Black Sabbath Vol 4 UK 1st PRESS Vertigo Swirl RARE

	£		62
	$		82

BLACK SABBATH

VOL. 4

6360071 Release date 1972 Stereo

1st pressed thicker vinyl! Hardly played ! Super aural delivery!!1st issue gatefold sleeve with picture booklet! Inner vertigo sleeve ! Awesome exhibit!

Matrices 1Y – “1”  2Y – “1”  Additional stampers 1  on EACH side. Impossible to locate and one of the very first to roll off the press…

Album sleeve

Howards Printers , first issue gatefold .Stapled booklet  attached and with no rips/tears, displaying each member of this notorious rock band of the seventies, in super techni-colour, with beautiful unfaded images . Edges minimal wear and so rare to locate in this sensational condition . Photo booklet, which is firmly attached to sleeve, has no handling impressions/folds. Four, miniscule, hand written digits on front face of album cover ,hardly noticeable. . Minor 1cm square surface damage, superimposed on white background on front face ,so hardly obtrusive . Hardly any visible fading / rubs on outer faces, which makes this 1st issue sleeve “super rare” , as most are stained and found heavily worn. Just two fingerprints visible if angled against a strong light. Absolutely superb with spinal column unbelievable, solid and square, with NO wear visible, clearly showing title . Opening edge has a minor kink where there has been a slight knock otherwise, a perfect perpendicular edge .Excellent condition and impossible to locate .Remarkable for a 37 year old gatefold sleeve! This is the earliest issue, as later sleeves have the pics as an insert ,and is not attached to centrefold of album cover. Superb exhibit.

Vinyl

1st pressing with the earliest matrices .

Most are found with 1Y-1,2Y-2 matrix but this vinyl boasts 1-1 matrices, with a thicker feel to the vinyl. Absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to locate, as this must be one of the first to roll off the press.

Ex+/Near mint- condition as vinyl is virtually unmarked when viewed against ordinary light. Even against a strong halogen, there is little sign of play, except for a few ultra light hairlines where sleeve has brushed the surfaces.

To enhance the collectability of this record, hand etched PORKY and PECKO are located on each side, in the run offs of the record, ONLY found on the earliest first pressings.

Thicker feel than later releases ,which are far more flexible and of a lighter weight. These first UK pressings have the wider vertigo channels, which make the tones reverberate with the deepest of bass resonance, throwing the audio into an incredible dimension of dynamic sound.

Labels

Black and white vertigo swirl in excellent/+ condition. Light spindle trace only. No mottling, peeling or lifting of any kind. Central spindle hole in superb condition, displaying an almost perfect symmetry, with no evident wear . Beautiful examples with vertigo black and white swirl ,side A, and side b has vertigo logo, with track listings ,plus “All rights” text on perimeter rim, ONLY found on the very first and earliest pressings.

Audio

EXCELLENT ! Mostly clear channels. Hardly any static detected and if heard, it is very distant and does little to interfere with the music presentation. The tones are vibrant with an extra warm punch. Possibly the best Sabbath album to be released, owing to the change in rock rhythms and undulating moods . The listener remains spellbound as tempo ranges from heavy metal guitar bashes to soft lyrics, accompanied by gentler guitar riffs, offering silent interludes at times against a cacophonous roar of screeching electric guitar strings! Allusions to drugs such as Cocaine on a few of the tracks (eg Snowblind)  which had to be recorded twice, without the intervention of Cocaine being repeated by Osbourne throughout the track. One blemish to highlight is an invisible linear scratch ,located on FX , S1Tr4,which only produces two clicks on sound. This track ,which is just 90 seconds long, is heard in phenomenal style and has only the faintest distant static, very rare to find on this particular track, owing to nr silent intervals of music, and transmits the most amazing, repetitive echo of sounds that just MUST be heard.  One of the best aural deliveries of this awesome heavy rock psyche . Will find difficult to better !

Complete with vertigo swirl inner sleeve in excellent condition. Poly lined with a little glue staining on inner top edge and a general browning, caused through the ageing process. A superb collectors’ item on offer here.

Without doubt, the best Sabbath album ever to be released with the earliest matrices . Impossible to locate, with an exceptional 1st issue Howards Printers album sleeve , 37 years old as the vinyl reflects a stunning, mirror-like sheen. Possibly one of the best examples in existence today . Sheer investment quality .

Shipping

UK-£7.00 special delivery, next day

Europe-£8.50 ISF Optional insurance £2.00

USA/Japan-£11.50 Optional insurance £2.00