Vinyl LP Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath aka WS-1871

$

200

Black Sabbath's 1970 Release Black Sabbath aka WS 1871.  LP Warner Bros WS 1871 (Canada) Very Rare original vinyl Canadian release in immaculate condition with an off-white label.  The album label lists writing credits thusly - All selections written by Tony Iommi - John Osbourne - Terence Butler - William Ward.
The back of the album cover also has some interesting misnomers, notably identifying bass guitar as Geezer Butler as well as vocals/harmonica being credited to Ossie Osborne.  The rear jacket also states All selections written by Iommi, Osborne, Butler, Ward.

SIDE ONE
Black Sabbath  6:20

The Wizard      4:22

Wasp
Behind The Wall Of Sleep
Bassically
N.I.B.              9:44

SIDE TWO
Wicked World   4:30

A Bit Of Finger
Sleeping Village
Warning        14:32

As with the US version, Wicked World replaces Evil Woman as the lead song on Side 2.  This differs from the original UK release.  The album jacket uniquely features a small maple leaf on the rear upper right, distinguishing it from the UK and US releases of the album, as well as the German, French, Italian and Dutch releases.  Including Canada, these 7 countries were the only to have the 1970 release of the album and it would not be until 1973 that the album was released in Brazil and re-released in the USA. More confusion surrounds the name of the album. It is a self titled album, Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath, however both the US and Canadian labels identify the album name as 1871, as in Black Sabbath - 1871.  Once again, the Canadian release demonstrates even more uniqueness as it is the only version of the release with the album title WS-1871 and even crazier the album jacket identifies it as WB - 1871. WB standing for Warner Brothers and identifed by the stamped WB logo above the title of 1871.  However, if you search Warner Brothers for this release you cannot find it as WB-1871, you can only find it by searching WS-1871 or simply 1871.  WS-1871 is the catalogue number to order the album from Warner brothers but is clearly imprinted on the top right front of the album cover leading to the album being identified by that name. The album itself is a valuable collectors item and the specific features of the Canadian version add greatly to the value, uniqueness and rarity.  The album was a decent seller in the UK and the US but not in Canada failing to reach the charts and thereby making this particular album cover and label even rarer.

Fun Facts and Historic Context
- Album ranked 241st on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
- Original UK release date - Friday the 13th, February 1970.
- Q magazine rating of one of the Best Metal Albums of All Time
- Often cited as first heavy metal album ever.