Black Sabbath : Heaven And Hell 1st Press 1980

This collectable first pressing on the Vertigo label plays to a sublime standard with no interference at all.  The clarity and sonic quality on this album is quite simply outstanding.  There is no spindle wear and I would not be surprised if it had never been played.

This is also the earliest of the first pressings, just look at the matrix info!

The cover is in lovely condition with very little shelf wear and the original inner has no side splits.

Please wait for the invoice before making payment as the item may have to sent via tracked shipping, conditions below.

9102 752  A // 1? ETH 1 1

9102 752  B // 2? ETH 1 1 1

The audio on S1 is Mint-

The audio on S2 is Mint-

The cover is Ex

The labels are Mint

The original inner is Near Mint-

Visual grading

This vinyl looks 'as new' it is visually stunning to say the least.  It has a lovely mirror-like glossy sheen and there are no obvious signs that it has ever been played.  There are no marks or scratches and I can only detect a small amount of mega faint hairlines if I look very closely, they are incredibly difficult to spot!  There is no spindle wear and the run out grooves and labels are also in pristine condition.

Play grading  

S1 starts with the fast and all 'rocking' 'Neon Knights' and wow does it pack a punch!  From the first groove to the last it is 'as new' - just pure power, great depth and a strong heavy bass.  An easy one to grade it is Mint with no interference at all.

The acoustic intro on 'Children Of The Sea' plays beautifully with no underlying static and the first verse is equally as good.  It carries on in the same precise way and again there are no clicks or pops.  The final 'acoustic' verse does have a couple of light static ticks at the beginning and the remainder is faultless.  Mint- is a fair grade here.

'Lady Evil' is of the same immaculate standard - stunning power and clarity and Mint from start to finish.

'Heaven And Hell' again plays with impressive clarity and no interference.  There is only minimal inner groove distortion and has great definition throughout.  The quiet acoustic end section has barely any static and overall this deserves a Mint- grade.

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'Wishing Well' on S2 continues in the same vein with great power and distinction and again no sign of any interference.  Mint

The intro on 'Die Young' pays testament to how well this record has been preserved down the years.  So quiet and yet there are only a couple of barely audible dust ticks.  The louder sections 'rock out' loud and true with stunning sonic quality and the quiet 'Die Young' verse has just one static tick at the start and then plays without fault.  A superb Mint- version with a perfect fade out also.

'Walk Away' impresses from the word go and grades as Mint all the way through.  I need say no more :-)

'Lonely Is The Word' ends the album in fine style with STUNNING audio.  From the very start it plays with wonderful clarity and power and even the 'quieter' mid section instrumental has no interference.  Iommi's solo near the end is so strong and clear and even the very long fade out plays with superb precision - not one dust tick!  A fantastic Mint version.

In summary this first pressing plays to a standard that would be nigh on impossible to improve upon.  It is obvious the record has been hardly played (perhaps never!) and the clarity is exceptional throughout.  Yes Sabbath were 'finding their feet' in a new era but any avid collector would be hugely impressed by the quality on offer here.

The Cover

The cover is in excellent condition with only very minimal shelf wear.  The top edge has only 3/4 small 'rubs' and the bottom edge just a little more.  The spine is near perfect with a couple of minor creases and only two bottom corners have a small amount of rubbing, the top two are very clean.  The opening edge is in pristine condition with no handling wear.  The front cover is in great order with no marks or scratches and just 3/4 of the usual small creases next to the spine.  The back cover is of course predominantly white and yet is remains very clean indeed with very little marking, just some minor fading around the edges really.  A very respectable version for over 40 years old.

The Inner Sleeve

The original 'plastic bags...' inner has no side splits or tears and only minimal age related fading.

The Labels

The Vertigo labels are in perfect condition with no marking or writing and no spindle wear either.

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

9102 752  A // 1? ETH 1 1

9102 752  B // 2? ETH 1 1 1

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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Postage & Packaging

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