Black Sabbath : Master Of Reality 1st Press w/Box Cover (Vertigo)

This FINAL UPGRADE first pressing plays to a standard that is so rarely found today.  The clarity and depth is sensational even during the quieter moments and 'Solitude' provides a prime example of that.  It grades as Mint- such is the quality.  There is no underlying static on either side and whilst there are a couple of very light clicks this has to be the 'cleanest' first pressing I have ever heard.  The vinyl is also visually stunning with some vinyl 'flecks' still visible around the spindle hole.

The embossed box cover is in excellent condition and has retained its original shape extremely well due in no small measure to the card that has been put inside.  The original swirl inner has only light marking and one small tear on the 'central window'.  Sadly there is no poster.

6360050  1Y // 1  420  1 1  1 0

6360050  2Y // 1  420  1 2  2 0

The audio on S1 is Mint- (Track 1 intro Near Mint- / T3 Near Mint-)

The audio on S2 is Mint- (T1 Near Mint / T2 intro Near Mint-)

The box cover is a very strong Ex very close to Ex+

The labels are Mint

The original swirl inner is Ex-

Visual grading

How to describe this vinyl?  It is visually stunning and has an immaculate jet-black glossy sheen.  It has clearly hardly ever been played judging by the audio and visual quality and there are no marks, scratches or hairlines to be seen.  As stated there are some vinyl 'flecks' around the spindle hole which you only find on barely played vinyls.  There are only a couple of very small faint spindle traces on Side A and nothing on Side B.  This vinyl has been beautifully preserved down the years and looks 'as new' in my humble opinion.  The run out grooves and labels are also spotlessly clean.  A superb example!

Play grading

The intro on 'Sweet Leaf' is almost perfect with only a couple of light ticks.  There is no background static or crackle and it continues to play with 'high end' audio.  The depth and power of Iommi's downtuned guitar is so strong and with such a clean vinyl such as this you get a much bigger, heavier and deeper sound.  I cannot emphasise enough just how incredibly well this plays!  Even the fade out plays with perfect precision.  The intro is Near Mint- but the remainder easily qualifies as Mint the playback is absolutely STUNNING!

The quiet intro on 'After Forever' is faultless and the first classic riff is so 'clean' and deep with only a couple of barely audible ticks.  From then on it can only be described 'as new' the clarity and sonic quality is astounding.  I am already running out of suitable adjectives in which to describe the amazing quality of the audio on offer here!  It plays with sublime definition and power from start to finish with no distortion and again the fade out is perfect with not even a dust tick.  This grades as Mint- I am delighted to say.

The very brief 'Embryo' has no background static or crackle and apart from one light click towards the end it is nigh on perfect. Near Mint- in my opinion.

The slow build up on 'Children Of The Grave' is stunning and continues in much the same way.  From the first note to the last this plays with such dynamic quality and there is no interference at all.  The audio is again so deep and foreboding it could not play any better and for a final track to have no inner groove distortion is a rarity.  This is another indication that the vinyl has hardly ever been played, if all!  Iommi's solo at the end is just awesome and the even the quiet end section plays beautifully with no interference, just 3/4 barely audible dust ticks.  This is a stunning Mint- version of that I am 100% confident in saying.  What a side!

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'Orchid' immediately plays with superb clarity from the very first note and continues to play beautifully.  It's rare for this quiet acoustic track to play as clearly as this and there are only a couple of very light ticks and a handful of insignificant dust ticks.  Near Mint for sure.

The intro on 'Lord Of This World' is very impressive with only a couple of seconds of non-intrusive light static followed by one very light click and as Osbourne's vocal comes in the audio is 'crystal clear' with just one very light click after the first verse, you could easily miss it!  Thereafter it plays to a standard that could not be any better and the clarity, depth and power is of the highest calibre - there is no 'muddiness' to the sound whatsoever.  Iommi's first solo is 'as new' and this is another phenomenal version without doubt.  A Near Mint- intro followed by sheer Mint audio perfection, just a couple of dust ticks on the fade out.

'Solitude' plays beautifully for such a quiet track and has to be the most 'complete' version I have ever heard.  It is stunning and there is no background static which is so rare.  Again I cannot adequately put into words how incredibly 'quiet' this track is.  There are only a small number of barely audible and totally inconsequential dust ticks and a couple of very light ticks on the final version but clarity on this version is unbelievable!  I honestly think it deserves a Mint- grade it is as close to perfect as is possible and once more the fade out plays with stunning precision.  What a version!

'Into The Void' ends the album in fine style with...no interference.  The clarity and depth cannot be faulted - it plays loud and true with no distortion and again 'as new' is not a selling 'gimmick' it is an honest assessment of the wonderful audio quality on offer here.  An immaculate Mint version if ever there was one.

In summary this classic album has to qualify as a FINAL UPGRADE first pressing as the sonic quality on both sides is outstanding, I have never heard audio as impressive as this.  As stated there is barely any 'background' and there is certainly no underlying static which can always be intrusive.  The clarity throughout is stunning and it is patently obvious this has only been played once, perhaps twice at most.  It is visually perfect and any collector would be hugely impressed by the overall 'package'.  Yes it is unfortunate the original poster is not included but then you can't have everything!

The Box Cover

The famous embossed box cover is in excellent condition overall and has maintained its original shape extremely well.  There is some card inside which has undoubtedly helped with this over the years.  So often the corners and edges have a fair amount of wear but that is not the case here.  The corners have only very minor rubbing and the wide edges are very clean indeed.  Only the actual spine has a couple of small scuffs but it is still 100% legible.  The laminated 'front' cover is in superb condition with no marking and very little of the laminate 'lift' that you regularly see, there is just a small amount along the bottom edge plus a handful of some of the usual small creases around the edges.  The back cover is even better with no marking or laminate 'lift' or splitting.  The box has not been compressed in any way and remains very strong and robust.  Printed by 'Howards Printers' this is a fine example of its kind and it would be difficult to find better!

Swirl Inner Sleeve

The original poly-lined 'Swirl' inner is in excellent shape and one side in particular is super clean.  The other does have a small amount of staining near the top and one small tear on the 'window'.  It has barely any creasing.

The Labels

The famous Vertigo labels are absolutely perfect!  With only a couple of barely visible spindle traces on Side A there is no marking or writing on either side.  Superb examples!

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

6360050  1Y // 1  420  1 1  1 0

6360050  2Y // 1  420  1 2  2 0

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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