BLACK SABBATH Master of Reality Vertigo Spiral & POSTER

	£		155
	$		205

Hi, I am Mike, now 50 – yes the big FIVE-O! Old enough to remember the golden era of original, high quality music, bands, artists.

Also records from the 1960s and 70s bought from the shops from new, I have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 37 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and elusive items now. 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 reader – 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 one hundred percent is exact colour matching for covers - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. 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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortophon 520 Mk II cartridge (tracks at 1.75 grams). Amps: Arcam 2 x 125W Pre-Power. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO massively thick stiffners for even extra protection and buddle wrap if deemed necessary. These stiffners are the thickest possible and custom supplied for ‘Oneadayrecords’ – these are NOT commercially available and you will not have seen thicker protection anywhere. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used as well as ‘Fragile’ tape for that extra professional touch for the packet. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the cheapest and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 3,500+ items sold in over 5 years of Ebay trading (I am now one of most established sellers via Ebay) and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

Album Title: Master of Reality.

Producer(s): Rodger Bain.

Track Listing: Side 1: Sweet Leaf; After Forever; Embryo; Children of the Grave.

Side 2: Orchid; Lord of This World; Solitude; Into the Void.

Label/Format: Vertigo – Full spiral format on side one and small spiral above the outline Vertigo on sides two. Unique black label on side two of this album.

Label Conditions: Two of the finest Spirals I have ever seen on this title. Very clean and attractive examples for one of the most popular and very best Spiral albums ever. The large spiral on side one is beautifully defined with no ‘speckle’ and the design unblemished right to the hole rim. Only light and faint spindle marks and the playing surfaces and sound quality reitterate only the most modest of plays.

Cat Number: 6360 050.

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: 106 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity and Contents: This album is not that scarce in terms of units sold, this was a popular Spiral album, but – and a huge BUT – this copy has an attractive box cover with possibly the least laminate problems yet seen. Also, and even a bigger ALSO, this copy includes the now highly prized and getting rare and elusive poster. This has only been lightly mounted with tiny pin holes in the corners but barely even show. A superb record visually and for a change, one that plays supremely well and almost certainly one of the best pressings I have ever heard for what is a difficult record. This title that often crackles badly especially on the quieter songs of which there are more than usual for a Black Sabbath album – this plays with hardly anything unwanted and sound remains crisp and sharp with no distortions or high frequency problems. The astonishing power and depth of this band on vinyl will never be beaten. The set is complete with the original, later format Spiral inner which is also in fine condition. A copy I feel that will please most discerning collectors and certainly those who have been after a ‘poster copy’ for ages. Finding a complete copy with all pieces in strong conditions is difficult. Most will have some element damaged or more commonly missing – the poster is now highly sort after and genuinely getting quite rare and undamaged, uncreased and unfaded examples are never easy to locate. One of the most desirable and best rock posters ever – dark and sinister – and they are really getting mighty hard to find now with so many mounted on walls, ripped, torn, shabby or most often – MISSING! This poster alone is fast becoming one of the most sort after rock inserts ever and most Spiral copies offered will not include it.

