BLACK SABBATH "WE SOLD OUR SOUL..." BEST OF FIRST PRESSING 1976 WARNER 'PALM'

$

25

BLACK SABBATH "WE SOLD OUR SOUL..." FIRST PRESSING 1976 WARNER 'PALM' 
BLACK SABBATH "WE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR ROCK 'N' ROLL" LABEL: WARNER BROTHERS RECORDS – 2BS 2923 2-LP GREATEST HITS COMPILATION  FIRST U.S. PRESSING ~ GATEFOLD ~ WARNER 'PALM TREE' LABELS RELEASED: EARLY FEBRUARY 1976 PRODUCER: RODGER BAIN MATRIX (SIDE A): 2BS-1-2923 WW3 MATRIX (SIDE B): 2BS-2-2923- WB #4
CONDITION:  VINYL: VG++  JACKET: VG+ (Mild Ringwear & 'notch' on edge) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection these past few weeks and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would like for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 45 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this original First Pressing of Black Sabbath's first and best compilation "We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'n' Roll."
This is my original copy, purchased back in the mid 70's, shortly after it's release, that I've taken great care of for many years. 
~~~~~~~~~~ "We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll" is a compilation album by the Birmingham, England heavy metal quartet, Black Sabbath, originally released in early February 1976.
At the time, Black Sabbath were the masters of heavy rock, standing miles apart from their peers on a high mountain peak of doom, cannabis, and monster riffs. There was no other band quite like them, although Led Zeppelin were also in contention for the title of best rock band.
~~~~~~~ This album contains many of the band's early 'Hits' and sounds fantastic. All analog, crisp, clear, punchy and not compressed.
Most Sabbath fans will tell you that the original UK Vertigo pressings are the best sounding versions of the full albums, although Rhino's new re-issues are challenging the Vertigo pressings for sound quality.
When this was released nearly 50 years ago, it was the best I've ever heard Black Sabbath sound.
At the time, this was the best sounding Black Sabbath material ever released in the U.S.. 
This was the first Black Sabbath compilation and it captured the band at their creative peak. This is a great compilation containing many essential songs from the first and best era of Black Sabbath. 
All of the various pressings of this album look very similar, but First pressings have the Warner 'Palm Tree' labels, the UK matrix numbers crossed out, and the new Warner matrix numbers added, and also the back cover has the "Warner Bros. Records...subsidiary & licensee of Warner Bros. Inc., a Warner Communications Company" and the early "44 East 50th Street, New York" address. 
This is the original Gatefold pressing, with the creepy picture of an eerie, demonic woman in a coffin, holding a bright silver crucifix on the inside.
First pressings also retain Geezer Butler's bass solo before "N.I.B.", which was edited from later issues. Originals also have the '0998' price code on the spine.
This is pressed with the 'new' Warner Burbank 'Palm Tree' labels and comes in custom Warner plastic inner sleeves.
~~ The original UK version of the album was supposed to contain the song "Wicked World", the non-album B-side of Black Sabbath's first single "Evil Woman", a cover of a song by the American band 'Crow', released in 1970.
The band's manager Patrick Meehan, who compiled this record, couldn't secure the rights and it was left off.
Some early jackets have the song listed on the back cover, but do not contain the song. Most all the US copies of the LP do not actually include "Wicked World" on the label or on the record itself. This copy has no mention of the song, despite being a First U.S. Pressing.
~~~~~~~ This is a fantastic 'greatest hits' compilation and a great way to hear the early Sabbath material in it's full, wide, dense, uncompressed, all analog sound.
Early original pressings of the first few Black Sabbath albums have skyrocketed in price, but you can get the 'best' of them, in their original mixes, and all analog mastering, on this double LP for relatively cheap.
This album sounds best on the original all-analog vinyl. It was released on CD in 1987 by Warner and on Castle, but the CD versions exclude some songs and trim others to squeeze everything onto a single disc. 
~~~~~ "We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll" compiles many, but not all, of Black Sabbath's best tracks from the Ozzy Osbourne era.
I can remember when this was released, there was endless discussion about what tracks were on it, and even more discussion about what was left off.
Of the 16 tracks on this double album, about half of its material is from the group's first two albums, 'Black Sabbath' and 'Paranoid'. 
~~~~~ When this album came out, Sabbath was leaning away from it's earlier dark and doomy sound, drug references, and Satanic imagery, but the title and graphics of this album tried to capitalize on just that, their demonic image.
The title was chosen to focus on the theme of satanic occultism.
In the UK, this was released with a black matte cover, not the normal bright and glossy laminated jacket that most UK albums had. This re-enforced the band's dark image. In the States, it had less impact as consumers were used to non glossy album jackets. Still, the all-black album cover suggested their dark and evil image.
The album jacket also drew heavy controversy for the usage of Nazi-esque “SS” style versions of the letter 'S' on the cover.
