RARE 1st PRESSING BLACK SABBATH SWIRL VERTIGO LABEL

	£		82
	$		109

RARE 1st PRESSING BLACK SABBATH SWIRL VERTIGO LABEL Hi my name is Steve and I have been collecting LP's and 7" singles for nearly 30 years, and until just recently I have had emails from bidders that have emailed me stating that their records have some surface noise when played.

Now I’m not here to have an open debate or argument with anyone in the Ebay community, whether they be professional or amateur seller but I have purchased sealed audiophile heavyweight pressings that have suffered from surface noise and in the odd case were totally unplayable.

I have purchased sealed records straight from the factory and these have suffered some degree of surface noise.
The records that I put onto Ebay are 2nd hand records either my own or have been given to me and have in many cases been played, some more than others. But I will always highlight this fact when grading, if the vinyl has surface marks these will be pointed out also.

I’m sorry but i don’t always have time to play grade every single item, and my grading is done by purely visual means, so please view my feedback and you will see that I try to give the best account on the condition of any item I put up for auction.
I will though play LP’s, singles that are very collectable to get a better insight to the playing condition of the item being sold for auction.

Now I accept that the above may differ from any winning bidders perception of what I have graded. But I cannot always vouch for whether the record plays all the way through in total black silence with no noise. If you have any doubts then please email me or again just view my feedback.

BLACK SABBATH: Black Sabbath (Very rare 1st pressing original 1969 UK Vertigo spiral label 7-track LP.
Presented in the original gatefold picture sleeve and with original spiral inner VO6)
A First pressing released February 1969 of black sabbath's classic self titled debut lp
The lp has the first issue vertigo swirl labels and is housed in the original matte gatefold sleeve with black inner surfaces and inverted cross
Has the incorrect spelling of ossie osbourne


Black Sabbath is the self-titled debut album by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was released in the United Kingdom on Friday the 13th of February, 1970.
The album is often regarded as one of the first heavy metal albums. In August 1969 the band, who was then known as Earth, decided to change its name to Black Sabbath. Around the same time they recorded and distributed a demo version of their eponymous song. In December 1969 they recorded and released their debut single, "Evil Woman". In January 1970, the band recorded and mixed the remaining seven songs that would appear on their debut album. The songs were recorded "live" and the entire process took just three days. Guitarist Tony Iommi recalls recording live: "We thought 'We have two days to do it and one of the days is mixing.' So we played live. Ozzy was singing at the same time, we just put him in a separate booth and off we went. We never had a second run of most of the stuff."

Musically and lyrically the album was considered quite "dark" for the time. The first song on the album, the eponymous "Black Sabbath", is based almost entirely on a tritone interval played at slow tempo on the electric guitar (due to the "oppressive" or "scary" sound it produces, the tritone had in the Middle Ages come to be associated with "evil" in Western music). The song's lyrics concern a "figure in black" which is identified as Satan. Similarly, the lyrics of the song "N.I.B." are written from the point of view of Lucifer. Contrary to popular belief, the name of that song is not an acronym for "Nativity In Black". Tony Iommi said in several interviews that it is merely a reference to drummer Bill Ward's pointed goatee at the time, which was shaped as a pen-nib.
Lyrics of two other songs on the album were written about supernatural-themed stories. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" is a reference to the H. P. Lovecraft short story Beyond the Wall of Sleep, while "The Wizard" was inspired by the character of Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. The latter includes harmonica performed by vocalist Ozzy Osbourne.
Both the songs "Warning" and "Evil Woman" are covers of blues songs, with lyrics regarding relationships. The first was written and performed by Aynsley Dunbar's Retaliation, and the second was written and performed by the band Crow. Black Sabbath's take on the originals is "heavier" and more jam-oriented.

The album cover features a depiction of Mapledurham Watermill, situated on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. Standing in front of the watermill is a figure dressed in black robes. This is perhaps an allusion to the lyrics of their eponymous song: "A figure in black, which points at me". On the original release, the inner gatefold sleeve featured an inverted cross with a poem written inside of it. Vertigo, the band's record label, was allegedly responsible for adding the cross. The band was upset when they discovered this, as it fuelled allegations that they were Satanists or Occultists.

The album reached number 8 in the UK, and following its US release in May 1970 by Warner Bros. Records, the album reached number 23 on the Billboard 200, where it remained for over a year, selling a million copies. While the album was a commercial success, it was widely panned by critics, with Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone dismissing the album as "discordant jams with bass and guitar reeling like velocitized speedfreaks all over each other's musical perimeters, yet never quite finding synch".
In 2003, the album was ranked number 238 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Q magazine (8/00, p.126) later included it as one of the Best Metal Albums of All Time, claiming that "[This] was to prove so influential it remains a template for metal bands three decades on. The band's signature song remains the scariest of all heavy metal songs."


THE COVER: The cover does show some small anounts of wear to the spine and corners and some small amounts to the opening. There is a very small split on the spine which i have show in the attached images but is free of any writing. This is the original gatefold matt cover and has the inverted cross inside. It also has the incorrect spelling of Ossie in the credits.
This LP is still in excellent condition concidering its 39 years of age and so i have graded it in excellent condition

THE BACK COVER: The back cover has a small stamped name Memrydiscs to the top right hand corner where it was purchased. I have still graded this in excellent condition.

THE INNER SLEEVE: The inner sleeve is the original swirl design and comes with no writing and has no tears or damage to the center. I have graded the inner sleeve in excellent condition.

THE VINYL: The vinyl LP still retains a beautiful shine to both playing surfaces there are faint surface marks from taking the LP from its sleeve but these do not effect play in any way. There are no scratches and plays without any jumps or skips. I have graded the LP in excellent condition.

THE SOUND: SIDE 1: Played all the way through without skipping or jumping the sound was solid and crystal clear without distortion and with out surface noise interrupting the flow of music. The only surface noise heard was in-between tracks but even this was to a minimum.
SIDE 2:Again played all the way through with no skips or jumps the sound once again sounding solid, sharp and crystal clear with no evidence of distortion. There was no surface noise interrupting any of the music.
All in all a fantastic strong tight sound with everything in place.

THE LABELS: The labels show some spindle marks which show that the LP has been played. Both labels are in excellent condition with no writing on either surface.

IF YOU WISH TO SEE MORE IMAGES THEN PLEASE EMAIL ME AND I WILL GLADLY SEND THEM TO YOU.

MATRIX NUMBERS:
SIDE 1 VO 6 1 Y * 1
SIDE 2 VO 6 2 Y * 1
Tracklisting:
1. Black Sabbath
2. The Wizard
3. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
4. NIB
5. Evil Woman
6. Sleeping Village
7. Warning