BLACK SABBATH - 

MASTER OF REALITY

VERTIGO

VERTIGO 6360 050

UK 1st Press  1971

First press matrices 1Y//1 and 2Y//1 with the earliest stampers

Master of Reality was recorded at  in London between February and April 1971. The album was produced by , who had also produced their previous two albums. However, this would be his final collaboration with the band.

On the tracks "", "Lord of This World", and "", guitarist  decided to  his guitar three semi-tones to produce what he referred to as a "bigger, heavier sound". This also reduced string tension, thus making the guitar less painful for him to play; Iommi had two of his fingers partially severed in a factory accident years earlier.  also downtuned his bass guitar to match Iommi.

During recording, vocalist  brought Iommi a large  which caused the guitarist to cough uncontrollably.Iommi was recording acoustic guitar parts at the time, and thus his coughing fit was captured on tape. A fragment of Iommi's recorded coughing was later added by producer Bain as the intro to "", a song which was admittedly an ode to  use. Iommi recalls "We all played Sweet Leaf while stoned."

Although the album jacket credits Iommi alone as the composer of "After Forever", Iommi admits that the song's lyrics were in fact composed by Butler, who was (and remains) a  and the song focuses entirely on Christian themes. At the time, Black Sabbath were suspected by some observers of being  due to their dark sound, image, and lyrics. "After Forever" was released as a single along with "" in 1971.

The song "Solitude" showcases guitarist Iommi's multi-instrumental talents, featuring him playing guitar, flute, and piano. A  was later added to Osbourne's vocals on the song as a means of doubling the vocal track.

Vinyl: VG+.  A nice first press UK copy of this album. Only a couple of light  hairlines. This being a first press the vinyl is heavy and the replay astounding. There's a bit of light static on the quieter tracks like "Solitude". This has clearly only been lightly played with just a couple of spindle traces on the label. I played this once and the audio was stunning.
Sleeve: VG+.  A lovely box style envelope sleeve which has the embossed lettering to the front and the correct "VO PRICE CODE" to the back.  A couple of light edge creases, the envelope flap is completely intact without any tears or repairs.  The spine is still fully legible. NO writing and no damage just light wear. This will be a quality addition to most collections.
The original correct swirl inner (with the negative colour scheme) is still there and has slightly yellowed with age. It has no seamsplits but I will still put the vinyl in an extra plain inner so as to make sure no damage will be done to the inner whilst in transit.
The labels are EX without any writing or damage just light spindle traces.
 

This is a unique investment opportunity!!! The next prog album to go completely through the roof. Finding this album in any condition at all is nearly impossible so late in the day. Get this while you still can. This value of the album is only going to go one way ... up and up ... until it will be totally unavailable at all for a reasonable price.

 

Important : International postage will be registered and insured if over GBP 20.00.  Please wait for my invoice before paying. Postage will be according to Royal Mail rates. Postage is NOT a money spinning exercise for me.

 

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

 

 

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.