As far as we know, Wicked World was actually recorded earlier than most other tracks on the debut album. The exact date is contested, several sources have suggested September 1969. EDIT: According to Martin Popoff's book "Black Sabbath FAQ" (page 347 and following), recording dates for the other tracks are: Nov 10, 1969 - Evil Woman Nov 17, 1969 - Behind the Wall of Sleep, Black Sabbath, The Wizard, N.I.B. Nov 18, 1969 - Sleeping Village, Warning
...along with The Rebel, Song for Jim, When I Came Down, and whatever other songs they may have recorded in studio that weren't used for the debut album.
For some reason I'd thought Wicked World was slightly later on ... probably just my memory conflating tracks. I still think that, sonically and thematically, it fits in better with Paranoid - but that's just personal preference.
Btw, Wicked World was reportedly the only song on the debut (or any later Sabbath album) that was recorded on a Strat.
Wicked World was one of the very first songs they wrote. It was the B-Side of the “Evil Woman” single released before the debut. Like EW, it was recorded at a session that pre-dated the sessions for the first album. To my ears it has a whole lot more in common with the debut than Paranoid, but as EW and WW were recorded prior to the debut, they have both always sounded a bit different than the rest of the album.
I promised that I would come back after playing my most recent acquisition- a Paranoid UK Vertigo Spaceship pressing. I can tell you that the hype around it is so, so true. It's great pressing with a very punchy, clear and distinct sound. My copy is in excellent condition, the vinyl is surprisingly quiet and it looks very shiny. So happy that I finally got one.
I have the following, but haven't heard any pressings beyond this list. All sound good and I would recommend them wholeheartedly. SELF TITLED 1973 US Repress 1974 Japanese Reissue PARANOID 1976 NEMS Reissue 2006 Rhino Reissue MASTER OF REALITY 1971 US First Press 2016 Rhino Reissue VOL. 4 1973 US First Press 2015 UK Unofficial SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH 1974 UK First Press 1974 US First Press SABOTAGE 1975 US First Press
Looks like you're good on SBS and Sabotage. And no shame for the greenie of MOR. And there's a certain charm to the greenie of Vol 4. There are times I spin it instead of the Porky...almost makes Changes bearable.
Thanks for the input! The search continues for Vertigo pressings of the first four records. And just putting it out there: I'd trade my Japanese self-titled (no OBI but vinyl is NM) straight across for a UK, German, or Netherlands Vertigo press.
When I took a chance on Black Sabbath UK s/t, there was no track record on that band yet. The only song that I heard off of it was "Black Sabbath. They were playing it on KMET radio so I went down to my local record store and they only had the UK pressing. I didn't know any better and when I went to throw it on the turntable, it just sounded killer. I wasn't familiar with any of the songs to know what was on it and what wasn't. I didn't know there were different versions until months later.
There's actually two modern Sabbath LP releases that I would be interested in how they sound, even though they're likely sourced from digital: Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy (2009 EU Sanctuary 2716551, Gatefold, remastered by Walter Coehlo) Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! (2009 EU Sanctuary 2716548, Gatefold, remastered by Walter Coehlo) These two albums are special cases for me, as I am not entirely happy even with the 1st UK pressings. Opinions, thoughts, comments, anyone regarding these 2009 LPs?
