BLACK SABBATH Vol 4 RARER ORIG UK 1972 VERTIGO SPIRAL EX+ LP, SUPERB CLEAN SOUND

	£		109
	$		144

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: BLACK SABBATH

Album Title: Vol 4

Producer(s): Black Sabbath & Patrick Meehan

Track Listing:

Side 1: Wheels of Confusion; Tomorrow’s Dream; Changes; FX; Supernaut.

Side 2: Snowblind; Cornucopia; Laguna Sunrise; St Vitus Dance; Under the Sun.

Label/Format: Vertigo – Original Spiral format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and highly attractive with only very light, fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. Side two is incredibly white and looks superb, so often found toned or grubby, any Spiral Black Sabbath album with so few marks and blemishes is unusual – but highly welcome. Please Note: this is a very first pressing with no ‘Made in England’ above the 33 speed on side two. Second issues included this small detail.

Cat Number: 6360 071.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 113 grams. This is seldom heavily pressed and is exactly the same weight as the last one I offer a few years ago.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce, and getting harder to find all the time. Although one of the more popular Spiral albums, this is very hard to find in anything like decent condition. The cover especially is highly elusive devoid of often heavy ringwear and rubbing. First issues included the fixed inner gatefold booklet which again is often torn, sometimes even missing or separated. This is a very impressive example indeed and looks very pleasing to the eye (unless total perfection is mandatory, and good luck with that). At some time in the past, a previous owner has gently tipped-in a tiny few chips or blemishes, very subtle in most-all cases. I remain neutral on this practice, it is NOT something I personally do, but I can at least understand why the more discerning owners did so to keep covers looking at their very best. When tiny and as discrete as possible, so be it, and little detracts on what I consider is a near outstanding example of this hugely challenging black cover. The record is fantastic and plays beautifully. Although known for their loud heavy music, they also included some very quiet songs on most of their albums, these being the case again on this one. Few are more critical than ‘Changes’ that so often crackles and loses it’s clarity, that critical Mellotron is very hard to find focused. And the minimal instrumental ‘FX’ is another hard one too. Well both plays superbly, as does the entire album. Up there for sure with my best ever. Along with a neat and undamaged Swirl inner sleeve, this is a top-quality all-round example for looks and sound, it will take a lot of beating, and unless ‘perfection’ is mandatory for the cover, this will please most fans and collectors.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: 6360071 1Y // 1 1 2 1 2 & 6360071 2Y // 1 1 2 1 4

Etchings: ‘PORKY’ and ‘PECKO’

Musicians: Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals; Geezer Butler - Bass; Tony Iommi - Guitars; Bill Ward - Drums.

Brief Info: As the title suggests, the fourth Black Sabbath album and all issued on the legendary Vertigo Spiral label. This is real heavy metal with massive power riffs and deep grinding doom-laden basslines. Fronted by the legendary Ozzy Osbourne, this set must be a contender for their best and heaviest album ever – but I usually say that for any of the Sabbath Spiral titles I offer – I love them all and all four are essential. A fantastic record that offers immensely powerful sound especially when the volume is cranked up. Although predominately heavy, this does have a few quiet songs notably ‘FX’ which is a minimalist instrumental that sounds like percussion through an echo box and the very difficult and challenging ‘Changes’. This so often has distortion and clipping from the intensely recorded Mellotron, few copies escape but this one plays this difficult song superbly and the whole album plays with very clean, practically crackle-free and focused sound which must never be taken for granted. With a little-worn cover, fully intact booklet and the later style Spiral inner unsplit, this is a near exceptional example that will take a lot of beating.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: an incredibly difficult cover as all matt black covers are. Indeed this actually looks better than the grading, but as mentioned already, there are few gentle enhancements to chips or light edge blemishes. Done well and quite subtle in most cases, this cover offers far more positives than negatives and looks great. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt surfaces, it was printed and made in the UK by Howards. It has the booklet attached to the inside of the gatefold that was later replaced by an insert. The later softer lined inner sleeve is also included.

Cover Front: Not putting too fine a point on this: this front is difficult, more often seen badly rubbed, chipped, scuffed, sticker torn and creased. This one is very impressive indeed with little to fault. One tiny chip enhancement shows little near the right edge next to the right part of the ‘V’. This is very clean, fresh with great deep colour and barely rubbed at all. Any sticker blemishing minuscule and any creasing very few, ultra fine and faint – hardly any at all. With practically all the black ink intact without fading and surface rubbing, this will take a huge amount of beating.

