Black Widow SACRIFICE 1st pressing CBS UK

	£		36
	$		48

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Album Title: Sacrifice.

Producer(s): Patrick Meehan Jnr.

Engineer(s): Roy Thomas Baker

Track Listing: Side 1: In Ancient Days; Way to Power; Come to the Sabbat; Conjuration. Side 2: Seduction; Attack of the Demon; Sacrifice.

Label/Format: CBS – Original deep orange format.

Label Conditions: Both very clean and highly attractive with only very light and hardly any spindle traces and no wear around the hole area at all.

Cat Number: S 63948.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 128 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: although their most ‘popular’ album, this is still seldom found and was hardly a major seller. Not only that, this copy could be one of the best examples you will ever see offered.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: S 63948 A1 / S 63948 B1

The Band: Jim Gannon - lead guitar, Spanish guitar, vibes; Bob Bond - bass guitar; Kip Trevor - lead vocals; Zoot Taylor - organ and piano; Clive Box - drums, percussion; Clive Jones - sax and flute.

Brief Info: A cult item and ‘Satanic’ progressive classic, the band’s debut album, never an easy one to find in anything like strong conditions. Limited sales and airplay but having a cult following, all three of their albums are quite sort after. This black magic album that includes their most famous song ‘Come to the Sabbat’, a great track that has stood the test of time well. Complex, intricate prog with plenty of keyboards and reeds, I can think of few other bands quite like them. This without doubt is the best all round copy I have ever seen – I truly did not know a copy quite this good still existed – almost like magic, this appeared.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High, one of those covers you almost expect moderate wear. Most all have rubbing and rife with ringwear. Take another look at this one, have you ever seen a better example. This is near impossible like this and the record matches it too – both in stunning conditions.

Cover Grade and Format: It’s an unlaminated, gatefold with dark artwork, very prone to all surface wear and most look aged and worn – even plain ugly – this is a stunner. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group, London and Bedford.

Cover Front & Back: Both very similar and both outstanding, light years above average for one of rock’s most challenging covers. Both sides have hardly any marks or major blemishes, no ringwear (yes true), no rubbing, barely any creases worthy of mention and no pressmark indentations. Rich deep colour with no fading or inkloss, this retains a high freshness factor and will seldom be found even half as good. Can I just make this point clear, the front right edge near the top may look rubbed but this is the detail on the artwork which are all the same, those familiar with the scarce cover will know this of course but I just wish to make this detail clear – this cover has some rubbing both on the top and bottom, this is very minor.  

Cover Inner Gatefold: Classic demonic artwork  is in magnificent condition, practically no wear, grubbiness or even ‘set-off’.

Top Edges:  faint rub traces and that’s being pretty critical.

Bottom Edges: Same again.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no wear or feathering. Record entered on this right outside back edge.

Spine and Text: Solid and quite straight, some mildish compression in the centre. Some wear to the delicate surface at bottom and top of spine all the text is a little wear over the top of test, although all title text is fully visible.

Corners: Some wear on these high vulnerable corners, odd tip rub and the spine pair are exceptional in real terms, all retain fine neat shape too.

Cover Summary: An exceptional and rare example of this sinister progressive cover. Given its fragile disposition, this is a fantastic example that looks great to the eye – blemishes are few and it will take someone quite extraordinary to ever better it significantly. This is approaching connoisseur’s territory for the truly difficult items.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-). A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, jet black and heavily pressed on quite thick vinyl. Nothing more than the odd faint hairline or ultra faint surface trace under light, superficial blemishes and non-sounding, this retains the look of almost a new record. A copy hardly played on all the evidence, this is a superb copy. Visually a great record that should please most all collectors. Includes a CBS promotional inner which is in very attractive EX condition.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant record plays up to its visual grading for practically with very little to fault. Strong, undistorted sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is high with a full dynamic range and detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed, a mild trace at the very start of each side disappears fast and then its practically perfection for all the rest, no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional fine pressing for a fairly difficult album with some quite passages. Intricate progressive rock that fans of the genre will enjoy, like the cover, it will take something remarkable to better this record too. Few copies will match or outperform this original pressing significantly I feel sure. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this highly elusive cult progressive record. This classic ‘dark’ vintage record could prove near impossible to find significantly better and this set is strongly recommended.

This record has been professionally clean by across the tracks Record shop in the last few days.

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’.

My Terms For Bidding

Debutant Bidders: Many sellers refuse first time buyers: I do not follow this practice (everybody has to start somewhere), but I would appreciate any first timer letting me know their intentions for payment method and very prompt communication, preferably before any bid or soon after the auctions ends. This gives confidence that their intentions are honourable, and I in return guarantee extra special good feedbacks to get zero rated Ebayers off to a flying start to help them with future transactions.

Postage UK 3.50. EU 4.50