Original Year of Release: July 1971

Matrix/Stamper Nos: 6360050 1Y 1 420 11 7 / 6360050 2Y 1 420 12 1 0

Brief Artist & Album Info: ALRIGHT NOW, WONT YOU LISTEN!! Ozzy bellows out after the repeated heavy cough at the start of this metal masterpiece. A smoked drug reference on the classic ‘Sweet Leaf’ and then the band kick in – HARD with a massive floorshaking heavy riff – the classic Black Sabbath trademark. Ozzy is in fine form on this their third album. Heavy power chords and riffs dominate with very dark lyrics. Side one concludes with the unnerving ‘Children of the Grave’, warning of the horrors of nuclear conflict and destruction – Bill Ward’s drums dominating in the mix, culminating with the very eerie whispered Children of the Grave line that shimmers from speaker to speaker with spooky guitar effects – the Sabbs at their most chilling. My personal favourite Black Sabbath album, very dark and menacing with very sinister, eerie overtones. Real heavy rock, no-one did it better than the early Black Sabbath originals. Eight songs of the very best – but not all is heavy. This album includes a trio of more untypical quieter numbers proving this band were more versatile than many suggest. Side two opens with ‘Orchid’, a short but beautiful instrumental with Iommi playing Spanish guitar. The delicate and haunting ‘Solitude’, one of the band’s most difficult tracks on vinyl, often has groove-wear and with loud crackle and even distortion. Here it has no distortion at all and hardly any unwanted sounds. It even has flute and that lovely delicate bell in the background can be heard with distinctive clarity, I can imagine this subtle detail could even be lost on a worn copy or missed on a less revealing system altogether – it’s the fine details that sets the quality albums apart. This is another powerful sounding copy of this classic album, and this one plays superbly, best played as loud as possible. The box cover was one of those that even when purchased new often had blemishes – I remember my own copy, it has a crease on the front and large areas of non-adhesion. I would think a fair percentage had laminate problems straight from manufacture day. Any length of stay in a rack pressed up against other records would have soon flattened an even new copy. Many resemble ‘normal’ covers these days, being equally as flat – we have all seen them haven’t we? Many found today are clearly flattened copies that have been ‘rammed’ back into shape. As much as people try to do this, this usually fails miserably. The laminate cracks badly on the foldlines and usually creases the edges even with large white cracks appearing. Within a day or two, it simply reverts back to flat again with the sharp foldlines broken and definition lost. This one is in very decent shape and retains much of its original boxiness but the edges, like most all have some tilt. I refuse to try and reshape this cover, it’s a waste and of time for the reasons mentioned above. Being honest, this is not a favourite Spiral cover as wear and damage is almot inescapable if the record remains stored inside (as most all were). The top flap has to be opened for access and these become tatty, mishapen and damaged, it’s unavoidable, that simple. In real terms, this one is above average and the lamiante is very neat. I have taken my front picture without flash to try and show the details of embossing and adhesion to best advantage for viewing. Any flash will washout the details from the shiny surface, I hope this will show what this one actually looks like.

Cover Grade and Format: EX+ and possibly undergraded at that, it’s still one the best one I have seen for some time. Its’ the box format with the top and bottom opening flaps. Embossed front lettering and laminated both sides. This has the ‘VO Price Code’, boxed on the back top right. It was printed and made in England by Howards Printers (Slough) Ltd. Few available copies these days will better it significantly for good looks. A cover that does not survive record fair treatment and stacking and is horribly vulnerable to compression and damage. Practically all these are totally flat, badly creased with unsightly laminate problems, non-adhesion problems are rife on most. Many were like it from day one, a cover of this design could never guarantee full adhesion around the thicker box edges. Often the flaps are torn or the top entrance split and tatty. This has few traces of such traumas and the only distortion to the shape is a mildishg tilt to the left. This is one to look at, not hide up. I have never really liked the UK design on this sleeve, I prefer the German version which is similar but not boxed (but try to find one). The connoisseur collectors mostly want this one and given all the perils this one faces, it’s a nice attractive example (and oh yes, there is a superb large-format UK poster inside too).

Lamination: Both sides have attractive lamination which has a more semi-gloss sheen rather than deep shine. This so easily dulls and marks which is highly revealing on a black cover. This has few marks and is devoid of friction rubs or dulling. Very neat indeed, most all still adhered to the cover’s surface with no overly large blisters. The front has a mere fine line near the right edge near the centre and try to find it with less. The back has a slightly wider line on the right edge but consistend and non-encroaching to the important visual areas or lyrics and artwork. I have seen these many times with huge unslightly blisters that even spread someway into this the main cover, often cracked or chipped and is often more the normal than exception. It ruins this cover visually if present to any great degree. Obviously a few tiny ‘lifts’ around the embossed lettering as it would be impossible not to have from day one as laminate cannot totally adhere around what is quite deep embossing. All here is ultra neat and looks really lovely (for a change) and will never be beaten easily. There are a few mainly light surface creases but again, visibility is modest. No peeling and any edge chips are tiny. Few surface marks or handling blemishes and I must truly regard this laminate as quite exceptional with the even the edges and flaps retaining full coverage. Simply compare to most seen these days to realise just how fine this one really is.

Cover Front: Superb, looking truly lovely, few will better this I feel these days. The front lettering is deeply embossed and has no laminate disturbance. A really deep black and the purple lettering is totally unblemished.

Cover Back: Very similar to the front and again looking great. No ring marks and also again deep black.

Edges: All very neat indeed, as stated a modest tilt from right to left. Although not square any more, will any ever be, let’s be honest, this is still very neat. This appears not to have suffered excessive pressure over the years and has retained very decent shape overall. All text on the left edge is pristine under the very solid laminate. The record usually enters from the top (but the bottom opens also). The delicate top flap is very neat with few stress marks, it has to be opened to access or store the record and like most all now, remains semi-open and not flush but undamaged with a solid foldline. The bottom is similar but more flush than the top being around 15 per cent ‘open’ as a guide.

Corners: Minimal wear, rubbing or whitening at all.

