BLACK SABBATH Vol. 4 RARER ORIG UK 72 NEAR MINT VERTIGO SPIRAL LP, HARDLY PLAYED

	£		124
	$		165

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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: BLACK SABBATH

Album Title: Black Sabbath Vol. 4

Producer(s): Black Sabbath and Patrick Meehan

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Wheels of Confusion; Tomorrow’s Dream; Changes; FX; Supernaut.

Side 2: Snowblind; Cornucopia; Laguna Sunrise; St. Vitus Dance; Under the Sun.

Label/Format: Vertigo original Spiral label with matt gently textured surfaces. This the ultimate first pressed format without ‘Made in England’ on the label. This very quickly repressed and then including that text.

Label Conditions: Both in amazing condition with hardly a spindle trace to be seen. These are very clean, fresh and highly attractive, and finding them better on this prized final Swirl Black Sabbath will prove immensely difficult, especially as a first press copy that appears hardly even played.

Catalogue Number: 6360071

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps or Lateral Movement: Assume all records I offer have no significant warping or lateral movement to cause sound or tracking issues. All should play fine even on budget turntables.

Weight of this Record: 133 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: First pressings in this condition are now becoming rare, prized and sort-after.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: 6360071 1Y//1 1 1 2 1 & 6360071 2Y//1 1 1 1 4

Run-Out Groove Etchings: PORKY / PECKO

Musicians: Ozzy Osbourne – vocals; Tony Iommi – guitars, piano, mellotron; Geezer Butler – bass guitar, mellotron; Bill Ward – drums, percussion.

Brief Info: The fourth Black Sabbath album and one of the greatest in their catalogue. It proved to be the last on the Swirl format, very soon to change to the spaceship version. As per usual, critics of the day largely dismissed it – but this sold steadily and fans loved it. Now regarded as a heavy rock classic with several songs covered by other bands. Iron Maiden, Metallica, and even Frank Zappa were huge admirers of ‘Supernaut’, and the album includes the original version of ‘Changes’, later recorded by Ozzy with his daughter Kelly. The album’s lyrics have strong drug references and the set is very dark in a different way to the previous three. This is a superb record with sound to match, it appears hardly played with two stunning first issue Swirl labels as-seen. The cover has also fared well, and few ever do, being matt and highly prone to all forms wear, this has little, and inside booklet is immaculate. For me, Birmingham’s finest and the greatest heavy metal band ever rarely sounded better than on this sublime set. Dark and very loud, they were truly amazing live – I saw them twice during the 1970s – the Hammersmith London concert was mind-blowing – this is a copy fans and collectors should cherish.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: and arguably better for one that is rarely worth a second look being worn and tatty. A very wear-prone unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. The inside includes the attached four page booklet, all pages shown in my pictures. Printed and made in England by Howards Printers (Slough) Ltd. Includes the correct later swirl inner sleeve with the soft-lining.

Cover Front: The front especially is very impressive with little to fault. Still clean, fresh with any rubbing or creasing minimal, little and faint. The lack of sticker tears and grubbiness are always bonuses on this unforgiving surface.

Cover Back: Overall, very similar to front. The top right corner area has a few small marks which could possibly be aged glue smearing from manufacturing, but that is not definitive, just my opinion. Anyway, only two or three small patches that has not pulled or damaged the surface with minimal visibility. A trace of fine rim rubbing as a gentle arc near the bottom edge and little detracts from what is still quite an impressive back that is more often than not seen in a real mess.

Cover Inner Gatefold: All surfaces inside are fantastic with barely anything of note to fault. All four pages of the solidly attached booklet are immaculate, clean, fresh with no creasing or tears. I have rarely seen ths inside of this cover better.

Top Edges: Both solid, straight, flat and flush, a small central rub trace on the back, but NO split, any other rubbing minimal.

Bottom Edges: Both as above with the only light rubbing small near the very ends. These storage edges have survived in great condition.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The closed front has a real tucked and folded edge that has hardly worn at all bar traces of very thickening to the inside card end (being critical). The inside of the opening back edge is very sharp indeed, naturally protected by the outer one that is slightly longer cut in manufacture. The outer one has only tiny patchy thickening traces.

Spine and Text: A very nice spine as well, lacking the usual heavy rubbing and erosion of the ink and text. Solid, straight with no compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. The delicate gold-yellow text is unworn and very well centred on a fairly narrow depth. Both folds also show minimal light rubbing and no scuffs or knocks.

Corners: Some light to near moderate (bottom right) tip rubbing with very fine or better shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this very wear-prone 1970’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. A few minor blemishes, but few will offer less these days, this has always been a difficult and challening cover for obvious reasons. This still attractive item should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): this has it’s correct original soft-lined swirl inner sleeve – earlier Swirl albums had them polylined – this in very condition with only darkening of the seam adhesive areas to politely remind of age. Hardly creased (a little on one flipback end), both window circles neat and untorn, all edges fully and naturally intact. These inners alone are becoming sort-after as so many are now torn, badly creased and tatty, this later-run example has survived the years very well as-seen.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(–): an amazing copy that appears hardly played, I have not better surfaces on a first issue since I bought a brand new copy when I will still at school at time of issue. A superb visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy hardly run-in in vinyl terms with any surface traces minuscule. Visually an incredible copy should please many, if not most collectors. I doubt if I will ever see a cleaner looking copy.

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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant heavy rock album plays to it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a full dynamic range and detailed sound. Some say Black Sabbath albums were not that well produced, but this sounds fantastic to me. Get this on a worthy system and hear for yourself. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed – and this does have some very quiet passages (but not that many), and this is a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. ‘Changes’ and the short bizarre non-vocal track ‘FX’ being especially challenging, but both play very well. Few available copies will outperform this genuine first pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I know this record has hardly been played and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this magnificent album and copy. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.