The evil, demonic, Satan worshiping image that often, and wrongly, gets associated with Black Sabbath was strongly reinforced by the popularity and widespread success of this compilation.
~~~~~~~ The best of Black Sabbath needs no introduction, and this album contains truly the very best songs that the band had released up to that point. Their first 5 or 6 excellent albums are summed up into one essential album.
This album is a crucial piece of the Black Sabbath discography and belongs in any rock vinyl collection.
The 16 classic songs on this compilation include:
Black Sabbath / The Wizard / Paranoid / War Pigs Iron Man / Tomorrow's Dream/ Fairies Wear Boots Changes / Sweet Leaf / Children of the Grave Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath / Am I Going Insane Snowblind / N.I.B.
 ~~~~ The original classic line-up of Black Sabbath included:
Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals & Harmonica Tony Iommi - Lead Guitar, Mellotron on 'Changes', Synth on 'Am I Going Insane'  Terry 'Geezer' Butler - Bass, Mellotron on 'Changes' Bill Ward - Drums & Percussion Tony Iommi – guitar, some piano
Rick Wakeman was on keyboards for some of the 1973 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' sessions and his Synth can be heard on the title track, but neither he, nor Ozzy, can remember the session as they were all blind drunk at the time.
~~~~~~~~~~~ This album is well organized, and starts right where it should, with the opening sounds of the rain storm from the song 'Black Sabbath.' This was classic Sabbath; scary & evil, fuzzy & distorted, down-tuned and desperate. The song 'Black Sabbath' remains one of the unshakeable cornerstones of heavy metal. 
You can hear from these early songs how Tommy Iommi invented down-tuned power chords, which helped define heavy metal in the early 70's. Iommi's choice of playing was partially intentional and partly due to the loss of his fingertips in a factory accident. He was forced to play in a lower register, but invented a whole new sound and style in the process.
Thanks to Roger Bain's production, Black Sabbath sounds really big, powerful and heavy. The 4 musicians just mesh seamlessly into something so powerful and unholy, yet so beautiful.
On this all-analog vinyl pressing, Geezer Butler's subatomic bass jumps out and sounds amazing. Ozzy Osbourne's classic, clear voice jumps out of the speakers, Tony Iommi's fuzz guitar and down-tuned power chords sound terrific, and Bill Ward's powerful drums stand out, especially on 'War Pigs.'
War Pigs' is a timeless classic. This 7 minute romp of hard rock remains, to this day, as one of the best metal/rock songs ever recorded. It's strong anti-war message is as relevant today as it was back in the Viet-nam era.
These songs really display the best musicianship of the band and is an excellent indication of what the band was all about.
~~~~~~~~ In late 1975, the band was contemplating a change of direction and musical style. 
Their most recent album, 1975's 'Sabotage', their 6th album, was recorded during a legal battle with their former manager, Patrick Meehan, and ongoing tensions within the band due to Ozzy's 'decline' and rampant alcohol and drug use in the band.
It was unclear what the band would do next and there were doubts that the band would survive. 
Many Sabbath fans feel that after "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath', things started going downhill for the band.
Many fans feel that only the first 4 or 5 Sabbath albums are the required essential Osbourne-era albums.  'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' was "the beginning of the end" for Black Sabbath's original line-up.
The band decided to change management and labels, so in 1975, Black Sabbath signed with NEMS, the label which would release their sixth album, 1975's 'Sabotage' in the UK.
NEMS signed Black Sabbath, but also acquired the band's back catalogue in the deal.
Their previous manager, Patrick Meehan, who had fallen out with the band, suddenly had 'rights' to the back catalog and wasted little time compiling this release. 
He and NEMS quickly responded with this 2-LP compilation "We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll" which encapsulated nearly all their vintage material up to this point. 
The song selection on this album, a classic compilation of Sabbath's earlier period, was pretty much subjective to the tastes of their former manager, Patrick Meehan, who compiled this album without the consent, or any input from the band. 
The later albums, 'Sabotage' and 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' were when tensions between Meehan and the band were building, and Meehan only chose to put one song from each of those albums on this compilation, downplaying the attention they would get.
Instead, this compilation leans heavily on the self-titled debut plus 'Paranoid' and 'Vol 4' with 4 tracks from each, and just two tracks from 'Master of Reality'.
Despite that, this is one of the best Black Sabbath compilation albums out there. Every song is a classic. 
"We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll" was put together behind the band's back, without any direct involvement of the band. It was authorized and released without their knowledge or consent. They were too busy drinking and partying to pay attention to the contractual details, and it was released so that Meehan and NEMS would get the profits, leaving the band getting little or nothing from sales.
Tommy Iommi tells a tragic, but funny, story about knowing nothing of the album's release until a fan asked him to sign a copy one night after a show.
~~~~~~~~ Although this album was released in early 1976, after their first six albums were already out, most of the material here, all but 2 songs, is from their first four 'classic' albums, 'Black Sabbath', 'Paranoid', 'Master of Reality', and 'Vol. 4.'