Cover Summary: A very fine and importantly attractive example, I dont think a ‘perfect’ one will exist today, and this one will give most a strong run for their money. It may be a long time before a much better UK cover for this album gets offered (and – oh yes, it has the poster inside, worthy of mention again I feel). Most realistic collectors will enjoy this one.

The Poster: Posters cannot be played of course, but they sure can be looked at and enjoyed and no copy of this album is really COMPLETE without it. One of the most collectable and sort-after inserts for rock connoisseurs would anyone really not want this album minus it? This is a beauty and even though it has been briefly mounted and has tiny pin holes on the corners I happy still grade it as practically Mint(-) – if this can be found much better these days, well good luck. Matt finished on premium quality paper and folded nice and straight and square – not all where. This has a freshness and feel (even smell) of a brand new poster, it has no ageing signs at all with no fustiness or age toning (even on the white back). The fold lines are totally unstressed and strong, no weak parts and minimal ink loss or whites on these folds which tells me this poster has not been unfolded too many times (if indeed at all). Mounted yes, but unfaded, this is real dark and murky as the day it was made, this has intentional bleakness and its impact has remained untarnished. Clean crisp edges and corners with no thickening or feathering. Even the back is practically perfect with no marks to be seen. Pin holes: all tiny, two top left, one on the others, they hardly even show and this would have got a close to mint grading bar these. You will not find this famous dark poster much better than this I feel certain – Oh Lord YEAH!

The Spiral Inner: EX (at least), the correct later format date coded 0671. This is still fully polylined with a neat clear window. Flipback type construction more robust, hence its unsplit. No major creasing and even ruffling is minimal. Generally clean and neat looking as the picture should verify, no fading but with some mild gum toning on the edges and a tiny nick split on the top entrance edge (but look hard to see it). This vintage Spiral inner, itself becoming sort-after in it’s own right, is a strong one, beware of other, more common earlier Spiral inners being swapped for this one.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-), I can only see a couple of ultra fine and faint hairlines which of course, have no sound. I must rate this the very best visual copy for this title I have ever seen – super clean, shiny, intense black and fairly solidly pressed. Clearly hardly played or even handled, a supreme example of this real metal masterpiece, it should please moist-all 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 snippetts 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 vintage Spiral record plays up to its high visual grading and even beyond. Massively powerful distortion-free sound, even on the difficult instrumental tracks. ‘Embryo’ is possibly the most challenging, it’s a very short instrumental lasting just 25 seconds on side one that uses cello, a massively difficult instrument for vinyl to track perfectly. It plays supremely well with no clipping and barely any crackle and few ever will. All frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a massive dynamic range and very heavy sound – volume is essential for maximum fidelity and pleasure. A powerful heavy album, grinding basslines, classic power-riffs, awesome drumming and of course Ozzy sounding young and fresh – this guy in his hey-day was awesome. His charismatic doom-laden vocal style was never bettered as much as others tried. Any surface sounds are minimal, even on the delicate moments. The lack of echo or breakup on ‘Orchid’ and ‘Solitude’ was refreshing as the majority of copies have it, and any surface sounds on these two delicate songs was gentle and very light really, it can be pretty unbearable on some copies and almost no examples will play these tracks dead silent. Listen for that beautiful detail on the gentle subdued bell throughout, it could actually be missed on systems not up to the job but is present throughout. The trademark heavy tracks sound amazing and few copies will play much better than this overall. Both channels are clean and sharp, I feel very sure this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and looked after. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this legendary rock classic. This copy will prove very difficult indeed to find significantly better – and will the poster be included within a very neat cover?

End Piece: A rare opportunity as these are becoming ever more difficult to find as demand exceeds supply. Few original posters are found like this as most were heavily mounted resulting in creasing, marks and fading, many torn down and discarded – this was a poster to display and most were (including this one), but was carefully taken down and put back into storage with the utmost care. An album to be played loud, as loud as possible. The Spiral four are often critisised for not being terribly well produced, all I can say to that is these listeners haven’t heard them on a decent system. Sure Paranoid is a little muted at times, particularly the title track. But this album has an inbuilt power and quality brings it out (as well as volume). Total silence on the quiet songs is almost unrealistic – but any here is very gentle and bothered me none, this too on a very revealing system and soundwise, it takes little to bug me. The bass grinds and rattles with awesome power, even testing out larger systems - 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 screams speak for themselves - oh yeah!!! Forget your lightweight soundalikes, nobody does it better than vintage Black Sabbath. This stunning lesson in gloom was rarely bettered, even by them, In rock music terms, Ozzy was, and still is – Lord of this World.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & OPTIONS:

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

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. US; Australia; Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£35).

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.