are 4/5 light ticks during the mid vocal section.  They are not clicks and they are not intrusive!  There is no underlying static and the delicate guitar section that closes the track is STUNNING!  The clarity of sound is so impressive and nowhere is that more obvious than on the long fade out which has no background at all.  I think Near Mint- is deserved here, it is without question one of the finest versions I have ever heard.  Not bad for a Big Bear first pressing!

The percussive opening on 'Iron Man' has one static click between the first two beats and the rest of the intro is more or less perfect with just one very quiet dust tick.  The first vocal is flawless and it continues to play with a clarity and power that defies the age of the album.  You really notice how clean and clinical the vocal is and the mid instrumental is just as good.  There is no inner groove distortion and the sonic quality is again on another level.  The final vocal, Butler's heavy bass section coinciding with Iommi's final work ends this classic with stunning audio.  If you played it from the second beat onwards it would grade as Mint (!) but because of that one click I will grade the intro as Ex and the remainder as Mint

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The 'menacing' intro on 'Electric Funeral' has no background and then the opening four verses plays to the same high end standard with not even a dust tick.  Sublime Mint audio basically.  The instrumental section beginning with Ward's percussive section plays with stunning precision (just one mega quiet dust tick!) and then the high octane vocal section is 'as new' with zero intrusion.  The remainder plays with the same power and intensity and... no background of any kind.  The long fade out is perfect and I have no hesitation in grading this as Mint - what a version!

'Hand Of Doom' plays very clearly from the outset with only minimal light static on the intro, nothing intrusive.  Osbourne's first vocal is so clean with hardly any static and the first high octane vocal is faultless.  The next quiet vocal section has no intrusion whatsoever and the following vocal can only be described 'as new'.  The quiet bass section again plays with remarkable clarity and the powerful vocal section that follows could not play any better.  The mid 'heavy' section is on a par with that and the audio definition is superb.  There is no distortion and again I cannot overstate just how strong and clear the audio is.  This is audio of the HIGHEST QUALITY!  This is of course a track with a number of quiet sections and they all play so clearly and the next one is a prime example of that, 100% clean with no interference.  There is nothing 'lost' on this version - you can hear each note so succinctly and there is no 'muddiness' to the sound at all.  The rest of this classic plays to the same standard and as I seem to be saying on a regular basis - this is easily one of the cleanest / finest versions of this number that I have ever encountered.  I will grade the intro as Ex+ but the rest qualifies as Mint- for sure.

The intro on 'Rat Salad' has only a couple of minor static ticks and it then plays with impeccable quality from that point on.  Ward's solo is superb with just one very quiet tick and Near Mint is fair.  The majority is of course better than that :-)

The entire intro on 'Fairies Wear Boots' is outstanding!  The clarity and depth of the audio is flawless and the first classic riff from Iommi just has one minor static tick at the start.  Osbourne's opening vocal is perfect and from then on it plays with that strong, deep and clear audio that we kind of expect now.  There is no interference, no inner groove distortion - I cannot find any negatives - and the sonic quality is comparable to how it would have played back in '70.  The mid instrumental is 'as new' as is the final vocal section.  The closing instrumental has no intrusion and I will grade as Mint- due to the static at the start but it would be hard to find a better version.  The long fade out does not even have a single dust tick!

In summary this genuine first press plays with STUNNING quality with hardly any intrusion.  The clarity, depth, power and resonance of the audio is so impressive and there is no inner groove distortion.  Honestly the clarity of sound on both sides is just incredible!  'Planet Caravan' so often plays with persistent static but this one doesn't!  The playback is so clean with only a handful of minor ticks and that is a good indicator of just how well the vinyl has been looked after.  One static click literally at the start of 'Iron Man' but aside from that it is perfect.  'Hand Of Doom' again impresses on so many levels with only minimal static at the start.  It truly is an exceptional album and the vast majority does indeed play to a sublime Mint standard.  The original sonic quality is still very much in evidence and there is no inner groove distortion.  In conjunction with a very clean 'Big Bear' cover and superb Vertigo inner this will add to any 'high end' collection.

