BLACK WIDOW Sacrifice Rare 70 CLASSIC PROG ORIG EX+ LP

	£		25
	$		33

Hi, I am Mike, now 48 and have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 34 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and elusive items now. 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 - on average ONEADAY, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - 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 reader – 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 its 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. What you see is what you get. The only thing I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. Variation can sometimes occur too in colour of the label scans and labels taken next to the sleeve with a digital camera, the scanned full label pictures should be the most accurate. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert. 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 or sticks or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Album Title: Sacrifice.

Producer(s): Patrick Meehan Jnr.

Engineer(s): Roy Thomas Baker

Track Listing: Side 1: In Ancient Days; Way to Power; Come to the Sabbat; Conjuration. Side 2: Seduction; Attack of the Demon; Sacrifice.

Label/Format: CBS – Original deep orange format.

Label Conditions: Both very clean and highly attractive with only very light and hardly any spindle traces and no wear around the hole area at all.

Cat Number: S 63948.

Mono or Stereo: Stereo.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: although their most ‘popular’ album, this is still seldom found and was hardly a major seller. Not only that, this record has clearly hardly ever been played.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: S 63948 A1 / S 63948 B1

The Band: Jim Gannon - lead guitar, Spanish guitar, vibes; Bob Bond - bass guitar; Kip Trevor - lead vocals; Zoot Taylor - organ and piano; Clive Box - drums, percussion; Clive Jones - sax and flute.

Brief Info: A mini-progressive classic and debut album, never an easy one to find in anything like strong conditions. Limited sales and airplay but having a cult following, all three of their albums are quite sort after. Their black magic first album that includes their most famous song ‘Come to the Sabbat’, a great track that has stood the test of time well. This is probably the best all round copy I have seen in ages.

Cover Grade and Format: At, or very close EX, this is a tough one. It’s an unlaminated, gatefold with dark artwork. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group, London and Bedford.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High.

Cover Front & Back: Both way above average for one of rock’s most challenging covers. Both sides have a few light marks or blemishes with a few mild creases. Importantly, hardly any rubbing, inkloss or even ring marks or ringwear which is rife on most of these. Both sidess remain highly attractive and are seldom found much better these days.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Classic demonic artwork and looking magnificant with little wear or blemishing at all.

Top Edges: Very small rub traces only.

Bottom Edges: Same again.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with minimal wear and no feathering. Record entered on this right outside back edge.

Spine and Text: Quite solid and straight, some mildish compression. A little wear which is light but most of the text is present with just a little wear to a few characters in the word ‘Sacrifice’. A highly fragile spine, the last example I sold has totally eroded, this one has most all of its ink still intact and strong.

Corners: Little wear on these high vulnerable corners and all retain great shape too.

Cover Summary: A very fine example of this sinister progressive cover. Given its fragile disposition, this is a great example that looks fine to the eye – blemishes, light wear yes, but this will not be easily found much better.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX++, arguably even better. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, jet black and heavily pressed on quite thick vinyl. Just the odd tiny light surface mark or hairline, superficial blemishes and non-sounding, this retains the look of almost a new record. A copy hardly played on all the evidence, this is a superb copy. Visually a great record that should please many collectors. Includes the CBS ‘Rock Buster – Heavy on CBS’ Inner which is untorn with little creasing with just some mild age toning.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant record plays up to its visual grading and beyond with little to fault. Strong, undistorted sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is high with a full dynamic range and detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing for a fairly difficult album with some quite passages. Intricate progressive rock that fans of the genre will enjoy. Few copies will outperform this original pressing significantly I feel sure. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this highly elusive cult progressive record. This heavy press vintage record could prove very difficult to find significantly better.

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 neccessarily 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’.

My Terms For Bidding

Debutant Bidders: Many sellers refuse first time buyers: I do not follow this practice (everybody has to start somewhere), but I would appreciate any first timer letting me know their intentions for payment method and very prompt communication, preferably before any bid or soon after the auctions ends. This gives confidence that their intentions are honourable, and I in return guarantee extra special good feedbacks to get zero rated Ebayers off to a flying start to help them with future transactions.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed, you never know - I may just have a copy in stock. I buy quality single items and collections also (I am regularly told I offer the best prices – please Email me if you have items for sale).

Payment Details please read carefully - I know its boring but essential:

UK First Class: = £3 or Special Delivery (Next day, fully insured), the best service available = £7.00

Europe Air Mail: = £4 Insured & Signed For: £8.00.

Overseas, non-Europe e.g. USA, Japan, Australia etc. Airmail:= £7; Insured & Signed For (where available) = £11.00. Doubles add extra £1. Reductions for multiple items for all.

Any item that sells for over £75 will be sent Special Delivery in the UK at no extra cost. Items over £100 get the same service Overseas. This gives peace of mind for the winning bidder and myself for valuable items. Reduced postage of course for multiple items.

The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£30).

Mailing Details: Please note I do NOT profit on postage, in fact I lose money on most packets (my packing standards are very high and the package weighs a little more - I simply refuse to compromise with poor packing. All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken OUT of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with FOUR proper stiffners for extra protection (if space allows). More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me. I will also include in most cases a brand new inner, but will include the original inner if available.

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal or IMO’s from overseas bidders.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer.