Here it is in all its glory the 1st ever UK issue of the
Classic 3rd
Album from
Sabbath `
Master of Reality`- It must have the Poster (notice it folds out to 6 squares, later issues are smaller and just fold to four), it has the
Black label one side (most
Vertigo Releases used a
White one) with the Classic `
Swirl` on the other side, it came in a
Flip Top laminated box with VO price code on rear, it also has the
Black inner sleeve dated 1971- if you have a `
Mint` unplayed copy the value will continue to rise, one sold recently for over
1000 British Pounds – see my other
Rare Records on my
YouTube channel
Side 1
Sweet Leaf
After Forever
Embryo
Children of the Grave
Side 2
Orchid
Lord of this
World
Solitude
Into the Void
Master of Reality is the third studio
album by
English rock band
Black Sabbath.
Released in July
1971, it is widely regarded as the foundation of doom, stoner and sludge metal. It was certified double platinum after having sold over 2 million copies. Master of Reality was Black Sabbath's first and only top 10 album in the US until 13 forty-two years later.
Master of Reality was recorded at
Island Studios, in
London, during February and
April 1971. The album was produced by
Rodger Bain, who had also produced Black Sabbath's previous two albums; this was to be his final collaboration with the band.
On the tracks "Children of the Grave", "
Lord of This World" and "Into the Void", guitarist
Tony Iommi down tuned 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.
Geezer Butler also down tuned his bass guitar to match Iommi. "It helped with the sound, too,"
Butler explained to
Guitar for the Practicing Musician in
1994. "Then it got to the
point where we tuned even lower to make it easier vocal-wise. But Ossie would then sing higher so it sort of defeated the object
."
In the liner notes to the
1998 live album
Reunion, drummer
Bill Ward commented that Master of Reality was "an exploratory album." In
2013,
Mojo magazine called Master of Reality "
...the sound of a band becoming increasingly comfortable in their studio surroundings." Iommi believes the band might have become too comfortable, however, telling
Guitar World in
1992, "During Master of Reality, we started getting more experimental and began taking too much time to record. Ultimately, I think it really confused us.
Sometimes I think I’d really like to go back to the way we recorded the first two albums.
I’ve always preferred just going into the studio and playing, without spending a lot of time rehearsing or getting sounds." The song "
Into The Void" was especially problematic, with Iommi revealing in the same interview, "We tried recording 'Into The Void' in a couple of different studios because
Bill just couldn’t get it right. In his autobiography Iommi describes the difficulty Ossie also experienced recording the vocal: "It has this slow bit, but then the riff where Ossie comes in is very fast he had to sing really rapidly: '
Rocket engines burning fuel so fast, up into the night sky they blast', quick words like that.
Geezer had written all the words out for him...
Seeing him try was hilarious." The song "Solitude" showcases guitarist Iommi's multi-instrumental talents, featuring him playing guitar, flute, and piano. A delay effect was later added to Ossie`s vocals on the song as a means of doubling the vocal track.
- published: 01 Mar 2016
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