Black Sabbath : Born Again A2/B1 1st Press

This first pressing plays with stunning quality on both sides with only a little intrusion on the instrumental 'Stonehenge' on S1.  Aside from that the clarity is so impressive and the vast majority is 'as new' without question.  The power of the audio is superb and it is also obvious it has hardly ever been played.  The vinyl is visually stunning and looks 'shop fresh' you could say.

This is also one of the first off the 'production line' as denoted by the earliest 'matrix' as shown below.

The cover is in excellent condition and has very little of the wear that you so often see and the lyric inner is just about perfect.

VERL 8  A // 2 ?   420  H  1 1 1

VERL 8  B // 1 ?   420  H  1 1 2

The audio on S1 is Mint(-) (Track 2 Ex / T4 Ex+)

The audio S2 is Mint(-)

The cover is Ex+

The labels are Mint-

The lyric inner is Mint-

Visual grading

The vinyl is in beautiful condition with an immaculate jet-black glossy sheen.  There are no marks or scratches and only a couple of very faint sleeve removal hairlines and even they are difficult to find!  There is just the one tiny spindle trace on the S1 label and you would be mistaken for thinking this vinyl was 'as new'.  A stunning visual look with superb clean run out grooves also.

Play grading  

'Trashed' starts S1 with thunderous power and plays without any interference.  The production on this record is not the best and Iommi has indeed gone on record saying that but in spite of that this is a stunning Mint version for sure.

As is common the instrumental 'Stonehenge' does have some static and a little crackle here and there but the music still comes through very clearly and there are no clicks or pops.  In fact the more you get into the track the more impressive it is and I think Ex is about right.

'Disturbing The Priest' is superb from the first groove to the last and the clarity is exceptional.  There is no 'background' of any kind and in all likelihood has hardly been played judging by the quality of the audio here.  Great power and no distortion, Mint all the way.

'The Dark' plays very clearly with only minimal light static at the start.  Ex+

The segue into 'Zero The Hero' is faultless and the entire intro is 'as new' without a doubt.  Stunning!  It continues to play with a deep foreboding sound and the clarity is again so impressive.  From start to finish there is no interference and it ends the side with Mint quality audio.  Even the long fade out plays with perfect precision. 

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'Digital Bitch' is so powerful from the very start and progresses in the same way with no interference.  The 'mix' may not be the best and that is particularly true on Iommi's solos but there is no denying the audio quality.  Just a hint of static at the end of the fade out so Mint- it is.

The long intro on 'Born Again' plays beautifully and of course this is a relatively quiet section.  From that point on the clarity and definition of the audio is stunning.  There are no negatives - not one tick, click or pop.  This is an outstanding version and again the long fade out just exemplifies how good the clarity is here.  Mint

'Hot Line' is loud and true right from the start and continues in the same manner.  Mint is more than deserved, nothing more to add!

'Keep It Warm' ends the album with 'high end' audio once more.  It plays with incredible power and there is no inner groove distortion at all.  A truly spectacular listen that has no interference, you could not wish to hear a stronger, more precise version.  The mid section instrumental is a case in point, I have never heard it play so well.  I am confident in grading this final track as Mint the playback is immense!

In summary this first pressing plays to a wonderful standard with barely any intrusion.  A little 'background' on the S1 instrumentals but nothing that impairs the 'listen' and all other tracks are 'as new' with literally no interference.  As I said the production may not be the best but you cannot really fault the clarity and depth of the audio and just one look at the vinyl makes you realise that it has been so well preserved and hardly played down the years.

The Cover

Not the best designed cover (!) but it is certainly one of the 'cleanest' I have seen in a long time with only very minimal shelf wear.  The top edge has barely any rubbing and the bottom edge has only a very small amount.  The spine is in lovely condition with only a little wear on the bottom corner.  This is really the only obvious wear on the cover and the other corners have barely any wear.  The opening edge has no handling wear either.  The front cover has no marking for once and has only a small number of minor creases next to the spine which is commonly seen.  The back cover is just as good with no marking.  A very impressive example overall.

The Lyric Inner

This is in superb condition with no side splits or tears, no marking and no obvious creasing.  A fantastic example when you consider it is made of paper!

The Labels

The yellow/red Vertigo labels are super clean with no marking or writing and just one very faint and hardly visible spindle trace on the S1 label.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

This record has been cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

VERL 8  A // 2 ?   420  H  1 1 1

VERL 8  B // 1 ?   420  H  1 1 2

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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