BLACK SABBATH Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - RARER ORIG UK 1973 WWA BARELY PLAYED EX++

	£		36
	$		48

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers will now be blocked at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: BLACK SABBATH

Album Title: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

Producer(s): Black Sabbath.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath; A National Acrobat; Fluff; Sabbra Cadabra.

Side 2: Killing Yourself to Live; Who Are You; Looking for Today; Spiral Architect.

Label/Format/Info: WWA (World Wide Artists) with matt, smooth surfaces. This is a very first issue which vary from second and subsequent pressings. The WWA logo is silver grey, later ones are white. Also this only carries the WWA 005 number, with NO references to ACB 00166, again these are later. There are other variants to this album on the cover and inner sleeve which will be detailed further down. Genuine first issue copies of this album are considerably harder to find than later ones.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with any handling traces to what are revealing surfaces, minimal and faint. The same for any of the tiny few spindle marks (barely at all), and all evidence, including superb sound quality assure, this has hardly been played.

Cat Number: WWA 005.

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. Again, first issues are invariably pressed heavier than later ones, many of which were very thin indeed.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: There are at least two distinctly different pressings on WWA, this original being considerably harder to find. Later still it was pressed on NEMS. This superb record offers ultimate sound and appears hardly even played, such copies are rarer. Also the cover is hugely prone to all forms of wear and is seldom seen without considerable grubbiness, rubbing and general ageing. Lastly, the inner sleeve is made with much thinner paper for originals which is textured, this again very hard to find without splits and tears. This a very fine all-round genuine original copy – the sound totally blew me away and will never prove easy to find better.

Original Year of Release: 1973

Matrix Nos: WWA 005 1Y//1 1 1 1 & WWA 005 2Y//1 1 1 2 8 (side one the ultimate with all '1' stampers, these near impossible to find). [Second WWA pressings included dual matrixes with ACB 00166 1Y preceding these matrixes, also with //2 & //2 mother stampers]

Musicians: Ozzy Osbourne - vocals, synthesiser, hand claps; Tony Iommi - guitars, piano; synthesiser; flute, organ, acoustic guitar, steel guitar, harpsichord; bagpipes; Geezer Butler - bass guitar; fuzz bass; synthesiser, mellotrons; hand claps; nose; Bill Ward - drums, timpani, fuzz bass drum; percussion. Guest: Rick Wakeman - piano, synthesiser.

Brief Info: Brilliant fifth album from the masters of metal gloom and the album that really got them noticed by the masses. Slightly more commercial and more accessible for many rock fans, this album really took the band into the heavy-rock super-league and boosted sales of the earlier Vertigo albums. With more use of varied instruments, the songs are still dark but not as doomy and bleak as previous. The instrumental ‘Fluff’ is a beautiful delicate piece with Iommi switching his heavy guitar riffs to a more sensitive acoustic guitar and uncharacteristic harpsichord. Ozzy again in tremendous form and the title track has long become a rock classic and a firm favourite on digital radio’s ‘Planet Rock’. Of late, this album has become increasingly hard to find, especially genuine first pressings – check out above side one’s matrixes and stampers, you will not see these often with all ‘1’s. In terms of a first issue, I have never seen one so little used, and certainly not abused – it plays with fantastic detail and clarity with no pressing issues the later ones often have. So get those amps warmed up and rock yourself away with this metal classic – no one ever did it better than Black Sabbath.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: or very close to. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England and uncredited. Later ones were printed by Howards Printers. Originals also show the inner graphic flush to all edges, the later ones have a white border. This includes the original textured, thin paper lyric inner sleeve.

Cover Front: One of rock’s classic front covers but highly prone to wear. There is a little dulling near the bottom edge, this seen more under angled light and little viewed normally. The lack of rubbing, creasing and especially sticker tears are all major positives. One that retains a fine degree of freshness lacking the grubbiness most seem to acquire.

