Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (Taiwan) – RARE CSJ-1071 – Vintage Sandwich Cover - LP - 1st Pressing - 1971

A fascinating and highly unusual vintage Taiwanese pressing of Black Sabbath's legendary self-titled debut album, issued by Chung Sheng Records under catalogue number CSJ-1071. This is not a conventional licensed European or American pressing, but rather belongs to the distinctive group of Taiwanese records produced during the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of which were made primarily for the local market and for American servicemen stationed throughout Asia. The CSJ-1071 edition appeared around 1971 and features an alternative local presentation rather than the standard UK Vertigo packaging, complete with the characteristic "sandwich cover"—thin printed paper wrapped around recycled cardboard, sometimes with additional printed material hidden inside. This fragile construction is now one of the defining characteristics that collectors associate with original Taiwanese pressings from this period. The track listing also departs from the standard UK edition, following the expanded sequence particular to this Taiwanese pressing, with titles such as Wasp and Bassically listed as separately indexed tracks. It is important to note that these Taiwanese CSJ pressings possess inherently different sound characteristics from an original UK or European pressing. Many such records were manufactured by making a disc-to-disc dub from an existing commercial LP rather than cutting directly from original master tapes, resulting in noticeably duller, less dynamic and less detailed sound, with increased background noise and sometimes uneven channel balance. This copy should therefore not be judged against the sonic standards of an original UK Vertigo pressing; the attraction lies primarily in its rarity, unusual manufacturing history and highly collectible Taiwanese presentation.
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Sleeve (VG):
The original Taiwanese sandwich-style sleeve remains fully intact but shows expected signs of age consistent with this extremely fragile type of construction. General handling wear, whitening, edge and corner wear, and age-related surface deterioration are evident throughout. The sleeve grades VG. Considering how cheaply these sleeves were originally manufactured, surviving examples in complete condition are becoming increasingly interesting to collectors of unusual international pressings.
Vinyl (VG):
The record displays visible evidence of previous play. Superficial lines and general playwear are particularly noticeable on Side A, together with some grey sheen to the vinyl. There are no seriously deep marks, and the record remains a respectable visual VG example. Playback is stronger than the visual appearance suggests, sitting around VG+ in terms of playability.
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Details
* Taiwan 1st pressing
* Chung Sheng Records
* Catalogue: CSJ-1071
* Sandwich-style sleeve construction
* Alternative track sequencing (includes Wasp and Bassically as separate tracks)
* Unofficial Taiwanese pressing, circa 1971