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Black Sabbath : The Eternal Idol A / B1 1st press 1987
This first pressing plays with stunning quality for the vast majority. S1 is superb, almost perfect, with just one static click and S2 just has a little interference which is mainly on the second track. A couple of background clicks and a couple of static clicks but yes the majority of the side still plays with great clarity and power. The vinyl itself is in great condition and I suspect this 'brief' interference might be a pressing issue, 80s vinyl...
The cover is in excellent condition with only minimal wear and for once the lyric inner is perfect.
VERH - 51 - A 1 1 4 // VERH 51 B1 1 1
The audio on S1 is Mint(-) (T2 & T4 Near Mint+)
The audio S2 is Near Mint (T1 end instrumental Ex / T2 Ex- / T5 Mint-)
The cover is Ex+
The vinyl is in excellent condition and still has a lovely glossy sheen with no marks or scratches. Under a bright light I can see a few faint hairlines but there is certainly nothing that stands out. The run out grooves are very clean and the Vertigo labels are unmarked with only a couple of very small faint spindle traces on each side.
Play grading
The entire intro on 'The Shining' plays strong and powerfully with no interference and Martin's first verse and chorus are of the same exact standard. It continues to play with superb audio, you cannot fault it. Every vocal and instrumental section is 'as new' without any background and Mint is the only grade I can give.
There are a couple of static ticks in the dead wax and then 'Ancient Warrior' plays so clearly with barely any static on the intro. As the volume increases the playback is stunning and the opening vocal has no intrusion. The audio is so rich and deep and already it is obvious this vinyl has hardly been played. The first chorus does have one tick in the background but you really have to be listening intently in order to hear it. From then on it plays with real quality although there is one static click on the fade out. Despite that I still think Near Mint- is a fair assessment of the audio.
'Hard Life To Love' plays with stunning quality from the get go. The intro and opening vocal are perfect and it continues in the same way with no interference. This is audio of the highest calibre and every second plays with unbelievable sonic quality including the fade out. Mint
'Glory Ride' ends the side with superb audio once more. The production on this album is so strong and as this is such a clean vinyl nothing is lost from the original sonic quality. Another Mint track.
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'Born To Lose' kicks off S2 with a powerful intro - just one very quiet background tick. The opening vocal is faultless and it continues to play with a clarity and power that could not be any stronger. This album really was recorded 'loud' but the audio certainly does not suffer for it. There is a little static on the fade so overall I think Near Mint is fair. The final instrumental piece has a static type click at the start and a little static towards the end and will grade as Ex
The intro on 'Nightmare' has just one background click and then the first verse and chorus play perfectly. The next verse is just as impressive and the only other intrusion is a couple of background clicks on one of the vocal sections near the end. The vast majority does play with real quality but I will have to say Ex- overall.
The instrumental 'Scarlet Pimpernel' plays with exceptional clarity throughout. There is just a little static on the fade out so Near Mint
The intro on 'Lost Forever' has only very minimal light static at the start and then Martin's opening vocal plays to perfection. From then on there is no interference and again the audio is so strong, deep and clear. There is one static tick on the fade out so again I will grade as Near Mint
The more sedate intro on 'Eternal Idol' plays with great clarity and as Iommi's familiar downtuned sound comes in the playback is faultless. The opening vocal plays so clearly and as the volume ramps up there is no drop in quality. From then on there are no sound issues - no statics, clicks or pops and the sonic quality is very impressive. The next quieter section is a case in point, superb clarity here. The final section has no intrusion. A strong track with a more typical Sabbath sound you could say and the fade out has no background. A stunning Mint- version.
In summary the vast majority of this first pressing plays with genuine quality. S1 has hardly any interference and whilst there is a little more on S2 it is mainly restricted to 'Nightmare'. The clarity and power of the audio is still very impressive.
The Cover & Lyric Inner
This cover is in excellent shape with only minimal wear. The edges and spine are so clean and the corners have no wear either including the opening edge. The only wear is a little faint 'spotting' on the front cover top left but you can only see it when you hold the cover at a certain angle, like I say it is faint. The back cover just has light spotting / fading and a few small creases next to the spine. A very strong example overall.
The paper lyric inner is in fantastic condition with no side splits, marking or creasing.
Play tested on my Rega P2 with AT-VM95EN Cart / Denon PMA-520AE Amp / B&W 684 Speakers
This record has been cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine
VERH - 51 - A 1 1 4 // VERH 51 B1 1 1
I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.
Any questions please feel free to ask
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Postage & Packaging
I will only send items items worldwide via tracked shipping. This provides 'peace of mind' in case of loss or damage. The shipping costs are shown below and combined shipping is always offered. Any over-payment will always be refunded.
The Royal Mail only insure up to a value of £250 so if an item sells for more it may be wise to use a courier service (e.g. Parcelforce or DPD). An extra insurance premium will be required but I will not know the exact amount until the final sale price is known. Because of this I will sometimes have to estimate the cost and this will be shown in the listing. Please wait for the invoice before making payment and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. Many thanks.
All vinyls are packaged in strong over-sized custom made mailers with plenty of extra cardboard protection. They are placed inside separate poly-lined inners outside the cover so as to avoid seam splits in transit and then placed inside a PVC sleeve to provide even more protection. I pride myself on my high quality packaging as my feed confirms and if any customer has any specific requirements I am more than happy to help.
The mailers I use cost £1.00 each and I will use anything between 3-5 cardboard stiffeners which cost approx £0.18 each. There is also the cost of the poly-lined inner and PVC sleeve to consider, it all adds up! Not forgetting that eBay take 10% of the shipping fee also!!
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