Cover Back: In contrast the to the black of the front, this has a lot of white, hence often seen grubby. To some extent, this can be caused, based on logic, from being manufactured and boxed with other copies. The dark front would have been pressed against the pale back causing ‘set-off’ of the ink. But even careful storage within a rack would mean the whiter areas of the cover darkening and becoming grubby. This has light traces as such with the merest hint of toning when viewed point-blank. Far less than the majority seen for sure and overall a back that has fared well overall. It only gives a mild hint of age, and there is no disputing this is one from 1973, personally, I have no issues with that.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Very clean and impressive with practically nothing to fault. Note the graphic goes right up flush to the very edges as it should with no white border around.

Top Edges: Barely any rubbing, just very gentle discolour to the white areas being somewhat critical. Both straight and very solid.

Bottom Edges: Largely the same, any rubbing to the black front edge minimal and light.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front has a real tucked and folded edge which has little wear and still straight. The back opening is clean, mostly sharp with any thickening or burring gentle and light as mostly seen viewed end-on. These guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced, the back opening for the record sees the card ends not quite flush in manufacture which is totally natural and correct.

Spine and Text: Generally solid and thick with barely any compression and folded square. Meaning the edges all meet up practically flush and parallel – this always the best news for the more discerning as it gives maximum neatness. The text nigh-on fully present with any rub traces minuscule. A very small surface rub near the top and general darkening to the white which is relatively light put into context. So few of these will escape this as it naturally ages with natural light exposure within a rack filing system.

Corners: Any tip rubbing small and light with very fine to excellent shape retained with no dinks or knocks.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this quite unforgiving 1970’s cover. With far less wear than many seen, it could prove difficult to find significantly better – I reitterate again – this is a real-deal original with all the criteria met. This classic cover should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: again this again meets all the criteria for being an original – so beware of swapping because later inners are NOT the same. This has the correct thinner paper which is gently textured giving a rougher feel to the fingertip. Later ones were smooth and also whiter. This also carries only the WWA 005 number. Another crucial factor and detail is originals had a hand-stamped patent number and digit coding and ‘MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN’, this was NOT machine printed. In fact on this one, it was actually hand-stamped over the credits on the bottom line of the printed text as seen in close-up. An unlined inner (thus most will split) with two external flipbacks for construction on the rear side. Immensely fragile and seldom seen unsplit as per this one – it has NO repairs guaranteed – all sides solid and intact and hardly any creasing at all. A small few gentle toning traces that naturally occur on or near the adhesive areas, so mild hints only of age. This true original inner sleeve is more elusive and certainly rare intact like this.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): and arguably undergraded at that. A superb visual copy that is very clean with excellent shine and freshness, also more solidly pressed that later versions. A copy hardly played on all the evidence and that is very unusual on this popular rock classic, I doubt if this copy has hardly even been removed from the cover, let alone played. Any surface traces are bordering on minuscule even with scrutiny under bright angled light. Visually a fantastic first-pressed record that should please most-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 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 brilliant original plays even above it’s high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, very powerful, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. PLAY THIS ONE LOUD FOR MAXIMUM ENJOYMENT!! Any surface sounds barely even registered and this is an exceptional clean pressing. The biggest test on this one is the aforementioned ‘Fluff’. A delicate acoustic instrumental with plenty of harpsichord and piano this so often clips and crackles on less than worthy pressings, or less than carefully played examples. Here all is crisp and very sharp and sounds impressive with barely any hint of unwanted sound at all. All the details on this critical track are captured on this first WWA pressing and little compares. If proof were ever needed, rarely will such an early copy ever be matched or beaten, especially when barely even run-in in vinyl terms. Few copies will match, let alone outperform this outstanding copy – this was a pleasure from start to finish and the awesome power of the best metal band ever are encaptured in these ultra clean unworn grooves. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has hardly been played and very carefully handled. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this heavy-rock classic – this certainly up-there with my favourites from their impressive Ozzy-years catalogue. This record will prove difficult to find significantly better and merits my highest possible recommendation. Indeed this record would prove a major upgrade for many I am sure.

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 as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – 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 it’s 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. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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 Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 14 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. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, 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 as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. 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] = £4.75

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced 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’.