Black Sabbath : Black Sabbath 1Y1 / 2Y1 3rd Press

This third pressing on the Vertigo label is superb!  The clarity and depth of the audio can hardly be faulted and S1 in particular is stunning and 'as new' is a fair assessment.  S2 is almost as good with only a small number of faint ticks in one section.  Overall this is one of the finest early Vertigo swirl pressings I have ever had the pleasure in listening to!  The vinyl is also visually in amazing condition!

The iconic cover is in great condition with hardly any shelf wear and the original swirl inner is included with only minor wear.

As this is a third press it has a small 'swirl' logo and VERTIGO above the spindle hole on Side B.  The cover still has 'Ozzy' incorrectly spelt as 'Ossie' and the band and production/composition credits are all in lower case.

VO 6   1Y * 1   420  1 3

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The audio on S1 is Mint(-)

The audio on S2 is Mint(-) (T3 Near Mint)

The gatefold is Ex++

The labels are Mint-

The original swirl inner is Ex

Visual grading

The vinyl is one of the most impressive Vertigo swirl pressings I have ever seen and still has an immaculate jet-black glossy sheen.  It looks 'shop fresh' and only on much closer inspection can you see a small number of very faint sleeve removal hairlines.  There is hardly any spindle wear and this is one beautifully preserved vinyl!  The run grooves and labels are also in fantastic condition with no marking.

Play grading  

The 'thunderstorm / bell toll' intro on 'Black Sabbath' is stunning and has no 'background' not even a single dust tick!  A Mint start for sure.  This standard is maintained as Iommi comes in and Osborne's first vocal is also 'as new'.  It continues in the same precise way and every quiet passage plays with a clarity that is quite simply outstanding.  The definition of the audio is so impressive - there is literally no intrusion and the up tempo end section also plays with sublime quality.  You can play it loud without any distortion and I cannot overstate just how STUNNING this classic track is.  It is the definitive version in my opinion and Mint is richly deserved and it more than demonstrates why these early Vertigo pressings are so collectable.  The warmth and depth of the audio is just not found on any of the later pressings.

There is then complete silence in the dead wax and the harmonica intro on 'The Wizard' also has no 'background' of any kind.  No ticks, no underlying static just pure audio perfection!  As Ward and Butler join in the audio is equally as good and from then on plays with exceptional clarity and power.  Sometimes you find these early pressings have an almost 'tinny' sound due to groove wear from being overplayed but that is certainly not the case here.  The playback is breathtaking and from start to finish this is Mint and again there is no need for a minus!

'Behind The Wall Of Sleep' is of the same quality and again there is nothing that intrudes on the audio.  I listen to every second so as to be 'confident' in my grading (no skipping here!) and every section here plays with stunning precision.  The percussive end section provides another example of the clarity with not one dust tick let alone anything worse.  Mint

The bass intro on 'N.I.B.' has no underlying static and only a couple of dust ticks.  From then on it plays with great power and depth and (of course!) no interference.  For once there is no inner groove distortion and from start to finish there is nothing to fault, it is as good as the day when first released back in '70!  The end solo is awesome and again no sign of any distortion.  A STUNNING Mint version in every way.

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'Evil Woman...' plays with incredible clarity, depth and power from the opening groove to the last.  No need to elaborate this is 'as new' with a sonic equality that could not be improved upon.  Mint

Again complete silence in the dead wax and the acoustic intro on 'Sleeping Village' plays to perfection.  The brief vocal is of the same 'high end' standard and as Iommi's distinctive sound comes in there is no let up in quality.  This definition only comes from a vinyl that has not been played or just lightly played and the entire instrumental section has no interference.  Again I just cannot adequately put into words just how impressive the playback is.  The audio has such depth and it has lost none of its original sonic quality over the last 50 years!  Even that last long note has no 'background' of any kind.  This is Mint in every way.

The heavy bass/guitar intro on 'Warning' is 'as new' and the opening verses play with stunning precision also.  It continues to play with wonderful clarity and depth and the entire 10+ minutes is close to perfect.  I say close because after 3.5 minutes there are a small number of light ticks after the 'just a little bit too strong' line.  They are quiet and non-intrusive in my opinion and they are certainly not clicks.  The following percussive section still plays with great clarity and has no underlying static.  The almost 'silent' section then has just one light tick and the remainder then plays with supreme quality also.  Each note is so 'clean' and Iommi's solos and the quieter sections are near perfect with only a small number of barely audible ticks.  The final vocal is 'as new' and to the very end there is no interference.  This is worthy of a Near Mint grade as the vast majority plays perfectly and only a few seconds have very minimal 'background'.  It is still a sublime version.

In summary this third pressing plays to a superb standard with only very minimal 'background' on the final track as stated.  Even then it is very quiet and cannot be classed as obvious interference in my opinion.  Aside from that the clarity, depth and warmth of the audio is up there with the best I have ever heard and S1 in particular is absolutely stunning!  There is complete silence in the dead wax between every track so this gives you a good idea of the clarity on offer here.  There is no underlying static and obviously no crackle.  What an album!

The Gatefold

The matt textured cover is in lovely condition and has retained its shape so well down the years and has always been very carefully handled.  The top edges are have no wear and the bottom edges have only a little rubbing.  The wide spine is near perfect with only a couple of tiny rubs and all corners are in superb shape with very little wear, just a little more bottom right perhaps.  The opening edge only has a little handling wear and the front cover is in fantastic order with no marking or creasing.  The back cover is almost as good with just one very small 'white' scuff next to the edge and the minor wear on the left corners as stated.  The inside of the gatefold is often affected by fading/spotting but this one is very clean with only a very minimal amount of fading along the top edge and a couple of white specks.  This is a fine example of this iconic cover.

The 'Swirl' Inner Sleeve

The original poly-lined swirl inner is in excellent condition with no side splits but you can see a small tear near the bottom edge on one side.  There is some age related fading around the edges but only very minimal creasing.

The Labels

The Vertigo labels are near perfect and have no marking or writing and only very minimal spindle wear.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

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

VO 6   1Y * 1   420  1 3

VO 6   2Y * 1   420  1 2 34

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

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