This album is defined more by what it leaves out, rather than what is included on it.
Meehan didn't like 'Sabotage' and he only included "Am I Going Insane" as it was one of the best songs from that album. Maybe he just liked Ozzy's insane laughter at the end of the song.
The title track "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" is the only representation from that great album.
No one can argue with most of the selections on this album. Classic indispensable tracks like "Paranoid", "Iron Man", "War Pigs", "Children of the Grave", "Black Sabbath" and "Sweet Leaf."
Fans appreciated that some of the band's longer tracks were included, like the 10 minute version of 'Warning', the 7-minute 'War Pigs', and 'NIB.'
Fans at the time were questioning the inclusion of some of the lesser known, weaker tracks, like the instrumental “Laguna Sunrise” and the slow ballad “Changes.” "Tomorrow's Dream" also sounds like filler.
This is the very first "Sabbath" compilation and mostly what's on here is fantastic stuff, heavily focused on the first two records but also highlighting key tracks from the subsequent four LPs. 
~~~~~~~~~~ This is a classic Black Sabbath compilation and well worth having in your vinyl collection. An excellent introduction and overview of the band that set the standard for heavy metal. 
The first 4 Black Sabbath albums belong in any Heavy Rock collection, but if you only want or need only one Sabbath album, a nice sampler of their best material, "We Sold Our Soul for Rock N' Roll" is a good one to have. Every song is a classic, and you can't go wrong.
Since this album was released in early 1976, there have been many Black Sabbath compilations released and it's almost impossible to keep track of all of them, but "We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll" was the first and still one of the best. A great compilation that includes most, but not all, of the best of Black Sabbath's early catalog.
This rare original first pressing is essential for any Black Sabbath fan's vinyl collection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, gatefold, labels and vinyl in my pictures. I purchased this copy nearly 50 years ago and have taken great care of it since.
VINYL: The vinyl looks excellent. Clean and bright. No obvious dings, flaws or marks. It looks fantastic and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
The Deadwax has the original UK matrix number, crossed out and the US matrix number added. It has the Winchester 'rifle' pressing plant mark. See the full Matrix above.
I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it looks. I'm sure you'll be happy with it. I haven't messed with it or cleaned it, other than my trusty 'DiscWasher' brush, in 50 years. A good deep cleaning will make it even better looking and better sounding than it already is. 
LABELS: This is pressed with the Warner 'Palm Tree' labels, proper for a First Pressing. This was never issued with 'green' labels. 
The labels are clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are still sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing and my careful handling over the years.
JACKET: As you can see from my pictures, this still looks decent for a 50 year old OG copy. 

This all-black jacket is notorious for ring-wear and most all used copies have some. The ringwear isn't that bad on this copy. I showed close-up photos. 
The biggest 'fault' on the cover is a 'notch' or small tear on the back opening slot. Not horrible, but should be pointed out. I showed a close up photo.
The gatefold is clean and bright and the center seam is clean and tight.
Other than that, a relatively clean and decent jacket. Perfect jackets don't exist on open, used copies of this LP.
The artwork is bold and bright, the corners are sharp, and the spine is straight. A nice survivor.
Overall, I'll call the whole record VG+, but the vinyl is very clean and looks terrific.
This record has been plastic sleeved in Warner's original sleeves, and polylined sleeved and stored properly for decades, and is still quite nice for an original pressing.
This copy is all original, complete, and a real gem. I'm sure you'll love it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. 
Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
My grading is fair and honest. I have had over 3,500 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for well over 25 years, so please bid with confidence!
I'm a 0ne-man operation, this is a hobby, not my job. I do this for fun. I do this because I love music, love collecting vinyl and want others to share in that same experience. I take my time listening, researching, grading, listing and packaging. I will NOT sell any record that I personally would not want in my collection.
As you well know, packing and shipping rare records requires special care and attention, therefore, shipping cost within the lower 48 states is $5.00 on this item. If you would like insurance, or anything faster than Media/Economy Mail, please let me know and I can arrange it for you. I’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy!
I will gladly combine multiple records, or other items on my page, and make the shipping much less for you. I don’t inflate the shipping costs; they are what they are. I strive to keep them as low as possible. See my feedback for comments on my quality packing and shipping.
All items are packaged with sturdy cardboard mailers and appropriate padding. I take pride in my packaging and shipping and package all my records as if I were sending them to myself. I refuse to use cheap flimsy packaging material when sending my vinyl. I treat them as if they were my own and mail them the same way. 
All orders are processed and shipped within 2 business days of receipt. We package and ship our vinyl records with the greatest care, using proper packaging to ensure that your rare and collectible vinyl records arrive in pristine condition.
Payments can be made by any of the multiple options that Ebay offers.
I will be happy to exchange feedback with anyone I complete a transaction with.
THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN