Black Sabbath Paranoid Best Vinyl Pressing

All the colored vinyl Rhino pressings are digital.

Sabbath on vinyl should not be digital.

That is all.

 

From my understanding not all WWA labels are original vertigo stampers. You have to confirm via the matrix info.

 

I didnt think any of them were.

 

The one I just got has Vertigo matrices (see parts in bold below):

• Matrix / Runout (Side A Runout, Stamped ('WWA 007' Etched), Variation 1): WWA 007 6360011 1y//2∇420 12 29 4 9
• Matrix / Runout (Side B Runout, Stamped ('WWA 007' Etched), Variation 1): WWA 007 6360011 2Y//2∇420 12 3 2 2 10

This thread might be of interest:

Black Sabbath-'Paranoid' WWA pressing.

 

Bumping this thread cause I'm in the market for this album (Paranoid) on vinyl.

Question: If I like the sound of the original US Warner CD from the 80's, which vinyl release is right for me? The original US CD has less low mids/mud than its UK counterparts. I don't wanna buy an expensive Spaceship/WWA vinyl only for it to sound muddy. Also worth noting, the volume bump in War Pigs doesn't bother me that much and isn't a dealbreaker...

Any help/suggestions would be great. Thanks!

 

I do not find the UK WWA of Paranoid muddy at all.

I thought the recebt blue vinyl sounded very crisp, but I have not played it recently to reassess.

Am still in the market for a first UK Vertigo

 

In all honesty, I think the WB CD sounds terrible and am not aware of any vinyl which sounds like it. Not even the original WB LP sounds like it. If you like the WB CD sound, it might be tough to find a vintage pressing which doesn't sound muddy to you as that CD is possibly the leanest, brightest mastering of the album.

 

I agree. He might like Kevin Gray’s cut for Rhino, which was issued in 2004. Can’t think of any other vinyl version that would even be close and Gray’s version won’t be that close either. Probably best to just listen to the Warner CD.

 

I have a question any input would be great
Would the 3rd Vertigo repressing with the smaller Vertigo Logo be as good as the first with the Big Bear Credits and made from the same stampers?
The 3rd overall pressing is the Spaceship Vertigo correct?

 

Same stampers, same sound.

 

I bought the Kevin Gray Rhino off Ebay for like $20 near mint, then a day later I saw the 1973 German Spaceship label pressing I had in my Discogs cart drop drastically in price. I felt like an idiot for not getting it so cheap so I bought that too.

 

Ok good to know
Price range for a nice copy?
Thanks

 

Dunno, I wouldnt pay more than 30$ though.

 

Probably going to more than that Lol
I paid around $50 for the first German pressing

 

Decent price for a German original if its nice. I think the Germans are too muffled though. But yes a vertigo label Paranoid is probably in the 80$ range as a good deal and if its nice. If you want one right away 150$ is probably what sellers look for.

 

I paid $40 for a nice U.K. spaceship label Paranoid, but it’s been a few years back now.

 

Yeah thats what I would pay 30$ tops for.

 

Ha! Prob lucky to even find a nice US greenie for $30 online!

 

I know it's not Paranoid but my deep groove first Canadian greenie is somehow a sonic marvel. It crushed the German Swirl in a recent comparison.

 

Spinning my Vertigo Paranoid now and I know this has all been said before but man the UK spaceship label press sounds fantastic, well worth the $40 I paid.
Clear, powerful with great dynamics, and separation of the instruments, the louder it gets the better it becomes.

 

Got my German spaceship in the mail yesterday. I went ahead and compared it to the Kevin Gray Rhino vinyl. I listened to the Rhino over the weekend and thought it sounded incredible. This time, I listened to the Spaceship first, then the Rhino.

My findings are the Spaceship is simply stunning and the Rhino, while I quite loved it over the weekend, in comparison to the Spaceship has a fairly mid-scooped sound. Not quite as drastic as the original Warner CD, but definitely has smiley face EQ applied to it.

The UK/German pressing of this album is definitely the way to go for Paranoid.

 

So you preferred the KG or Spaceship UK?

Also I dont think the Germans are good. 320 masters too low end heavy, great if you like bass and the rest of the performances under water.

 

Spaceship UK.

 

Still stuck looking for these albums.
Found a spaceship Octopus once, was real happy, but it was too worn it turned out.
Bad luck or is it just this rare in Scandinavia?

Plenty German pressings though, for cheap too. Have passed up several 40$ Swirl Paranoids in great condition by now.

 

Ok so updating this thread again because it has driven me mad finding the best (to my ears) vinyl release of Paranoid. I've read through several long threads here in the forums and ordered a couple variations.

First I got the 2006 Kevin Gray Rhino. Sounded good, dynamic and open, but very harsh in the high frequencies. Then I got a 1973 German spaceship reissue. I thought it was a reissue using the original UK Vertigo metal parts, but after further inspection the matrix numbers didn't match up. (It contained the '320' country code, not the '420' in the original UK release.) Anyway, the German sounded the opposite of the Rhino - muffled and flat, not as punchy, and lots of low mids and not enough treble.

So I finally took a chance on a 1972 US reissue pressed in Santa Maria. A comment in one of the Paranoid threads I saw mentioned the Santa Maria pressing being particularly great and I pulled the trigger.

It sounds incredible. I love it. Has enough treble to not sound harsh, and lots of punch. The US tapes were more compressed than the UK's master, but I like that sound. It's not like today's obscene compression or anything. Compression and rock & roll go hand in hand anyway, in my opinion at least.

So if there is anyone else torn out there, I recommend an early US pressing. I personally vouch for the Santa Maria pressing. They can be found relatively cheap, too.