P.s.: Now I am wondering if the 2009 2xLP Sanctuary release of Paranoid, which claims to use the Pearce remaster, might actually contain a true Pearce 2009 remaster of Paranoid, rather than the copy of the 1996 Castle remaster that was used for the 2xCD. Black Sabbath - Paranoid (2009 EU Sanctuary 1782453/1782455, 2xLP, Gatefold, allegedly remastered by Andy Pearce) Anyone knows anything about that? I just noticed that I was wrong when I claimed that the 2009 Pearce remasters were never released on vinyl. Apparently the Pearce 2009 remasters of the debut, MOR and (allegedly, see above) Paranoid were used for 2xLP releases by Sanctuary. Sorry for that, my mistake. Since the mastering of the Paranoid 2016 Blue vinyl issue we were talking about is credited to Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham (the latter of which participated in the 2012, but not in the 2009 Pearce remasters), the Blue Vinyl would still seem to be sourced from the 2012 remaster - IF the credits are correct. Given that you found the Blue Vinyl to sound very similar to the Pearce 2009 CD and very much unlike the 2012 Pearce sample I shared, maybe the writers of the credit did make a mistake. To make things even more confusing, the 2009 Sanctuary CD of Paranoid doesn't contain a proper Pearce remaster at all but the 1996 Ray Staff remaster - so, if the 2016 Blue Vinyl and the 2009 CD really do contain the same mastering, it's the 1996 Ray Staff one. What a mess! The fact that Pearce did two different series of Sabbath remasters for Sanctuary within a few years has had many people confused, and actually some digital releases of the Pearce 2012 remasters falsely have the remaster listed as "2009".
No, I am not interested in ANY reissue on vinyl...I am fine with my old originals and I am sure nothing beats them
I here you... I admit it is a little ironic that I, of all people, am now asking about the sound of a vinyl reissue. The main reason is curiosity: I would just love to know if those ominous Pearce remasters (Paranoid, TE and NSD) exist.
That would be interesting indeed, but I don't want to spend that money just to listen and compare...maybe a friend has these reissues, I will ask.
Love this thread, but regarding the reissues of the first six albums, all this talk of "2011/2016/Magee//Kevin Gray/blue vinyl/Abbey Road, etc." is just making me confused (and I own many of them!) Before I go spend an hour reading Discogs, can anyone with this info off the top of their head kindly post a quick bullet list of the reissue years/mastering engineers/vinyl colors? It might help to re-orient myself and others in the discussion, and also help me decide which ones I want to go listen to next Thanks!
Well, I can only tell you about the ones I know. I would guess that our Ladyfriend above knows quite a bit more! S/T - 2010 McMaster - Black vinyl - in my opinion close to the 1st US Greenie S/T - 2016 Sean Magee - Red vinyl (I think) Mastering darker than one above Paranoid - 2006? Kevin Gray - Black vinyl - reissued by Vinyl Me Please on Blue vinyl - Brighter mastering Paranoid - 2016 Sean Magee - same master as the 2-LP Deluxe - Blue vinyl & Black vinyl - Darker mastering than above MOR - 2016 Sean Magee - same master as the 2-LP Deluxe - Green vinyl & Black vinyl IV - 2011 Chris Bellman - Black vinyl, better master IV - 2016 Sean Magee (Yellow/Gold vinyl?) Most feel this master is screwed up SBS (Don't have) Sabotage - 2010 Chris Bellmen - Black vinyl (Some prefer this pressing - too harsh/unlistenable for me) Sabotage - 2016 Sean Magee - Lovely marbled Purple vinyl (Smoother/more listenable to me) ... and FWIW 13 - 2018 Chris Bellman 2-LP - I personally think this sounds great! ... AND... God willing that I get my package from France... I HOPEFULLY will be the owner of a nearly NM WWA Vertigo Stampers Paranoid
Excellent very helpful thanks! I have a lot of these, just missing a few. I also have a SBS which I really like. Overall I think the reissues I have are great, and I enjoy a little touch of treble on some of these. I also love the midrange guitar sound on the red vinyl S/T. I also have US greenies of Paranoid, MOR, and Vol. 4. Need a greenie S/T. No Vertigos yet, but that is my next adventure. Have a Dutch NEMS of MOR that I love (very crisp sounding, a little brighter than the US Greenie sludgefest...although with this album it is all about the sludge!) One of my favotites is the UK NEMS of Paranoid with WWA stampers. It is a blistering hot slab! If that is what you get you will love it!