Cover Back: The most noteworthy feature here is the lack of ringwear that most seem to acquire over the years. There are a couple of marks – one small, the other tiny – that have been improved again, and only the one near the top edge between the two ‘b’s shows a little. A gentle friction rub trace near bottom edge but little else. Barely a crease to be seen, and with thin card, this is another crucial and unusual factor. Again, realistically, this back will take a lot of beating as well and sets a very high standard. .

Cover Inner Gatefold & Booklet: Both inside front and back cover surfaces are superb with barely anything to fault. The four-page booklet is perfectly adhered, totally unloosened as-made and immaculate. Again, later ones were included as a separate insert. All elements of this inner gatefold will prove near impossible to find better, all pages are nigh-on perfect. So-much-so, the last page showing a sweat-soaked Bill Ward will not open fully or lie flat – just as made.

Top Edges: Both straight, flush and very neat indeed. Minimal rubbing, and I think most is natural, the odd small enhancement likely, but like all subtle and neat.

Bottom Edges: As above, the yellow and white parts both perfect which reitterates the black areas are generally natural as well, small enhancements likely however, again subtle and neat.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front has a real tuck and folded edge that is in impressive clean and straight condition, also appearing totally natural. One minuscule dink being ultra critical. The back entrance edges are both clean, sharp, and mostly very sharp with little wear and guaranteed untrimmed. Any hint of thickening or burring tiny, few and light as seen critically end-on.

Spine and Text: Again impressive, this clearly a hugely wear-prone area. Very solid, straight with minimal hint of compression and folded very square. So all edges meet up very closely together and parallel, these small details make all the difference. Appearing little worn at all, again the odd very small enhancement likely, but yet again, subtle and non-glaring. I can easily accept what any previous owner wanted to achieve, when done well, acceptable I feel (but that is purely a subjective point-of-view) The fine and vulnerable yellow text is pretty much all present and strong (as seen in my close-up), the odd tiny chip being near impossible to avoid over all this time.

Corners: All neat with excellent or better shape retained with no knocks or dinks. Tiny tip-ins yes, but I am finding nothing is detracting me from this excellent cover.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this very fragile and highly uncompromising cover, one that will prove difficult to find significantly better. Small ‘improvements’ yes, if that is an issue, it’s not quite for you. But as stated, this really attractive fresh cover has way, way more positive criteria than any minor small negatives. And I know for certain, it will prove immensely difficult to find much better with a genuine first press Swirl inside that looks and plays superbly.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: or very close to. This being the correct later inner with the now softer lining. It has the usual seam adhesive darkening to remind of age, but two immaculate undamaged window circles and neat lining. One corner has creased but little else, a couple of tiny edge splits I decided to repair myself to elminate the risk of them widening in future should anyone decide to store the record inside. Personally, I would opt for the new lined inner I always supply instead.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): a super visual copy that is very clean with excellent shine and quite solidly pressed with a typical pressing weight. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence and one that offers superb sound. Any surface traces or blemishes are tiny, few and very faint – I can hardly imagine finding this one a great deal better being honest – and it plays even better. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This fantastic Spiral album plays even above it’s high visual grading with very little indeed to fault – do not underestimate just how hard this title is to play really well. This has powerfully strong, totally distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear with no tracking issues*. Sound quality is very high with a full dynamic range and fine detail too – but play it LOUD! An intensely heavy album at times with grinding basslines, classic power-riffs, awesome drumming and of course Ozzy sounding young and fresh – this legendary vocalist, especially in his younger days was awesome. His charismatic doom-laden vocal style was never bettered as much as others tried. For a change, any surface sounds on the quieter passages are minimal and very light – hardly any really – and I feel silence is near impossible being honest. The track ‘Changes’ is very difficult and many copies will disort and crackle badly – Ozzy’s vocal with loudly mixed Mellotron is a huge test for vinyl and many clip with groove-wear or inground debris on the finer groove areas. The short echo laden ‘FX’ is almost as difficult and here this minimalist instrumental sounds impressively clean overall. Few copies will play better than this overall and nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this metal masterwork. It will prove very difficult indeed to find significantly better. An album to be played loud, as loud as possible. The Spiral four are often critisised for not being terribly well produced, all I can say to that is these listeners haven’t heard them on decent equipment. These have an in-built power and quality brings it out (as well as volume). Total silence on the quiet songs is almost unrealistic but this is almost as good as it ever gets. The bass grinds and rattles with awesome power, even testing out larger systems - it can shake the foundations. The drums pound and the cymbals crash, the guitars soar – and of course Ozzy’s blood curdling vocals speak for themselves - oh yeah!!! Forget lightweight soundalikes, nobody does it better than vintage Sabbath. This stunning lesson in gloom was rarely bettered, even by them, Ozzy was, and still is – Lord of the metal World.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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 necessarily 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’.