The Gatefold & Swirl Inner

The matt textured cover is in excellent condition with only minimal wear and has retained its original shape and structure extremely well with no creasing or bending.  The top edges are very clean with hardly any rubbing and the bottom edges have a little more but not an excessive amount.  The wide spine remains very strong and is again very clean with only a handful of tiny 'specks' and a little wear on the corners.  The right hand corners are in great order with even less wear and the opening edge has barely any handling wear, just a couple of minor 'crimps'.  The front cover is in lovely condition and you can only see a small number of minor indents, a couple of faint scratch lines and only minimal spotting when you hold the cover at a certain angle under a bright light, nothing intrusive basically.  The back cover is also in excellent shape with just one small 'scratch' of the surface near the top edge and light wear on the corners.   For once the inside of the gatefold is so clean with barely any marking and all I can see is the bare minimum of very faint spotting along the top edge.  From about a foot away you see nothing!  A stunning 'interior' in other words and the inner spine has no wear either.  Overall this is one of the strongest Big Bear covers that you will find today.

The original poly-lined Swirl inner (dated 0470) is in fantastic condition with no side splits or tears and hardly any creasing.  It just has a little age related fading near the top edges.

Play tested on my Rega P2 with Rega Carbon Cart / Denon PMA-520AE Amp / B&W 684 Speakers

This record has been cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

6360011 1Y // 1 ▽ 420  1 2  3

6360011 2Y // 1 ▽ 420  1 1  5

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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Postage & Packaging

I NOW ONLY SEND ITEMS WORLDWIDE VIA TRACKED SHIPPING. THIS PROVIDES 'PEACE OF MIND' IN CASE OF LOSS OR DAMAGE. ALL COSTS ARE SHOWN BELOW AND COMBINED POSTAGE IS ALWAYS OFFERED. ANY OVER-PAYMENT WILL ALWAYS BE REFUNDED BACK TO THE BUYER.

THE ROYAL MAIL ONLY INSURE ITEMS UP TO THE VALUE OF £250 SO IF AN ITEM SELLS FOR MORE A COURIER SERVICE MAY BE USED (e.g. Parcelforce, DPD).  AN EXTRA INSURANCE PREMIUM WILL BE REQUIRED BUT I WILL NOT KNOW THE EXACT AMOUNT UNTIL THE FINAL SALE PRICE IS KNOWN.  HOWEVER, SOMETIMES I WILL ESTIMATE A COST AND THIS WILL BE STATED IN THE LISTING.  PLEASE WAIT FOR THE INVOICE BEFORE MAKING ANY PAYMENT BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GET IN TOUCH.  MANY THANKS.

ALL VINYLS ARE PACKAGED IN STRONG CUSTOM MADE OVER-SIZED MAILERS WITH EXTRA CARDBOARD PROTECTION. THEY ARE PUT IN SEPARATE POLY-LINED INNERS OUTSIDE OF THE COVER SO AS TO AVOID SEAM SPLITS. THEY ARE ALSO PLACED INSIDE A PVC SLEEVE TO PROVIDE EXTRA PROTECTION. I PRIDE MYSELF ON MY HIGH QUALITY PACKAGING AS MY FEEDBACK TESTIFIES AND IF ANY CUSTOMER HAS ANY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS I WILL ALWAYS ENDEAVOUR TO HELP.

I ONLY USE HIGH QUALITY MAILERS AND THESE COST ME £1.00 EACH. I WILL OFTEN USE 3 OR 4 CARDBOARD STIFFENERS AND THESE COST AT LEAST £0.15 EACH AND THEN THERE IS THE COST OF THE POLY-LINED INNER AND PVC SLEEVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT. IT ALL ADDS UP! NOT FORGETTING EBAY TAKING 10% OF THE SHIPPING FEE ALSO!!

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LPs/12" singles : £21.95 then £2.50 per extra

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